Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Hiccup count
Good day today, and Tanya had a lot of hiccups. Some thanks to Stefan and Christa who since they found out about the hiccup count, have alerted me to hiccups I might have otherwise missed. 182.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Beer and Wine and you’ll feel fine
What an amazing day. Second day in Vienna and we went out in to the countryside just around Vienna. When I say we it is Tanya and I plus Stefan and Christa, who are two Austrian friends that lived in Adelaide a while ago, plus their 3 month old daughter. We all went in the one car which was snug shall we say, but definitely not uncomfortable. We headed out to visit the wine region which has been around since Roman times. On the way there was the castle that Richard the Lionheart was taken hostage in the 12th century. It is now a ruin but the view above the Danube with the hills in the background was stunning.
A little on from that we stopped at our first winery. As it was about 3pm we ordered what we thought would be a little plate of food, but I should know now that people in this part of the world don’t do small plates of food. It was only slices of meats and cheeses with bread but it was so good, and too much for Tanya to finish which is saying something. 
The surroundings were idyllic, sitting outside under a large tree with flower gardens only a few metres away, and rays of sunshine falling on a hedge and highlighting the fluffy white seeds flying through the air. It was like something out of a painting. The wine was ok, all white wine which I don’t usually like but these were fine, not awesome but drinkable and all local products. The next winery along the road was a little more up in elevation with a view to match. Walking through the little village that it was set in there was a middle aged man in lederhosen with the criss cross suspenders and the hat with the feather, walking his rather large dog. I tried very hard to get a photo of them but he was already ahead of me and walking at a rather brisk pace, just a man out walking his dog through his local village. The wines at this winery I think were better in particular a very nice Rose, perfect for the warm day that it was. By this time it was getting on in the evening, but not yet dark. Still, it was time to head back to Vienna for the little baby’s sake anyway. At least that’s what we thought, the baby, name Hedi, thought otherwise. For some reason she was not happy, not happy at all. We had to make a stop to calm her down, and by some bizarre coincidence the first park we found was right outside a beer garden. Who are we to argue with this sign? So we stopped and had a beer in another serene location. Fortunately, or unfortunately depends on which way you look at it, she calmed down after only one beer, another local product, so we could be on our way. When we arrived back in Vienna, one of the best days so far was topped off with a game of Settlers that Stefan and Christa just happen to enjoy also. Good wine, good beer, good food, good scenery, good company and good games. Sometimes life is good.
A little on from that we stopped at our first winery. As it was about 3pm we ordered what we thought would be a little plate of food, but I should know now that people in this part of the world don’t do small plates of food. It was only slices of meats and cheeses with bread but it was so good, and too much for Tanya to finish which is saying something. 
The surroundings were idyllic, sitting outside under a large tree with flower gardens only a few metres away, and rays of sunshine falling on a hedge and highlighting the fluffy white seeds flying through the air. It was like something out of a painting. The wine was ok, all white wine which I don’t usually like but these were fine, not awesome but drinkable and all local products. The next winery along the road was a little more up in elevation with a view to match. Walking through the little village that it was set in there was a middle aged man in lederhosen with the criss cross suspenders and the hat with the feather, walking his rather large dog. I tried very hard to get a photo of them but he was already ahead of me and walking at a rather brisk pace, just a man out walking his dog through his local village. The wines at this winery I think were better in particular a very nice Rose, perfect for the warm day that it was. By this time it was getting on in the evening, but not yet dark. Still, it was time to head back to Vienna for the little baby’s sake anyway. At least that’s what we thought, the baby, name Hedi, thought otherwise. For some reason she was not happy, not happy at all. We had to make a stop to calm her down, and by some bizarre coincidence the first park we found was right outside a beer garden. Who are we to argue with this sign? So we stopped and had a beer in another serene location. Fortunately, or unfortunately depends on which way you look at it, she calmed down after only one beer, another local product, so we could be on our way. When we arrived back in Vienna, one of the best days so far was topped off with a game of Settlers that Stefan and Christa just happen to enjoy also. Good wine, good beer, good food, good scenery, good company and good games. Sometimes life is good.
