wired2theworld food

Introducing formerchef.com

2009-03-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I've gone and started a new blog.
I decided that having a travel website and a food blog with almost the same name might be confusing to some. Go figure.

So, it is with great excitement that I introduce my new food blog, http://formerchef.com
There are only a few posts so far, but my plan is to write about all things food; cooking, gardening, and maybe featuring some restaurants, markets, shops, etc.

For the few of you following me here, please come over there and check it out. New posts include my "Tomato Obsession" and a recipes for "Strawberry Shortcake with Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Biscuits" and "Red Curry Noodles with Tofu."

Hope to see you there!

How to Fill a Raised Garden Bed with the "No Dig" Method

2009-03-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

The "No Dig" method for gardening is supposed to use less water, take less effort (no digging, no rotatilling) and raise superior vegetables.

Ok, sign me up.

I had two references. One, a story I'd read in the LA times last summer (http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-nodig12-2008jun12,0,55177.story) and the other, the website, http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/

I started saving newspapers about a month ago.

On Saturday David went to Stephen's Hay and Grain in Glendale and bought 2 bales of Alfalfa and 2 bales of Hay. It's times like this I'm very happy we have a pick-up truck.

On Sunday morning my mother and I went to Armstrong. We weren't certain how much compost or fertilizer we'd need so we bought 6 bags of Organic Compost and 6 bags of Chicken Manure/Fertilizer and we figured we'd see how far we got.

We began by leveling out the two rectangular beds, both the walls and the dirt, as best we could. Then, we laid down a thick layer of wet newspapers.

After the newspapers, came a 4" thick layer of Alfalfa topped with a 1" think layer of chicken manure. We wet this down.

Next came 8" of hay, which got topped with another 1" of manure.

On top of the hay went 4" of Compost. We wet down every layer.

For the two 4'x5' beds, we used 1/2 bale of alfalfa, a full bale of hay, and all the bags of compost and fertilizer. We estimate we will need to buy 1 more bale of hay and 9 bags each of the compost and fertilizer to complete the larger raised bed.

I bought a few starter plants just because I could not resist and the instructions said you could plant right away. Below, 4 tomato plants, 1 basil, 2 arugula, and 2 different eggplants.

Those monsters! The next day I discovered that some of our local little creatures (raccoons, skunks and possums) had been digging in and under the new beds. Fortunately, they didn't mess with the plants.

On top of the compost we put the remaining hay for mulch. Next weekend we will fill the other, larger bed and then I get to fill it with as many plants as will fit!

How Pork Chops Lead to a Garden or, How to Build Raised Garden Beds

2009-03-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

A couple of nights ago I had the worst tomato of my life. It looked pretty, but it was completely devoid of any flavor. Sorta like blondes. Ok, I take that back. Some of my closest friends are blondes. But you know what I mean...this is LA after all.

Anyway, we've had bad luck in the last couple of years growing tomatoes. They grow big and strong, set some fruit, and then start to die from the bottom up, quickly, before the tomatoes can grow and ripen. It looks likes some sort of “blight” and it’s very frustrating. We can’t pinpoint the cause. At first we thought it was the soil, but it happened even when I planted the tomatoes in big pots of fresh soil on my patio. My theory is that it’s the damp, foggy, “June gloom” we get on summer mornings. But I am a glutton for punishment and keep trying.

The last two years our vegetable garden has laid fallow and in that time has become a giant cat box and buffet for termites. Thus, it was time to replace the old raised beds and I decided I wanted something taller and easier to use. In addition, last year I'd read an LA Times article about "No Dig Planting" and had saved it. I thought it was a good opportunity to try a new growing method.

http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-nodig12-2008jun12,0,55177.story

Cut to the crappy tomato (see the last post about Pork Chops) . It was just the incentive we needed to get up on a Saturday and build our new garden. We used the old garden as a template, but changed some of the dimensions. The purpose of this was twofold; widen the pathways and cut down on lumber waste and the amount of cuts we'd need to make. For example, by making the smaller beds 4' x 5' we could just buy 8' and 10' boards and cut them in half.

A couple of notes about the lumber. I investigated using a composite product like Trex which is used for decking. This is good because it does not rot and our previous beds had rotted and been eaten by termites. However, it's expensive and it would take a lot because it only comes in 5" widths. So we settled on untreated pine in a 10" width, allowing us to have 20" tall beds. My understanding is that you don't necessarily want to use pressure treated wood either because the chemicals can leach into the soil. You could use untreated cedar, but it was about 3x as expensive as the pine and only available at a speciality lumber store.

Here's the process:

First, carry all the wood down the stairs. Yes, that's me, and yes, I carried it all down by myself.

Yeah, up and down those stairs (below).

Stack up the wood only to have your wonderful husband tell you that you've done it all wrong.

The old garden beds.

The wood for our project:
1"x10"x12'-2 each
1"X10"x10'-4 each
1"x10"x8'-12 each
4"x4"x8'-3 each
2.5" red deck screws-2# (why do they sell screws by the lb? And why doesn't the box say how many screws are in it?)

You will also need a saw, a saw horse, an electric drill, an electric screwdriver, a level, a carpenter's square, a pencil and a tape measure.

David, cutting the 4x4s

Once the wood was cut, we pre-drilled the holes (above) and then screwed together the 5' sides to the 4x4s (cut at 20") with red deck screws (below).

After we got two of the long sides together, we screwed the 4' boards to them.

Above, the first two boxes are built and are 4'x5'.

The final result; 110 square feet of vegetable garden space.
The larger bed was a little more complicated, but not by much. We just did it one section at a time. The short sides are also 4', as are the middle, interior sides. The pathways are 32' wide, long sides are 80" and the back wall is 128".

Come soon, Filling the Beds and then Planting!

Pork Chops and Applesauce

2009-03-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

My plan was a meatless meal. Really. But then I saw those extra thick pork chops on sale in my local market and was smitten.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite meals was Pork Chops and Applesauce, though it probably came in second to my mother's Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes, at least on my 6th birthday. I forgive my Mother for forcing me to eat Liver and Onions (can't stomach it to this day) and the two years of nothing but vegetarian stir-fries for that Fried Chicken. Alas, she never makes the Fried Chicken any more. But this post is not about chicken, it's about the Pork Chops and how my mom used to make them.

This meal really doesn't have a "recipe", but I think it's a good example of one which can be tossed together in about 20 minutes and still be fresh and healthy (especially if you remember that old saying about the other white meat).

Pork Chops, Sauteed Spinach and Sliced Tomatoes with Goat Cheese.

2 each Pork Chops, about 1" thick

1/4 cup flour

salt and pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

20 oz cleaned spinach

1/2 lemon

2 cloves garlic

1 large vine ripe tomato

1 oz soft goat cheese

1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Applesauce

Pre-heat the oven to 350-400 degrees.

Put 1/4 cup of flour on a plate with some salt and pepper. Dredge the Pork Chops in the flour and shake off the excess.

Heat a heavy bottomed pan and put in a tablespoon of oil. Cook the Pork Chops until brown on one side and then turn over. Put the pan in the oven so that the Chops keep cooking.

Note; I put the pan in the oven because they will cook more evenly in there, without burning, than they will on the stove top.

In a large saute pan or wok, heat about a teaspoon of olive oil. Toss in 2 cloves of minced garlic. Add the bag of cleaned spinach and a squeeze of lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon. Toss the spinach rapidly so it wilts and turn off the heat.

Slice the tomatoes and garnish with crumbled soft goat cheese. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

The pork chops should be done by now. They took about 10 min in the oven because they were about 1" thick. If thinner, obviously they will cook much faster. Very thin pork chops can be cooked entirely on the stove top.

I didn't have any home made applesauce, but the chunky organic stuff from Trader Joe's is pretty good.

Serves 2.

Total cooking time 20 minutes

Note to self: Those tomatoes are the worst I've ever had. Completely tasteless. Must get summer garden started...

Salty, Peppery, Porky Goodness

2009-03-05T21:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I plan dinner, sometimes it's a clean-out-the-fridge meal. Tonight is the latter. It makes me think of when I was a chef and I'd go into the kitchen's walk-in refrigerator, look around at what was there, and plan the day's special. Sometimes you just have to work with what's on hand.

This pasta is one of those I've never made before (but made many similar), and may never make again, unless I have this exact mix of ingredients. Of course, you can substitute, leave out, or add anything you like. If you leave out the Pancetta, you may need a little extra salt. You can replace with another protein, like chicken breast, or make it vegetarian and leave it out all together. But honestly, I love the salty, peppery, porkiness of Pancetta.

I added the mozzarella because I had a little left in the container and wanted to use it up. You can replace it with another cheese, or leave it out. I added the tomatoes because they were starting to look a little wrinkled in the 'fridge (don't say "ewwww" you know it happens to you too). If you don't have pesto, you could use olive oil and fresh basil, or even a tomato sauce. I added the eggplant because I love eggplant and buy one almost every time I go to the store. Mushrooms and onions are staples and I almost always have them.

Penne Pasta with Pancetta, Eggplant, Peppers & Pesto

5 oz package of diced Pancetta

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin

1/2 half eggplant, 1" diced

1/2 onion, sliced thin

1 cup sliced mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1/2 cup whole small cherry tomatoes

3 oz fresh mini mozzarella balls

2 oz home made pesto (recipe at a later date)

1 lb penne pasta

Start a pot of water for the pasta and when it boils, cook the pasta while cooking the sauce in another pan. When the pasta is done, drain and set aside.

The obligatory glass of wine while cooking pasta.

In a large saute pan or wok, cook the pancetta until crisp and remove from the pan. Reserve the rendered fat in the pan and add in the peppers, onions, and mushrooms (you can discard the fat and cook in olive oil, but the pancetta fat is so much tastier). Cook the vegetables until they are soft and remove onto a plate.

Add 1 Tbsp to the pan and add the eggplant. Cook until browned and add the garlic, cook 1 min.

Add the other cooked vegetables back to the pan and mix. Add the whole cherry tomatoes and toss to combine. Add in the pesto and fresh mozzarella. Mix in the pasta.

This isn't a beautiful dish, but damm, it tastes great!

Not a Crock...

2009-03-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

Note to self; I am not a crock pot purist. I don't believe in tossing in everything raw and turning it on. Some foods improve with a little cooking in oil first, a little browning, a little deglazing. And that's no crock... I also have no hesitation in lifting the lid, stirring the pot and rearranging things. Heresy, I know.

In this new age of austerity, I'm going to focus on some frugal recipes, getting more "bang for the buck" and cooking with what's on hand in the 'fridge or pantry. I think the recipe below cost approx. $8 and would easily feed a family of 4. It will certainly give us a few meals of leftovers for 2.

