Winterurlaub am Grundlsee

Actually we had planned on a little bit of sun on Mallorca, but my mom could not mind the kiddos this time so we settled for a family vacation at the Grundlsee in Styria. The view from our room was spectacular.

During the day we made trips into the surrounding area, for example to Bad Ischl, where we visited the famous K.u.K. Kaffee-Konditorei Zauner.

The famous Zaunerstollen has been my favorite sweet/dessert since childhood. So of course one of them had to come along for later enjoyment.

We also went to St. Wolfgang where we had lunch at the fabulous "Weisses Rössl" - the opera, musical and film from the 60s with Peter Alexander are still a "must-know" when you are in the area.

In the late afternoons, when heavy snow started to fall outside, it was time for the pool- and recreation area...

... followed by some nice dinner later on.

And the kiddos had fun too. Food was only served for them, of course.

Wavies to the sunny beaches of Mallorca - we will return later this year!

Meierei im Stadtpark

To celebrate the end of a lovely Christmas holiday my suggestion was to go for a stroll downtown and have a glass of Sekt and a little something. Hasi picked this idea up, thought for a little while, made a secret phone call and got very mysterious.

Then we set off to the City centre for our little stroll, discovering that Vienna still is a tiny bit christmassy.

And I suddenly found myself in the "Meierei im Stadtpark". What a nice surprise! This restaurant is a branch of Vienna´s famous "Steirereck am Stadtpark", an extremely expensive top-restaurant which has absolutely overwhelming food, but also overwhelming prices. For a 4 course menue with wine you pay around Euro 200,- per person which is really breathtaking and might be something for a special SPECIAL celebration - but not for something you do on the fly and just because you feel like a glass of Sekt! The Meierei is different, it is in the same house as its "Big Brother", the prices are rather decent, they serve typical Viennese cooking (in "Steirereck"-style) and they specialize in cheese. If you are interested you may want to check  http://www.steirereck.at/.

I finally got my glass of Sekt! Followed by Cray soup for starter and Gulasch as main course.

To finish our pampering we made the terrible, terrible mistake to order the small cheese plate twice. When we asked if it would be big, because we felt quite full already, he said, "Oh no!" and we believed him. Bad, bad.... When he came with our order I first thought this would be the cheese from which to chose, but then he said, "I gave you a bit more, so you can have a nice taste." And this is what he came with...

While we were quiet in shock he told us how to proceed: Start at six o´clock and work your way up clockwise, then make a right into the center and end with the "Kracher" right in the middle. Let me just say we only made it up to 12 o´clock.

Anyway, the lovely relaxed staff allowed us a doggy bag, and we staggered out with the last few kilos of cheese which our inspired waiter called "a nice dinner tonight". Yes, for the next month or so....

Summary: Great place, great service. And lessons learned! If you like cheese then forget the main course and let the starter be followed by one of the hillarious cheese platters. We will go again and I recommend you to hit the place when you are in the area! But book a table in advance!

Mittelalterfest in Eggenburg

The Mittelalterfest in Eggenburg is getting bigger and bigger each year. It was our 2nd time we went there, and we absolutely loved it.

It is in the mild south of my beloved Waldviertel, before Horn you make a left and then drive another 10 minutes down to Eggenburg. If you ask me: The real Waldviertel (the North where I come from) starts in Horn which is about 10 minutes North from Eggenburg.

In pretty Eggenburg the first thing you need to do is get rid of your car. There are a few parking areas, but the signs showing you there are not too good. So you just need to follow your feeling and your luck, and after you found a parking space you will realize that on your way to the castle there are lots of mideval campsites everywhere.

Then we walked up to the main site. It is the main square of Eggenburg where they have a marketing area and an area where they do show and dance.

 

I especially loved the guy with the falcon. He is a falconer in real life and obviously always ready to go to Eggenburg to the Mittelalterfest.

And of course there are many dancing choruses performing medival dances. I especially enjoyed the music.

At the main square there are performances all the time and it is packed with people. I got acquainted with a lovely aged couple who gave me one of their paper schedules which helped me a lot later.

One of the performances we caught was the Witch Dance - I really did not get it at all, but it was amusing. In mideval times if one had said "Hey, I am a witch and I am dancing" the life span of the witch would have been really really short...

 

One of the best performances were the DRAGONS. They came with a lot of noise and they were hillarious! We have a video showing why they were so great but I dont really know how to put it on display. Anyway: They were so cool!

 

Of course there were mideval dogs as well, and they had their own mideval tents. I was so happy I had left my kiddos at home - less stress for me, and less stress for them - but it did not keep me from admiring other kiddos.

There are many lectures in the townhall - here we have a lecturer in Florentine style telling us about Dante´s "Göttliche Komödie". Many professors from my university are here as well, giving speaches like "Was Sie immer über Runen wissen wollten" and "Hey, hey Wikie". Problem: I have done the semester classes, so the 1 hour speach would not have been very satisfying. But still it is fun!



There are so many things to see and do, in fact the whole town of Eggenburg is full of points of interest where you can see lots of things of mideval life.

When we went back to the car we thought that it had been a brilliant day. And who knows, maybe next time we come back with mideval clothes doing mideval things as well? I sure loved the dresses. And everything else...

Hasis Birthday lunch at the "Le Ciel"

It was Hasis birthday weekend, and to do something different for a change I had planned on inviting him for lunch to the famous "Le Ciel" at the ANA Grand Hotel in downtown Vienna.

