Having "Me" Time

Tonight, I end my series on Vienna.  There are many things I have yet to write about but if I were to write about everything, then you'll be reading about Vienna for a couple more years.  Entire books can be written about this remarkable city.  This city of art, history, love, culinary delight and wars.  So with much heardache but a growling stomach I leave you tonight with a Viennese favorite since 1832: the Sachertorte . As you probably know, I have a particular fondness for all things chocolate. Dark chocolate. The Sachertorte is a chocolate cake unlike chocolate elsewhere.  First of all, its not spongey, soft or fluffy.  It's a rich dark heavy chocolatey cake that is best served with a dollop of freshly beaten fresh cream.   Best suited for those who like things with a bite.  I do.   I wish I had one right now but helas no one I know is returning from Vienna.   I'm tempted to order online but there is a high risk th...

Here's a light story to start off the week and welcome March!  February is just saying farewell after a mere 28 days.  Don't you love it?  For those who look forward to getting their salary, this is a great month :) It comes early :)  The story I want to tell today is a true story that you should all take note when you visit Vienna or any other German speaking country.  It's about two very simple yet very important words:  Herren, Damen . I remember this like it was yesterday.  I was sitting at Central cafe with a group of friends I had just taken for a walk around the Stephansdom and the Hofburg.  We were tired and what better place to rest than at Central cafe.  We ordered hot chocolate, coffee, and apple strudel. While waiting one of my friends had to go for natured called.  I waved her towards the bathroom and didn't think much about it.  It was just behind the painting and easy to find.  The rest of us sat...

I love food, I love markets, I love going grocery shopping.  The variety of produces that now abound in our supermarkets (as a result of trade) is heaven.  There is everything you could possibly want but nothing beats going to an open air market.  Europe has a culture of these markets and if you love markets, in Vienna you must surely go to the Naschmarkt.  Naschmarkt is one of the most popular market and stretches out roughly 1.5km along the Wienzeile.  It's a long walk, but you won't feel a thing being absorbed with all the produces that buildings that surround the area.  If you are an art nouveau fan like I am, you can combine the trip to the market with a visit to the Secession Building and the Wagner Apartments .  The Secession building was designed in the "Jugendstil style" and has a motto on the facade which translated says "To every Age its Art, to Art its Freedom." I am drawn to this windowless whi...

There's a church in Vienna that is often not on the list of sights to visit for tourists who have limited time in the capital, but one I'm glad I visited.  Karlskirche .  I passed by it often on the way here and there around Vienna and one day I said, I must go.  It looks like a place worth visiting and it was. This church dates from the time of the bubonic plague that devasted most of europe.  It's name Karlskirche because Emperor Karl VI vowed he would build a church to St. Charles Borromeo (who is apparently patron saint of the plague) when the plague ended.   The architect, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach won the design competition and the church was built in a rich Baroque architecture.  Its no wonder.  He was also the architect of Schoenbrunn and that too was Baroque. Going offtrack for a moment, I love the fact that the Austrians had design competitions hundreds of years ago.  The result...

If you want to see a palace that looks like those in fairy tales where princesses and princes roam about in beautiful buildings and halls, then walk around in their fancy dress in a majestically beautiful garden, I say go to Schonbrunn Palace.  This is one of my favorite sites in Vienna.  Schonbrunn was the summer residence of the imperial family and dates back to 1695.  The palace itself was commissioned since then, but it wasn't completed until 1730.  It has lived through wars and seen deaths.  It was Napoleon's headquarters from 1805 to 1809 and it was here that Emperor Franz Josef died.  It was also here that Emperor Karl I abdicated from the throne in 1918. History came and passed by here.  In the olden days, this must have been considered far for the Viennese and outside of the city.  I imagine carriage trips through fields and hills, but now the city has grown and it is easily accessible by bus and underground.  A su...

Imperial Vienna is a city that is rich, very rich in both history and culture.  Just visit the Hofburg or the Imperial Palace and you will understand what I mean.  The palace is a complex comprising 10 or more buildings and is reflective of the six centuries of Austrian rule.  Now, most of it has been converted into museums whilst part of it has been turned into the President's office.  Lucky him to be working in such a beautiful building. I don't know where to start, there's the Albertina Museum which houses one end of the complex and is home to one of the world's finest collections of watercolours, prints and drawings.  There, I saw breathtaking peices by Durer, Rubens, and Michelangelo to name a few.  I was also lucky enough to be there during the Munch exhibition an got to see some of the most famous works, "The Scream."  If you are bored of the prints or they aren't really your taste, you can also walk around some of the newly renovat...

