We got up fairly early that morning as we had planned to got to Vienna with our personnal guide, Andrea. After having had a few coffees in Bad Fischau - you'll read why "only coffee" a bit later - Pinki drove us into town and dropped us off - poor guy had to work - at the Staatsoper. The weather was a bit grim and quite cold, but we didn't care. At least, it wasn't raining! From there, we went down the Kärntnerstrasse (Vienna's Champs Elysées) and stopped by the Sky Café (evenings, also an excellent restaurant and bar) for a nice, warm Apfelstrudel and coffee, which by the way is why we had postponed breakfast. We had a nice chat and enjoyed the view over the roofs of Vienna.
Then we strolled up towards the Stephansdom savouring the beauty of the architecture along the way.
Quite amazing building that Stephansdom. I've seen many cathedrals and must admit that it was really one worth seeing. Unfortunately, we came in just as a Mess began, and had to stay at the back.
We then walked along the Graben , stopped by Julius Meinl, a grocery store of the superlative where you can buy their own roasted coffee and other delicatessen. I couldn't resist and dragged Orange-X and Andrea in. My mouth watered while going through the well kept and groomed store, but I could hardly get a grip on Orange when we passed the meat department. He almost fainted! Even though I had a bit of resistance from Orange's part - I managed to pay for the few "food souvenirs" we had bought and get out of the shop again. We walked throught the small alleys and ended up in front of the Hofburg Imperial palace, which has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, and currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria.
I guess it was at that poit that we got hungry and instead of a fancy restaurant, opted for something you can't just get anywhere: Trzesniewski's (pronounced Tschesnjevski)-the best small open-face sandwiches I ever had in my life! They're a bit more than twice the size of canapés, but make a great fingerfood. Their recipe goes back to 1902, and I noticed that they use a touch of horseradish in there. Ususally, one drinks a so called "Pfiff", an eighth of a beer. Nice for women who enjoy just a sip and not a whole glass. See the comparison yourself.
Isn't that a cute little beer Andrea is holding? Yummy!!!
Well folks, having written about all this wonderful food... I'm starving and will tell you more tomorrow.
PS: Too hungry to do a spell check. Hope I don't have too many typos in there! ;)
10 comments:
Yummy and delightful. Ah - I am missing Europe so much, but the plans to get there anytime soon aren't happening fast enough. Thanks for sharing, now I must get some food too. Funny enough...
hey my friends in switzerland! now i know exactly, what you did while i was working ;-)
i really like to read your "report" and i´m so happy, that you both enjoyed austria! and you had great luck with the weather: since you left, it´s raining in and around vienna!!!
love from bad fischau - pinki
Ahhh - I saw an article in Stern magazine a few weeks ago about those wonderful sandwiches from Trzesniewski's! Lucky you.
Can you believe that my dad is Austrian and I've never been to Vienna?
Then I highly recommend going if you have a chance. I'm sure The kids will love it too - especially if you plan a day at the recreation park.
Wow! If you're drinking a Pfiff in that picture, then I'd like to see the full-sized beer! Plus, who's that woman in the background giving you the "stink-eye"?
Are you aware that Vienna is requiring dog caretakers to buy liability insurance? I find this anti-dog action highly offensive. It has led me and my ministry to boycott Austria. I hope that you will join us in this civil-rights initiative.
Best regards,
Mugsy
Supreme Ayatollah
Pug Life Ministries
TBF - Andrea (the dark haired girl beside me) is drinking a Pfiff, I'm having the normal 3dl beer! Don't know the stink-eye. Should I "erase" her? She is disturbing the atmosphere, isn't she?!!
Dear Mugsy - That is you right. For my part, I will definitely return to Austria. I have friends there (and they have a dog!!).
Surely, you will agree with me that not all dog owners deserve pets at all, because they have no respect for our four legged friends and mistreat or misuse them for their own sick purposes.
You are welcome to visit and place your comments my blogspot. However, I would appreciate if you would refrain from placing any further "boycott" initiatives on this blog. Further comments of this sort will be deleted. Thank you.
I finally had time to read your reports on Your Vienna visit,I am quite impressed,I am very happy that who both had a good time,your friends seems to be extremly nice.Happy new year to both of you and hopefully see you soon in your home country.
I find Mugsy's comments rather odd. From what I've read, Austria seems to be one of the most pro-animal countries in Europe, banning "invisible" fences, cropping of ears, docking of tails, declawing, etc., etc. I did notice in Vienna that certain dogs are required to be muzzled in public (i.e. on the tram). However, that rule is also ultimately animal-friendly because it prevents an animal from biting a person and having to be put down due to being overly aggressive.
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