Honestly, I just felt like getting out today. Stuck at home, you know how it gets. Saw the sun peeking through my dusty window and thought, “Right, Augarten today.” Didn’t even plan it properly. Just grabbed my backpack.
Threw in my beat-up old sketchbook, the one with the coffee stain on the cover. Almost forgot my pencils – found them rolling around a drawer. Shoved them in. Then figured, maybe the camera? Dusted off my small digital one, battery looked questionable, but risked it. Packed an apple and half a stale sandwich from yesterday. Water bottle half full? Eh, good enough. Out the door by ten.
The U-Bahn ride felt slow. Transferred once, walked the last bit. Felt warmer than expected – wearing too many layers, typical. Entered near the big chimneys. Place is huge, always forgets just how big it is until you’re standing there feeling small.
Just started walking. No route. Headed vaguely towards where I thought the flower beds might be early spring. Grass patchy, trees mostly bare sticks. Saw a few crocus already punching through. Crouched down, camera groaned to life, battery light blinking amber already. Took a few snaps. Focus was finicky. Shoulda charged it.
Found a mostly dry bench, kinda wobbly. Sat, pulled out the sketchbook. Tried sketching one of those giant chimneys. Did a messy outline. Some dude walking his enormous, probably illegal-sized dog stopped right behind me, breathing loud. Dog sniffed my backpack. Kinda ruined the concentration. Packed up again.
Walked towards the centre. Saw the porcelain factory building, looked impressive in the flat light. Played tourist for a minute. Camera battery died. Annoying.
Got hungry. Ate the stale sandwich. Felt every bit of its day-oldness. Found a small kiosk near the playground. Bought a surprisingly hot coffee. Sat on the edge of the sandpit, watching kids scream. More crowded than I remembered from weekdays.
Followed a gravel path leading away. Found this quiet corner behind some tall hedges. Older part. Tombstones worn smooth. Serious looking statues. Felt peaceful. Took the sketchbook out again. This time sketched a crumbling angel statue, missing a wing. Did a better job than the chimney honestly. Used the blunt pencils. Added some shading. Felt like I captured the mood.
Walked back towards the main gates. Passed a weird little market. Felt misplaced. One stall selling old, slightly broken ceramics. Guy tried to sell me a chipped teapot claiming it was “historic Augarten porcelain”. Uh-huh. Didn’t bite.
Got thirsty, water bottle empty. Headed out the gates. Found a bakery nearby. Bought a massive apricot pastry and a cold fizzy drink. Sat outside, demolishing the pastry. Messy fingers, sticky table.
Honestly: Didn’t discover any hidden secrets. Didn’t get amazing photos. But I moved my legs, got some air, filled a page in the sketchbook with something vaguely interesting, and ate pastry outside in March. Felt stubbornly productive. Mission accomplished. Walked back to the U-Bahn, feeling less sticky than when I arrived. Mostly.