Today I'm making a Pot Roast in the crock pot. A note; I rarely measure and this recipe is certainly not an exact science. If you want to use a little more a little less or leave something out all together, that's all fine.

2.5 lb Chuck Roast
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz baby carrots
1 cup chopped celery (4 small stalks)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
8 each baby gold potatoes, halved or quartered
red wine (about 1 cup)
home made chicken stock (about 1 cup)
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp each Dried Oregano and Thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by putting the potatoes, carrots and celery into the crock pot. Cook the onions in 1 Tbsp of olive oil until they are almost caramelized. Add the garlic and deglaze with 1/2 cup red wine. Add to crock pot after about 1 minute.

I cut the meat into large chunks so it would fit easily into the crock pot. If you make this recipe in a Dutch Oven or Casserole, you can leave the roast whole.
Add 1 more Tbsp to pan and sear off meat until brown on both sides. Deglaze the pan with more red wine and scrape up all the meat bits. Add to crock pot.

Add final Tbsp of oil to pan and saute the mushrooms. Deglaze with the rest of the wine and 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Allow to reduce for a minute. Add to crock pot, add the remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock and the dried herbs and cook all day on low.

About an hour into the cooking I wasn't happy with how it was going with the meat on top. So, I turned it up to high, took the lid off and rearranged things, moving the meat down so it was covered by the liquid.

After another hour, I turned it back down to low and cooked it for about 6 hours. At this point was done enough to eat, and I tasted it for seasoning, adding salt and pepper. I also decided to let it continue cooking for a couple more hours because it was really "soupy" and I wanted it to reduce and thicken a bit. Another option would be to add a bit of flour to thicken the sauce.

While there are already potatoes in this dish for starch, it would be excellent served with a soft polenta or mashed potatoes and a green salad.

I may be one in a million...

2008-01-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

...but I'm not really thrilled with the "blog" format. I don't like that "newest post first" thing. I just can't get used to reading that way. Call me old fashioned, but I like to read in chronological order.

So, for now, I'm going to stick to my main, newly redesigned, web site.

If you've found this blog through a search engine, please know that there's so much more over on my web site.

Since the trip to Central Europe, we've been to Thailand and Cambodia in 2007 and are planning a trip to Rome for Easter 2008. See the links to the left for all the other trips.

Hope to see you all over there!
Kristina

Lufthansa Business Class- Prague-Frankfurt-LAX

2007-04-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

In the morning we have a 6:30 AM flight to Frankfurt to catch. The hotel has a taxi waiting for us at 4:45 AM and we are at the airport by 5:05 AM. The driver uses the meter and it costs us 560 kr.

Because the hotel has given me the bottle of Becherovka, and it's liquid over 3 oz, I've packed it in my bag and we are going to check our luggage through to LAX. We do this with no problems and head off to the gate.

I have 180 kr left and I'm determined to go home with no money. The only thing I can find for this amount is a big Lindt dark chocolate bar. Sold! We have some extra time so we go to the Lufthansa business class lounge. This lounge is fantastic. There's tons of free food and drinks, newspapers, and free computers with Internet. In Frankfurt, the lounge is just as nice, only much, much larger. They also have a separate First Class lounge there. I can only imagine what that is like. United needs to take a page out of Lufthansa's book for their Red carpet rooms.

Our business class seats are in the nose of the plane, since it's a 747 and First Class is upstairs. We're in row 4, at the back near the door. The seats are fine and have multiple configurations. They are slightly more comfortable than the ones on Austrian Airlines. The food however, nowhere near as good as on Austrian. What does shine however, is the inflight entertainment system. There are about two dozen programs and movies movies, "on demand" with the ability to pause and rewind. I watch 4 movies during the flight instead of sleeping.

We arrive in LA with no problems. I love it when the customs and immigration officials say "welcome home!". It puts a big smile on my face as we walk out of the terminal.

The Gourmet Club

2007-04-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

Our last evening in Prague ends with dinner in the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, “The Gourmet Club”. This dinner is included in our package and is three courses with a bottle of domestic wine. When we arrive, we are the only guests in the restaurant. As we dine, only one other couple comes in. Consequently, we get fantastic, attentive service. There is a piano player playing on a grand piano the entire time we are there.

We are offered menus and told we can choose anything we like off them, one appetizer, one main course and one dessert each. The sommelier gives us the wine list and lets us know if we want anything not Czech there will be an additional charge.

I order the Terrine of Fois Gras du canard with roasted apples, cherry chutney and anise seed (560kr) and Mom has the Cream of Sweet Pea soup with mushroom tartlet (210kr). The Fois gras is excellent as is the sweet pea soup is extremely flavorful with a wonderful little puff pastry floating in the center.

Between courses we discuss wine with the sommelier who tell us all about Czech wines. We select a bottle of Chat Dowina Michiovsky, Rulandske Modre, 2003, a Czech Pinot Noir. It’s “decent” but not fabulous, and certainly not worth the almost $50 it would have cost.

For my main course I have the duck-Magret de Canard with roasted oyster mushrooms, caramelized shallots and spring vegetables (780kr). Mom has the veal medallions with asparagus, lime foam and roasted potatoes (780kr). The entrees here fall flat compared to the apps and come across as standard hotel dining room fare. Technically fine, but uninspired and boring.

The desserts don’t do much better. I order the “mint cream” which turns out to be mint flavored whipped cream (surprise!) in a tasteless chocolate cup with sliced fruit. Mom has some ice cream which is better in its simplicity.

In all, the service was wonderful, but the food, certainly not worth the approx. $200 the meal would have cost us if we’d paid for it.

Dancing building

2007-04-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

The train ride back into Prague is uneventful. I look at my map and determine that if we get off the train at an earlier station and transfer to the Metro, we can walk past the famous Gehry “dancing” building. This is a good idea and a bad one. Good because my map reading was sound, bad because we had to get on the metro and did not have tickets nor change. Lots of walking around the station ensures that we miss the next metro and have to wait 15 min for another one. Then, once we get to the right station, we have a hard time figuring out which way to go. We don’t even realize we’re there until we’re right under the building. It’s smaller than I expect, but still charming and I’m glad we see it, if only quickly in passing, while trying to find a place open with a restroom at the same time (not easy on a Sunday).

We walk back through OTS one last time and decide the weather is so nice we’re going to spring for a glass of wine in one of the cafes. It’s 10 min to four in the afternoon and somehow, we manage to snag what is probably one of the best tables on the square for watching the clock do it’s thing on the hour. We’re right, front and center for the show, and it’s amusing to watch the crowd gather, oooh and ahhh for 1 min and then disperse just as fast.

Karlstejn Castle

2007-04-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

We finally reach the castle entrance and it opens onto a central courtyard. There is a ticket booth and the entrance fee is 220 kr per person, compulsory 1 hour tour of castle included in various languages. The next tour in English is in 25 minutes so we walk around the exterior of the castle and down to the well tower.

Once the tour starts, everyone must stay together and the guide opens doors to each room with a key, locking us in behind her as we go. No photos are allowed inside, yet there is a family (mom, dad, two teenage boys) who are surreptitiously taking photos when they think no one is looking. The woman is brazenly videotaping at one point, using the kids as lookouts. This is such a bad lesson for the kids, “the rules don’t apply to you, just don’t get caught”. My mother says to her, “no photos” and the woman just shrugs and keeps doing it anyway.

After the castle tour, we walk back down the hill. We have about an hour to kill before the train and I’m hungry. I make the mistake of ordering a doner kebab from an outdoor vendor and it’s so bad it’s barely edible. We end up in a restaurant right next to the big parking lot where the tour buses park. Lunch is surprisingly decent, but rushed- good goulash in bread bowl, fries, and an undressed Greek salad for 220 kr.

"One Euro"

2007-04-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

My mother complains as we walk up, and up, and up the hill toward the castle giving me the adult version of “are we there yet?” It is a long way up, but really, not that steep. There are supposedly horse drawn carriages which will take people almost to the top (no cars allowed) but we don't see any the entire walk up. Later, we discover the pick up point is near the parking lot at the bottom of town. I think it's $6 per person.

As we walk up the hill we pass a man with full dark beard, dressed in medieval garb with a full sized owl on his arm. The owl sits there looking stoic and slightly sleepy, while the man stands, calling out "one euro, one euro!", waiting for people who would like to have their picture taken with the owl on their arm. There is a sign in three languages saying that the money raised here goes to support “handicapped owls”.

I look at the man and ask (referring to the owl), “Is he handicapped?”
He replies, “Yes, handicapped, one euro”, holding out the leather arm cover and the bird.
“No”, I say, “can he fly?”
“Fly, yes, one euro”.
Hmmm…how does that work? What we have here folks is a failure to communicate.

I decline the photo op, slightly irritated by the guy who is maybe just out for a buck (or euro), uncertain as to whether or not the bird is being exploited, and not wanting to contribute to it. Looking back on it, I slightly regret my decision, as I would have liked to be able to hold the owl up close.

The Best Strudel in Three Countries

2007-04-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

March 11, 2007

We wake up go to breakfast and are still considering our day’s options over coffee. Finally, we decide on a trip to Karlstejn Castle, only a 40 minute train ride from Prague. It will allow us to see a bit of countryside and a cool old castle. Other day trips seem much farther away and as it’s already getting late, we opt for the closest choice.

Unfortunately, once we finally decide, we have to rush to the train station because the 1once per hour train is leaving in 30 minutes. The station is only a 10 minute walk from the hotel but once inside, we have a hard time figuring our where to go.
The clock is ticking and the train is leaving in less than 10 minutes. Finally, I manage to purchase two round trip tickets for 122kr.
Five minutes to go and we are wondering which track. Karlstejn is not the final destination of the train, so it’s hard to tell from the signs. Finally, I see a sign with “Karlstejn” on it and we step on board with only 3 minutes to spare.
The train is packed. We walk from car to car, trying to find two seats together. There are none. By the time we get to the last car, it is standing room only.

It’s Sunday, where is everyone going? People on the train are very friendly, want to know where we’re going, and eventually will even tell us when to get off the train. There are also electronic signs in each car which scroll the next stop and final stop.

I strike up a conversation with a woman who says she’s going "to country cottage" to go fishing. It’s an absolutely beautiful day and the scenery is really beautiful as it rolls by. Gradually we get out into the countryside and we can see these teeny-tiny cottages. Each look to be about 15 feet by 15 feet with a little plot of land and a garden. There are many riverside fishing spots along the train’s route as well. People are out and about, enjoying the first warmish Spring day of the year.

Once we arrive at the train station, it’s a 10 min walk to town, across a bridge. We just followed all the other day trippers.

