Wiener Christkindlmarkt!

So there does appear to be a bit of a difference between the German and the Austrian Christmas markets. The general idea is the same, the wooden huts and lights and Christmas trees, selling edible treats, gluhwein, heisse shokolade (hot chocolate) and Christmas trinkets. But then there are some differences as well - most notably the addition of a Christmas Punsch as well as the gluhwein. In a variety of flavours. Which we discovered varied from delicious warm orange and tropical flavours to something which tasted very reminiscent of liquid Ricola cough drops. (The last one ended up in the rubbish bin after a couple of sips!)

There were some new foods for us to try as well. Our favourites were the langos (large flat fried bread with garlic flavour), and the kartoffelpuffers which were basically big hash browns. Noise was also particularly enamoured with the hot dogs shoved down inside a baguette with a lid on them.

The market closest to our hotel was the big one at City Hall at Rathausplatz. It was from here that we got our souvenir mugs this year, a nice complement to our Gendarmenmarkt mugs from Berlin.

We arrived at Vienna airport and easily found our way to the S-bahn to get into the city. When we arrived at the platform there was a train waiting to go, so we rushed to the machine to buy tickets. Which was slower than you would expect since we were trying to use all the euro coins that the Singer and Serdic had left with us. The Viennese subway system was well laid-out and user-friendly. It's a nice 24 minute ride into the city centre from the airport.

Our first day we decided to get an overview of the city and followed Rick's walking tour. We saw all the major sights - the Hofburg Palace, New Palace, St Stephen's Cathedral, and the Vienna Opera House, as well as some smaller sights as well. Just beyond the Hofburg Palace there was a courtyard set back from the street and I wondered what some of the people were looking at - lo and behold it was the Lipizzaner stallions in their stables! Very exciting. We stopped into the Sacher Hotel to try out the famous Original Sacher Torte (chocolate cake layered with apricot jam and a dark chocolate coating... yummy!) We also had a look around inside St Stephen's Cathedral, a very gothic building and very dark on the inside. It is interesting because it has a north and south tower but the north tower is only half the height of the south because they ran out of money when building it. They say the cathedral helped put Vienna on the map as a major city in its time.

One of the nicest things about Vienna is its size - everything is easily reached on foot. The only time we needed public transport was to and from the airport and to visit Schonbrunn Palace. We went out there one afternoon to check out the Christmas market and discovered they had apfel gluhwein - like warm apple cider with dried apples floating in it. Sooooo yummy! I had two. :)

Probably the highlight of the trip for me was attending the performance of the Lipizzaner stallions at the Spanish Riding School. Dressage at its best! Growing up as a horse-lover it was always a dream for me to see these beautiful animals, and I was thrilled to get the chance. The show was about an hour and consisted of several parts - the first section was a showcase of four of the young stallions who are just starting out their training. They were all around 3-5 years old and it was cute to watch them. Of course any of them would ace a basic dressage test, but some of them were acting up a bit and it was just obvious that they weren't as polished as the older stallions. We then saw some of the older stallions through their paces, and then they did some work on the long reins and on the ground - the schools above the ground where they do the levante and the caprioles. This is probably the most exciting bit for the non-riders in the audience. Next the chief rider did a solo routine on his chief horse - one-handed - which was fabulous, and then they did an 8-horse exercise which was incredible. Even just being inside the building was a treat for me!

We also attended a concert by the famous Vienna Boys Choir, although to be honest we were a bit disappointed in this. It all just felt a bit amateurish, kind of like when I was in the church junior choir growing up. Not what we expected from a world famous boys' choir. But for 5 euros we couldn't really complain too much!

We had a restaurant dinner on our first night (and after that just ate at the markets) and chose to eat at Figlmuller, famous for its Wiener schnitzel. SO DELICIOUS! Ok, and the truth is we had Wiener schnitzel again on our last day for lunch. :) Because it's just that yummy. And who knows when we'll be in Wien again.

Those are the highlights! We did do a bit of shopping, and finally bought ourselves the creche we've been looking for for a couple of years. Now every year when we decorate for Christmas and set up our creche we will think of Vienna.

