London (1)

Always when the plane touches down at London Heathrow I feel this wave of relief and "Gods, I am home!" washing over me. Suddenly everything is the way it should be, the accent, the attitude, the understatement - even the sun and the colours are not as bright and sometimes annoying as you can find them in Central Europe.... To put it all short: I love England, and I certainly LOVE London.

It is so good to be back!

I don´t know if you have been, but I know I won´t ever be - namely up there. But the Shard definately is programmed for Hasi and David next time. I prefer to stay on the ground having a good chat and a drink, since I am not sick of living.. Not a cat´s chance in hell you can get me up there!

After a trip down Memory Lane like seeing the Tower Bridge and the Tower it definately was time for a visit at the local pub.

Our Sunday visit at Buckingham was a bit boring. Seen it too many times, and HRH was not there anyway. Should we have told the hundreds of tourists waiting? There was this tiny little sign in front of the palace that there would not be any change of guards on Sunday...

I have a new favorite quarter which is Shoreditch! It is the former East End, now a place full of little shops and little markets, singers in the streets and plenty of good food. Next time I will be definately saving some appetite to try the Brick Lane Bakery there. And of course there is Curry Lane... I so would love a nice Curry now....

Hasi and David went up the eye (after a brisk and long march through the city from Shoreditch to the Thames). Larissa and I had a good chat at the river banks, while the guys probably had a good time up there too. I am sure it was a great ride, but I am also happy I did not have to do it myself and simply can enjoy the pics.

Yeah, we are all back together, and we all survived! And now off to some good food...

Great evening at Wagamama´s! We all love Asian food, and the food there is lovely and tasty. Oh, and because mine came 5 mins late I got mine for free, how cool is that.

Afterwards we walked for a while to get back to Towerhill Station. The air was mild, and there was just the best sing-a-song-writer playing his guitar beneath the Eye. What a perfect evening it was!

Feuer im Lichthäuschen!

At Longfield Gospel we like to socialize. We meet before concerts to rehearse (and eat and drink and chat), after concerts (to eat and drink and chat), of course during concerts (to - ha, NOT to eat and drink and chat, but to rock the place!!), in Summer we have barbequeue events, in Winter we do Winter things and lots more.

Whereever you find people from Longfield you always find not only people willing to sing and entertain but also to party!

Yesterday a bunch of us were invited to Barbara´s "Lichthäusl" - nobody knew what that was, and we all thought of a fireplace out in the open. Instead it turned out to be a Finish hunting hut with an indoor fireplace and grill. We all came dressed with 20 layers of warm clothing and Winter boots, but instead of a fire out in the rain and the cold we arrived at something cosy and warm and comfortable.

Outside it was pitchblack dark, the wind was blowing and it was raining - and inside it was warm and hospitable and the fire was shining.

It was so warm that we let the door open - otherwise it would have been more like sauna! Thanks Gods all of us had enough layers to take off! Come inside and meet your friends...

Good food, good drinks, good friends - what more do you need? We also had a good laugh! Oh well, a typical Longfield event. We just need a platform to get started.

And honestly, I have never been at an LGS party where there wasn´t too much food and where anyone of us went hungry. We just love to eat, who doesn´t? And it makes inviting people so much easier, because everybody brings along plenty (in addition to the heap you prepare yourself), and afterwards the host has about another week to wonder what to do with the left-overs *gg*).

At first none of us had known what a "Lichthäuschen" is - afterwards we all knew: It is a warm and bright place where you meet friends and feel comfy. What a great idea! We come back any time, thank you so much for having us!

Today I am in a poetic mood, so I want to close with the words of Chris de Burgh in one of his wonderful songs:

"We must send the word to all the people in the land,
 go to every hill and mountain,
 for the time is now at hand
To light a fire!

 

They will see it through the world!"

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.

I am going on an adventure!

"I am going on an adventure!" cries Bilbo Baggins, when he is running after the dwarfs, and the worst thing that he thinks can happen to him is that he forgot to pack his hankerchief. Almost the same thing said my friend John, when he came all the way from Helsinki by motorcycle, and the fact that he might have forgotten his hanky did not seem to frighten him in the least. It is amazing what he is able to fit into the little trunk of his posh BMW motorbike....

He is a good, long-time friend and we hardly ever see him, so we were happy to welcome him in our home - with or without his hanky! First a toast to the first see in a long time...

 

... then the boys arm wrestled a bit as you do when you are happy to finally meet up again.

 

 

Then we went to the Stockerwirt for some nice dinner. It was a lovely evening of early Summer, the sun was shining until late, and the nature was at its nicest around here.

 

 

And a toast again of course!  

 

 

For dinner we had soup (tomato and Asparagus), Bauernschnitzel (John), Tafelspitz (Stefan and me), and Tichy icecream and Cremeschnitte for dessert. Yum, yum! It was excellent!

 

It was a good evening full of old memories, updates on life and interesting discussions. And the starry sky that showed over our home place before we all went to bed was awesome, I even saw a falling star! (I did not put it in my pocket, though.)

Our friend left much too early the next morning. Thank you for being here, JJ, you are a wonderful guest! And we are hoping for another reunion very soon in the Future! And thank you for the MARSKIN RYYPY - we will not drink it but put it up on display, and whenever we look at it we will think of absent friends.....

Pfingsten 2013

Pfingsten 2013 in our little holiday crest was very relaxing, lovely weather, birds singing, bees humming... In the mornings we did our little "retirement walks" as we call them - which means, that we picture us when we one day will hopefully have retired to do these morning walks into town for freshly baked rolls for breakfast and maybe a small Melange on the go every day.

The bakery is about 10 minutes walk from our little crest, and the views we get in the mornings are lovely.

This time we also went to Schladming, where you find the "Planai", the famous ski slope where in Winter time the skiing races are some of the most well known in the downhill skiing circus. It is a huge complex there, I had no idea that it was so big, but it needs to be like this, because it hosts thousands and thousands of people when races are on. Even though in late Spring like now it was almost like a ghost town, eerily empty, sheep are grasing on the Planai, and you seem to hear the whispers of so many people in the wind...

On the way back we met these cows walking somewhere like little ducklings in an endless row. They were looking so chilled and happy that I am sure they went home to their comfy barn filled with  hay that already smelled like Summer, looking forward to some great dinner.

And of course lots of nice views on our way back from Schladming.

Of course Pfingsten was a great time for the kiddos too! Every day we took them for long walks, where they could swim and dash about and simply be happy kiddos. Please have a look at the next photo - I might be in the middle of it, but this is not why I posted it. Have a look at the two mad doggies swirming all about me like mad fireflies, Indy with his loony-happy face, and Dessa hopping like a crazy bunny! I was laughing out loud when I saw the photo for the first time!

Hiding in the grass. "Maybe mom gives a Leckerli when I come out again?" It is all about food for an
English Cocker.

But there also can be said a lot about people and food! This time we checked out a new Landgasthof, and we were taken very much by surprise by the size of the portions. And it was perfect quality too! We definately will come again.

We also dropped in at the "Sturm auf den Kulm", which is near our holiday home. The Kulm is the biggest natural Ski jump in the world, and like the Planai it is THE place in Winter when jumping competitions are on. Once a year in late Spring people try to RUN up (instead of JUMP DOWN in Winter) - I wonder why, there is not enough money in the world to make me join them.

After all this excitement I rather prefer to chill at the balcony in the evening with some light snack, watching the sun set and reflecting on how wonderful everything was, is and hopefully will be. Toodeloo for this time! Have a good one!