On a brighter note, we had a bit of good news here: as insignificant as it looks on the greater scale of everything that is going on in the world, it has warmed my heart.

But first things first. As some of my friends who visited our house in the past may know, I am a true connoisseur of fridge magnets—yeah, I know how lame it sounds for some of my highbrow folk out there, but it is what it is: I can’t help myself and always grab one or two little thingies whenever I go.

And so I did this time in Vienna in a few places—at the Albertina, The Kunsthistorisches and the Hindertwasser House, too. I really liked my finds: who would’t, after all?.. Dürer's Hare, the Hundertwasser gingerbread house, the Pink Cloud in Venice by Signac (his works in the Albertina reminded me again how dearly I loved Pointillism) and Klimt’s Field of Poppies (I put it upside down, lol)—aren’t they lovely?

And guess what? I forgot them in our hotel room! Yeah, totally missed a bright red paper bag with the Albertina logo somehow. While unpacking the suitcase at home, I didn’t see them, asked L. whether he had them, he said “no,” and I understood that I had screwed up big time.

Listen, I know that it’s not a big deal: people constantly forget their belongings everywhere. But, somehow, this made me extremely sad: despite the lousy weather, we had a lovely trip, and this misfortune, no matter how small, overshadowed it.

Yet! Next morning L. got an email from the hotel that they found the bag with the magnets exactly where we had left it, and sent it to us. And today the magnets arrived. The simple wholesomeness of this act of kindness and care cannot escape me: hooray!

Chapeau, Boutique Hotel Donauwalzer - Wien! We are truly grateful: thank you very much! You were—and are—fantastic!