Vienna, Austria - We arrived in Vienna yesterday. The flight from Zurich was short - about an hour. Nonetheless, H was a bundle of nerves in the hours leading up to, and during the entirety of, the flight. We contracted colds over the last week - minor ones, as these things go. But H has suffered severe pain and discomfort in the past when her congested sinuses contributed to her ears popping in an excruciating way during ascent and descent. For years, my dad has also claimed of suffering from this. But he's an old curmudgeon, so to be honest, up until recently, I was unsure which played a greater part in the affliction: an unfortunate and painful anatomical snafu of the eustachian tubes or a compulsion to complain. H's experience suggests the former plays a greater role, but one can never fully rule out the latter.
So, we armed H with a variety of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products (some, with more suspect capabilities) intended to make her flight comfortable and pain free. Some or all of these products succeeded in making H more comfortable, and we got through the flight without major issues. For the benefit of others, I list below our armamentarium:
- Ibuprofen, also known as Advil, is a reliable multi-purpose anti-inflammatory and pain-killer.
- Pseudoephedrine, a nasal decongestant, closely related to amphetamines and a precursor ingredient to some methamphetamine cocktails. Pseudoephedrine's amphetamine-light pharmaceutical properties were something of a double-edged sword: effective for both clearing H's nasal passages and also accelerating her anxiety.
- Oxymetazoline, a nasal decongestant delivered locally (i.e., in the nostril).
- Sinupret®, a European homeopathic medication which was pushed on H by an enterprising Swiss pharmacist. Sinupret®, with its combination of five "medicinal" plants (cowslip, gentian, marsh, elder and verbena), has a "reliable effect against acute and chronic inflammation of the sinuses."
- EarPlanes. Fancy ear plugs with ceramic filters that are intended to slow the shift of air pressure during take off and landing. H lost one during the flight...
- Chewing gum. Effective because swallowing (or yawning) opens the eustachian tube and allows the middle ear to get more air, equalizing the air pressure.
After acclimating to Switzerland over the last few weeks, H and I immediately thought, "Vienna is dirty." But then we realized that Vienna is not dirty so much as it isn't as clean as Switzerland, which is very clean indeed. It turns out that Vienna is about as clean as any other Western European city, which are all somewhat less clean than Switzerland.
H and I arrived in Vienna in the early evening, and it took us about an hour to make it to our hotel using mass transit. Rather than venture our for dinner, we decided to take it easy and eat at the hotel, which features a lively restaurant called Seven North by a well-known Israeli chef, Eyal Shani. The food here is vegetable-focused and pulls inspiration from mainly Mediterranean and German cuisines. H and I were satisfied, but not blown away by our food. I would describe our waiter as a curiously direct and rather circumspect guide to the cuisine on offer. Asked whether we should order the lamb shawarma or the grilled fish, he said: "I don't eat fish." Realizing this answer might be insufficient, he added: "They're different. If you like fish, you get the fish. If you like lamb, you get the lamb." Indeed.
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