Wandering the Streets

Today we got a late start as I didn't wake up till 10:30!  I'm still on US time.  By the time we got ready and had breakfast we didn't get out of the house till nearly 1 PM.  Took the subway to the Nachmarket, a huge food and miscellaneous "other" outdoor market which had the most amazing array of goodies. Amazing how much Middle Eastern and Indian food and spices are obviously very popular here in Vienna!  They had one store completely devoted to oils and vinegars, and the vinegars come in huge jugs.  You can sample them and then they pour your choice into small bottles to sell it.  I bought a gorgeous Norwegian sweater at a bargain price (Roz bargained, I paid!).  Then we walked through the city to the Ringstrasse area, entering by the Museum Quarter where there was a Christmas market still in full swing.  I was delighted to find a stall selling the delicious Trdelniks (sweet pastry rolled in almond and cinnamon sugar) that I so loved in Prague. That was my lunch - sweet though it is!  We walked through the Hapsburg Palace grounds (hope to visit tomorrow or Wednesday) and then towards Stephensplatz which is a very upscale shopping area and huge tourist center, with the cathedral in the center and lots of shops and cafes around.  Although it was mild for a winter day, we were feeling pretty cold after being out in the air for over three hours, so at that point we had some Gluwein to warm up!    During our wandering we passed a trio of accordion players wearing horse head masks as they played traditional Austrian tunes!  They certainly turned a few heads!  The Christmas lights are still up making the public squares very festive.  Hopefully tomorrow we will get an earlier start which will allow time to actually get into a museum.  We have learned in our wanderings today that pink pigs are a symbol of luck for the New Year in Austria and everywhere we went today there were ceramic, plastic, edible and non-edible, plush, paper mache, metal - you name it -  pink pigs being sold in preparation for New Year"s.  Many of the Gluwein stalls are selling the hot wine in pink pig cups!  And marzipan candy pink pigs are huge sellers all over!  People exchange the pigs for good luck in the New Year and in some restaurants, we are told, live pink pigs are set loose and folks try to touch them as they run by for good luck!  Who knew pink pigs held such charm??  Pics are some scenes from our walks today.