weekend

well, i got my wish. it rained. lots! there was a huge thunder storm on saturday night. we got soaked through walking home from eating pizza... and i loved it.

we did manage to get out somewhere. kev and i took the train on saturday to klosterneuburg. a small town just north of vienna which is famous for its monastery. we climbed the steps up the hill, peeked inside the beautiful abbey, drank beer outside whilst listening to a brass band play and enjoyed the sunshine before the wind picked up and the dark clouds started to descend upon us.

sunday was a lazy day. a few hours spent reading in the park, watching football on tv, eating fruit salad and drinking beer with friends in the local beer garden (fruit salad counteracts all the beer consumption, obviously).

weather

i passed this sign a few weeks ago and it made me laugh at the time (those of you who have been reading since the beginning will remember me posting a picture of the sign back here). everyone had been complaining about the austrian summer (or lack of) but since i saw this sign the weather seems to have got hotter and hotter until this week temperatures have been over 30 degrees every day (over 35 yesterday!). i had the worst nights sleep last night. some people might hate me for saying this but i would really love some rain right now! i'm just not made for this kind of heat.

kev was away all this week in brussels but he got home last night with belgian cherry beer and belgian chocolates. yay! i can't wait to drink the cherry beer, its one of my favourites.

so not much has been happening here. i had a pretty boring week. my energy was zapped and i just couldn't get the motivation to do anything after work. watching many episodes of come dine with me every night whilst spread out on the sofa seemed much more appealing.

hopefully we'll get out and do something this weekend. come on kev, get up!

sunny weekend

this weekend i danced lots at flex (then slept lots), watched lots of football, ate lots of homemade curry and did lots of wandering in the (very hot) sunshine.

i found myself on my own on sunday (as kev flew to brussels). i couldn't think what to do and so i randomly ended up getting on the U4 to the end of the line at hütteldorf. yeah well, it wasn't very exciting. but i wandered around the streets looking at the different houses, got very hot, and discovered the nikolaitor gate to the lainzer tiergarten. i had a little wander in but i'll save that full adventure for another day when i have better walking shoes (ie not tiny thin sandals), plenty of water, food supplies and it is less hot. i had no idea there are so many wild animals in there. i'm glad i didn't venture in too far on my own now! on the way home i stopped off in hietzing, ate a wurst salat and started reading on the road by jack kerouac.

wrenkh

another excellent meal at another 'new to me' restaurant! i'd read about wrenkh in a few guide books and it was recommended to me by a colleague at work as a good option for vegetarians. it used to serve only vegetarian food but i understand they recently introduced some meat options to the menu.

for starter i ate a salad with smoked tofu, quinoa and pumpkin seed oil. for main i chose trout which was served with warm houmous and crispy rocket. everything tasted so fresh and healthy and well, delicious.

when kev's starter arrived the chef came outside with the dish to tell him that the mushroom on the plate had been hand picked by himself. he explained they grow wild in austria but are very rare. he managed to find one and was rather chuffed with himself! (and it tasted amazing).
the whole experience was excellent. the food, the wine, the great friendly service. i will definitely be returning.
wrenkh also do cooking workshops next door to the restaurant. there was a group there on saturday night and it looked so much fun.

how cute is the wine label? apparently (according to the waitress) the wine producer took the pattern from his grandmother's wallpaper as a tribute to her.

polaroid [im]possible

one thing i got to do this past weekend was visit the polaroid exhibition at the westlicht museum of photography. i really loved the exhibition and i was mega excited to find the impossible project had a pop up shop a few doors down!
i always wanted a polaroid camera and my wish finally came true last year when i bought one on ebay (for only £10 i think). i bought it more as an object and didn't really think that it would work (the seller didn't know).
but now i have film (that i purchased in the pop up shop in the hope it might work) and it appeared to load correctly. eek! now i'm scared to take a picture. only 8 shots. my. the pressure!

for all you people out there that would like to see the exhibition you have, er, 4 days!

my weekend

what a totally wonderful long weekend. i took friday off work to spend the day with our dear friend visiting us. and we were fortunate that monday was another bank holiday here in austria (woo hoo!).
we walked miles this weekend (with lots of relaxing bits too) but i never tire of showing our friends and family the sights of the city we now call home and i was so happy and excited to have sherry here. we hadn't seen each other for over one year but walking down the street chatting on friday we realised that it didn't feel like all that time had passed at all. she left vienna on sunday and kev and i spent the rest of the long weekend reading in the park and relaxing at home (i read to kill a mockingbird in one day. i cannot believe it has taken me all this time to read it! what a book!).

and i would like to add that the ice cream is not mine but one we passed down by the canal. what a waste!
we did however try out a new ice cream shop called eis greissler. it is AMAZING! they use organic milk from their own cows, and all natural ingredients. they even produce some vegan options (which is pretty rare for vienna). everyone must go and try their ice cream! (and no, i'm not being paid to say this!).

birthday weekend

beautiful roses from naschmarkt

a rainbow at schwarzenbergplatz

dinner with lovely friends at zum finsteren stern (which was SO nice. we sat outside in the cobblestone street by candlelight and watched the occasional fiaker go by. the food was great too)

coriander mojitos at first floor (i'm sure this place is like some kind of time machine where minutes turn into hours!)

bright colourful lights at stephansdom

a delicious bacon sandwich (with british bacon!)

a random door

us on the hills of vienna

a view of vienna from the vineyards

white wine and soda at a heuriger

a silly picture of me holding a mug of white wine spritzer

deep fried cheese!

a big pink rose

this weekend i celebrated my 33rd birthday (eek!). but it was perfect. and it made me realise what lovely people i have met here (who helped me celebrate despite the rain and thunderstorms!). 

i received such wonderful gifts. the most amazing being a surprise weekend trip booked to berlin! YAY! i'm so very excited (and lucky).