Since it appears to be quite a long walk uphill to the castle, we needed fortification and stop for coffee about midway through town. Inside they have some baked goods in a case and right there on the counter, a plate of apple strudel. I order a piece (only 9kr!) because it looked fresh. Who knew it would be the best strudel in 3 countries? It’s light and flaky and fresh out of the oven. Not refrigerated and microwaved. It’s so amazing, I have to order another piece because I don’t leave enough for my mom to share. The coffee is decent too.

Later, I confirm with the woman inside that they indeed do bake it right there (you have to pass through the kitchen to get to the restrooms upstairs) and I do my best to convey to her how excellent it is. I don't know the name of the place, but it has a striped awning with "Cukrarna-Kavarna" printed on it and it's on the left as you walk up toward the castle.

Prague-Kogo Restaurant

2007-03-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

Kogo Restaurant, Havalska 27, Prague 1

This is an Italian place, right off the same square as the market on the edge of Old town. The restaurant is split in two by an exterior corridor. The side on the right does pizzas as well as the regular menu and appears more casual. We eat in the one on the left with white tablecloths.
There is a large pasta selection and decent wine list, but it seems expensive (like most wine everywhere here.)
We have the antipasti platter which comes with small hunks of cheese-parmesan, gorgonzola, and something plain. There's also mortadella, prosciutto, olives and small salad. They nicely split it on 2 plates for us. There’s a bread basket with bread like little pizza dough pillows and it’s good.

Mom has the mixed grill-pork, chicken, sausage, beef, etc and I have the grilled sirloin which is a very thick piece of meat, grilled a perfect extra rare (even though I’ve ordered it medium). I eat every bit of the cooked parts and there is still a very rare (almost raw) piece of the center left the size of my fist.
We also have eggplant, roasted, which comes with tomato and melted cheese and oddly, slices of hard boiled egg in the layers. Still, it’s quite good.

We have a couple of wines by the glass ( a Montenegro red and a Rubrato) but decide to leave without having dessert when the 4-top next to us all light up cigarettes and smoke us out of the room. The server apologizes but tells us Czech law prohibits them from not allowing smoking (could this be true?). Credit cards are accepted. Total about $75.

more misc photos

2007-03-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

After the monastery, we walk back toward the palace, downhill, stopping for our daily latte and strudel at a place called Cafe Zlata Hvezda. The coffee is fine but the strudel is a disaster- it’s over-microwaved, tough and drowning in choc syrup.

We walk back across the Charles Bridge, pausing for a moment to watch a man setting up his marionette, but don’t stay to watch his show. We have sausages again for lunch, and this time I count my change.

After lunch, we walk across the street, unencumbered by heavy coats left in the room, and use our tickets to the Mucha museum that came with out package. This is a lovely little museum dedicated to this famous Czech Art Nouveau artist. The drawings and paintings are stunning. There’s even a movie which chronicles his live playing in the back of the museum.

March 10, 2007- Strahov Monastery

2007-03-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

In the morning, we take the tram #22 across the river and up the hill behind the castle to the Strahov Monastery.
The main draw here are the famous libraries. There are two; one called the “Philosophical Hall” and the other called the “Theological Hall”. The Philosophical hall is the “newer” of the two, having been built at the end of the 1700’s and has bookcases reaching 50 feet in height and a painted, barrel vaulted ceiling. The Theologial Hall, on the opposite side of a courtyard, was built some 100 years earlier but mirrors the other one with bookcase lined walls and barrel vault ceiling.

Philosphical Hall

Unfortunately, the rooms are roped off so one can only peer in through the doorway. Gray haired ladies patrol like hall monitors, just waiting for someone to step out of line and (gasp!) take a photo without having paid a fee for the privilege. There is a fascinating “Cabinet of Curiosities” filled with all sorts of dried sea creatures, closest to the Philosophical Hall.

Back outside, we wander around a bit, peek into the little Renaissance Chapel (which was closed) and decide against visiting the Picture Gallery (filled with religious art) or the Miniature Book Museum (which looks more like a gift shop). Just beyond one of the monastery walls at the back of the complex are steps which walk down toward town. There’s a small vineyard and a fantastic view of Prague.

Restaurant David

2007-03-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

For dinner we take the tram back across the river and walk up to Restaurant David, around the corner from the US Embassy and the Alchemist hotel.

We arrive and must ring a bell to be admitted. We hadn’t made a reservation and we are greeted with a look of shock when we admit we don’t have one, but we're still given a table. I’m unable to tell if the look was serious or not. As it turns out, the gentleman who answered the door is the only one we see all evening serving food and my guess is that he was a tad bit over-worked.
It’s a small restaurant with two (maybe 3?) little dining rooms and they are about ¾ full. The room we're in is filled with foreigners, some American, some British, and a table of 2 Portuguese couples who are clearly having a fantastic time. Later, an American woman at a table across the room is so loud that I by the end of the evening I feel I know her entire life story, what she likes to eat and drink, and what she does not like to eat and drink. I'm horrified- she's such a cliche of the typical "ugly American tourist" I just want to cringe.

The menu looks modern and creative for Prague. I say "for Prague" only because I have not been particularly impressed by what I've seen on menus so far. Not intended to sound snobby.

We order the fois gras appetizer to share and mom orders a glass of Clos du Choi du Roy Sauternes (150kr) to go with it. The server seems a bit disappointed when we do not order a bottle of wine, as there are decanters sitting on each table, obviously meant to entice diners to order full bottles.

Before any food or wine arrives we are served a little amuse bouche of some sort of unknown liver terrine. It's rustic and good.

The foie gras comes with caramelized apple and red onion marmalade and turns out to be a good sized portion 390kr. I love fois gras torchon. The caramelized apples are in the center of the triangular torchon and the red onion "marmelade" is the color of beets.

For my entrée I order rabbit roasted w/polenta and bacon -450 and a glass of unknown french cabret-190kr.

Mom orders veal with morel mushroom cream sauce and gratin potatoes-590kr
Both are very good, with generous portions we cannot finish. No room for dessert. Too bad we could not bring home the leftovers. With 2 small waters, the total bill is slightly over 2000 kr Credit cards are accepted.

My rabbit dish at the bottom of the photo.

Sausages....yum....

2007-03-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

Would you hurry up and take the freakin' photo already???

The tour ends at the boat dock so we have to walk back. Yes, as usual, we eventually get lost. Finally, we get to Wenceslas Square and stop at one of the many sausage stands. We buy a sausage and it's excellent. The sausage and a bottle of water cost only 70 kr.

The experience is marred only by my being shorted 100kr, or about $5. I know it happened at the sausage stand because I gave them a 1000 kr note and when we got back I only had 800. I thought I had counted it, but in my haste I obviously miscounted. We didn't stop anywhere or spend any other money. It's a valuable (and expensive) lesson. I never think it's a good idea to stand and count a bunch of money in public. On the other hand, if you don't you risk being shorted.

Four Words

2007-03-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

On the way back to the hotel we stop at the kiosk for the tour company. We get a free tour of the city with our package and it turns out to be with a local company called "Premiant". The tour we are offered is the "Prague Panoramic" which is a 1 hour bus tour combined with a 1 hour walking tour of the castle district (with no entrance into anywhere that needs paid admission). Unfortunately, we've already seen everything they offer just by walking around on our own. So, one of the tour touts offers to let us switch out the tour for the "Vltava River Cruise with a Drink" tour valued at the same price (390 kr or $20). Great, we think.

We go back to the hotel and switch rooms to the “junior suite”. This room is essentially not different from the other one and might be smaller. It is, however, on the exterior of the building, so it gets lots of natural light and we have what turns out to be the only balcony on the building. We decide to keep it.

At 2:30 we board a claustrophobic mini-bus which drives us in circles, complete with guide and narration, until we arrive at the river boat docks. We're then given tickets for our "free drink". The "cruise" moves excruciatingly slow down the river to the Charles bridge and then back up. We could have walked it faster. The tour is narrated by a recording that repeats everything in 6 languages and provides absolutely no useful information.

I have 4 words for this experience; Massive Waste Of Time.

Cafe Lobkowicz

2007-03-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

There are a number of cafes at the top of the hill and we stopped at the Café Lobkowicz which is inside the Lobkowicz Palace, near the North end of the Palace complex.

This turned out to be an excellent choice. It was quiet, close to empty (not usually a good sign, but today it was) and had an amazing view of the entire city from the terrace.

We each had a latte (90 kr ea) and shared a bowl of tomato soup (85 kr) and a grilled mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich (195 kr). All were excellent.

St. Vitus Exterior

2007-03-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

Exterior of St. Vitus cathedral. If it looks a little funny, that's because I've stitched together 4 photos to make one. It was impossible for me to get far enough away to get the whole thing in one shot.

Exterior mosaics on side of Cathedral, below.

Rear view of Cathedral

The Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral

2007-03-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

Once we get to the end of the bridge, we decide to follow a (modified version) of a walking tour in our guidebook and then head uphill toward the castle area. During the walk, we get to see the famous “John Lennon wall” On the way we pass by Restaurant David and check out the menu, deciding we will return for dinner.

We walk up and up and up, eventually arriving at the top. We check out St. Vitus Cathedral. It is possible to go inside without paying. If you want to go further than 20 feet in however, you must buy a ticket. We decided to forgo the ticket, enjoyed the view from where we stood and then exited to admire the outside.

More Charles Bridge Photos

2007-03-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

Prague- March 9, 2007

2007-03-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

In the morning after breakfast at the hotel, we’re up and out early, determined to find the Charles Bridge and walk up to the Palace. We’ve booked our two hour tour with the hotel concierge, which turns out to be one of those local minibus tours where everyone wears headphones speaking “20 different languages” for an hour on the bus and then an hour walking tour of the castle area. We’re not exactly thrilled about this, but we have until 2 PM to decide to bail out of we want.

Our first stop is back at the market we found last night.

We continue walking, this time actually following a map and find ourselves in Klementium Square. I turn around, and there is the Clementin Hotel, a place I considered staying. It’s a 13th century building, one of the oldest and thinnest in Prague.

Through the narrow streets, and suddenly I can see the tower at the edge of the bridge. Finally! We are not lost!

It’s a beautiful morning and we are blessed with clear, cold weather and a relatively empty bridge. The souvenir vendors, painters, and sketch artists are just beginning to set up shop. It’s filled with perfect opportunities for photos, including one of me (with my new hat) and the castle in the background!

Great Cafe and worst meal of the trip?

2007-03-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Of course, we get lost trying to find the Charles Bridge. In fact, today, we never do find it! However, we stumble across an outdoor market in Havelska square, a couple of blocks off Old Town Square (henceforth referred as OTS). It’s mostly filled with tourist souvenirs, but it also has some fruits, vegetables and flowers. The vendors are closing up shop, but I a score a cute (and warm!) black wool hat with a green flower for 200 kr.

