@alberich 21 July 2022 edited

Bizarre Encounter in Vienna

So. I'm in Vienna. Long time ago. I've bought some antique sheet music from a music shop. I find my way to the Suedbahnhof - the South Railway Station. I can't remember what took me to that part of town, but I probably visited the nearby Belvedere Palace - the summer palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, which houses the Austrian Gallery and has beautiful paintings by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele and others. So, I go into the station buffet. They have high, round tables, with the kind of stool where you have to rest your feet on a bar - your feet can't reach the floor. Under the table is a shelf. I place my package of music on the shelf. I order, I can't remember - a coffee, or maybe a beer (both are excellent in Vienna). I'm sitting there, enjoying my beverage. After about five minutes, a man comes and sits at the same table, opposite me. After a while he peaks under the table and sees my music. I make brief eye contact. A signal. It's mine. Don't go there. Soon after he reaches under the table and pulls the package towards himself. I reach under and pull it firmly back towards me. Now I look him directly in the eye. Shortly after, he starts asking me questions. I don't feel inclined to answer. I ignore him. My lack of response slowly infuriates him. After a few minutes he starts yelling abuse at me. Soon he's yelling extreme abuse at me. I don't respond. Just look him calmly in the eye. Soon he's almost apoplectic . I stand up, take my music, and calmly leave. Bizarre behaviour. But one doesn't go to Vienna to be bored.