Bonus Vienna Story

SO, after we had our nice picnic in the park the other night in Vienna, we had our books out and were doing some reading when all of a sudden this really loud punk music starts making it a bit harder to read. It was coming from a park nearby -- not the same one we were in, but real close.

Terri: Really?That kind of music?
Nelson: It doesn´t sound live. It sounds recorded to me. (Trying to be all knowledgeable.)

Terri continues to read, apparently successfully tuning out the rather loud music that continued. Nelson tries to read, but can´t, so he puts his book down, picks up his half-finished can of Radler (beer with lemonade...it´s actually really good) and says, "I gotta go see what´s going on."

Nelson walks toward the music, Radler in hand, and realizes that no, it is definitely NOT recorded music. It is very much live, and the punk/ska band playing (who were actually quite good...great horn section and eveything) is attached to a bunch of trucks and tents that have the words, THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK plastered all over them in big orange letters. Nelson realizes his can of Radler just took on new meaning in this context, so he inches away from the music, finishes his drink and puts it into a recycling container before returning to check out the scene.

Subtle, eh?

So, sure enough, this was an Austrian government-sponsored anti-alcoholism campaign, and this massive thing was on tour throughout the country. I think Gwen Stefani is even playing one of the shows somewhere along the way. Check it out here.

Before returning to where Terri was reading, I made my way over to the tent to pick up a brochure, armband and free mango fruit drink, nodded my touristy approval, and headed back, smiling to myself.