We wander back through OTS, and as the sun is setting decide it’s time for a coffee break. There are about a dozen restaurants lining the square, and given their fantastic location, they have equally fantastic prices. A quick check reveals a cup of cappuccino for 130 kr ($6.50). I look at my notes and see a recommendation for a café in Tyn Square (a.k.a. the Ungelt) called Café Ebel.

The square is charming, and only one block from OTS, it’s a quiet respite from the hordes. Café Ebel is different from all the “traditional” cafes we’d been frequenting. There’s blues playing on stereo, tattooed servers in casual dress, and they roast their beans daily. It’s more like a college town cafe and it’s very homey and comfortable. As it turns out, they have 5 locations in Prague, but the one we go to is at #2 Tyn Square. We each have a cappuccino (60 kr here) and share a wonderful bowl of homemade vegetable cream soup.

By the time we leave, it’s dark and we walk back through OTS where all the buildings are brightly lit. I’d been given a recommendation from a coworker for a restaurant called U Pince, right off Wenceslas Square, so we walk over to it to check it out. They are already busy so we make a reservation for 8:30. When we return, we are almost seated in the bottom dining room, but are then shuttled upstairs to make room for a party of 12 Italian tourists. Upstairs, we are ignored for 5 minutes and then finally seated in one of the small dining rooms at an unclean table with no menus. We wait for 15 minutes (no exaggeration, I timed it) and are never approached, never given a menu, and the table is never cleaned and set. In fact, though the dining room is full with other people, no one is eating, nor is anyone else served while we are there. We figure that even if we are ever given a menu, it will take at least an hour to get food so we get up and leave.

I have another recommendation for a restaurant called U Radnice, off OTS, which is supposed to have great pork and dumplings in a big restaurant with communal tables. The restaurant is almost empty, and ignoring my misgivings, we decide to stay anyway. Instead of allowing us to sit at one of the bigger tables (all empty) near the front, we are sat in a hidden back corner next to two other women who are eating and smoking. Yes, we should have asked to be moved but we didn’t. Mom orders pork and dumplings and a glass of red wine and I order duck leg and dumplings and a glass of beer. The wine is undrinkable, the beer of course is just fine. The pork is mediocre and my duck is cooked beyond recognition to the point where there is barely any meat on the bone. Our introduction to Czech “dumplings” reveals them to be akin to slices of white bread. It’s a rude awakening. The meal is about $30 and gets both our vote for the worst of the trip.

Prague-More Old Town Square Photos

2007-03-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

Tyn Church in Old Town Square, taken on a different day.

Narrow streets lead toward Charles Bridge.

I love this quirky little building, above, for it's tiny balcony and fanciful details.

Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock

2007-03-17T08:36:00.000-07:00

Before they can ring the bell again, we head out into the streets to get our bearings. It’s chilly and overcast and though our goal is to find Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge, we immediately go the wrong way. Yes, getting lost is a theme here.

Eventually we end up in front of the Municipal Building, a landmark which puts us on the map and allows me to figure out how to get to old town square. The buildings are beautiful here- a mix of art nouveau, medieval towers, and 18th century baroque. As we get closer to Old Town Square, I am stunned at the crowds of tourists here. It’s winter and I can only imagine that summer would be wall-to-wall bodies. It must be insane.

We arrive in Old Town Square just in time to see the hour change on the Astronomical clock. It’s certainly amusing watching the apostles pass by and the skeleton clang his bell, but there is a big crush of people here, all looking up at the clock, so beware pickpockets. The square is enchanting, even with all the tourist trappings. It’s easy to imagine what life would have been like here in the 15th century when the clock was built, or even later when some of the brightly painted mansions which surround the square were built.

Hotel Palace Prague

2007-03-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

Before we left I purchased a 4 night package on Luxurylink.com for the Hotel Palace Prague. It included 4 nights in a double deluxe room with upgrade to Junior Suite if available, dinner for two in the hotel's “Gourmet Club Restaurant”, two tickets to the Mucha Museum, a two hour city tour, all taxes, and other complimentary do-dads. I paid $815 total for this and I think it was a fantastic deal considering that similar packages on the hotel’s website start at about $300 per night.

We arrive in the center of Prague at the Mustek station, go up the long escalator to the top and come out at the top of Wenceslas Square closest to old town. There are multiple exits for this station about a block apart so it took me a moment to get my bearings on the map. Once I figure out where we are, it’s only a 2 block walk to the hotel.

The Hotel Palace Prague is a historical hotel right across the street from the Alfons Mucha museum. It’s a member of the “Leading Hotels of the World” so it has to meet certain standards. Thus, the entire interior has been renovated. We check in and they do not have a Junior Suite available. If we are willing to share a King sized bed, we can have one tomorrow.

We’re shown to our room and it is lovely and fairly spacious but has no view except that of an interior lightshaft. There are two big closets in the entryway across from the bathroom, a small safe, and a comfortable chair along with a work desk. The beds are very comfortable and have 3 big down pillows each. The bathroom is all grey and white marble with decent amenities.

At check in, we’re given our restaurant voucher, a voucher for two welcome drinks in the bar, and a voucher for 25% off another meal in the restaurant. Once we’re in our room, the bell rings 3 more times, each time with someone bringing us something else (a plate of petit fours, a book about Alfons Mucha and our tickets to the museum, a boxed set containing two tiny cups and a full sized bottle of the Czech liqueur Becherovka). We also get a free newspaper daily and I opt my favorite, the International Herald Tribune. We’re supposed to get a chilled bottle of sparkling wine, but we never end up ordering it.

Before they can ring the bell again, we head out into the streets to get our bearings. It’s chilly and overcast and though our goal is to find Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge, we immediately go the wrong way. Yes, getting lost is a theme here.

More Vienna Photos added

2007-03-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

I''m sure you're all holding your breath for Prague, but I'm home now and jet lag is kicking my butt!

So, to tide you over, I've added more photos to the Vienna pages. Scroll down to the first day in Vienna to see more!

March 8, 2007 Vienna to Prague

2007-03-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

Prague
$1=21 Czech Crowns (kr)

We have breakfast and then take the metro to the Sudbahnhof train station for our train to Prague. On the metro, I figure out we have to switch to a surburban rail train to get to our station. This is a bit confusing, but we finally find the right one and get there with plenty of time to spare.

When the train arrives, it’s made up of the same type of 6 seat compartment car as our trip from Budapest, as well as cars with airline style seats. We had specifically asked for non-smoking seats but unfortunately our reserved seats turned out to be in a smoking car. We move to another compartment in another car as the train almost empty. The trip is uneventful with the exception of having our passports and tickets checked twice. I never noticed this before, but immigration stamps on the train have a little train on them, and airport arrivals have a plane. My passport only has two unstamped pages left, but it expires next year, so I think this will be it.

At the Prague Holesovice train station I go to an ATM which dispenses a single 2000 kr note ($100). What a pain to use/break. We exit the (seedy) train station to try and find the Metro and end up at an Information center where we can buy metro tickets and thus, break the huge bill.
The Metro system is complicated here-ticket prices are based on number of stations, transfers, and time spent on the metro, bus or tram. Make sure you read up before you buy. We decide a 3 day pass is not for us and this ends up being a good choice.

Schonbrunn Zoo Photos

2007-03-10T07:20:00.002-08:00

Vienna Photos

2007-03-10T07:20:00.001-08:00

Vienna Photos:

Me, with new scarf!

Top of Hofburg palace facade

St Stephan's Church

March 7, 2007

2007-03-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

In the morning our plan is to take the metro out to Schonbrunn Palace, but first we make a stop at an internet cafe just below Kartner Ring on Kartnerstrasse 61. It's 2.20 euro for 30 min and you have to pay ion advance. If your time runs out, you lose anything you have on the screen, so be careful. For some reason, I could not see thumbnails of my photos so I couldn't post any, even though they do have USB drives. Everything was in German, all websites, keyboards, etc.
We take the Green line, the U4 to Schonbrunn Palace. It's a massive place, and given that it was the Hapsburg "summer homer" there is some repetition with the Hofburg. We tour the apartments with the audio guide (provided with the tickets) and then walk over to the zoo, which is why we really came out here anyway. The zoo has a pair of Giant Pandas which fascinate my mother.
The map in the guide does not indicate the zoo entrance and we end up walking much farther than needed though the gardens.
The zoo itself is interesting-it's in the Baroque style and the oldest zoo in the world, founded in 1752. The enclosures aren't as big as I'd like to see for the animals, but they are certainly not the worst. We're fortunate to see the Pandas up and lolling about, eating bamboo. But for me, even better was to be able to get right next to a lounging cheetah who was resting up against a glass window. It's an absolutely magnificent cat, and I just wanted to scratch his head. I do miss my house kitties.
Before we leave, we also check out the Palm house, a large glass greenhouse. We don't walk up to the Gloriette, which supposedly has fantastic views because we are just too tired.

Back in town, we make a quick stop at the eye doctor, who says my mom's eye is much better. We also go to the famous Cafe Central just down the block from the doc for to coffee and apple strudel which is good and served warm but has rum and nuts in it.
Note; the following was originally posted to Cafe Demel, but really belongs to the Central.
Here, I get to participate in that most Viennese cafe pastime, reading the newspaper. They have my favorite, the International Herald Tribune, on one of the sticks on which the newspapers hang. This is a very civilized way to read the paper; the newspapers are attached to a long post with metal clips. There's also a metal backing which allows the reader to hold the paper open with one hand while sipping coffee with the other.

For dinner, we walk around the city for almost an hour and eventually end up right across the street from the hotel at the 650 year old (yes, it was originally built as an Inn in 1447!) Griechenbeisl. I'm a little skeptical about eating here, and not hugely hungry, but we decide to give it a go anyway.
We are pleasantly surprised. I have a Pilsner Urquell beer, which was introduced to the world here in 1852 and a bowl of "griessnockersuppe". Mom has a nice glass of red wine and perfectly cooked lamb chops which are served with a very tasty potato and leek side dish. With a small bowl of ice cream and tip, dinner was around 50 euro.

Pedometer reading for day 6-7 miles

March 6th, continued...

2007-03-08T10:14:00.000-08:00

We dump our bags and take the metro down to the Museum Quartier where I've been dying to see the Modern Art museum (MUMOK). I'd seen it in an article in the LA Times a few months ago and the grey basalt cube of a building had a upside-down house implanted in the top. That house must have been a temporary exhibit because it was gone. In addition, this week they were in the process of changing the exhibits so half the museum was closed to the public. At this point, I decide not to go in since my mom doesn't really appreciate modern art anyway.
We walk across the street to the Natural History museum only to find that it's closed on Tuesdays. Ooops! Well, what's a girl to do now? It's strudel time!