This 5*hotel is situated at the Ring, right next to the Bristol, and what I told you about the "Sacher" ("don´t go there") is right the opposite here. I never felt so much at home at such a posh place before (well yes, maybe at the "Phoenician" in Phoenix, Arizona - but that is a different cup of tea) and I can really recommend (recommend, recommend!!) it.

You find the "Le Ciel" at the top floor of the ANA Grand Hotel, overlooking the Ring, and if you want to check it out a bit more here is the link http://www.leciel.at/.

When we got there early (we don´t like to eat late) we were the first to arrive, but when we left two hours later all tables were full. I recommend to book a table in advance, the Restaurant is not that big, and it is pretty well booked.

Champagne to toast with! After you are seated they instantly arrive with the drinks for you to chose from, and then they give you all the time in the world to contemplate on your courses. Honestly, I was never served by a more caring and more attentive staff! (And now I am also counting the "Phoenician", Phoenix, Arizona, the "Beekmans Tower" in NYC, NY, and the Raffles in Singapore.)

While waiting for our first course to arrive we had a quick peek at the terrace - another nice place to chill. It was a bit overcast so they did not lay the tables outside, but this is definately a place for next time!

Here we re-arranged ourselves a bit for the picture, otherwise it would have been too bright for the camera. Our table was table No. 12 - a big thumbs up, and a number to remember for next time.

The compliment from the kitchen was some cold "Asparagus and something soup". Then came the first course. Mine was "Spinach creme soup with quail´s egg" and some other things I can´t remember, Hasi had the Carpaccio, which was the best ever.

As a main course we both had the "Kalbsgeschnetzeltes" with Gnocci in a cheese crust. Yum!

Dessert was absolutely smashing! We had the "Petit four" (Stefan) and the "Selection of cheese" - for me the absolute highlight of a brilliant meal. The waiter who attends the cheese wagon will select the perfect choice of cheese for you - and it was a smash!! For me the best course of the meal!

 

And to show you how attentive the staff is: When I had booked the table I had not mentioned that it was Hasi´s birthday. When we arrived he told one of the waiters that I really had surprised him for his birthday - and that was all there was needed. After dessert suddenly the music was playing "Happy birthday" and the cheese wagon man arrived with a cake and a sparkler in it.... It was amazing!

 

 

We left happy and satisfied, knowing that we just had discovered a place worth remembering. We definately will be going again!

 

In Facebook talk: "Like!! Like!! Like!!"

 

 

 

Boatride on the Danube

Unfortunately Vienna does not have any direct access to the open waters. Our maior waterway is the "Danube" ("Donau" in German) which has been made famous worldwide by the Vienna Waltz "An der schönen blauen Donau" by Johann Strauss, a piece of music that usually concludes the "Austrian New Year´s Concert" which is broadcast all over the planet.

Most Austrians live far or even farer away from the Danube, and then we watch series like "Soko Donau", which plays more on less on the water, and we think, "What the...?" and "Where the...?" But yes, this also is a part of Vienna, even if we sometimes cannot believe it ourselves.

 

Friends had come up with the perfect idea to go on a boatride up and down the Danube on this beautiful Midsummer evening, and so we could kill two birds with one stone: Enjoy the Summer solstice from the water and celebrate the wedding anniversary of our friends. (Happy Anniversary again, Michi and Martin, and thanks for this wonderful idea!)

 

 

The DDSG (the former "k.u.k. Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft" - eat this, translation programs *gg*) organises boatrides with different mottos - ours came as the "Ratpacktour" which meant that the musicians were performing songs by the "Ratpack" Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis jr. But they also do themes like "Dancing", "Popular Music", "Autumn".... even "Halloween", where they obviously want you to show up in Halloween costume.

 

Dinner was served when we were sailing (I am told that "sailing" is a nautical term in this connection meaning "to begin a journey by water", our boat was in fact engine-driven), and it was excellent. Okay, I was so hungry, I would have eaten paper probably, but it was excellent nevertheless. Here a sneak-peak of the starters, but we also had loads of main courses and sweets.

 

 

How beautiful to munch on your dinner while gliding out of the harbour, enjoying a marvellous scenery....

 

 

I have to confess after dinner I was not very sociable - when on a boat I always need to be on the upper deck watching the scenery without any glass windows, I want to feel the wind and smell the smells of the water. Actually I prefer the sea - the High Sea, if possible - but the Danube is a pretty good substituate when no ocean is available.

 

 

Due to recent flooding the Danube was not "blue" at all, but it was amazing to see all the traffic that made its way down the river giving the impression of some serious waterway that connects many European countries and would even allow you to go as far as the Black Sea.

 

 

The song "I am from Austria" came to my mind. We just could not get the darn flag flying!

 

These gentlemen entertained the audience with other songs like "Take me to the moon" and "New York, New York", and I would say they did a pretty good job. It is difficult to set Austrians in motion, they usually sit there doing nothing during a piece of music, and at the end they clap obediently. Nothing like I have experienced in US bars where the audience happily sings and claps along. But these gentlemen really did the trick! It took the audience a while, but they sure warmed up.

 

 

We returned to Vienna much too soon, but the views we got were wonderful. Here are a few for you to see yourself.

 

 

 It was a lovely evening, something we had not done in a long time, and the fact that it also was Midsummer added some additional spice to it. And we were reminded again that Vienna actually is a place by the water with lots of opportunities for boating and water sports - and a waterway that can take you right across the continent if you allow it.