"Ich spreche Deutsch!" in Austria. Part 1: Linz

"The temperature in Vienna is 5..." Wow! "...below zero."
Darn

The pilot of my Lot airlines flight tried to paint the best picture of the weather. Beginning our very gradual descent after the one hour flight, the view out my window was obscured by white clouds.

Given my experience as a pilot, I like making my own mental checklist of what the pilot is doing for a landing. Though there are many differences from any airplane I've ever flown, some things are easy to pick up on. Still surrounded by clouds, the pilot let out the first stage of flaps. After the second stage of flaps, my cloudy view had not changed. When the landing gear was deployed, I started freaking out a little. Doing a blind landing is something capable by an experienced commercial pilot. Thinking about me in the same scenario, it would be a nightmare. Breaking through the clouds, we were only a few hundred feet above ground!
Best part... the ground was covered in snow! Déjà Vu all over again. Segovia.... Krakow....
Of course it was snowing too.
Shout out to the pilot for the smoothest possible landing on a snowy runway. Good Polish pilots.

Taxiing, snow was whipping around the airplane as the gusts were audible through the windows. For the parked airplanes, most were being de-iced by the strangely insect-like icing trucks.
We taxied toward the terminal. Several large airplanes had walkway access directly to the terminal. Smaller airplanes were parked on the tarmac for open air deboarding. My first thought: I'm not walking outside in this weather.
Well, no one cared about what I thought because we parked on the tarmac and took a bus to the terminal.

My goal was clear leaving the airport: find a train to Linz. Only some 200 km from Vienna, I would meet my friend Fabian who lives there. Also there visiting was my fellow American, Marissa.
Apparently, I needed the 'west' Vienna station, with a bus directly from the airport. Having missed the previous bus by 5 minutes, the next one would leave in 20 minutes even though the bus was there but locked. I waited in the cold, behind a sign to block the fierce wind, with other travelers wondering when the driver would return.
We did leave slightly late. The 30 min trip to the train station took over an hour due to the poor weather and traffic. We did drive through parts of the city, though there was really nothing to see with the poor visibility (even in the city).
The next train to Linz left in a few minutes and I was glad to catch it. The RailJet train for my ride was really nice; the high speed equivalent of the Ave in Spain reaching around 250 km/hr (you do the conversion). I was impressed by the people on the train. It must be a thing in Europe with everyone really camping out in their seats. Those who had tables set up movies on computers with plenty of snacks. Lots of families too.
I got my window seat and enjoyed using the free wifi, though there was little to see with the fog.

I was picked up at the main train station by my friends. We went to Fabian's apartment, located along the Danube river that cuts the city in half. We all enjoyed a few Austrian beers and a late lunch consisting of homemade good Austrian food: Schweinsbraten and hot Krautsalat.

Linz

We agreed that a tour of the city was necessary. Walking along the Danube toward the cit center, Fabian pointed out significant buildings along the way. Our first stop was the unique Science Center of Linz. Even for being on the upper end of the targeted age group, a walk around the many interactive exhibits was a nice change of pace for my usual stops during this tour. With a focus on the quirkier side of science, like how everyone is being tracked on the internet, glow in the dark clothing, three dimensional rendering, and, my favorite, controlling a computer with your eye (which I did! 'Hi guys! This is weird.'). Fabian had hyped up the 3D movie we watched, but we all agreed it was a letdown (except a picture of Chicago, I liked that).

Science Center

We all walked around the city for a little bit. Buying some drinks at a supermarket, we caught the sights of downtown Linz. Churches, office buildings, and the central plaza made most of the tour. Of course, the centerpiece of he city is its Gothic cathedral. Walking around (and maybe being the only people there) the cathedral wins the award for darkest interior.

Main Linz square

Some cool statue in the square...

Fairly dark in here...

Streets of Linz

We went to some local bars to pass the evening. Not expecting much for a Tuesday evening, everything was pretty quiet. However, we happened across a group of Austrian students who were celebrating a birthday. Talking with them, they became giddy learning that we were Americans. Speaking very good English, of course, we were greeted with comments like 'America is the best' ... 'Austria is not that good' ... 'English is a better language' etc. I didn't think they had met someone from the United States before. We talked about things related to the United States and the Austrians insisted on trying to improve our pronunciation of German words ( they probably had a little too much fun with correcting my pronunciation).
Unfortunately, Fabian hurt his foot when someone fell on him at the bar. Luckily, his mom was around to drive him home while I stayed with the Austrian students, taking a taxi back later.

With Fabian hurt, some of our plans for the next day were killed. Leaving back for Vienna was my best option at that point, so I caught the next train in the early afternoon. Before, we enjoyed another traditional Austrian lunch of Rindssuppe with Liberknodel and Frittaten.

Overall, Linz is not a city worth visiting unless you know someone there. Even the people in Vienna would tell you that! Still, getting some home cooked good Austrian dishes was different from my usual restaurant setting. It was also nice getting recognized just for bring an American.

Good news is, Vienna would prove the better city.