The Little Versailles
After the slight disappointment of not being able to get in to the Neuschwanstein, today we decided to head off earlier hopefully to beat the traffic. We were heading to a castle built on an island on a lake, built by the same king who built the Neuschwanstein. He was a little bit mad and built 3 really expensive castles in the 1800s and when it was discovered he had plans for more, it was apparently decided that the world would be better off without him around. He was ‘found’ dead supposedly of drowning, but since he was found in 1m of water and he was 1.91m tall, this was a little suspicious. To my mind, the big bullet sized hole in his head would have been more suspicious but the official cause of death was “accidental drowning”, or so the story goes. So, we arrived at this castle which was intended to be a tribute to the palace at Versailles in France. Since we were at the real Versailles just a week earlier, it was going to be interesting to see how similar they were. At Versailles, you enter and then you are free to wander all over the building, the gardens, take photos and generally do what you want. At the German Versailles, you can do no such thing, how dare you! There is a compulsory guided tour which lasts 25 minutes (it took over 3 hours just to walk around the chateau in Versailles) which consists of being informed “zis is a chair und zis is ein chandelier that when it has candles in it vill light up ze room”, most informative. The first piece of information we were given was that under no circumstances are photographs or filming to be done “or you vill be shot!” After being rushed through the first few rooms, always walking in a straight line or you villbe shot, we came to the ‘little’ hall of mirrors, which I think was impressive, if we could have had a look and gotten past the ropes I could say for sure. The whole 60m long room was roped off and you are not allowed to walk down it. We were, however, told that there is a very nice view from the window at the end of the hall that takes in the fountains in the gardens, but you are not permitted to see it, or you vill be shot. I actually think that the castle would be very impressive, if we were allowed to see it. I was amused that at the real Versailles photos are allowed and it is fine to see the whole building but at the Little Versailles in Germany (it is called Herrenchiemseein Bavaria by the way) the building is a bit more important so the strict no photos and no wandering policy is enforced. I was reminded of the saying, the tail wagging the dog. But in the end it was a minor nuisance and in fact the day was a good one. 
The gardens were quite nice and the fountains really cool, when they were on. My original thought was that they were turned off because someone took a photo of them, but it turns out they are on for 50 minutes, then off for 50 minutes and it was just me being cynical. The thing that really made the day a success was the little village we stopped in and the restaurant there. It was a traditional Bavarian place, complete with two old men playing piano accordion and guitar, wearing lederhosen and the hat with a feather in it. The deal is they play for the customers and in return they get all the food and beer they want, Im thinking the beer was more important for these guys. The waitresses had the traditional Bavarian dress on but it was all authentic since was definitely off the tourist track, so it was all local. The best part was the food. I had the pork knuckle, but when it arrived I thought maybe they made a mistake because they brought the whole pig out. 
Tanya had the schnitzel, which was the size of a small table. She only ate half and what was left was still the size of a schnitty from the pub in Adelaide. The pork was sensational.
Sensational. It was undoubtedly the star of the day. Sometimes life is good.
The gardens were quite nice and the fountains really cool, when they were on. My original thought was that they were turned off because someone took a photo of them, but it turns out they are on for 50 minutes, then off for 50 minutes and it was just me being cynical. The thing that really made the day a success was the little village we stopped in and the restaurant there. It was a traditional Bavarian place, complete with two old men playing piano accordion and guitar, wearing lederhosen and the hat with a feather in it. The deal is they play for the customers and in return they get all the food and beer they want, Im thinking the beer was more important for these guys. The waitresses had the traditional Bavarian dress on but it was all authentic since was definitely off the tourist track, so it was all local. The best part was the food. I had the pork knuckle, but when it arrived I thought maybe they made a mistake because they brought the whole pig out. 