For today's coffee and strudel, we take the u-bahn to Cafe Demel for melange (coffee with milk) and apple strudel for 11€.

Unable to bear the thought of another heavy meal, we ask at the front desk for a recommendation of something else, perhaps Italian? She recommends Rossini's, an Italian place about 2 blocks from the hotel. We are greeted with a "Buona sera!" as we walk through the door. I'm instantly happy. The menu is in Italian with German translations and with my limited Italian, and a German phrasebook, I can translate almost everything. Our waiter is adorable and jokes with us in Italian the entire night. He brings the bottles for the wines by the glass to our table since they are not detailed on the menu. We each have a glass of Palio- Montepulclano de Abruzzo which is on the menu only as "corvo rosso"
For a starter, we share the "antipasto misto della casa"-carpaccio, Parmesan, eggplant, mushrooms,etc., drizzled with olive oil, it's just what I want.
I order the "gnoccni alla sorrentina" from the Daily Specials list and it comes with a fresh tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella.
Mom has the "linguini alla piva" with garlic, olives, and eggplant.
With our pastas we each get another glass of wine; Ritocco-valpolicella valpetena 2004 and
Salice Salinto-rosso maiana d.o.c 2004.
I usually won't order Tiramisu in restaurants anymore, but tonight it turns out to be one of the best I've had in a long time and obviously homemade.

Total for dinner was around 50 euro

Pedometer for day 5- 6 miles

March 6, 2007-trip to the eye doctor

2007-03-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

Hofburg Palace

Note; This day below was written on the train from Vienna to Prague. I wrote for over 2 hours when suddenly the LD "reset" and I lost everything! Can I just mention how frustrating that is???

Mom woke up this morning with an irritated eye and after changing her contacts it just got worse. Hoping it will calm down, we go out and on the Graben, we stop in an accessory shop so she can buy sunglasses. I spy a beautiful blue and green scarf on sale for only 8 euro and buy it as well.

Next, we head to the Hofburg Palace where we wander around a bit before finding the entrance. We buy tickets for 9 euro each which cover the Silver collection, the Sisi Museum, the Imperial Apartments and come with an audio guide included.
The Silver collection includes all the Hapsburg china, glass, silver and gold, plates, utensils, serving ware, everything. The sheer volume of items is overwhelming and even includes a 30 meter long gold centerpiece.
The "Sisi" museum is all about Empress Elizabeth, wife of Emperor Franz Josef. She was a remarkable women for her era; well educated, opinionated, athletic, independent, well traveled and a poet. She married at the age of 15, had many children, and in later years, refused to spend her time in the Vienna court. It was clear that her husband loved her very much, but unclear if his feelings were returned. She was also vain-obsessive about both her weight and her waist length hair and refused to be photographed after the age of 32. A very interesting woman and exhibition.
The Imperial Apartments are well furnished and even include Elizabeth's bathroom, the first of it's kind with indoor plumbing in Vienna.
I always find myself wondering why we cannot see the kitchens or servants quarters whenever I've toured a palace or castle. What was life like behind the scenes?

By now, Mom's eye is no better, so we walk back to St Stephan's square from the Hofburg to where she remembers seeing an eye wear shop with what looks like medical equipment in the back. It turns out, they are not allowed to look at her eye, she has to go to an optometrist. They recommend one, and of course, he is back near the entrance to the Hofburg.
Dr. Georg Burggasser (Herrengasse 6-8) speaks perfect English and tells Mom that she's been wearing her contacts for too long and she's badly irritated her eye. He gives her a prescription for drops and ointment and asks her to return tomorrow for a follow-up. His fee is only 30 euro, and the prescriptions at a pharmacy, another 8 euro. Would that have been possible in the US without insurance?

By now it is almost 2PM and I'm delirious with hunger. We stop at the famous Cafe Mozart across the street from the Albertina. Looking for something light I order the Caesar salad with chicken and it arrives on hot plate, overdressed and wilted. The waiter brings another, but it was not much better. Mom's soup is good and with
the white house wine and a lemon soda lunch is almost 25 euro. Again, I find myself wondering if it might not have been better (and cheaper) to have wurst at one of the local stands.

At this point we decide we need to go back to the Pertschy get our bags and roll on over to the Hotel Austria.
Our room, #203, is a "classic" room, and what the front desk clerk refers to as an "apartment" (it's not). There are 2 rooms, one with two twin beds, an armoire, and a tv, and another with a single bed and tv. The ceilings are at least 16 feet high and the bathroom is very small with a tiny stall shower and a light that's on a dial timer. We are each given a little amenity pack as we check in rather than finding them in the bathroom. In all, an ok room, neat and clean, but lacking in personality.

Trzesniewski

2007-03-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention lunch!
We went to the much touted Trzesniewski for sandwiches right off St Stephan's square. This place is very popular with both locals and tourists. It's famous for it's open faced little sandwiches. There is a card with English translations, or you can just point to what looks good. They offer 21 different 3"x4" sandwiches, ranging from plain egg salad to liverwurst, tuna, pepper, herring, etc. each costing .90€. Order your drinks at when you pay for your food and the cashier gives you a little rubber token to hand to the bartender. The place is very tiny inside and you may have to stand, but the sandwiches are really tasty.

Pedometer reading day 4-6 miles

Vienna Naschmarkt

2007-03-07T00:26:00.000-08:00

We set out to walk around and get our bearings. It's a lovely day, chilly but clear and the city appears beautiful at first glance, filled with pastel colored baroque buildings. We go back to St. Stephan's and go inside. Unlike the church of the same name in Budapest this place was quite crowded with both tourists and devotees. It's stunning high gothic and the level of sculptural detail is incredible. There are two massive pipe organs, one above the entrance and one to the right of the alter.

From there we walk to the Hotel Austria where we'll be for the following two nights. It's about 6 blocks in the opposite direction. By now it's mid-afternoon and time for our daily coffee and apple strudel. We stop in Cafe Diglas but leave after a few moments because it is ungodly hot and smoky inside (later we discover this is not the same famous cafe mentioned in the guidebooks-it must be a smaller offshoot).
We end up at a large cafe which seems to be famous for it's gelato since every other person walking down the street is eating ice cream. We sit outside under a canopy with heaters and have our coffee and strudel.
I am on the quest for the perfect strudel and have yet to find it. Only the one in the market in Budapest fresh out of the oven seems to be close to perfect. Most others have been over-refrigerated or over-microwaved. I'm seriously considering calling this "Kristina and Sharon's Amazing Apple Strudel Advenure". Hmmm...maybe not.

We figure we have to see something else for the day and opt to go check out the famous Naschmarkt. This place has been somewhat maligned by the foodies on Chowhound.com as being too "sterile". I've seen "wet" markets all over the world and yes, this is not one with pigs heads on display or fish blood dripping on your shoes, however it is probably one of the most beautiful displays of foodstuffs I've ever seen.

The market is outside, on a center island between two busy streets. There are two rows of permanant stalls/shops with the one on the Linke Weinzeille side appearing to be primarily restaurants and bars. The one on the Rechte Weinzeille side however has all manner of produce, cheeses, flowers, fruits, meats, spices etc. What makes this so impressive however is the sheer beauty and color of the vendor's displays. Everything looked good. There is an amazing stall selling nothing but small batch vinegars of all flavors. These were so tasty, I wished I could have bought some, but then we would have check our luggage going home.
We walk and walk and finally break down and buy olives, apples, and tangerines.

Spices in the market

Olive Guy

Back to the hotel and rest before dinner. Then we go to a place called Augustinerkeller am Albertinaplatz which is below the Albertina museum and close to the hotel. It supposedly has good traditional Austrian food and wine.
We start dinner with a couple of glasses of Austrain white; Gruner vetliner DAC 2005-2.9€
Weinviertel Schrattenberg Trocken and Sauv Blanc 2005 -Weingut Ipsmiller Weinviertel Schrattenberg Trocken-2.90€

Mom has the "menu" which at 15€ consists of;
Leberknödelsuppe-beef consome with liverwurst meatball, very tasty.
Hirsch deer in Rahmsauce mit "Seewinkler Spirlnudeln" und Preiselbeeren
Apfelstrudel

I have 1/2 Hintere Stelzegegrillt mit bratkaroffel (grilled pork shank with roasted potatoes)

With another glass of wine it's 36 euro total. This place is ok, but afterward I find myself wondering if dinner might not have been better (and cheaper) to have wurst at one of the local stands.
Like most places here (shops, cafes, restaurants, internet cafes) it must be over 80 degrees inside. I know it's chilly outside, but why do all the interiors have to be superheated?

Location, Location, Location

2007-03-07T00:16:00.000-08:00

Budapest Train Station

Monday March 5, 2007
Location, Location, Location
$1.31= 1€

In the morning, we up early and out to the closest metro to catch the subway to the train station. We didn't end up buying our tickets in advance, so we want to get there early for the 9:10 daily train to Vienna.

Upon arrival at the metro station, we wander a bit before we figure out that the international ticket counters are upstairs. More wandering and we finally find the ticket room which is under construction.
We ask for two one way tickets to Vienna and the agent says she will give us "a special price". What does that mean? We really have no idea what these tickets will cost since it's impossible to find out what they are online. Someone on Fodor's had told me they would be about $40 each for 2nd class.
Turns out the "special price" is for non-refundable tickets and for two, were 6770 ft That's about $35 total for two 2nd class tickets. It´s much less than I expected. Maybe it's because we bought them last minute, but who am I to complain? Unlike many of the people in the service industry here, this woman is incredibly nice and patient.

Between us, we have about 11,800 forint left. I set out to spend the 800 ft in change (which cannot be exchanged) and two waters, an inedible langos (fried dough), one coffee, and one cream filled donut later, I have only 3 forint of the change left in my pocket. I take the 11,000 to a change window in the train station (yes, I'm sure the rate was horrible) and exchange it for 42 euro.

We board the train, and our carriage is made up of 6 seat compartments. There is an older gentleman already in our compartment eating a very fragrent salami sandwich. He graciously helps us get our bags up on the luggage racks (another reaason I'm glad we packed light). After a few moments, he realizes he's in the wrong car, and leaves. We end up with the compartment to ourselves for the entire trip. It's very comfortable and has 2 -220v plug outlets for laptops. It's nice to watch the countryside roll by and I spend most of the time writing about our last day in Budapest and looking out the window.

Train Car- 2nd Class

Mom relaxing on the train.

