"Home"sick

Long ago, I promised you one more post to wrap up the story of our life in Vienna, but I couldn't come up with a good way to write it. I didn't want it to be over. In fact, I'm not sure that it is. No, don't have plans to pack up and move back, but the friendships we made there carry on and the place where we made those friendships took hold of my heart.

So, first a bunch of photos for your viewing pleasure and then a short story about how knitting, Vienna and the internet saved a birthday cake. Enjoy!

Our favorite chef threw a farewell party for us a week before we left Vienna.

Friends from Germany and Vienna came to see us off.

We drank good Wiener Wasser (Vienna water) and a lot of wine.

Gino was sad to be saying goodbye.
Or maybe he just wanted to be in the middle, just like Loyd.

We took a break from packing to visit Bratislava.

I took a break from packing to knit with Rita who gave me this gorgeous handspun, hand-dyed (with Chestnut) yarn.

We spent our last evening in Vienna on the Kitchen Deck, eating a wonderful meal.
This is "my" rhubarb/beet/potato soup.

Chicken skewered on cinnamon sticks with couscous.

the cheese course

Rhubarb Tart for dessert
Vielen dank, Angelika!

Fast forward a month... We've settled back into our MN home. We're loving having a dog in our life full-time again; missing Loyd was our only symptom of homesickness while we lived in Vienna. I returned to work. People keep asking, "what was the best thing?" At first I thought this was an impossible question to answer - how do I pick just one thing from a wonderful five months? Then, one time I didn't think, I just answered, "the people. I made amazing friendships there." So, if you're planning a trip to Vienna, we can give you recommendations of sites to see and things to do, but we're also going to tell you to make a reservation at theDiningRoom so you can meet one of our favorite Viennese and then I'll tell you to find a way to meet some new friends of your own.

My circle of Viennese friends keeps growing. Last week, I decided to make a Red Wine Chocolate cake like Jutta made for Curt's birthday. Yesterday was the 8th annual Leo picnic and one of my fellow Leos thought she'd really like that cake. Jutta had given us a couple of recipes in German. I tried one and it was a total failure. I had to guess at the amount of baking powder in a "packet." Instead of using my brain and mixing it like I always mix cakes, I tried to follow the vague instructions. It was AWFUL. I posted about it on my personal (mostly knitting) blog late at night, while waiting for it to cool a bit before tipping it out of the pan. By morning, there was an email waiting for me. A woman who had seen me at World Wide Knit In Public day in the Volksgarten wrote to tell me that, while she hadn't talked to me that day, she admired my yarn and found a link to my blog at Rita's website. She offered her Grandmother's recipe for the cake which I gladly accepted. She sent it and a translation, including the number of grams in her packets of baking powder (VERY helpful) and I made it late Friday night. It was a big hit at the party, especially with vanilla ice cream.

So, the answer to that question: "what was the best thing?" has become so easy. My favorite thing about Vienna is the people. IS, not was.

Budapest, Örülök, hogy megismerhetem!

we hope that's Hungarian for: Budapest, it is nice to meet you!

On the 15th, we traveled to Hungary to meet my college friends, Jon and Lina, and their daughter, Annemieke, who now live in Geneva. We arrived after a very hot, three-hour train ride from Vienna. In our compartment was a Serbian family traveling on to Belgrade. We really could not understand any of their conversations but a few things are universal: the two kids wanted whatever the other had; the other always got more than me; McDonald’s is obviously Mecca to anyone under the age of eight.

It was so hot the emus would have been running backwards and Curt turned upside down.

Our arrival in Budapest seemed to have transported us to 1890. The train station was grand yet sparse; no modern technology in sight. Although it appeared decrepit, it oddly seemed at the same time rather regal. We hiked around the area to find a bank and figure out how to exchange money. Not since March in Prague had we been in a place where the language seemed utterly unrecognizable. It is intimidating but also fun.

with a smile like that, A. didn't need to know Hungarian to get cookies from the waiters