Tanya had the schnitzel, which was the size of a small table. She only ate half and what was left was still the size of a schnitty from the pub in Adelaide. The pork was sensational.
Sensational. It was undoubtedly the star of the day. Sometimes life is good.
Beware the matless bathroom.
When I was young I would often hear of an old lady who slipped and broke her hip getting out of the bath or shower and I always found it strange. How could you break something simply by stepping out of the shower? I guess this is because all the showers I ever had you would step into at the same level as the floor. This may also explain why I would flood the bathroom every time I had a shower, but that is beside the point. Since being in Europe this time I think I understand how it is possible to slip getting out of the shower. Almost all showers here are a combined shower/bath and even if they are not the shower has a basin in it about 50cm high. Without a handrail, stepping over the lip of the basin to reach the floor can be a little tricky, and if there is no bath mat on the tiles, which there often isn’t, then it can be heart in mouth stuff. If you add to this a little old lady then it is completely understandable how they can injure themselves, in fact I applaude those who don’t have shower injuries on a regular basis. I know I have a had a few slippery moments over the past week or so, and now step out of the shower very gingerly in case I become some 10 year old boys question, how is it possible to hurt yourself getting out of the shower.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Hiccup count
An update for the last few days, she is now up to 159. Not too bad.
By the way, when she cracked the ton she did raise the bat and received applause from the crowd.
By the way, when she cracked the ton she did raise the bat and received applause from the crowd.
The First Castle
Arrived in Munich no problem. We went through a few stau, German for traffic jam. These are quit common on the autobahn, unfortunately. On the first day in Munich we went to the countryside to visit the fairytale castle of Neushcwanstein. This is the castle that Walt Disney used as inspiration for his castle. When we arrived the traffic was amazing. If we had stayed in the queue on the road, it would have taken about 3 hours just to get to the car park. So we went to the next town and had a good lunch in the Biergarten. Obviously if you are in a Biergarten you need to drink beer and I didnt want to insult the natives, so I had a beer. After a while we headed back to the castle and were able to get a park. Then we needed to get in line to buy a ticket for the castle, with the mandatory guided tour. We were in line at about 4pm and were lining up for the next tour available at 6:30pm. I got about 30 people from the front when a sign went up saying all tours sold out. cool. So we walked the half an hour up the hill to see the castle from the outside and it was worth it for sure. Its an impressive castle just from the outside,a nd the view from there up to the top of the alps and the other way across the plain was pretty cool too. So all in all a success.
On the way back from the fairy tale castle we made a quick stop at a white church which is called, wait for it, the white church. It was a nice side detour but the thing that made it interesting were the random performing goats. Just outside the church was a small fenced off area that had two goats and a balance beam which the goats would stand on.
There didn’t seem to be any reason for this but the goats apparently enjoyed the attention that random goats inevitably received, which was probably more than the church. Also, in Bavaria it seems that if there is a church, it is compulsory to have a restaurant right next to it, it’s like a rule. Even if the village has nothing else except 3 houses, if it has a church, there is a restaurant next door. 
The white church was no exception and we were treated to a Bavarian sweet, which turned out to be a large donut but instead of a hole it has a thin piece of dough and it is covered in cinnamon sugar. Not too bad.
On the way back from the fairy tale castle we made a quick stop at a white church which is called, wait for it, the white church. It was a nice side detour but the thing that made it interesting were the random performing goats. Just outside the church was a small fenced off area that had two goats and a balance beam which the goats would stand on.
There didn’t seem to be any reason for this but the goats apparently enjoyed the attention that random goats inevitably received, which was probably more than the church. Also, in Bavaria it seems that if there is a church, it is compulsory to have a restaurant right next to it, it’s like a rule. Even if the village has nothing else except 3 houses, if it has a church, there is a restaurant next door. 
The white church was no exception and we were treated to a Bavarian sweet, which turned out to be a large donut but instead of a hole it has a thin piece of dough and it is covered in cinnamon sugar. Not too bad.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
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