At the Westbahnhof train station we decide to buy our tickets to Prague before we leave so we don't have to come back before Thursday. These tickets are substantially more than the other ones, and end up costing 47.90 Euro each (incl. a 3.50 reservation fee) for 2nd class. That's more than the other two combined. Yes, it's a longer ride, but wow, I guess the Budapest-Vienna ticket was "special". Unfortunately, the woman behind the counter was nowhere near as nice as the one in Budapest; she was clearly irritated at having to deal with non-German speaking tourists all day.

Next, we try and figure out the transportation pass system. There are computer kiosks in 4 languages selling all manner of passes. Unfortunately, it's unclear what all the passes are. What's a "shopping" pass? Single rides are 1.5 euro, a day pass is 6 euro and a 72 hour pass is 12 euro. We figure it will be good still on Thursday when we have to go back to the train as it will still be less than 72 hours. Eight rides and it pays for itself.

We take the U-Bahn (subway) to the town center, Stephansplatz where the St. Stephan's Cathedral is. Pension Pertschy is only about 4 blocks away. Talk about "location, location, location". We are right in the hub of things here and I can't be happier. There are restaurants, shops, sights. One of the things I did not like about the Hotel Victoria in Budapest was that there was nothing close by, not even a shop in which to buy a bottle of water. But the view was spectacular.

The Pension Pertschy is a block below the famed Graben walking street and we are there in minutes. It's located in an old building with a central courtyard. When checking in, we are offerred our choice of two rooms, 317 or 318. The first is bright and cheery, with a window to the exterior, but with a view of nothing but the building next door and a small stall shower. The latter has windows on the couryard (meaning people can see in as they walk past) but we take it because it is larger. There is a slightly faded air about the place, but it is charming. For 105 euro a night including breakfast it's a fantastic deal for the location. There is also a single computer with free access in the lobby area. It's set inside an old upright piano with the center piano keys missing and a keyboard installed in their place. I've seen this place recommended quite a bit on the Fodor's board.

Sunday March 4-Sometimes It's Just Time to Go

2007-03-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

We head out for Sunday market at Battanany Ter which is a disappointment. Nothing is open but regular supermarket. We buy day pass tickets for the bus, metro and tram and take the bus across the river to the Opera station with the intent of going to use the internet and then going to the House of Terror Museum.

The "Internet Cafe" at 46 Andrassy is the same on we used our first night and it's open 24 hours. They are actually closer to the Octogon stop, right next to a Burger King (which has nice restrooms should you need them because the internet place does not). An hour later, and I've posted the last two day's entries and lots of photos to the blog.

We set out up the street for the House of Terror museum which chronicles the Hungarian experience with the Nazis during WW2 and the Soviet regime up to the 1956 revolution. It's a very interesting place which uses technology and modern art to the fullest extent. The building was used by both the Nazis and the Hungarian secret police to interrogate and torture people they suspected of being in the Resistance. Even with some explanations in English we were still confused much of the time.

I believe my feelings are colored by an unfortunate experience at the outset with a museum guard.
We buy our tickets and enter the central courtyard of the building which is filled with a humungous tank sitting on a giant block of black marble with what looks to be oil oozing from underneath in a "fountain" like fashion. The surrounding walls are filled up to the third floor with black and white photos of dead 1956 Revolution fighters. It's a very shocking piece and incredibly interesting. I get out my camera and suddenly a tall man in his early 50's approches quickly with voice raised and finger wagging.
"Nem! Nem!" (NO! NO!)
So, I look at him, lower my camera and say "Ok". He continues to wag his finger at me and say "No photo! Nem!" in a loud voice. I smile and say, "ok, ok" putting my camera back in my bag. He continues to yell at me. Now, I'm getting pissed. What is his point? Finally, he storms off mutterring to himself.

This man would have been right at home in the interregation rooms in the basement. He missed his true calling by about 50 years. I can't even begin to explain how angry and intimated he made me feel. This is something I've only seen in Europe; men here have a way of wagging their fingers at women in a scolding motion which should be reserved for small children and dogs. I've never seen this in the US, but I have all over Southern Europe (especially Italy and Spain) and it's completely insulting.

I know he wanted to tell me photos were not allowed. That's fine. But find a better way. There were no signs anywhere stating, "No Photo". Nothing on the ticket. Nothing told to us as we entered.
All this before we've even seen an exhibit. It leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth, but we move on. Later, I think, after viewing some of the installations, "was this some sort of sick performance art?" Unfortunately, I don't think so.

After touring the museum top to bottom, we need fortification and set out for a coffee house. Two cappucinos later (and more apple strudel!) we try to decide what to do with the rest of our day and tomorrow. We could do a spa day. We could go to the fine art museum. Do a day trip tomrrow. We're both feeling a bit apathetic about our options and discuss the possibilty of leaving Budapest a day early. I'm really torn about this; I hate to "give up" on a city, but sometimes it's best to move on. It's been cold and rainy most of out time here and I think we'd be more interested in being out and about if it were warmer outside. Plus, I'm starting to think we were going to short change Vienna with only a day and a half.

We head back to the hotel to investigate our options. We can check out early with no penalty so we call the hotel in Vienna to see if we can arrive a day early. Unfortunately, they are full. The lovely, very helpful, Gabrielle at the front desk recommends the Hotel Perstchy in Vienna which I've read about in my pre-trip research. We call, and they have a room for 100 euro per night with breakfast. We're sold.
The two "international" calls from the room to Vienna are shockingly cheap for a grand total of 300 ft (about $1.50).

Determined to get the most use out of our daily transportation pass (1350 ft) we take a tram down to the Gellert Hotel to check it out and see the spa. The hotel is in a Belle Epoch style with a little bit of Spanish Gaudi thown in. It looks like it needs a good scrubbing on the outside and the inside has a touch of "faded glory". The spa entrance is around the right side of the hotel. We go in to find it's already closed for the day but were able to peer in and it looks lovely. It would have been nice to spend part of a day there but we just didn't get to it.

We take the tram back to the Chain Bridge and then a bus up to the top of the hill near the Palace. The Palace is now home to three museums and we have just enough time (1 hour) to see the Budapest Museum before it closes. I think this was a good choice because it covers the history of the palace area from pre-history, to Roman, to the Middle Ages and through the turn of the century. There are hundreds of artifacts (pottery, glassware, jewelery) all excavated from under the Palace and the surrounding hill. Though we walk through quickly because it's clear they are closing, we could have spent a bit more time exploring the basement area with the ruins from the Middle Ages. I really like this place.

Before we left home, I'd done a lot of research about restaurants at our destinations. One place I really wanted to try was called Kempiro on a street of the same name near the central market. I'd emailed them for a reservation, but received no response. When we arrived, I asked Gabrielle to call for us, which she did but no one ever answered. I suppose we should have taken this as a sign, but undeterred, we head down there for dinner assuming if they are closed we'll find something else.

It's 8:15 on a Sunday night, and not only are they closed for reconstruction, but so is everything else because it's Sunday. We head up the pedestrian street, thinking "we'll find something there", however nothing is open but super-touristy resaurants with "Special Hungarian Tourist Menus". Ick.

We walk, and walk, and walk and end up near St. Stephan's were we wander and find a few very expensive hyper-trendy restaurants. Not interested. Well, there's always an old failsafe. No, no McDonalds, but the Four Seasons Gresham Palace Hotel. Can't go wrong with a Four Seasons just about anywhere in the world. We rationalize this with, "we have a credit card" and "we didn't eat lunch!" and head in. Their high-end restaurant Pava is closed but the Gresham Kavehaz is open. It's still expensive, but has some things that look good on the menu.
We each have a glass of white wine and at 1600 ft, it's 4 times as expensive as last night, but it's good (Vlona Helmann es Fiai Szekszard- a blend of Viognier and ?)
I order Chicken Paprika which is a breast, perfectly cooked, wrapped around a slice of red bell pepper and comes with a creamy paprika sauce, Galvska noodles (again, like handmade spatzle) and a cucumber salad.
Mom has Monkfish with Chantrelle Mushrooms and Crayfish in a Reisling sauce. She practically licks the plate.
Dinner for 2 with tip-aprox 14,000 ft.

Pedometer reading for day 3- 7 miles

House of Meat

2007-03-04T01:13:00.000-08:00

Dinner at Carne de Hall-
Who would think that a restaurant loosely translated as "House of Meat" would be as lovely and refined as this one?

Carne de Hall is located about two blocks from our hotel. I chose this place based solely on a single glowing reference on Chowhound.com. It was well worth the risk.

We began with two glasses of white, both Hungarian. Wine is ordered by 10 cl (3 oz). These are smaller pours, letting us try more than one wine.
Gellavllla Glaszizling 2004/5, Balatonszolos (400-ft)
Nyakas Budai Cuvee 2004, Etyek-Buda (400-ft)

For my appetizer, I was already craving something light after all the heavy food we've had. They had four salads on the menu, but all had some sort of meat or fish with them. I asked if it was possible to get just a plain salad. " Of course" was the answer. What came to the table was a huge bowl of undressed baby lettuce accompanied by some bottles of olive oil and vinegar. I asked if I could have it dressed with a mustard vinaigrette listed on one of the salads on the menu and it came back perfect. It was exactly what I wanted. Mom ordered a cream of pumpkin soup which was also very good.

Red wines with main courses:
Vylyan Portugieser 2004-Villany-400 ft-This was decent, but not as good as the
Takler Trio 2003-Szeksard 700 ft- an excellent blend of3 wines.
Mom also ordered the Konyai Cab Sauv 2004/5 Balatonlelle- 600 ft-tasty and I ordered a glass of the Trio (best wine of the night).

For my entree, I selected the duck breast with mashed pumpkin and homemade noodles (which were more like dumplings cooked on a griddle. They were finger shaped and were so good). Everything on the plate was tasty and the duck perfectly cooked.
Mom had Filet medalions with grilled goat cheese polenta cakes and a shallot sauce. The polenta has the most pronounced corn flavor I've ever tasted. Again, everything is wonderful.
Too full for desserts, though they sound great.

13380 ft with tip included on the check (approx $72) makes this the most expensive meal yet. Still, a bargain compared with LA prices. Excellent service too.

Pedometer reading for day 2-5 miles

Budapest-March 3, 2007 Sunshine and Rain

2007-03-04T01:09:00.000-08:00

We begin the day with sunshine out the window and breakfast downstairs in the hotel bar.

First stop is the magnificent St Stephen's Basilica, whose dome we can see from our room across the river. On the way, we walk through the beautiful Four Season's Grisham Palace hotel. The lobby is stunning with a vintage wrought iron and glass ceiling.