Once we navigated the money exchanges, purchasing tickets, and a persistent beggar who had the nastiest black eye and the impression that I would be her sugardaddy, we made our way to the subway. The first leg of the trip was a visit to the former Communist days, complete with dull green paint in a somewhat classy cattle car. Cool art deco light fixtures however. We then transferred to the M2 line where we traveling to the Opera stop. This line is awesome and dare I say cute. The trains are three small cars and the stations are bright ceramic tiles with wood fixtures. Even cooler was the music playing when the car doors open and shut. Very similar to baseball organ music. No one else on the subway seemed to appreciate me yelling “Go Twins”.

public baths in City Park (next time we'll go in)

Our friends found an apartment rental service rather than getting a hotel. We met the owner who showed us to the top floor of what must have been a very grand apartment building in the 1880’s. A real Altbau. A rickety caged elevator brought us to the top floor that had a terrace overlooking the interior courtyard. Our apartment was huge with 20 foot ceilings. Beautiful wood wardrobes and endtables. The rest of the décor was rather non-existent. We had the only balcony on the exterior building which overlooked the opera and Morrison’s Music Pub. Interesting combo and we are certain more Jaegermeister swilling patrons were turned away from the pub than at the opera.

view of the Opera from our balcony

the building across the street with what appears to be damage from a war,
not typical preservation work in MN

the courtyard of our apartment building,

with sheepskins on the railing

Parliament in Pest, from Buda

lucky for us, Annemieke led us to some great sites
(like you didn't know she'd be in charge)

a tower in Buda

we almost skipped this cathedral, but were happy to go inside (good eye, Curt)
the interior is covered with art nouveau/folk art designs (I won't bore you with all the detail shots I took)

Széchenyi Lánchíd
or The Chain Bridge

the end of a concert outside Parliament

despite the heat....

you can't leave Budapest without some gulasch (served over a flame).

For those of you trying to keep track, Curt wrote the main text, Heather wrote the captions.

Warum schilaufen wir nicht?

Why aren’t we skiers?

Heather and I decided last week to do an “Austria tour” since we had the free time and there were a couple of cities we just felt needed to be discovered by us before we left. The first city was Innsbruck, which is about five hours by train from Vienna. The decision was made on Tuesday to take off the next day on the trip. That was just to prove that such uptight people can still be spontaneous.

We hopped a 6:00 a.m. train and arrived around 11:00 a.m. Having already shed the idea of spontaneity, I had made reservations at the Hotel Weissess Kreuz. The hotel first opened in the 1540’s. But more important, just like every other building in Austria, Mozart once spent the night there. They did not tell us whether we had his room. That mattered very little when I opened the windows overlooking the beautiful pedestrian zone underneath with a backdrop of the mountains. It turns out that this same setting serves as a stage for every drunk feeling the urge to sing at the top of their lungs after bar closing. Triple glazed windows really do nothing to filter that sound. But I digress.

from our window

Heather and I bussed to the edge of town to an area called Nordpark and took a series of gondolas to the top of a ski mountain. Fortunately my foot has basically healed and we were able to hike in some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable. The city looked beautiful and we could make out many of the Winter Olympic venues for which the city is famous. The hike alone made the trip worth it.

looking up

on top of the world

looking down

The old city of Innsbruck is really what one expects to see when they visit Europe. Narrow cobblestone streets, men dressed in Tyrolean hats and hiking shorts, and, my personal favorite, a store dedicated to bacon – the Speckeria. Heather pulled me away long enough to tour the palace and the palace church. The self-guided palace tour took us on the most unusual route so that we went through the same rooms a couple of times and were assured of missing much of the building. Guess they wanted to make sure the tourists didn’t get too much of a taste for the good life. The church on the other hand was simply amazing. For our friend Anthony we have dozens of pictures of the statues in armor. I personally was amazed by marble carvings done on the side of a tomb in the center of the church. We couldn’t explore in depth however as the church was closing in ten minutes.

