The Jews of Krems conducted the Friday evening service long before sunset so that they might enjoy a stroll along the banks of the Danube, after the Shabbat meal, while it was still light. The Maharil noted that on festivals some people would walk near streams to observe fish swimming in the water, to toss crumbs to them, and to watch them devour the unexpected bounty. Rabbi Isserlein relished long walks in the fields and used to swim in the river. Rabbi Joseph bar Moses, pupil of Rabbi Isserlein tells of accompanying his teacher on a Shabbat to see two lions, probably at a wandering circus, as Isserlein had never before seen such animals.
Gambling for money was quite common and sometimes also yeshiva students participated in it. There were even Jews who did not hesitate to appeal to the rabbinic court to solve quarrels deriving from such games. “Oifel played in Neunkirchen with David and won until David owed him a Viennese Pound and promised to pay. Then Oifel agreed with David that the latter should pay back the money to his brother Rosch in the presence of all three”. David eventually withdrew his promise and the case was presented to Rabbi Schalom. Card games were frequent, but only during Hanukka were they explicitly permitted. The rabbis were critical that some people would not even refrain from gambling in the period between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, in which penitence was expected. Rabbi Jacob Weil wrote that players, who would even play during Sukkot, should do so inside the Sukka and not outside.