Breakfast at the Point of Sale (POS)

My friend Christina showed me the place, and I liked it instantly. They serve all kinds of breakfast there until the afternoon (e.g. Mexican, Vegan, Zen, Greek breakfast a.s.o), and they offer lots of other specialities there, mainly with an oriental and mediterranian touch. (Thank you for taking me there, Chrissy!) So this Saturday morning, on a rather cool Autumn day that gives you an idea of the upcoming cold season and places a little chill into your heart, we decided to give the menue there a go!

It is very close to the Naschmarkt, but with just that little bit of a distance that makes it less crowded. The few tourists that discover it are happy to get out of the crazy masses of people, the inhabitants rejoice in the feeling that they know about this little hideaway so close to the action.

We were lucky and got a corner table with the most comfortable sofas, but that was by accident because somebody just left. I definately recommend to book a table if you want to go there on a Saturday late morning, because every body else will feel like breakfast/brunch too. (http://www.thepointofsale.at/)

Most of the tables were full or booked shortly or people just had left. But the atmosphere still was relaxed almost like in my favorite diner in NYC, when we went there on a typical Sunday early morning.

The POS is not very big, but the menue offers so many things and the staff is lovely.

And watch out, here comes the food.... The upper plate is the American breakfast (with bacon, pancakes, blueberries, etc) and the lower plate is the Italian breakfast with prosciutto crudo, eggs, rucola.... Yum! Fresh Orange juice and tea completes the feast, and let me tell you, that our tummies were filled quite well afterwards!

Then a quick hop into Bobby´s Food Store, which is right across the street and offers a wide selection of all kinds of English and American food. I am hooked on some of the stuff since I visited the UK so often that they started saying "Welcome home" at the Immigrant´s office at Heathrow to me and then more or less lived in the US businesswise. So I definately appreciate the endless supply of Reese´s Peanutbutter cups and cherry coke!

 

We discovered www.Suessi.at this time, a tiny and lovely Café de thé just around the corner, where I bet they bake everything themselves and even serve High Tea in a tiny adjacent room! So cool!

 

 

Then we strolled over the Naschmarkt, where I took the opportunity to stock up my supply of Wasabi and Red bean paste. The market stands are full of fruit, veggies and all kinds of specialities, but the crowds are nerve-wrecking, especially on a Saturday lunch time, when the weather is not so good.

 

But still there you get some of the freshest, most mouth-watering specialities of the whole town (but be careful, it is kind of a tourist-trap too, the further from a tube station you are, the more decent the price).

 



 

All kinds of little titbits, fruit and "spices from the Indies"......

 

Afterwards we went home, leaving the masses of people behind and went for a walk with the kiddos.

Fall is good.....

 

 

 

Schloß Schönbrunn

This past Summer holiday we stayed in the Vienna area for a while and went on some (for us) unusual short trips. One of them was a visit to Schloß Schönbrunn, some of the spots you never seem to go to when you live only a short distance away, even though every visitor of Vienna would call you completely mad. So many sayings to describe that phenomenon: The grass is always greener somewhere else, you never go to the pub around the corner ..... - and you almost never visit the sights of your own capital.

So okay, this time we wanted to do something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT and went to explore our own city. It was a blazing hot day when we set off, there was almost not a cloud in the sky, not a single breeze cooling us down, in other words it was one of these glorious days of Summer you can hardly bear when they have arrived, but miss terribly when they are gone.

All of you know Schönbrunn Castle or at least have heard of it, the Internet is full of information, so actually there is not a lot more I can tell you. Yes, it is very impressive, especially when you come in the Summer time with all the flowers in the gardens blooming; yes, it is still our tourist attraction number one; and yes, do come when you got the chance. It is a must-see, especially for a first time in Vienna. Oh, and in case you want to know: The Emperor is not home.....

From the palace you can walk through the palace back garden straight up to the Gloriette. I just want to give you some impression of the whole place, my plan is not to lecture you on history, so let me tell you that nowadays up inside the Gloriette building there is a great little coffeehouse, where you can enjoy the view over Vienna with some Apfelstrudel or Kaiserschmarrn and a Melange.

The Neptunbrunnen is great! We spend there quite a while and took lots of pictures. It was finished shortly before the death of Empress Maria Theresia (okay, I could not hold back, it just popped out of me, sorry about that) and now is definately one of the highlights in the gardens of Schloß Schönbrunn.

Of course some posing came with it too. I love this shot because of the background - it is a little bit vague, but you can tell that there is something great in the back, the water cascading down, the monuments as if they were alive....

Our master photographer at work! Amazing how much time and effort it takes to make really good photos even of such a beautiful place, but it is definately worth it. Thanks for doing such an excellent job, hon!

This one was shot from behind the Neptunbrunnen, a place a little bit hidden. Just walk up toward the Gloriette and make a left (or a right when you come from the other side) shortly before you completely pass the fountain. There you go....

This is my favorite photo from behind, with the horse as if it was actually in motion, bending towards the castle, frozen in the middle of the jump. It has seen the end of the monarchy, and I wonder what else it will see before it decays. Maybe the sky burning to ashes when time comes to an end...

This is the view you get from up at the Gloriette. It was absolutely boiling when we were there, and we forgot to bring a bottle of water (hey, this is just Schönbrunn, so why should we bring water??), so what a bliss to find the coffeeplace.

There are many more beautiful things to see, some of them almost hidden in the huge grounds of the palace, but we had enough and strolled through the wonderfully shady alleys back to the Hitzing entrance of Schönbrunn (which is not the main entrance of the area, step off at U4 Hietzing not Schönbrunn and walk like five minutes, you cannot miss it).

This is my favorite fountain, but unfortunately I don´t know the name of it. Maybe you know? It just seems to be there as if some emperor had said, "no big deal, it is pretty, so lets keep it, but it does not need a name". But probably it has got a name - they named everything back then!

Little rose gardens everywhere, and the roses smelled beautifully. We just were a little bit too late in the year, the buds were all open and would start wilting in a short time. (Mental note: come back earlier next year.) Still it was wonderful wandering through the blooming gardens.

This is the main alley. If you step on it after you entered the Hietzing entrance of Schönbrunn you can follow it straight up to the palace. Still it is a nice, cool walk when the sun is out and the heat is on!

This is the Palmenhaus, the glasshouse of Schönbrunn, that was built sometime around 1880. I am told that it still is the third biggest on the continent. They renovate it constantly, so it is in very good shape, and I recommend visiting it if you got the time and are at least just a little bit fond of tropical plants.

Walking back to the Hietzing entrance, not on the main alley but on one of the little side lanes, you will get this view. In front another one of the gardens, the Palmenhaus would be on the left, and straight ahead of you you can see the little steeple of the church of Hietzing. This marks the one end of the grounds of Schönbrunn. We were really hot and really tired and all we could think about was that we had had a beautiful walk and that all we wanted now was to go home and jump into the pool.

But of course one must eat, right? So this is the place where you can get the best Döner and the best Dürüm anywhere around Schönbrunn Castle, right before you hop onto the tube that will take you home. I am not so sure if Sisi would have liked it though....