mmm, bacon! (and men in lederhosen)

armor

We stumbled across the Gasthaus Glasmalerei – a bar and restaurant adjacent to a stained glass studio. There was an old glazed wall between the dining room and kitchen and medieval painting on one of the arches on the ceiling, but the restaurant had a modern twist. Enough about the architecture (can you tell it’s Heather writhing this paragraph?); let’s talk about the meal. Curt had said “as long as there’s meat on the menu, I’m happy” when we were deciding whether to eat here. Ironically, he chose the ravioli filled with squash and a mixed salad – a decidedly vegetarian selection. I opted for a Brazilian spiced dish with mixed vegetables and pork in an outstanding sauce, with a side of rice. After devouring our delicious mains, we agreed that we needed to try the desserts. Curt valiantly took the Cinnamon Parfait with poached apples. It turned out that parfait meant frozen (but not exactly ice cream), not the panna cotta we were both hoping for. I got the hot, cinnamon-sugar coated donut holes with roasted plum sauce. To. Die. For. If you are ever in Innsbruck, find your way to Glasmalereistraße 5. You’ll find yourself in a place where locals meet for a comfortable post-work drink, the staff is outstanding – making every guest feel special, and the food does not disappoint.


It never ceases to amaze me how removed we can be from the country in which we have been living for four months now. Turns out that Thursday was a pretty significant religious holiday – Corpus Christi – of which we were completely unaware. Most businesses in the country were shut down. Fortunately, the trains were still running and hotels were open. That made the decision to leave the next morning much easier since we couldn’t visit any museums. However, Heather got up early to walk around town and came across a procession from the cathedral. The pictures are great which is all I saw. We then jumped the train for our second destination – the city of Graz.

here comes a parade! (so I followed them)

Not everyone was on time for this event

That's a lot of priests!

Graz is six hours by train from Innsbruck. That should tell you we had some time on our hands for this trip. Actually I felt as though the train trip went very fast. We went through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. The route was basically along most of Austria’s major ski areas, so valleys and mountains nearly the entire trip. It was the one time I was almost sorry to get off a train. But six hours was enough.

We booked ourselves into the Hotel Daniel. I still chuckle as it bills itself as a lifestyle hotel. Don’t get me wrong, the hotel is pretty nice and chic modern. But three problems: it is next to the train station, next to a 24-hour porn cinema, and, the most damning fault, our tv did not work in the first room we had. Obviously, they weren’t too concerned about my lifestyle.

Graz has a beautiful old city from the Middle Ages juxtaposed with some modernist architecture to give it a vibrant feel. You could tell that the city had power and wealth in its past. As I said earlier, it was Corpus Christi so not a lot was open. Heather and I took the city in by foot and really enjoyed ourselves. And then we took in a micro-brew restaurant and the trip was complete. The next morning we were back on the train for a much shorter trip home.

steps we did not take to the top

view of old rooftops

modern art

wir sind wieder da

We're back.

Sorry we've been away so long. We were busy playing tour guide which is more fun than writing about the latest repeat episode of "Silent Witness." Or reading about it; trust me on that. So, today we bring you sites and activities checked off our "to visit" list, thanks to our enthusiastic guests.

Suzi and Michael, representing our Supper (cooking) Club, arrived late on a Thursday evening bearing gifts: a care package from Diana and an empty suitcase.

Yarn, for the knitting obsessed, and cookies

We got them checked into the hotel, with only minor confusion at the airport's S-bahn ticket vending machine. Fortunately, they didn't take our inept screen punching as a sign of our tour-guiding abilities and stuck with us for the whole week. We set out from the hotel in search of dinner and Curt guided us to 7Stern Bräu where we enjoyed beer (including one that smelled like smoked gouda) and traditional Austrian fare in a great courtyard.

Saturday, Curt dutifully went to class and aced his mid-term. I led Suzi and Michael on a walking tour of the Inner Stadt. We climbed the spire at St. Stephen's (my second time, how does Curt keep getting out of it?) and had lunch at a great little place whose name translates as "the Pretzel Vault." Later that evening, we met in the Stadtpark for a stroll and then headed to Plachutta for dinner. Many locals advised us that we absolutely had to take our foodie friends there. I think it lived up to the hype, though Curt might have found there to be too many tourists dining around us. We chuckled at the apparently 10-year-old sommelier, but couldn't find fault with his skills.