Amidst the boxes I'm happy I finally found my box of photo CDs.  I'm delighted the DVD reader reads them well and the photographs are still there after almost a decade.  I shall have to back them up.  With digital cameras, I take more pictures but print less and then end up losing some when my harddisk crashes. Technology.  Looking through my Vienna photos, I am reminded of the coffee culture there.  There are cafes or "Kaffeehaus"  on almost every road.  Each with their own atmosphere and their own unique style.  Stories abound as to how it all started.  Some say when the Turks were defeated in 1683 they left bags of coffee,  hence started the coffee culture in Vienna.  Fascinating.  Now coffee is known worldwide. I have two favorites in Vienna.  Cafe Demel and Cafe Central .  Demel is wonderfully beautiful and dates from 1786.  The Hofburg towers above the small road from Demel at Karntnerstra...

It's the weekend and we all must dine.  I love long weekends where I have the time to meet friends, hang out and just enjoy eating good food.  Life is great at this point.  When we travel, we also must eat good food.  For me, travel and good food go hand in hand.  To experience a culture fully, you must eat the food they eat and enjoy the entire experience.  One of my favorite restaurants in Vienna which is frequented by both locals and visitors is the "Figlmueller." Opened since 1905, at Figlmueller you can have one of the most famous "Schnitzel" in Vienna.  I drool just thinking about it.  What is this weird sounding food called "schnitzel"?  It is basically pork tenderloin which has been pounded until very thin.  It is then put into a batter and topped with breadcrumbs before being fried.  It's served with salad and potatoes. You can have schnitzel almost everywhere in Vienna, but what makes Figlmueller so...

If you've been to the Stephansdom, you've been to Vienna.  It's located at the centre of city and is a landmark you cannot and shouldn't miss. Not ever.  Some liken it to the "soul" of Vienna and I must say I agree.  It is to Vienna like what the Eiffel Tower is Paris.  It is a symbol that once you see it, you know that you have arrived in Vienna. My first impression of this awe-inspiring Cathedral is implanted firmly in my mind as if I had first seen it yesterday.  (Actually, its been a good couple of years).  As in any european city, the tourist spot is almost always at the old town square.  The ones in France and Belgium had their own characteristics with buildings around a square as did the ones in Italy.  Vienna was different. The State Opera House was my start and from there I walked down Karntner Strasse.  It was a beautiful wide cobbled stone road.  Cars are forbidden in this pedestrian area and large beautiful...

My virtual trip to Vienna is starting, and I have to admit that I too am excited about it.  It makes my heart beat faster and my face smile.  Like every trip, its the anticipation that gives us the most joy.  The first area one must visit while in Austria is definitely the old town.  Most of the action happens here and almost everything worth noting is around the this district number 1 (Vienna has 23 districts).  The old town is the centre of Vienna and everything else revolves around it.  I spent a good few months wandering around the area, taking buses, trams and doing a walking tour of the place.  Only by foot can you really learn about a city.  Learn its streets and see its culture.  My recommendation for everyone's first visit is to head towards the Ringstrasse before walking through the Old Town.  It gives you an idea and orients you about the city.  What is it?  The Ringstrasse is a circular bouleva...

What better month to start my virtual trip to Austria than in the month of love?  Amongst the number of european cities I've visited, for me Vienna, Austria was by far the most romantic city of all.  Even more romantic than Paris.  You could wonder if it perhaps depended on whom I went on the trip with? My answer is no.  These were cities I went around exploring on my own and cities I grew in love with.  Don't get me wrong, I love Paris, but somehow I love Vienna more.  It's one of those things you just don't know why, but you do. To understand a city, one must first know a little of its history so here's a brief primer.  Originating as a Celtic settlement before turning into a major trading center under the Babenberg dynasty, the city became the Imperial city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  The empire ruled from the 13th century to the 18th century and spread from modern day Italy to Russia and even encompassed Bosnia.  Thr...