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Published: August 6th 2007
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Demel's Cake
Isn't this fabulous?? I woke up feeling a bit better, but still full of cold. I went down for breakfast and then, because it was raining again, I decided to have a quiet morning in the hotel lounge, sitting in a comfy chair and doing a Sudoku puzzle.
It was still raining at midday, but I was ready to go out and explore. I walked over to the Freyung section of town to the Easter market. Lots of really cool little things to help celebrate the holiday. One booth was Easter eggs made from all different kinds of minerals. There was one that was a rich dark green that I couldn’t resist. It is made from a mineral that is called “goldfluss” in German. I did an internet search when I got home and discovered that it is a synthetic glass made with copper called Gold River in English. Absolutely gorgeous.
Speaking of German (pun intended), I have been spending so much time in German speaking countries that I have actually picked up a bit of the language. For once, I had neither Jeremy nor Matt to cover for me, so I had to struggle on alone. If I do say so
Napoleon's Son's Crib
And you thought some of our furniture was OTT? myself, I think I did all right. At least I got from point to point and was able to feed and caffeinate myself.
Deciding that the rain and shopping deserved a reward, I took myself off to Demel Konditorei -one of the most famous pastry shops in Vienna. Interestingly, when I was telling people last week that I was off to Vienna, every one of them told me I had to have pastry as it is what Vienna is known for. I always try to do what I’m told… I had a pastry called Esterhazytorte. Good Lord! I didn’t know they made food this sweet. I had about two bites of it and went into sugar shock. Really not my idea of a good thing. Demel is also famous for making specialty cakes. I watched them making Easter cakes, but then spotted the one in the photo. It made me smile.
It was STILL raining, so I took myself off to the Treasury which is a museum that shows the riches from the Habsburg family. Really amazing collection of things, including the crib in the photo. Napoleon, before he got shipped off to Elba, had married one of
Emerald Box
Not the best photo in the world, but you get the idea. Amazing piece of craftsmanship. the Habsburg daughters and this crib was for their first born son. The other really remarkable piece was a box that is the largest cut glass emerald in the world - 2680 carats! Glorious. Of course, I got the audio tour because I am incapable of going through a museum without one. The problem was that nearly every piece in the museum had a talk about it. After two hours, even I ran out of steam and resorted to just listening to the information about the pieces I liked. Believe me - this is a first for me as anyone who has ever had to suffer through a museum with me knows. My favourite bit of the tour was the information that when Karl I was forced to abdicate in 1918, many of the biggest and best pieces in the Treasury “disappeared”. No one knows how they disappeared or where they are. Hmmmm I guess that’s one way to pay one’s bills.
Walking out of the Treasury, I was desperate for the cricket scores, so I found an Aussie pub that had the matches on. I sat and watched for a while, but when it was obvious that England was going to win (for those of you who care, we are into the Super 8 of the Cricket World Cup), I decided to move on.
Walking back to the hotel, I passed the Lanz store. Remember those nightgowns? Sure you do - they’re the ones that we wore backwards so that the buttons were in the front. I wore them my entire life until I could no longer find them. Guess what, they had them! I treated myself to one and brought it carefully home. Next winter, on the first dark and cold night, I will put on my brand new nightgown after a hot bath and cup of tea - the sheer bliss of it all!
Dinner was a bit of a challenge. Because of the rain, I did not want to walk too far to eat. Luckily, there were lots of local places around the hotel, so I went on a bit of a reconnaissance mission. I was really looking for somewhere Austrian, but they were all full to the gills. I finally found an Italian place that looked and smelled divine. I sat in the bar until I realised that everyone coming in was local. Got myself to a table and had some of the best pasta I’ve ever had outside of Italy or my mother’s kitchen.
Filled to the gills, I went back to the hotel for a nightcap and my bed.
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