Sunday was the Vienna Marathon. None of us wanted to be in town for that so we met early at the boat landing to catch the ferry to Bratislava. All the boats for the day were booked. Plan B! We decided to take the train to Melk instead. Suzi had been there before, but didn't mind a return visit. My favorite part was the monastery's library. Or was it the cream sauce on my pasta with salmon at lunch, accompanied by a wine "from prehistoric rock"? Either way, a great outing.

Tour Guide Curt

happy tourists

the view from the monastery
(it didn't seem so hazy)

We returned by train to a stop near the apartment and strolled through the neighborhood, gave a tour of the apartment, drank a bottle of wine, ate some pastries from our favorite bakery... (and I finished a sock I was knitting). After relaxing awhile we decided we were hungry. Well, I wasn't after the 4 portions-worth of pasta I ate for lunch, but everyone else was so we set out for our favorite pizza place. It was closed, the menu gone from the case, and no note on the door. I feared the worst, but announced again, "PLAN B!" We headed to another pizza place on the other side of our apartment. It turned out to be an excellent back-up, and they brought us "schnapps" after we finished up. Suzi and I were handed Amaretto and Curt and Michael received Grappa. Despite nothing going according to plan (or maybe because of it), it was another fantastic day.

Monday, we took advantage of half-price day at Kunst Haus Wien and turned it into a Hundertwasser day. We toured the museum, bought souvenirs (Hundertwasser yarn and sock pattern for me), and had coffee in the courtyard.

the tables get the guests into the spirit of the place

This hot dog outside Hundertwasser Haus inspired us to get lunch at a Wurst stand

The shadows on the tower/chimney at the heating plant reminds me of the colors cast on Curt's lap by the table

Monday night, we went to the Stadt Oper. Our cheap seats didn't allow us to see all (or much) of the stage, but the music was outstanding. I went in hoping to defend the architects so distressed by the critics that one committed suicide and the other suffered a fatal heart attack just before the building opened. I think the critics were overly harsh or the architects were overly sensitive, but they did miss the mark a few times. It's an impressive building with some amazing frescoes, particularly on the loggia, but the entrance procession felt clumsy to me and the proportions in the music hall itself seemed off. Maybe I was more interested in wavy floors and tree tenants that day, though.

The Belvedere

Tuesday, we met at the Belvedere to visit the Klimts. You really can't visit Vienna without seeing The Kiss in person, can you? We all selected other paintings as our favorites, but didn't regret the pilgrimage. Salm Bräu, just outside the Lower Belvedere entrance fortified us for some more site seeing. Curt and I planned to send Suzi and Michael to the Schatzkammer, but found it closed on Tuesdays so the four of us headed to the State Hall at the National Library instead. Two baroque libraries in three days; I swooned. We headed to Demel for treats. We stopped at the hotel to pick up the empty suitcase and headed back to the 13th for a light dinner at the Wein Hutt'n. After seeing our guests safely to the U-bahn station, we set to work stuffing that suitcase with winter clothes and books we've finished, but don't want to abandon.

Wednesday, we wandered through the Naschmarkt where I learned that photographing the flowers is frowned upon but everything else appeared to be ok.

olives stuffed with pistachios

I have no explanation for why we didn't buy any

We went to Wein & Co. for the last required souvenirs, but the prices at the wine bar portion kept us from lunching there (plus, it was only 10:30). We dropped off the heavy stuff and headed to the Prater, took a ride on the Riesenrad and had a nice lunch. Suzi and I had the risotto with green and white asparagus. Yes, I chose an asparagus dish. Pick yourself off the floor, Mom & Dad; maybe I'm not "adopted" after all. Suzi and Michael toured the Schatzkammer while Curt and I wandered around. Then, we headed to Schönbrunn for a stroll through the (much greener) gardens before dinner where Curt and Suzi could have shared the spare ribs, but opted for their own platters.

before

after

Whew! You think that was a long post? Imagine if I'd remembered EVERYthing we did!
Thanks for a great week, H's!

Spoiled by Old Friends

Later that same day...
My friend Jutta picked us up and brought us to the apartment she shares with her boyfriend Bernhard. Jutta and I have known each other since the fall of 1988 when we were on the same student exchange program. It never ceases to amaze me that we have remained friends for 18 years. Heather and I met Bernhard when they came for our wedding. However, when the four of us were together, we felt as though all of us had been friends for 20 years. Jutta and Bernhard are so gracious and really spoiled us. Which is even more impressive since they both had to work. They still managed to keep our days full.

