A Birthday Weekend in Prague

When Anna Grace made the Varsity Basketball team, I took note of the various tournaments and exchanges she would be participating in; and, as luck would have it, an exchange with the International School of Prague happened to fall over my birthday weekend. Tony and I fell in love with Prague back in 2001, when I accompanied him waddled around 7 months expectant with Anna Grace to join him on a work trip, and the love affair has only grown over time. 

We arrived on Friday evening in time to catch the second of three games. While Anna Grace may be the kind person making friends with the new student from Kazakhstan at school, on the basketball court she gets down to business. Her signature move is to bump her skinny bottom into her opponent to throw them off balance, but not hard enough to draw a foul. 

The power of the ponytail works its magic at the free-throw line. 

After the game Tony and I made haste for our dinner reservations at a Lebanese restaurant.  Kibbeh, Lamb, and Shish filled our plates and provided the inner warmth necessary to walk to our hotel in -12° temperatures. Or perhaps we were warmed by the wine. 

For this weekend I made reservations for a suite at an historic hotel in the Stare Mesto dating to the 16th century; each of the suites had been individually renovated to restore as much of the original painted walls and beams as possible.  Everything about the suite was sumptuous.

Because the Toddler Clayton Theodore was with us, Saturday began bright and early. With the snow beginning to fall the morning walk was exceptionally pretty.

Though the garden seating looked lovely with its cap of snow we opted for breakfast inside. (Our suite was on the top floor, with the balcony and lights.)

Following breakfast we headed to ISP for the final game of the exchange, the snow providing a beautiful wintry backdrop.

The Lady Knights swept the exchange; our favorite player averaged 8 points each game and just one floor burn. Go Knights!

The remainder of Saturday was devoted to shopping. Somehow Prague has managed to court many of the French (and other European) labels I have come to enjoy over travels and time that I just can not find in Vienna.  So I shop in Prague. I am not complaining, and neither is my pocketbook.

Dinner on Saturday was at a thoughtfully-selected, "Modern Czech" restaurant I discovered on a previous shopping trip last spring. We were all delighted with our menu selections.  I, the Birthday Girl selected Duck Filets on a Puree of Black Salsify. It is acceptable to salivate over this photo.

Tony chose the Pork Belly Slow Cooked for 12 Hours in Red Wine. He was a happy, happy, man.

Anna Grace won the prize for "Most Creative Presentation" with her choice of Guinea Fowl with Corn. She pronounced it as delicious as it looked.

Capping my Birthday Weekend dinner was a Czech cheese plate. Starting counterclockwise from the top, we shared five types of aged cheeses with pear marmalade and walnut relish, each of them helping to end our dinner perfectly.

A grand weekend with my family in a city I adore. Happy Birthday to Me!

A Graz Weekend, Upgraded!

Even the weather decided to upgrade itself for our weekend getaway and we were treated to sunshine and crisp blue skies throughout! Having visited Graz (pronounced, Gratz) before, this weekend was a chance to eat more great food and otherwise idle away an ordinary January weekend. 

I had reserved a suite in a funky, artsy design hotel not just for fun, but also because the hotel had a 24-hour indoor pool. Anna Grace and CTF joined us on the weekend; but while Clayton Theodore was perfectly content to snooze on the hotel room sofa during the day, Anna Grace was busy studying for her first round of high school exams, and we thought she might appreciate being able to take a swim break between studies.  Well!  At check-in the friendly staff informed me that we had been upgraded to one of the apartments, a two-bedroom modern space with large windows, a balcony, and more than enough space for all of us for the weekend. No complaints from us.

After settling in on Friday, the hotel staff suggested a small restaurant just steps away at which I could enjoy my absolute favorite Styrian dish of Backhendl, the crispy coated fried chicken served atop a salad and drizzled with Kürbiskernöl (pumpkin seed oil) another specialty of our neighbors to the south.  The small restaurant was beyond crowded and there was not a place to be seated, so the kind proprietor offered to prepare the Backhendl to take away. Another upgrade! What is not to love about sitting in your jammies watching BBC News and eating a favorite dish? For the record, the Backhendl was delicious.

On Saturday morning I set out for the market at the Kaiser-Josef Platz, the site of the main city market since forever.  On my walk I took in the local scenery, naturally.  It's always fun to observe what another country thinks of as "American."  

I, on the other hand, delight in the simplicity of all things Alpine-y, even if that is not a word. Eggs, Chickens, and Wild Game. This butcher had it all, and with decorative antlers.

A couple of other culinary specialties of Steiermark included Käferbohnen that, when cooked, have a melty-smooth taste (that's a culinary term) not unlike a roasted chestnut. We enjoy the beans in all kinds of dishes at home, some of which might make an Austrian Oma wince. But, hey.

What is this? Outdoor tables in January?  Obviously I am not in Vienna. I will note that this photo was taken early in the morning; on my return walk through the market there were patrons enjoying the outdoor seating.