Now we need to plan the next trip - we're thinking skiing in France in February. But we'll see how it goes.

What are the odds...???

So I had this random occurrence of happenstance several months ago, which at the time I was very moved by it and almost rushed home to spread my dumbfounded pleasure. I had crafted the perfect entry, which was going to shatter all previous records of wit, intrigue and enjoyable reading. But it was first thing in the morning on my way to work, and by the end of the day I had lost interest.

Then along came this week...

SPOILER ALERT - this may only be interesting to me, so you can stop reading now...

As background, my route to work involves a train to Waterloo and then a bus (either the 26 or 76) to Ludgate Circus. For those of you not familiar with London terminology, I am not any sort of lion tamer or side show freak, though that could be up for debate - it basically means the intersection at Farringdon Road and Fleet Street on one side and Ludgate Hill on the other.

A week or so ago, for no particular reason, I noticed this dude come off the bus and start to head in the direction I was going. I basically followed him (because he was heading the same way) all the way to my office, and then in the front door. Turns out he works here. How interesting, but I guess that happens.

Then along came this week...(did I already say that?).

In a nutshell, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I saw this same dude come off my bus and head to "our" office...and not only that, but 2 of those days, I saw him getting ON to the bus at Waterloo....now that's crazy!! What are the odds of the that?

I have no idea what his route is, but somehow it converges with mine at just the right time that we are both waiting patiently in the queue at Waterloo for the same 26 or 76...


Oh yeah, that random bit of "what are the odds?" from before:

A while ago (when living in Fulham and taking the tube to work), I noticed another person getting on the tube - I think he had a really weird scarf or something. We both got on the same carriage of the District Line at Baron's Court and got off at Westminster. At that point I lost track of him in the cluster of enjoyment that is the scramble to the Jubilee Line in the morning rush. I carried on my merry way...got to work and noticed the same said man get on to the lift (read: elevator) at the office building I was working in!

Apparently he got on the same tube as me, got off at the same stop, got on the other same tube as me, got off at the same stop, walked to the same office tower as me and got into the same lift as me....fortunately he got off a different floor. Otherwise I would think I was having an out of body experience!!!!

What are the odds of that....?

Much to do!

Since we returned from our lovely trip to the homeland we have been busy bees creating our social calendar for the next two months! We were already planning a Christmas party in early December, but now we're completely booked up from late November through New Year's!

First up is a Christmas market trip to Vienna the last weekend in November. Three nights of Christmas lights, hot chocolate, gluhwein, and whatever other yummy treats they serve at the Vienna markets! And last night I booked tickets to see the Lipizzaner stallions perform at the Spanish Riding School - childhood dream number one coming up!

We've also booked tickets to go skating at Somerset House again this year - last year was great fun but here's hoping that it doesn't rain this time! And we're attending a concert at Royal Albert Hall on December 20th entitled White Christmas - a choral and orchestral concert of Christmas favourites. That should kick off the Christmas week!

We're planning a quiet Christmas Day, hoping to not get out of our pjs until dinner time, then dinner at a friend's. The PetParents are arriving the day after Boxing Day for a week, and we've got big plans for New Year's. Two nights at a country inn in the Cotswolds with the PetParents and Buggy, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Now we need to start planning beyond New Year's! We're thinking ski trip to the French Alps, weekend in Amsterdam, south of France? ... other thoughts?

Update

So it turns out that the landlord did speak to the neighbours awhile ago and agreed for the trees to be cut down. However, he hadn't heard anything from them since nor did he know that they were coming last week. So although it appears that the neighbours did have permission to cut down the trees, I still find them at fault for not informing us or our landlord that they would be climbing into our garden one day to cut down our trees. We still feel like it was an invasion of our privacy, also annoying because we do have personal property in the garden which we would like to think is secure.

Anyway, mystery solved, and to look on the bright side (pun intended!) at least there is a bit more light in the garden...

