Australians in Austria
Rooftops
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson.I can now confirm that Austria is nothing like Australia. There are no kangaroos and they mostly speak German. Plus if it was Australia then it would have taken a lot longer than 1 hour and 45 minutes to fly there.
We made it to the airport with plenty of time thanks to the fact that the threatened train strike was cancelled. Austrian Airlines seemed to be rather efficient although I was disappointed that we had to buy food on board despite paying 300 pounds for our tickets. It's a bit like a Virgin flight in Australia but without the bad jokes and at 2.5 times the price.
On arrival we got a taxi to our hotel, checked in and managed to get a non-smoking room even if it was a twin rather than a double. It was airconditioned and we were tired so we didn't mind at all.
On Saturday morning we made our way into the city on the "clean and safe" underground system. We located the car rental office, picked up the keys and promptly left the car where it was parked on the street while we wandered about for the day.
We checked out the Opera House and were pounced on by people dressed up like Mozart (brocade jackets, wigs and stockings despite the 35 degrees) wanting us to buy tickets to a concert that night. I decided to accept their offer - a bit of Mozart and a bit of Strauss - how bad could it be? We were in the city of music and anyone putting on a concert must be ok - right?
We then wandered about the Albertina Platz, Burggarten, and the new palace. We managed to find the Royal Apartments after a couple of circuits and seeing some traditional Greek Dancers and a lot of horse poo. One had to pay to see the Silver Collection before seeing the Royal Apartments where Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth (yes, spelt the correct way) used to live.
We had a quick lunch and then explored around the Cathedral. It was disappointing to see how noisy and crowded the inside of the church was. But I guess that's how they pay the bills to keep it going and to clean and restore it.
After all this we were very tired and hot so we headed to the Danube river to try and find a park by the water. Unfortunately it was no cooler by the river and there was no park so we caught a train around to the Stadtpark where we sat in the shade and tried to rest and cool down. After reading through the guide books I discovered that there were several monuments to composers in the park so we set off to find them and take photos.
We managed to find an authentic Viennese restaurant and had some local fare. We had Frittatensuppe (clear beef stock with pancakes cut into thin strips), Wiener Schnitzel and Apfelstrudel along with some Austrian beer. Then we headed off to the concert.
The concert was in the Palais Palffy which is apparently where Mozart and his sister also performed. It turned out to be an excellent performance. The performers were very enthusiastic about the music with costume changes, dancing, singing and lots of violins. I was a little disappointed that so many people were taking photos with the flash while they were performing. It just seemed a little rude.
All in all a very pleasant day, if a little hot. Our day in the Czech Republic was all about the motorcycles so I'll let Robert describe the joys of that little side trip. However, I did discover where old 80s music goes to die - The Czech Republic!
My photos are here and Robert's are here.
Heatwave
Yes, the reports are true. It really is hot here in London. Whether it's as hot as it gets in Australia is irrelevant as it's all about perspective. I will list the reasons why I know it's hot by London standards:
1. They were giving out free water at the railway station on the way home from work this afternoon.
2. Some of the sales guys went to sit in the park at lunch time, took their shirts off, and baked themselves in the sun.
3. The trains were all told to reduce their speed because of the risk of the rails buckling.
4. The media reported ridiculously high temperatures - up to 45 degrees - anything over 30 gets exaggerated.
5. The SMH reported the fact that it was hot in London.
6. It's 9.30pm now and it's still 27 degrees outside.
7. Most people defied the no shorts at work rule and turned up with shorts and flip flops.
8. We'll be sleeping with the fan on all night.
Unlike Sydney there will be no southerly change to come through and make it all cool again. It will gradually get cooler and more humid then rain for a bit. In the morning it will feel even hotter because it's still in the 20s and humid. I'm very pleased that we've booked an airconditioned hotel in Vienna as it's still going to be about 28 degrees on the weekend.
I must be turning into whinging pom if I can write a whole blog post about the weather.
Sorry Sharon, still no knitting update - it's too hot to think about knitting!
Dorset discoveries
Elisabeth and Robert
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson.This weekend just gone we took a train ride 100 miles south west of London to Dorset. Simone was kind enough to have us stay with her in Gillingham and was kind enough to ferry us around to see lots of old things. We saw ruins, castles, gardens and old houses.
The train trip was reasonably pleasant after the first hour and we managed to get a seat in the air conditioned carriage (we spent the first hour standing in the doorway with sweat dripping off us). I was curious as to how fast we were going considering you couldn't even read the station signs as they wizzed past. We played a lot of games of sudoko in the 2 hour trip (yes, Robert has finally convinced me that suduko is almost fun - at least it is fun on the palm pilot when you can ask it to check for mistakes).
On Saturday morning we had a leisurely cooked breakfast of blue eggs (just the shells, not the egg yolks) and Dorset bacon. Then we set off to Sherborne. Sherborne is a nice little village which has a 1300 year old Abbey. If I remember rightly, the site has had some sort of church on it for 1300 years, but I doubt that the entire church has been there for that long. We also checked out the market and bought some olives before having lunch at a cafe. It being a perfect summers day, we sat outside in the courtyard.