The weather was Central European cold. The farmers even had blankets over the light Vogerlsalat greens. Too cute.

A transit intersection near the market. No mistaking this is Central Europe.

Later in the day I rode the funicular to the top of Schlossberg, Graz's castle that sits atop the city. From the top the walk down to the city proper is just a few hundred steps, and the views make it worth the (minimal) effort.

Once down in the city proper, there were stores to drop into and all manner of beautiful buildings and streets to photograph.

Looking back, another view of Schlossberg from a bridge crossing the River Mur.

What is this? Outdoor dining in January, again?  Oh, Vienna, your aged Imperial ways can be so drab and weary. Just look at the happy people enjoying their refreshments outdoors, even on a -3°C day.

Changing trams at the Hauptplatz. The square is sprinkled with vendors and local color; and if the weather had been warmer I might have lingered for the people watching.

On Saturday evening Anna Grace was all too happy with in-room dining, so Tony and I stepped out for dinner at Glöckl Bräu, a well established inn serving traditional Styrian fare.  Everything from our table overlooking the square to the excellent wine and dinner made for a perfect cap to our weekend. 

En route home on Sunday, a colorful mosaic on one of the public housing buildings as we left the city. A nice reminder to start wandering again in Vienna.

Though we have visited Graz before, our previous visit was only for a few hours to tour the enchanting Schloss Eggenberg and enjoy a delicious lunch. Graz is a pretty city worthy of an overnight, and I decided that we should return during the holiday market season to once again enjoy a city that is a little bit like Salzburg and Innsbruck with its narrow, cobblestoned streets and charming shops; and a little bit cosmopolitan with its culinary scene.  Until next time, Graz. 

Welcome Back, Routine!

The holidays were most enjoyable. For three weeks the home was filled with family and the happy chaos that comes with. Now it's back to routine and the happy structure that we call our life. 

The sun shone gloriously in Vienna for at least two days this week and perhaps three, reason alone to be outdoors. The Bank Austria Art Forum hosts interesting exhibits, including this one on Russian artist-couples before and after the revolution.  Since the exhibit closes in a couple of weeks, no better time than a sunny day to head out.

 The difference in art styles before and after the revolution was striking, even something I could figure out!

The Art Forum is located in one of my favorite "squares," Freyung, except that Freyung is generally triangular in shape. At one intersection is a statue of the Turkish solider who entered Vienna through a cannon ball breach of the city wall, only to learn he would be fighting the Austrian Army alone as not one of his fellow soldiers joined him.

 Freyung Passage, the prettiest passage in Vienna, inside Palais Ferstel.

Lunchtime, and yet there were empty tables at one of Vienna's few French bistros. I almost could not believe my good fortune, and hurriedly sat down to order a Baguette Parisienne.

The gorgeous Palais Kinsky sits on Freyung, as well. The palace has served many historic purposes, most recently being where officials met to discuss the status of Serbian and Kosovar Albanians in the 1990s.

Speaking of routines, Asshat Drivers have returned!  Let me describe the photo below...this is the narrow road leading to the school, and just ahead one can discern the buses stopped in each direction at the designated bus stops. Of course, as is all-too common here, a driver gets impatient and attempts to pass the bus. Along this road passing is next to impossible, so of course the Asshat blocks traffic and forces the other drivers to reverse until the Impatient One can get back into the lane for traffic to flow.

 I was heading to school to watch the varsity lady Knights take on Danube International School. DIS is a very small school; some years they can not even field a team.  With the score at 65-2 (in our favor) and 27 seconds remaining to play, there were still AIS parents shouting, "Shoot!  Shoot! Rebound! Rebound!"  A bit unsportsmanlike, I thought.

The Travel Show is currently running at the convention center, and so a friend and I dropped in on its opening day, hoping to find inspiration for future travels.  We found plenty of inspiration, and wished we had been inspired to bring a rolling trolley for the 100kg of guides, books, and maps we carried throughout the halls.  Though I haven't read everything yet, a couple of brochures did stand out:

Luxury Tent Camping. Except, if the only purpose of the holiday is to drive into the desert to eat dinner and sleep in a fancy tent, then maybe not. 

 We're not cruise people, though a week on a clippership could bring out the sailor in me.

 In the "United States" pavilion there were representatives from NYC, Florida, California and the Grand Canyon states (because that's kind of what Europe thinks America is.)...and Michigan!

 Though as a child I thought Frankenmuth was cool, I am not certain an Austrian would travel to Michigan to visit, "A Bavarian village with all its cliches in the middle of Michigan," unless...

 ...they were road tripping in search of "Yoopers." I laughed out loud when I read this. The name derives from the abbreviation for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, "U.P." The U.P. was inhabited early by Finnish and Scandinavian peoples, donchaknow, and their dialect of Midwestern English can be a little hard to understand.

Now it is the weekend, complete with its own fun. So far, a good start to what will hopefully be a great year!