Early in the morning we were on the aviation field at Aspern, which is
somewhat like Adlershof. Here I saw some very interesting machines;
for the first time I saw an Italian Caproni. Also, I was shown a
French machine, in which a crazy Frenchman tried to fly from Nancy to
Russia, _via_ Berlin. He almost succeeded. They say he got as far as
the east front, and was brought down there after flying almost ten
hours. They said he was over Berlin at 12:30 at night. Then there were
some very peculiar-looking Austrian 'planes.
In the afternoon I reported to the Colonel, who advised me to see the
flying in the mountains near Trient on my way back from the Balkans. I
do not know yet whether or not I will be able to do this; it all
depends on time and circumstances.
In the late afternoon I went up on the Kahlenberg to see Vienna from
there. I took the trip with a man and his wife, whom I had met on the
train. They seemed very pleased at having my company, and lost no
opportunity to tell me this. To add to my discomfiture, a reporter
interviewed me on the way back; he was the first I have met so far.
The fellow had heard by chance that I was in Vienna and had followed
me for two days. He sat opposite me on the inclined railway and I had
a lot of fun keeping him guessing. He was very disappointed that he
had no success with me, but finally consoled himself with the thought
of having spoken with me. In the evening I strolled around Vienna--the
city makes a much quieter impression than Berlin. One feels that
Vienna is more a quiet home town than a modern city.