The Curious Case of the Disappearing Trees

I know, I know, I have been a terrible blogger recently. For once, though, it's not because I've had nothing to chat about - instead I've had way too much going on! I promise soon to catch you up on our most recent adventures, including our trip to Greece (fabulous!) and also our trip home for the Singer and Serdic's wedding (also fabulous!!). But today I must instead share with you the most curious case of the disappearing trees.

A little background: our flat has a private garden which can only be accessed through our flat, as it is surrounded on three sides by stone walls and on the fourth by the house. Along the north wall between our garden and the next door neighbour's garden we have several small bushes and plants and two large (maybe 15-20 foot?) trees.

When we arrived home, jet-lagged and bleary, from our trip to Ottawa on Tuesday I noticed as soon as I walked through the door that something was different. Looking out through the back door to the garden I could only see walls and sky, no trees. How odd, I thought. My first thought was that in fact the trees had been in the neighbour's garden and had been cut down. On further inspection, though, we discovered that BOTH trees in our back garden had been cut down, with just small stumps left in the ground. While there was evidence of sawdust among the beds, the actual trees were nowhere to be found.

This left us with a list of interesting questions... why had the seemingly healthy trees been cut down? Had the neighbours requested it because they were encroaching on their garden? How had the tree-cutter-downers gotten into our garden? Had they climbed the wall from the neighbour's or had they actually been into our flat? What particularly annoyed us was that whether they were in the flat or not, they were certainly in the garden and we should have been given notice of that. Major breach of our privacy! As it happens we were away, but nobody knew that.

As an aside I would also like to point out that our clothesline had been tied to one of these trees and is now lying on the ground.

As our detective work continued, Noise remembered that there had been a parking restriction for out front of our neighbour's house during the week we were away for a "crane or something". The parking restriction sign was helpfully still in place so we read it and lo and behold it was for "tree surgery". Aha! Fingers are starting to point at the next door neighbours. However, I could not believe that anyone would be so stupid as to climb a wall onto someone else's property and cut down two trees without permission, so we assumed that they had been given permission by our landlord for some reason.

Please also note that it states very clearly in our lease that we are NOT allowed to remove any plants or cut down any trees in the garden without permission. To this effect we immediately contacted the estate agents who manage our flat to find out what had happened, as we wanted it made very clear that we certainly had not been responsible.

And what response did we get today? No, the estate agents know nothing about it, did not give anyone access to our flat, and are also perturbed to hear that someone has been climbing the walls. They are checking with the landlord to see if he happens to know anything about it, but at this point it is really starting to look like our neighbours hired someone to come in, climb our wall, and cut down our trees without asking permission or telling anyone. What my knowledgable friends at work tell me is that this in fact breaking three laws: trespass, damaging property, and also stealing our wood! Not to mention that planning permission is apparently required around here to cut down trees. Now we may find out tomorrow that the landlord knew all about it, in which case I will go back to being very annoyed that we were not given notice. But it will be very interesting to hear how it all plays out!

In the meantime we now have a tree-less garden, which is sad in itself, and a real waste. And we need to do something about that clothesline... But tonight I have been out taking pictures of the parking restriction sign, in case it's needed for evidence in court!

Very intriguing, and I will keep you posted on the outcome! Also I promise to chat soon about the recent trips and the Singer and Serdic's wonderful wedding!

London outings

We've had a busy weekend, trying to be all cultural and active at the same time. Friday evening we went with some friends to a comedy club at a pub in Balham. We had dinner, a pint, and watched some quite funny stand up acts. This place has a comedy show every Friday evening, so perhaps we will get a chance to go again. Sad to say that the acts were much better than those we saw at the Fringe Festival.

Yesterday I worked all day but while I was busy Noise popped in to the tkts booth at Leicester Square and picked up tickets to see Sister Act. We didn't know much about the show (except that it's based on the movie which I will admit I'm not a fan of - I think this is mostly because I don't like Whoopi Goldberg, though). So I went in with no real expectations... and LOVED it. It was hugely entertaining. I sat through much of the show with a grin on my face, laughed, cheered, and at the end actually leapt to my feet to dance. Can't ask for better than that! The show has an original score, not the music from the movie, which was composed by Alan Menken (of The Little Mermaid and Beauty & the Beast fame for those who don't know him). The cast were all fantastic, even all the secondary characters. Vastly entertaining night out.

