Over the summer, you have already noticed that not much was happening on my blog. The reason was that in July and August, I was living in Vienna, which is, as is generally known and now confirmed by my personal experience, the most livable city in the world. I traveled there with a backpack full of books, notes and good intentions, only to be immediately wooed by the most enchanting city along the Danube. The beautiful weather, the enormous parks, the number of cultural events and many interesting acquaintances didn’t leave me with much time to write. “Who knows if I will ever spend that much time in Vienna again,” I thought and dropped working, writing and studying in favor of daily and, in most cases, aimless strolls.
I have rarely been as happy as during that summer in Vienna. As one lady said, when we were walking through the Hofburg under the full moon: “Vienna makes you fall in love.” Of course, I wanted to inquire whether she only meant the city or me, too, but somehow the conversation quickly returned to the rule of law and Austrian neutrality. Well, another chance gloriously missed.
In any case, after a city so rich in charms, I am looking for a change by moving to a small mountain village. This village is in Andalusia, it’s called Venta Micena, and 42 people are living there, according to the last census, although I honestly doubt whether all of them are still alive. Because when I looked for photos of Venta Micena, I only found these three.
This is the village,
this is the landscape,
and this seems to be the fate of the erstwhile inhabitants.
After receiving a deluge of wishes to visit me in Vienna, I am certain that nobody will want to visit me in Andalusia. And if, I will spot you hours in advance, when your horse will be whirling up dust at the other end of the valley, allowing me enough time to go out and hunt for a steak.
But the readers who were hoping for beautiful photos, or even a postcard, from Andalusia must not despair. Venta Micena obviously doesn’t have an airport, so I will be in Málaga and in Granada for a few days at the beginning and the end of my stay, respectively.
I will leave on Tuesday. Let’s hope that this autumn in Andalusia will extend my summer.
(Hier findet Ihr die deutsche Fassung dieser Ankündigung.)
The Happy Hermit 