We packed light when coming to Europe so I said goodbye to my REI slippers. They were like sleeping bags for my feet! They were down booties and so warm and comfortable. You couldn’t wear them outside, but that wasn’t their purpose. They were house slippers. REI doesn’t make them anymore (they were the REI brand) but they do have a similar down bootie from Cabiniste.
I figured I would be okay in Europe with warm socks. Until I wasn’t. I realized that when my feet are cold, I get super cold. And I go from, “I feel a little chilly” to “OMG I NEED A HEATING PAD NOW!” pretty quickly.
I had seen Giesswein shoe slippers on Zappos when we were in the US and I always liked them.. I knew they were made in Austria so I went to the Giesswein shop here in Vienna. I really wanted the Vent style because they have a back on them. But they didn’t have my size. OH and if you are ever in Austria and you do want something from Giesswien – sweaters, coats, hats, totes, shoes, etc. it is obviously MUCH cheaper here in Austria. Since they didn’t have my size I decided to keep looking.
I stopped in a little Apotheke one day and I noticed the Heller Vertrieb booties on a rack. They were sheep wool and a bootie style – exactly what I was looking for in a slipper! And oh my goodness they are warm. So my feet are nice and warm again here in chilly Vienna!
My new sheep wool booties are the ones in the top photo!
And speaking of heating pads above, I also didn’t keep my heating pads I had in DC. I had a nice clay one from Walgreens that I would microwave. I also had a plug in heating pad that I loved. I didn’t need them in Orlando but in DC I would sometimes get a chill in the winter months.
When we came to Vienna, I figured I would buy a new heating pad. I really wanted a plug in one – it has settings usually (low, medium, high) and an auto shut-off. But I couldn’t find this ANYWHERE in Vienna. When I asked a few stores about them they looked at me like I was crazy! They also didn’t have the clay microwave pads. What did they have? Hot water bottles. Only hot water bottles. Those seemed so… old-fashioned??!! So I didn’t buy one. Luckily, our flat we rented (furnished) had one in the bathroom. I was getting chilly and desperate so I filled it up with hot hot hot water and guess what?? I fell in love with it!! I guess they knew what worked back in the old days and why mess with something that works. This hot water bottle was basic and didn’t have a cover. A lot of stores had ones covered with fleece, woven wool, cotton, etc. I ended up buying one covered in fleece for our next apartment.