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Just Do It

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

I can’t believe it’s the end of January already.  I guess I owe you all a belated Happy New Year (of both the Western and Chinese varieties).  I keep saying that I’m going to write a blog, but every time I try to do it there seems to be something else I need to do. No excuses, I’m just being lazy.

We spent about 2 1/2 weeks in the US visiting some family and friends and getting a little work done.  It was great to go shopping and eat out – I didn’t realize how much I would appreciate getting a good burger, taco, and curry (not all at once).

Back in Austria we are faced with Winter. The cold and the darkness can be hard to deal with, but we’re coping by doing what most Austrians do.  There is just enough snow to cover the ski slopes and the lakes are all frozen, so that means every weekend is a ski-skate double header for us.

I must admit that I’m enjoying it a lot more this year.  Last year at this time we were scrambling to find furniture and appliances, to build our Ikea bed and closets, and to move into our apartment.  We squeezed in a few outdoor activities whenever we could.  This year we’re settled in and know the good resorts and the best times to go.  Here’s what we’ve been up to:

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K is for Cookie

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

Actually K is for Kekse, but I don’t think the Cookie Monster song translates well into German.   Another thing that doesn’t translate well are my Christmas cookie recipes.  I started out with 5 target recipes and went shopping.  I found the ingredients for 3 of them.  Some things like Reese’s chips or instant oatmeal just don’t exist in our village.  It’s not that Austrians aren’t into baking.  There are huge displays in the grocery store of flour, sugar, nuts, spices, and all the stuff needed to make cakes, gingerbread, and all sorts of Christmas treats, just not cookies.

I should have taken the hint when I tried to buy an extra cookie sheet and couldn’t find one among the 20 types of cake pans and spring forms.  Instead of swapping between two trays, I decided to just use the one that I had brought from the US.  This would have been a good plan except that when I went to put the first batch into the oven, it didn’t fit.  It was about 2 inches too wide.  After a brief panic, we ended up using the broiler pan set on a higher rack.

Considering the pan situation and a few ingredient substitutes, the M&M (yes! they have those) cookies turned out close to normal, but a little crunchy (read: rock solid).   We’ve been eating them anyway, so they can’t be too bad.

A few other things I’ve learned: Vanilla is called Bourbon Vanilla and is a powder, not a liquid.  Backpulver is something like baking powder, there is no baking soda, and cream of tartar is called Natron and sold in organic health food stores. I’m going to try my new knowledge out on batch of peanut butter cookies tonight.  Stay tuned.

Posted in Austria, Living Abroad | 3 Comments »

Far, far away

Sunday, December 11th, 2011

We’ve just had our one year anniversary of arriving in Austria, and celebrated with a vacation from Austria.  Not that we don’t like it here, but most of the travels we had over the last year have been in Austria or our neighboring countries. While we saw some amazing things and had some great experiences, we thought it was about time for a real “holiday” where we could just relax and not have to figure out any languages or navigate any strange roads.

Deciding where to go was a little harder.  In the US we probably would have hopped on a plane to Hawaii or the Caribbean, but here there are some other interesting choices.  We decided to take advantage of our position in Europe.  The Maldives are about 24+ hours of travel from most places in the US, but just an 8 hour direct flight from Vienna.

With that decision made, we spent a wonderful week in an over-water villa, eating spicy curries, drinking good wines, soaking up the sun and generally being pampered at Constance Moofushi (and it looks exactly like the pictures on their website).  The snorkeling in the Maldives is some of the best that we’ve done.  The trips out to the reefs were great, but even from our villa we could watch sharks, rays, and angel fish every day.

Boarding the seaplane to leave on the last day was sad, but just as shocking was the cold weather that awaited us back in Vienna.   It’s Winter!

Here’s a view of the villas taken from our kayak:

Getting ready to snorkel and I already have a visitor:

Posted in Austria, Living Abroad, Maldives, Travel | 2 Comments »

What border?

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

A group of people we know from the US and UK were on a holiday in the Dolomites in Italy last month.  Since it’s only a 3 hour drive from where we live, they invited us to meet them there go hiking.  It’s a really beautiful area and one that I’m sure we’ll visit again.

The most surprising thing about the trip was discovering the area called Südtirol (South Tirol).  It used to belong to Austria, but as a result of WWI and WWII eventually became a permanent part of Italy. While it might officially be in Italy now, the population has chosen to ignore the fact.  The homes are the same style of “Heidi houses” that you see everywhere in Austria, and the road signs are  in both German, listed first, and then Italian.  Most people we met were tri-lingual (along with English), but speak German to each other, and the food was wursts and schnitzels, with a little pasta.  Not quite what you imagine when you think about spending a weekend in Italy.  I never would have even known that we left Austria, except for all the “I” license plates.

The owner of the B&B where we stayed gave me a history lesson, as well as some strong opinions on the regional government, languages, and the possibility that they would someday vote to re-join Austria.  It’s a very interesting piece of history that was completely new to me.  You never know what you’ll find when you cross a border.

Here’s a view from the Dolomites in the “Italian” Alps:

Posted in Austria, Italy, Living Abroad, Travel | 1 Comment »

It’s actually sort of green

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

I’m talking about the “blue” Danube.  We got a first hand look a few weeks ago when we visited the Wachau region of Austria.  The Danube in this area winds through a twisty valley with vineyards along one side and orchards on the other.  Both sides have ample castle ruins and ancient churches, as well as a good share of cafes.  The other big attractions are the bike paths which follow along the river and through the little towns along the way.  We packed up our bikes and headed to Krems at one end of the valley. From there we spent a day cycling, sightseeing, and wine tasting until we ended up in Melk, home of a famous abbey.  After staying there overnight, it was nice ride back along the other side.  The weather cooperated which made for a perfect weekend.  This story is better told in photos:

Before:  the new bike rack in action.

Eric among the grapes, checking on next year’s wine.

Finally, the green river…

Posted in Austria, Living Abroad | No Comments »

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