Interestingly, the show is playing at the London Palladium, which is where we saw our first West End show the first week we were in London - The Sound of Music. And when you think about it, it's amazing how many parallels you can draw between SofM and Sister Act. Both are about nuns. Both are about someone who doesn't quite fit in. Both are about someone teaching others to sing. Both feature someone hiding out in a convent. And so on...

Speaking of West End musicals, word on the street is that there are a couple of exciting things coming up. First off, in March they should be opening Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to Phantom, at the Adelphi. And then, to my unending delight, they will be doing a West End revival of the Wizard of Oz!!! Apparently they're going to do a BBC reality show to cast Dorothy (and also Toto) and then open the show in 2010. I may have to stay in London just for that. Or else come back.

And today we ran the Great Capital 5K Run in Regent's Park. This was quite an interesting experience, as there were nearly 2000 people running. We were split into 4 waves of runners depending on our predicted time, so Noise headed off in the first group while my friend AT and I were in the third wave. I was pleased with our run, we managed it in 33:41, with just two short breaks, one at 15 minutes and again at 24 minutes. I didn't think I was going to make it through the last 1.5K, which was cruelly uphill, but I dug deep and managed it. And just for fun I got to wrap up in a foil blanket afterwards like I'd just run a marathon. ;) Then for a reward afterwards AT and I went to MAC and I got to buy a new shimmery brown eyeshadow for the Singer's wedding.

Once home we took the Bugster for a nice walk and now are chillaxing at home for the rest of the day. Back to work tomorrow, but I only have to work 2 days this week and then I am flying to CANADA!!! I am so excited for my imminent return to the homeland for my friend Andi's wedding. Besides the obvious excitement of being in Canada (you know, Tim Hortons, proper cottage cheese, Mongolian Grill, everything written in French and English, etc), it also promises to be a fabulous girls' weekend with my two best friends. Who I don't get to see nearly often enough.

That's it from me for now. Later.

Scotland (and happy 100th!)

Apparently this is my 100th post - congrats to me! I'm not sure what category that milestone goes in but it's a milestone nonetheless.

I have promised to write a blog post about our recent trip to Scotland, and have unfortunately not had a free moment to do it until now. Work, work, work all the time! I worked the last 8 days out of 9 and the one free day I was busy with other things (like going to Piccadilly Circus to find the lone London branch of Tim Horton's and having a Boston Cream - important stuff!).

But here I am! Ready to regale you with stories of our Scottish jaunt. We flew from Gatwick bright and early Saturday morning and arrived in Edinburgh an hour later. Now that is the way to travel. Especially since in that hour we were served a full hot English breakfast onboard! Score one for BA! At Edinburgh airport we picked up our rental car and headed out for the highlands. We meandered our way up towards Inverness, stopping here and there for a photo op of the hills and heather. In Inverness we stopped for lunch and wandered around the town a bit, up and down both sides of the River Ness. No time to be wasted, though, and we pressed on down the western shore of Loch Ness. We stopped and visited Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness, dating from the 1200s. We also had ourselves a photoshoot as it seemed appropriate with one of the world's most famous lakes as a backdrop. Noise is insistent that he saw Nessie but I remain sceptical.

Saturday evening we spent in a small place called Invergarry, just south of Loch Ness. We stayed in the Invergarry Hotel, and it was absolutely lovely. If anyone ever wants to stay in Invergarry, I know just the place. We were somehow assigned the biggest room in the hotel, on the corner with a view out over the river. Dinner was included so we enjoyed the full 3 courses down in the restaurant and then retired to the bar with a pint. And that's about when we crashed, having been up at 4:30am to get to the airport.

