Vienna- the land of the Wiener Schnitzel, the opera and of course the sachertorte.
After a whirlwind trip to Salzburg the very same day (6hours before Vienna) and hiking up 50km to see some fantabulous ice caves, food for our stomachs were in order. And what way better to experience Viennese food but by going to their local pubs and ordering 0.3l of their local beer and a Wiener Schnitzel to go along with it. For some strange reason, Viennese restaurants had the most amazing potato salad that perfectly complemented the breaded/battered schnitzel with its cold, pickled taste. The boys told me that pumpkin seed oil was used as a dressing! The said oil has been locally (or perhaps just that article) agreed to be an aphrodisiac.. interesting because a quick check with wiki did also highlight its highly beneficial medicinal purposes, more specifically, ahem, to treat irritable bowel syndrome. I don't know about you, but I would much prefer to call them aphros than the latter!
Being the sweet tooth (or the eat-all girl) of the group, I steered our sightseeing towards the Opera, and more importantly, the hotel facing the Opera, world famous for its Sachertorte, Hotel Sacher. It was the quintessential victorian-esque tea parlour complete with chandeliers and delicate china. The Sachertorte was not as rich as I would have liked it to be, but still very much a delight. Just sitting in the parlour surrounded by pieces of history (created or preserved) made me feel that I did play part in its history, no matter how small a part, by eating the sachertorte and preserving its legacy. oui?
Apart from exploring the foodscape of Vienna, we spent the last day cycling around the lovely city, making it another perfect memory of the 4 days there. Watching Eurocup 2008, Turkey vs Portugal, swearing whenever Portugal scored, cycling down the streets of Vienna, being dared to ride some of the most terrible funfair nightmares (and taking them on because I wanted to prove that I was not that pathetic. Not that smart), throwing up violently after the 3 rides and lastly a complete stranger- an old lady offered me a sweet and told me how her heart ached that I was retching so violently left memories etched in my mind. For all the right reasons and wrong reasons, Vienna though not much different from any other European city, will remain special.
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