Vienna or Shriners Convention and the Evil TV Tax

Summer has definitely arrived in Vienna. With a vengeance. It is about 10:00 p.m. and the temperature is still hovering around 75. It feels kind of good but fairly hot when trying to run errands in the neighborhood. My foot is considerably better since Heather's last posting but I'm still looking a little Igor-ish as I walk around.

That I don't mind but one can also feel somewhat self-conscious as they try to blend in with the local fashions. However, it is a city of a million people so you can wear whatever you want. But, as I was venturing out in shorts I did check out to see if others were also similarly attired. There are a lot of people wearing shorts unlike when I was an exchange student and you just did not see it that much. However, I did seem to stand out as I was one of the few people not wearing black socks with my shorts. We've seemed to slip into cocktail hour by the pool at a shriners' convention. I have yet to see garters otherwise it appears to be black socks as far as the eye can see. I am starting to get used to it and I am comforted by the fact that it appears as though I can wear my best dress shoes with my running shorts.

Speaking of socks, Heather and I got socked with the TV tax. Every television set and radio in Austria must be registered. That way, the local television monopoly ORF gets to charge you a mandatory fee. They decided to put us on a six month billing cycle for 180 euros. Now, I'm as big a fan as the next guy of bell-making documentaries and lederhosen clad hikers serenading beer drinkers, but that amount of money seems a little extreme. Supposedly, they do play some popular American shows in the evening and if you can figure out your remote, you can get an English simulcast. We have yet to figure that out. We thought of taking a moral stand and not paying the bill (we have sat on it for two months) but today a letter arrived mentioning that they would send us to a bill collector in two weeks. You know how pleasant that sounds in German?