St Stephan's in the largest church in Hungary and was built over a 50 year span in the mid 1800's. It, and the square surrounding it were refurbished in 2003. Inside was beautiful, and for a few moments we had the place to ourselves as it was almost completely empty, save one docent and a man praying quietly. As we left, a large group of Japanese tourists were heading up the steps.

Next, we head toward Deak Ter ("Ter"="Square"), hoping to maybe buy a metro pass and find a travel agency which reportedly sells train tickets. We make it to the square ok, decide to pass on the passes, and then proceed to get lost and walk in circles again. Finally, we find the next square we're looking for called Vorosmarty Ter where we find both the coffeehouse we're looking for called Gerbeaud's and Budapest's only Citibank office where I get some cash. The travel agency turns out to be closed for remodeling.

Gerbeaud's (Vorosmarty Ter 7) is one of the old Grand Cafes of Budapest, dating back to 1858. Inside is huge, with many rooms and tons of tables. The pastries are beautiful. We have cappuccinos and a cheese pasty which is pretty good. It does appear that most of the patrons are tourists as I see lots of maps and guidebooks on the table but no mind as it's nice to just sit at a table, look out the window and sip our coffee.

After coffee, we head down Vaci U., a pedestrian only shopping street filled with a pan-european collection of clothing stores. We window shop a bit, stopping to look at paprika in a shop and scarves on the street (much more expensive here than NY or Paris), finally arriving at our destination, the Great market Hall, or "Kozponti Vasarcsarnok".

This market has been said to be too "touristy", and yes, parts are, but we say plenty of local families doing their weekend shopping. In fact, one deli stall just to the right of the main entrance was three deep with local customers the entire time we're there. The upstairs level is filled with local crafts including lots of cotton embroidery work. There are also a few snack shops up there. The street level is filled with fruit and vegetable stands, meat and sausage vendors and one special, very popular place selling only strudels of about a dozen flavors. of course, I had to try it and get a good sized piece of sour cherry/apple strudel for only 175 ft. It was very good, but almost too heavy on the fruit and not enough pastry. Still, worth a try. The basement level has fish vendors, pickle sellers, and a good sized "regular" grocery store.

By now, it's about 1PM and dumping rain. But of course, it's also time for more food-lunch!

I'd read quite a few good reviews of a place in the square just behind the market called "Borbirosag" (5 Csarnok Ter). This place is all about the wine, with about 50 bottles on the list, most by the glass. The menu is varied and most dishes have a number pairing them with a section of the wine list.
We have the "borbiro plate"-hard sausage, goose cracklings, and goose liver pate-1950 ft., goulash-650 ft., and wine;
from Szekszaro-Cervaes 2004-Heimann Csaladi Birtak
from villany-Gunzer cuvee 2004-Gunzer Zoltan.
Total 5906 ft incl tip

Whew! After that we walk all the way back to the hotel, stopping briefly at an overheated internet cafe where all I can do is check email. For some reason I cannot access the Fodor's website here-so if anyone reading this has found my blog via Fodor's-thanks for reading!

Walking in circles

2007-03-04T01:08:00.000-08:00

After dinner, we want to try and find an internet place again so Mom can check her work email and I can try and upload the blog. We strike out at the Soho cafe and the guy at the front desk is less than helpful with his recommendations. I look in the guidebook and find a 24 hour place listed, but it's across the river.
The front desk guy directs us to the Metro station up the street at Batthyany Ter, only to find that the metro line here is shut down due to construction. There is a replacement bus, but apparently, one cannot buy a ticket on the bus. There is a bus ticket machine, but it only takes coins and we don't have enough for two tickets. Down in the metro station, there are no ticket offices open, and no change machines. We ask complete strangers for change and no one has any. We go into a Pizza restaurant and the server there can only manage 200 ft change. Tickets are 230 ft and we still don't have enough. We ask a taxi driver how much to our destination and we quotes us 2000 ft.

We walk back to the hotel, get change from the front desk guy who says "oh, yeah, guess the metro is closed". By now, we've been walking in circles for an hour, but we are determined.
Down to the chain bridge we go, hoping to find a bus there and a ticket machine. Yes, bus, no machine. At this point, it's take a cab or go back.

Suddenly, a teeny, tiny cab stops (think smaller than a Mini Cooper) driven by a huge bear of a man with a giant beard. Mom asks "how much to go to 46 Andrassy, near the Opera Metro station?" "2500 forint",he says. Now everything I've been told, everything I've read, has said never pick up a cab on the street, always call for one. But, we have no cell phone to call. So, mom says, "no, that's too much". They go back and forth and he agrees to take us for 1000 ft! So, in the cab we go and we're there in about 10 minutes. No problem. And there it is, the aptly named "Internet Cafe" at 46 Andrassy- 200 ft for 15 minutes. And, luckily, they allow customers to use their usb ports so I'm able to upload a little to the blog. Mom is happy too and I have to drag her away from work after about half an hour. We walk all the way back to the hotel and crash.

Pedometer reading for day-5 miles

The Castle District

2007-03-04T01:05:00.000-08:00

We resist the pull of a nap and set out walking. Our first stop is a cafe around the corner from the hotel, Cafe Soho, purportedly with internet access. A couple of cups of decent cappuccino and 30 minutes of frustration later, we leave. Their internet access does not work. We return later that night and only one computer is limping along-too slow to use. I do manage to squeeze off a single email via WiFi from the LD to my husband to let him know we are alive before it freezes up.

We walk in the direction of the Chain Bridge to the bottom of the hill below the Castle complex where there is a small funicular leading up to the top of the hill. The funicular dates back to 1870 and has two tracks with three wood paneled compartments each. It takes about a minute to get to the top and the views are breath taking.

After a couple of minutes on the palace side, we go min search of a restroom and spend about 10 minutes wandering in circles (soon to be a theme for us) before finding a public WC costing 70 ft. Mom declares after, "I would have paid $100 for that". Not because it was so nice (it wasn't) but because it was so needed.

On the way back up to the square, we pass two guys in medieval dress with birds of prey on their arms-one was a small falcon and the other was absolutely huge, over two feet tall and I have no idea what it was. We are walking in the other direction and I have to force myself not to turn on my heels and follow them. About 20 feet later, I regret my decision, and we go back down the hill to see what they're doing with the birds. They've vanished.

Next we continue walking, following along loosely with the Frommer's Budapest walking tour of the Castle District. It was cold and rainy, but still fun. Matthias church was beautiful, from the outside (we did not go in). Fisherman's Bastion is a structure built on the edge of the hill on the site of an old fish market. For the life of me I cannot figure out why there would have been a fish market that high up on the hill instead of down by the river, but it was lovely nonetheless. Amazing views of the entire Pest side of the river. From there, we walking in a zig zag patten among the old streets looking at the houses, some dating back to Medieval times.
By now, it's mid afternoon and we need food, or at least coffee, so we stop at Ruszwurm Cukraszda, at a tiny coffee house which has been here since 1827. We have tea and two different strudels, one apple and one cherry. They we just ok, not amazing. Fading fast, we go back to the hotel for rest.

For dinner, we want to try Hungarian food and go to a restaurant near hotel called Horgasztanya Vendeglo (Fo u. 27). Although it seems to have a seafood theme in it's decor, we gravitate toward heavier fare. For a starter we share a duck liver w/ onions and marjoram which looks a bit scary on the plate but tastes great. I have wild boar stewed in red wine for my entree and a side of "housemade gnocchi" which is a bit more like spatzle, but good. Mom has pork cutlets "bacony style" with paprika and mushroom cream sauce. With a glass of red wine and a beer dinner is 7000 ft incl tip.

Budapest, Friday March 2, 2007

2007-03-04T01:01:00.000-08:00

$1= 191 Hungarian Forints (ft)

As we come in for a landing in Budapest, it's raining, but the countryside is oh so fertile and green. We exit the plane, again on the tarmac and are bussed to the terminal. Inside, it's only a matter of minutes to go through passport control, complete with the requisite post communist desk officials who are so disinterested in their jobs they would rather talk to each other than process us. Still, it's fairly quick and we do get our passports stamped.

The ATM machine is easy to find and I make a classic blunder in currency conversion and barely take out enough money to cover the cab ride and the rest of the day. Sure, it's easy to get more but why pay unneeded bank fees for extra transactions? Outside the terminal is a airport controlled taxi service where I buy a voucher with the name of the hotel on it. This means it's a fixed rate of 4200 ft to our destination (price determined by "zone/ distance from airport. Since we had no luggage to wait for, I think we are in the taxi within 20 minutes of landing.
The taxi driver is the long lost cousin of Mario Andretti and has us cringing and closing our eyes. Still, I wonder why it is that I almost never wear a seat belt in foreign taxis? Is it because they are rarely available in most of Asia, or am I afraid of "insulting" the driver? Nah, it's probably just an unrealistic assumption they know what they're doing and a refusal to accept that anything could go wrong.
The inside of the taxi has a sign in 4 languages reminding passengers the "tip is not included in price".

Hotel Victoria
We chose this hotel based on Tripadvisor.com reviews and the fact that it has a fantastic view from every single room. There are only 3 rooms per floor and 9 floors, so it's small.

The plusses: Our room is on the 8th floor and we have a corner room. This means we have two huge windows, giving us a panorama view from the Chain Bridge to Parliament (see photos below). The room itself is good sized, and pretty much looks exactly like the photos on the website (not quite as "nice" but still fine). Beds are decent, firm, but not plush and come with warm duvets. The bathroom is small, shower only, but has good water pressure. The tv has 12 or so channels, in English, 4 news and MTV, but we're not here to watch tv.

The minuses: The location, while close to the castle, is not exactly in the hub of things, so there aren't as many restaurant choices and transportation options. Our closest Metro stop is about 8 blocks away and is temporarily closed while we are here (more on that later). There are no amenities in the bathroom other than soap. There's no internet access, except ridiculously expensive WiFi, though they may offer it free soon.

seat 3k

2007-03-04T00:58:00.000-08:00

IAD-Vienna

Warning: this is a highly detailed description of our flight experience because it was so freakin' impressive. If boring, skip to next entry.

As soon as we get on the plane we can see that we are in one of Austrian's brand new business class cabins. We are offered a glass of sparking wine (a nice prosecco), offered menus and asked to select our choices for breakfast. The cabin crew seems to be mostly male, and we nickname the two guys up front with us Dieter#1 and Dieter #2. They are both incredibly nice.

The seats are amazing with multiple electronic controls to rival the space shuttle. In fact, we are told by Dieter #1 that this is only the second trip this particular plane has made with the newly configured seats. He also warns us not to push too many of the buttons at once. Dieter #2, gives us a brochure which explains all the bells and gizmos of the seats, some really useful (like nooks for books and personal lights on bending arms) and some not so good (like a "massage" function in the back of the seat which does not much more than make the seat feel like it's "breathing" behind you). The seats are inside their own "shell" which is nice because then the person behind you is not pulling on your seat back when they are trying to get out. In general, these seats rock compared to United's business class. Austrian does not have 1st class, so this is as good as it gets here.