A special treat was that the day we arrived was my birthday. To celebrate, Jutta and Bernhard introduced us to the Plan A/Plan B concept. The idea is to bring Curt and Heather to a local restaurant/pub that has been highly recommended, find out it is closed or full and then bring them to another that is equally as good. We did that each night. Our first plan B restaurant was a great brew pub. Bernhard was quite impressive in snagging the last available table. After finishing dinner, we went back to the apartment and to my surprise, Jutta and Bernhard emerged from the kitchen with a homemade birthday cake. Red wine and chocolate flavored. It was awesome. As was the birthday song in which my wife joined.

Curt blows out the candles, thinking, "I already got my wish...."

Plan B on the second night involved hiking up a hill to a restaurant with a beautiful view of valley outside Stuttgart only to find out it had yet to open for the season. The view was nonetheless worth the hike. That allowed us to take a scenic cross country drive to a Besen. You must remember that we were in wine-growing country. German law allows the vintners to open their homes for several weeks of the year in order to sell the previous year’s wine to make room for the incoming yield. They usually have a small menu with farm food specialties. They are often aptly named such as “the slaughter plate.” The term Besen means broom as in what you sweep your floor with. A broom is tied up above the front door or on a pole in front of the house to signify that it is open. (This one had a very friendly dog, too; a big bonus for Heather.) Again, what a great night.

The next day was Friday and Heather and I originally planned to return to Vienna. However, Jutta’s parents called her from their vacation and insisted that Heather and I stay for the weekend so they could see us. Plus, her father wanted us to stay in a place bigger than Jutta’s apartment, which he considered tiny and unsuitable for hosting. It is not.

great hosts

Remember when I said Jutta and Bernhard are amazing hosts? Some of that definitely comes from Jutta’s parents. Jutta’s father is the mayor of the small but picturesque town Murr, which is a far out suburb of Stuttgart. He is also a member of the state legislature. His graciousness makes it little wonder that he has been reelected mayor with little problem for thirty years. Jutta’s mother is the perfect hostess. She is quick with a smile, a laugh the fills the room, a cute propensity to maybe break one or two little rules, and the world’s sharpest elbows should you try paying the bill. They are my second family in Germany. I honestly cannot go visit my former family from my exchange without also going to Murr.

Upon arrival in Murr, we had what I think was a five course breakfast. Pants already tight from four days in Ottenheim got a little more snug. After that, Jutta’s father had to go fire the starting pistol to begin the local half –marathon. He would meet us that afternoon as the rest of us went to Schwäbish Hall, a beautiful city with much of its Middle Ages charm still intact. We toured for the day until the boss met us to bring us for dinner. The surprise was is that Jutta’s mother has a Mercedes convertible that is great for driving on a sunny day over the winding country roads. Heather did not pass up the opportunity to ride shotgun. As a passenger in the car behind, all I could see for the next hour was a mass of Heather’s hair blowing in the wind and an occasional glimpse of her beaming grim. Possible ideas for our future car?

from the cathedral at Schwäbish Hall

toward the cathedral (on the right)

Now, no tour of Murr is complete without the Burgermeister’s (mayor) Tour. I have received it several times but it changes each time. One gets to see picturesque vineyards, the historical church and first homes, and of course, city hall. This is the mayor’s pride and joy. But this tour was the best as he was bringing through an American architect. It was truly a treat to watch him with obvious pride show Heather the little details that went into the design. Unfortunately, the tour was cut short as we had our train back to Vienna to catch.
But one does not leave Murr empty handed. Two bottles of locally produced red wine (which is absolutely fabulous. I’m not making that up. Heather and I are trying to see if there is a way to order it off the internet), a book from the art gallery we visited, the books on the history of Murr, my birthday present, candy, and a computer printer (I don’t know where to begin so I won’t explain other than to say Jutta and Bernhard are very generous). In addition to the beautiful presents from Ottos, Heather and I headed back to Vienna with several more bags than with which we left.

Yes, we were spoiled rotten by our friends in Germany.