Austria

Wein (Vienna) Austria 9/13

Last night we arrived and it got way to easy. A quick cab ride and we landed right at the Pension Susanne, where we stayed last time and they had us checked in in less than 3 minutes... Not into a room, but into a 3 room suite, including a kitchen! I will finish this soon. I have to run the laptop a block away where I have struck a deal with a computer store owner to let us plug it in... Compuserve SUCKS, we just can't get on and most internet cafes won't let us plug our laptop into their network.

Seen on a Plate Today: If you vegetarians out there have been squeamish about the last few "Seen on a Plate" installments, you might want to skip today's entry. :) The Austrians are serious carnivores, and as they say, "When in Austria..." (I'll get that right next week). Yesterday, because we needed change for the tram, we patronized on of the many street vendors so popular in Europe. We decided to try the Hiesse Wurst, what the heck, it looked like a hot dog, a 14" hot dog! The vendor takes out a fresh sourdough roll, a 12" fresh roll, and cuts off 3". She then inverts both halves and stuffs them onto hot spikes, toasting them from the inside! After a minute, she pulls them off, squirts a bunch of mustard and catsup inside and stuffs the Hiesse Wurst into the long end and caps the top with the small piece of bread. Sorry I didn't take a picture, it was pretty funny looking. Speaking of which, last night's dinner was at the famous Figglműller, home of Wein's most famous weinerschnitzel! No, it isn't a hot dog/sausage like thing, it is a lightly breaded piece of veal [about 1/4" thick, at most] and it is served with a large wedge of lemon and a great salad. It was actually bigger that the plate and delicious! Jane has had a salad almost every meal, certainly every day, and says that was the best one by far!

Wein (Vienna) Austria 9/14
Seen on a Plate Today: Plum Strűddle, jalape�o stuffed with cream cheese, baked eggplant, babaganuch (sp?) wrapped in a grape leaf, carrot falafel, sea bass with onions, corn, olive, carrot sort of relish in a vinegar base, cappuccino, fresh squeezed OJ, Austrian beer, Sauza Tequila, Guacamole with olives in it -to weird for me, but after a few tries, it liked it... then a nap.... This evening we followed the recommendation of someone we met on the street and it was a great idea because the dinner was great and they showed up and made it a delightful evening... First on the plate was an appetizer of Tuscan Spinach balls with shrimp inside, served cold and laid out on a bed of lightly vinegared red cabbage. Jane had stuffed peppers and chicken satt� and I ordered a fillet with a sauce of sour cream, peppercorns and cognac [Steak Dianne?] It was tender enough to cut with a fork and outstanding! Desert was crepes filled with marzipan & chestnuts, covered in boysenberries and raspberries served with Viennese Vanilla ice cream, need I say more? Oh, I may have forgotten to mention, Austrian wine and coffee.....

Went to the Nachtsmarket this morning. Must be at least 100 vendors selling everything from fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. Among the more interesting ones was Gegenbaur Vinegars. She made about 40 varieties ranging from boysenberry [2 year old] to 8 year old Balsamic -made with a number of berries, that was absolutely delicious! She had a small bottle with an eye dropper and she puts a drop on the back of your hand for you to lick off... There, among the vendors of regular sized fruits, was one who had a squash that deserved a role on "Austria's Funniest Vegetables". Then, vying for the Italofile's attention were many vendors with 30 cheeses, 20 olives a dozen types of bread and fresh pastas.... Most of who had at least 200 bottles of wine to sell as well.... This particular guy had a nice display of raviolis & tortellinis,. All these vendors were spread over about 2 blocks below which was another two blocks of swap-meet / flea-market booths. We succumbed to several of the food vendors, a cafe`, a beer garden and then came across a Mexican 4 piece band, in full costume and landed at a table with some locals for a Tequila, a beer and a plate of food. [see above for details]
	How funny or appropriate is this, the building above is the seat of government and is known as the Rathause!! It in, nonetheless, a lovely building with flowers at most windows...	The easiest transportation in the tram. It comes in 2 flavors, this is the modern version. [left] And the old one....
This evening we took the U [subway] to an island in the middle of the Danube. I love getting around here, the subway station is literally a 2 minute walk and the island was a 10 minute ride away... Anyway, we went for a stroll along the blue Danube, then across the foot bridge in this picture to the other shore and back into town. Then we wandered around what looks to be Vienna's largest park, Stad Park, which, as one would expect, is littered with statuary. Here is one of Vienna's many prodigal sons, Johann Strauss. [left] ...and another one, Franz Schubert [right]		After the Nachtsmarket this morning we ran into an affable fellow who offered us some good sightseeing and dining tips. This evening we took up his recommendation on a restaurant and 40 minutes after settling in there he and his wife showed up and joined us. We spent hours eating, chatting and making new friends we will, unfortunately, never see again..... ~see above for the details...
I've tried but, given up trying to get a good picture of St. Stephan's Cathedral. It is simply to large to fit in a single frame...		Last dinner in Vienna....

Wein (Vienna) Austria 9/15
Seen on a Plate Today: Ravioli with mushroom, cheese sauce, salad, minestrone, Weinerschnitzel, roast pork, potato dumplings and sauerkraut.

Salzburg Austria 9/16
Seen on a plate today: Croissants, soft-boiled eggs for breakfast in Vienna, then then some 250 miles later in Salzburg lunch at a 297 year old restaurant and their house specialty is omelets with ham and local cheeses.

We are staying about 1/2 block from Austria's most beautiful and acoustically perfect opera house, the Staatsoper	Great minds... Goethe	Great minds, the sequel, Mozart....
Our new best friend, Neco... with Jane wearing her new silk scarf with Klimpt's Kiss on it.	The Splendid Belvedere	Video screen in subway, these people never miss a chance to merchandise. I wonder where they learned that?!?
	Karl's Church 1712

Our little hotel, the Blue Goose, is on a prime shopping street in the "old city" area of Salzburg...	The original church built on this site was dedicated in 774. This church, simply named Dom, as best we can figure out, was built to replace the original after a fire, and opened in 1626. On 10/16/1944 an Arial bomb destroyed the dome which was rebuilt and the church finally reopened in 1959.	View of Salzburg from high atop the Festung Hohensalzburg, the castle / fort, above the city...
		See the castle / fort top center in background
We lunched today at Caf� Tomaselli, happily serving food since 1705!	Apple strudel and espressos, the perfect excuse for a mid-sightseeing stop....