Wilhelminenberg

The part of Vienna I live in is close to the forest and to the hills. My former school is on the foot of the hill and all the kids who went there lived nearby. Everyone I knew back then used to spend a certain amount of time up on the hill on a big meadow. You can see Vienna in all its dusty glory. On bright days, you can see Bratislava.
When I was eleven, I had a friend who lived right on top of the hill, next to the forest. We spent time on the swings next to the big castle and in her garden. When I was fifteen, my friends had picknicks and ballgames up there. There's a picture of me sitting in a tree: I'm wearing a long skirt and I'm reading Lord of the Rings. What else?
When I was sixteen, the slightly tough girls I hung out with (Why? I didn't even like them!) spent their Saturday nights smoking and drinking beer there. It's almost a tradition: Everyone has to do that, everyone has to get drunk and catch the last bus into the city or stumble down the hill at two in the morning. My brothers' friends did it as well.
When I graduated, my classmates gathered here to celebrate. When I was nineteen, a relationship began in the forest next to a lake.
Sometimes my brothers and I spend an afternoon in the sun on the meadows; mostly I go there by myself to clear my head. It's one of my favourite places in the entire world and one of the reasons why I'm still in love with this part of the city.