The Odd Couple - Vienna

I'm just about to cross the road on the Graben, one of the most famous streets in Vienna, and I see them. I simply had to take out my camera.....

What is the story here? What are they saying to each other? I'd love to know. Any ideas?

Mozart Balls - Vienna

Throughout Austria, the sweet treat to eat is Mozartkugeln. A small ball of pistachio and almond marzipan covered in a layer of nougat, and then enveloped in layers of milk chocolate. First produced in Salzburg by confectioner Paul Furst in 1890 and named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The phrase hyperdeliciously mouthwateringly splendidly mindboggling comes nowhere near describing the taste, believe me.

Sadly, Mozart himself never got a chance to taste these delectable sweets, as he died a century before Paul Furst produced them. But just imagine the inspired music he might have written with a bowl of Mozartkugeln beside him on the harpsichord!

Naschmarkt - Vienna

The Naschmarkt stretches along Wienzeile Street. There has been a market here since the 16th century. From 1793 onwards, all fruit and vegetables brought into the city by cart had to be sold here. The current location was created to cover up the Wien River in 1898. It's a long wide square filled with a busy produce market with over 120 market stands open every day except Sunday. Vienna's top chefs come here for fresh ingredients for their restaurant kitchens.

A selection of seafood, whatever your heart desires.

Renart Boulon Dutch oysters fresh from the North Sea coast.

The gourmet vinegar stall, where you can sample the aromatic vinegars with a drop on your wrist. If you are looking for a special flavour, you are certain to find it here. 
There are 11 different basalmics, and more than 20 fruit vinegars.

Wonderful cheeses, so many I had never heard of. I just wanted to sample them all. 
I'm a confirmed cheese freak!

A dizzying selection of dried fruits and nuts. 

Lokum.... a confection made from a gel of starch and sugar or honey, and delicately flavoured with rosewater, orange, pistachio, dates or lemon, otherwise known as Turkish Delight.  
Also known as Rahat in the Romanian language.

Naschmarkt is the perfect place for browsing, strolling, people watching, or buying lunch at one of the outdoor market cafes, which is what we did. Our friendly "chef" told us he had lived in Vienna only for 3 years and hailed from Tunisia.

I chose chicken schnitzel, which was so large that it was more meat than I would normally eat in 3 days!  But definitely delicious. We sat outside and watched the people go by.

More pictures to come.
If you have visited Vienna, leave a comment and tell me about it.

Rabbits! It's September!

A Pinch and a Punch,
the First of the Month
and no returns......
and to bring a month of good luck, my first spoken word this morning was "Rabbits"!

Which brings me to this delightful pink bunny.

Actually not a rabbit, but a hare. A magnificent pink bunny by sculptor Ottmar Hörl. It pays tribute to German artist Albrecht Dürer's 500 year old painting "Young Hare" which hangs in the nearby Albertina Museum in Vienna.

Bad Tatzmannsdorf - Austria

Bad Tatzmannsdorf is a small spa town of approximately 1500 people in the Oberwart district of Austria, and is one of Austria's leading health and wellness resorts.

The area was ruled by a Hungarian noble family as early as 1378, and has been settled by Germans, Turks and Croats through the centuries. It became a favourite health resort for "cures" for the Austrian aristocracy from the 1700s onwards.

We stopped for an afternoon for the Men of Note concert that was scheduled at the Kurzentrum Concert Hall in Bad Tatzmannsdorf.

One of the Men of Note members was born in Germany and is fluent in German, so was able to introduce the choir and the musical numbers to the mainly German speaking audience. Good idea, as the current repertoire is sung in English or Latin.

The Kurzentrum at Bad Tatzmannsdorf hosts a variety of cultural and recreational events including lectures, readings, recitals and concerts, as well as providing running and walking trails and spa and wellness activities for guests.

The gardens were filled with fragrant lavender, and we noticed some very large hovering insects who were enjoying the flowers' nectar. They looked like what I imagine a baby humming bird would be, but they were hoverflies or hoverbees. 
Edited: I have been told that this is a hummingbird hawk moth. A fascinating creature.

After the concert we stopped at the nearby Weinstadl restaurant for an Austrian buffet dinner. Lots of meat and potatoes!

And of course when in Austria, one has to sample the local brew. Puntigamer is a traditional beer from Styrias provincial capital Graz, and famous in Austria for its football sponsorship. Puntigamer supports Austria's First League football club "Sturm Graz". 

More pictures to come.
If you have visited Bad Tatzmannsdorf, leave me a comment and tell me about it.