After lunch we went to find the old Sherborne castle. This castle was destroyed after an 11 day siege and was a favourite castle of many kings and queens throughout the ages. At some point in history someone decided to built a new castle with the view of the old ruined castle being terribly romantic. We didn't go to the new castle but did take a photo from the old castle.
For dinner we went to the local pub - The Dolphin. A long way from the water in North Dorset, but I guess it's that whole hippy/dolphin thing or something. When we got home we had Rose wine from Waitrose (the highbrow organic English supermarket that even Madonna frequents) and played our own version of a boardgame called 'Articulate' and giggled a lot.
On Sunday we visited Stourhead House and Gardens. Created by a crazy Englishman who on return from his grand tour of Europe wished to recreate one of those Italian landscape paintings. I have to say he did a pretty good job. We viewed the house, the herb garden and took a turn about the lake which was quite amazing. I put lots of photos up on Flickr. The one above looks like we could be anywhere in Europe.
So now it's back to work for another week and then off to Vienna and The Czech Republic on Sunday to see the Brno Motorcycle Grand Prix. Looking forward to taking lots more photos.
I know I've been rather slack not writing for a whole week. But aside from finding some authentic Sydney-style yum cha and catching up with Carolyn and Scott on Monday night in Wimbledon, we didn't really do too much. Still, bigger adventures to follow...stay tuned :-)
Happy Anniversary
petit fours
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson.In all the excitement of moving to London we almost forgot about our 9th wedding anniversary. However, a few web searches later and a couple of phone calls and I managed to secure a table for 2 at 6pm for 2 hours on Wednesday 5th July. I decided to try one of the Gordon Ramsay restaurants and see what top notch British food was all about.
We had the 7 course tasting menu which consisted of:
1. Tuna and Swordfish carpaccio
2. Scallops lightly battered
3. Quail
4. Pork Belly and Salmon
5. Lamb with mash
6. Trifle with an apple filled donut on the side
7. Mango sorbet
We also had the Sommeliers selection of mixed wines. 2 whites and 1 red. Lots of french wine - all rather nice.
I was pleased with the quality of the food but disappointed on the flavour front. Robert enjoyed it. I missed the zing and flavour combination of good modern Austalian. I have to say though, the British know how to do dessert.
The picture is of our Petit Fours that came with our tea - the dark chocolate, turkish delight and rhubarb icecream coated in marshmellow.
Note to self - try not to eat so much again for a couple of weeks :-)
British Motorcycle Grand Prix 2006
People watching
Originally uploaded by elisabeth_howson.A heatwave warning has been issued. The sun has come out and it's reached all of 30 degrees. This wouldn't be so bad except for a few things of note:
1. The British are so deprived of the sun that when it comes out and it shows any sign of being hot, they take their shirts off, wear tops that are inappropriate on all but the very young and thin, and then drink lots of beer. This results in what I can only imagine would be hideous hangovers and lots of peeling skin. We in Australia understand about Slip, Slop and Slap. But here in England the message hasn't quite made it. So in the absence of anything else interesting to do, you can always sit and watch the people go by, shake your head, and wonder how they're going to feel in the morning.
2. The British Motorcycle Grand Prix was on. We rode 124 miles (or 200km for those who have accepted metric) to Donnington Park early Sunday morning. This wasn't so bad as the heat hadn't quite kicked in, but our bottoms were a litte sore. For some reason the Triumph has the hardest foam seat I've ever encountered on a motorbike. I know my experience is limited to the 4 different bikes that Robert has owned, but this really is quite bad. And after not having been on a motorbike for a while, going all that way and it being oppresively hot, it wasn't the most wonderful experience.
The race itself was quite interesting but I'll let Robert describe the finer detail. As you'll see from my other photos, we walked around a lot, and sat in the sun to watch the race. I still got burnt even though I put some sunscreen on (have I mentioned previously about the price of sunscreen in this country? No? Well, you can pay a whole 10 pounds for a small bottle - that's $25!). It was hot enough that Robert at least bought me an ice cream :-)
The 124 mile trip home again was quite hideous. It was hot (have I mentioned it was hot?) as the jacket I have isn't breathable so I just heat up inside like a sauna. There was a lot more traffic in the afternoon compared to when we set out at 8am on Sunday morning (I think most people were still in bed trying to come to terms with the fact that England are out of the World Cup) and our bottoms were already sore from the trip earlier. Still, we survived, despite a close call with a surprise right turning car just as we reached Putney. Now I feel positively dehydrated - oh, and my bottom is very sore.
Yesterday was far more civilised. We headed out to the nice leafy suburbs of Greater London. It reminded me very much of Turramurra. Huge houses, lots of fancy cars in the drive way and huge backyards with pools. We went to a BBQ organised by one of the people I work with (James is one of the sales team). Robert and I arrived on the motorbike much to James' delight. He declared that the triumph was the coolest thing that had ever been in his driveway - now that's saying something.
Well, I'm off to bed early. Better have one more hydrating drink and transfer the fan to the bedroom. I hope it isn't this hot when Juliet comes to stay or we'll need to buy another fan!