Food- I have to say this is probably the best meal I have ever had on a plane. I had read that each plane came with a personal chef, but was still shocked to see a short young man in a white chef's coat on our flight. Meals are served on real china, with glassware and multiple sets of silver. There is a separate wine list and I had a lovely 2004 Zantho Zweigelt red wine with my meal. Other options included a couple of Spanish, French and Italian wines.

For the food, we were offered a little amuse of proscuitto bruschetta, grilled zucchini rolled around goat cheese, and two nicoise olives. Next, came buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes and fresh basil and (gasp!) a soup course with a really, really good creamy pumpkin soup complete with a garnish of toasted pumpkin seeds. For the main course I selected the filet of beef with came a perfect medium rare (how did they do that??) with peppercorn sauce and a baked potato. Desserts were chose from a cart and included cheeses, crepes cheesecake or vanilla ice cream with berries. I wish I'd taken pictures of the meal.

We slept and watched movies for most of the flight. I have to admit, the seats were not as comfortable as I would have liked. The bottoms are really hard, and the "sleep" position is not really flat, but rather tilted down so it's a little hard to get comfortable. That said, they are still a million times better than coach and I think I'm spoiled for life.

On arrival in Vienna, it's clear we are in Europe because people are smoking in the restaurants inside the terminals near the gates. We have to go through security to get to our next gate and wonder why we do not have to remove our shoes. We're bussed out onto the tarmac to a tiny propeller plane and because we were still in business class (first 3 rows of seats) we were offered a snack meal on the 40 min flight. This time, I did take a photo, even though the food as not nearly as good.

Photos

2007-03-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

We are here in Budapest!
I don't have it all written yet, but since I'm here in an internet cafe and can get online with access to my photos, I want to get some posted.
In short Austrian Airlines is fabulous (more on that later) and we arrived to Budapest in the rain. Spent the afternoon walking around the castle district, and had a yummy Hungarian meal in a local restaurant for dinner. More details to come tomorrow.

In the meantime, here are a few photos:

Our tiny plane from Vienna to Budapest.

Here's the view of the Hungarian Parliament Building from our hotel room window day, and night.

seat 12J

2007-03-02T13:31:00.000-08:00

I'm up at 4:30 am, and it's too early to think.

By 5:30, we've picked up Mom and are driving to the airport. I'm well on my way to a full blown panic attack. As much as I love to travel, I'm really bad at it. Actually, the worst part is the trip to the airport.

By the time we get there, I'm ok. We check in, spend a little time in the united red carpet room and then head for the gate.

united LAX-IAD
It's been a long time since I've flown business class and I have to say, seat 12J is pretty darn nice. It's not often when you can't touch the seat in front of you (for those of us who are regularly back in coach). We're offered a pre-flight drink (water or OJ, hey,it's early!) and we take off. The flight is easy, we have a full breakfast of a pretty bad frittata, fruit, warm croissant and some scary sausage. I watch Marie Antoinette, and while I generally like Sophia Copola movies, I find it had to be sympathetic to this queen. After the movie, I sleep a bit and then suddenly, we're here.
Fortunately, we're on the same concourse and we have a couple of hours before our flight to Vienna on Austrian Airlines. Austrian doesn't have a business lounge here, so we head for the closest Red Carpet room which turns out to be (what feels like) a 3 mile hike away in the next terminal. "Oh, it's just through there"...20 minutes of walking and we are finally there. The lounge is packed and we and we find seats in a far corner. I'm hoping to get online and I think "score!", the DC airport has free WiFi. Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to get it to connect to the internet. Everyone around me seems to be on their laptop, so it could just be me. Who knows? I hope this is not a preview of the rest of the trip.

On the way back to our departure gate we see the red carpet room in terminal D, right across from where we had deplaned. Boy, do we feel dumb. I guess it really was closer than we thought.

Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior

2007-02-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, somebody stop me. There is such a thing as being over-prepared, right?

I tend to gather lots of information before I go somewhere. I put it all in a Word file and print it out before I leave. It's my own personal mini-guidebook of sorts, heavy on the food info. Add to that print outs of train schedules and let's not forget copies of all the hotel confirmations.
This time, I've put it on the Lifedrive, printed out copies of each city for my Mom to carry and emailed copies to myself.
Did I mention that each city's notes was packaged in it's own labeled ("PRAGUE") zip-lock bag?

And then I wonder, should I give her the hotel confirmations? Can I trust her not to lose them?

Seriously.
What is wrong with me?

Next, I printed out a copy of my passport and a list of all of our hotels to put in an outer pocket of my suitcase, in case I have to check it and in case it gets lost. Plus a copy of the hotel list for Mom's suitcase too (her luggage does have a tendency to get delayed).

Help me. The travel tyrant is rearing her ugly head again.

36 hours and counting.

Links for Vienna and Prague

2007-02-26T21:02:00.000-08:00

Vienna

Vienna Tourism-Helps you creat a custom itinerary.
Trip Advisor Vienna Forum
10 Day weather forecast for Vienna

Prague

Trip Advisor Prague Forum
Living in Prague-Tons of info from someone who lives there. Has some design problems but the info is good.
10 Day weather forecast for Prague

Packing it in...

2007-02-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

My plan is always to do carry-on. I just don't like to give over my stuff if I can avoid it. Plus, once on the ground, it's much easier not to be dragging a ton of luggage around.

Here's my process...

Start by laying everything out. Of course it's different for South East Asia than it is for Europe in winter.
For this 12 day trip I have:
4 pairs pants (Jeans, Black wool pants (dressy for dinner), grey cords and black Dockers)
4 cashmere sweaters (warm but lightweight-Blue, Burgundy, Green and Black)
4 long sleeve t-shirts
2 short sleeve t-shirts
1 dressy shirt
2 pair Black slip-on walking shoes (loafers and trainers)
1 pair Black boots with 2" heel
Bathing suit and flip-flops for spas
assorted undies and socks
silk long underwear
Black wool coat
Gloves and Scarf

I put it all in large zip lock bags and squeeze the air out and it comes down to this with room to spare...

What I'm wearing on the plane is to the left. I also take a t-shirt, undies and socks in a small zip lock bag in my smaller carry-on just in case I have to check the roll-aboard and my luggage gets lost or delayed (it's happened!).

All of the other misc stuff goes into the smaller carry-on bag except guidebooks for later in the trip and a small day bag. I make sure that all toiletries, and electronics (see tech toys below) are never checked. Hint: never separate your charger from your camera- it's a recipe for disaster.

When all is said and done, here's what I have for the trip:

Tech Toys for Travel

2007-02-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

I admit it, I love travel gadgets and tech toys. Those of you who know me, know I've been traveling with a digital camera, and sometimes a laptop for almost 10 years.

This next trip, I'll be taking the Lifedrive, a wireless keyboard and a digital camera.
I also recently bought a new toy, a USB card reader for SD cards.I bought it here.
With this, I can take the card out of my camera, and (hopefully) plug it into any USB port in an internet cafe where I can send emails with photos or update here. Or, take documents off the LD, put them on the card, to access them in internet cafes.
I can also take that same card, put it into the LD and send emails from there with photos if I have wi-fi access.
This would also be a good option for people who want to off-load or save photos from their cards to a photo website.

The PDA is loaded with music, audio books, my complied travel notes for the current trip (restaurant recs, sightseeing), Metro software, money software, checklists, etc. The calendar has my itinerary and I can access the internet if I can find wi-fi. This PDA thing is new to me, so it will be interesting to see just how "paperless" I can be.

Cool websites for Budapest

2007-02-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

I just found a really neat website for planning travel to Budapest.
It's http://www.budapest.travel/-en/
What I like is this; click on one of the categories like "restaurants" or "sightseeing" and it gives you a bunch of selections to choose from. Then, select one, and it gives you all the details, hours, location etc.
But here's the best part; click on the button that says "add this record to my notes" and you create your own mini-guidebook which you can print or email. What's fantastic is that you don't have to register or give any personal info.

Some other great Budapest sites:
Chew.hu- Fabulous Hungarian Food Blog
Budapest Tourist Guide - Good info on sightseeing, expecially the various markets and thermal baths
Trip Advisor Forum for Budapest
10 day weather forecast for Budapest

Why I can't post photos from Lifedrive.

2007-01-30T20:29:00.000-08:00

It appears that Blogger only supports certain browsers and certain functions on said browsers. My Lifedrive doesn't have those browsers and Palm does not have any that will allow me to post photos. I suppose I should be happy it works at all?

In case you are wondering what a Lifedrive is, check here:
http://www.palm.com/us/products/mobilemanagers/lifedrive/

Oh well, I may be able to add photos from an Internet cafe, or you all may have to wait until I get home.

Testing the uploading of photos.

2007-01-20T21:03:00.000-08:00

I can't figure out how to do it from the Palm. I don't get the same icons I get on the regular computer, so I don't know how I can upload photos directly.

This photo is from Sicily, btw.

Testing, 1 2 3 4, Testing, 1 2 3 4 ...

2007-01-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

Testing to see if I can post to blog from Lifedrive.

I tried yesterday, but could not get a the cut and paste function working. So, today I installed a wireless, portable keyboard.

Looks like it works!

Wow! This is new...

2007-01-18T20:32:00.000-08:00

Someone once referred to us as "one of the original bloggers".

Hmmmm...then why am I just starting a Blog now?

Well, way back in 1998, in the early dawn of personal websites on the Internet, my husband David and I (Kristina) started http://www.wired2theworld.com/. This was our "travelogue" website for our round-the-world trip so our family and friends could follow along on our 9 month journey. At the time, we felt alone in the universe and we were. So much so, that the following year were were interviewed by the NY Times in an article about "Techno-nomads" (http://www.geocities.com/Baja/5752/links/links04_travel.htm).

Who knew that in a few short years, everyone and their brother would have their own website and later their own blog?

Who knew that the website would become my labor of love and stay alive through countless subsequent journeys?

So here I am today, almost 10 years later starting my first blog.

Why am I doing it? So I can "return to my roots" of posting from the road, this time unencumbered by computer, modem, phone lines, and "dial-up" access. My goal is to see if I can post my next trip on the fly using just my PDA (Palm Lifedrive) and digital camera. Then, after I get home, I'll move everything over to the website and add more details and photos.

Depending on wi-fi access, it just might happen!

Stay tuned....Budapest, Vienna, and Prague are coming in March 2007!