On Sunday we headed south again, making a stop at the Nevis mountain range. They have a gondola system there which takes you 650m up on Aonach Mor. In winter it is a ski hill. This was the only day that it rained on us in Scotland, for which we are grateful, but it was unfortunately a bit unpleasant on top of this mountain... it was so windy that it felt like we might get blown off the side! Noise's hair was standing straight up and he looked like Kramer. But the views down over the range and of Fort William and the lochs was beautiful. In Fort William we stopped in to a shop selling woven goods and bought a couple of souvenirs (a blanket for our living room, and also a beautiful cashmere scarf for me). Our journey then took us through the beautiful area of Glen Coe. We stopped a few times to take some photos and at one point had a bit of a dilemma when we couldn't get the car doors shut against the wind! We drove on over the Rannoch Moor and finally to our goal - Loch Lomond. We drove all down the western side of Loch Lomond and then around the southern edge, before detouring off our route and down a tiny side road to Rowardennan to get some photos. Of course for the entire drive we had to sing - "ye take the high road and I'll take the low...."

We spent Sunday night in the small village of Killearn, at the Black Bull Hotel. The resident dogs were a Westie and a Scottie - a bit cliche if you ask me, but cute all the same. Monday we set off to return to Edinburgh via St Andrews. Noise had been to St Andrews a few weeks previously with his friend E, but was quite insistent that I should experience the thrill as well. (The truth being that he just really wanted to go back.) It really is a lovely town, and since the sun was shining we took a walk along the edge of the course to revisit Noise's triumph (or lack thereof) on the 17th and 18th holes of the Old Course. I enjoyed seeing where he had hit the roof of the hotel on the 17th tee as I hadn't fully understood before how it was possible.

We returned to Edinburgh and dropped off the car, then caught the bus into the city. After checking in to the Hilton (booked cheap on hotwire, as usual) we set out to explore. What a gorgeous city! As the Fringe Festival was on, there was of course a lot of buzz, and the Royal Mile was jampacked with crowds and street performers. We found the booth selling Fringe tickets half-price and bought tickets to that evening's comedy show at the Caves. Then we found a store selling bagpipes and bought a set of practice pipes to learn on. Oooops. For the record, I am not coordinated enough to manage it, but Noise can at least make sounds on them. Dinner was in fact Italian that night, before we made our way to the comedy show. While the comedy left something to be desired, the setting was very cool! It was in a little bar in a "cave", built down below the archways of a bridge. You walked in through this stooped little hallway, and then all of a sudden were in this big open room with arched ceiling. Very neat.

Tuesday we had some time before returning to the airport, and decided to go check out The Elephant House, the cafe where JK Rowling wrote (or at least started writing) Harry Potter. We got ourselves a drink and a cookie and settled down in the back room where it is said she did her writing. There was a gorgeous view of Edinburgh Castle from the windows there. We also wandered up to see the castle close up but didn't bother to go inside. After a final wander down the Royal Mile and view of the performers we collected our luggage and headed back to the airport.

Although it wasn't a fancy or exotic trip, it was a fantastic time all the same. No work, no pressures, no worries. Just lots of laughter, memories, good food and good wine. Photos are here.

Not much else in the way of news. Noise has been working on a big project at work which has kept him late this week. Work is the same for me. We do have a few things coming up to take our minds off work- less than 2 weeks until I return to the homeland! A long weekend in the Toronto area, then the weekend after I return from that we are heading to Greece for a week. We'll be flying into Athens on Saturday, then Sunday morning taking the ferry to Santorini. We've booked 4 nights at the Reverie in Firostefani and intend to not do much more than eat, sleep, and swim (and rent a scooter to drive around the island). Then we'll return to Athens before flying back to London. And 2 weeks after that we will be flying to OTTAWA!!! And that should get us through until November. Then I need to plan another Christmas markets trip for December. :) The planning never stops!

Tomorrow we are planning to pop up to Cambridge to visit some friends from Ottawa who are in town, and meet their new additions. Then we're going to dress up and go out somewhere posh for dinner to celebrate Noise's 30th. He seems less distressed about it than I expected, so hopefully he won't break down and cry. We'll have to get a few cocktails first. Tonight we're going to build a fort in the living room and camp out with Buggy, he likes it when we do that. A nice treat for him.

I'm out! Till next time!