Schonbrunn garden & zoo

So this is the castle where Sissi used to hang out in the summer..lucky girl

We visited the zoo with C's Melman

Wien Rathaus

Last June in front of the Wien rathaus, they had a stage up for worker's day or something. Professions showcasing were hairdressers, fashion clothes makers, dancers, etc...



We just sat on the ground and hummed with them..ok, sometimes scaring the people around us as usual

Ohhh Buddy!

Often uttered when he just asphyxiated you...I don't have any luck, Buddy is about my size now, at 8 months old.
Here's the beast with his 'Mummy'..hehehe


And here are 4 happy shoppers on the Stroget
. J. still loves wearing caps, and L. is keen on paper napkins, so all visitors out there, bring some of those to the young couple. If however you pass by London, bring me some candy...hihihi

I'll eventually snap back to the present time at some point, and live a normal life. Until then, let me hang on to my past...

hvor er in tog station?

I am not even quite sure it's grammatically correct. The original version that I could extract from my residual memory was: 'hvor er el toiletett?'which is a very useful question when looking for the 'powder room'. In this case, the sentence was used to interrogate a bemused salesman in a gas station, when trying to find Fredensborg train station. I even did the 'tchoutchou' sound, and another patron took pity and gave me directions in English (courtesy of Danish TV which dubbs rarely).

What's this all about anyway? Well, a long weekend in Denmark, to attend the wedding of J. & L., blissfully married on this nice last Staurday afternoon of June. R. and I experienced a full Danish wedding, with hilarious speeches, songs, quizz games, and of me (and other ladies at the reception) kissing the groom as soon as the bride went for the 'toilettet' (R. going for the bride when he goes)...and the dancing on live disco music, always so much fun!


Most importantly, and on the young couple's request, everyone dressed up according to their table theme: halloween trick or treaters, Christmas characters, pirates, cowboys, hawaian party goers, or Chicago gangsters. Everyone made a huge efforts and many had it down to the last details: boa scarves, jingle bells, Santa present bag, cowboy guns, cigarettes holders, vests and hats...it was the most amazing showing of costumes...and an unforgetable hunger for life, fun and food! Everyone were very kind and took pity on us foreigner with no notion of Danish.


While the S. enjoyed their honeymoon, R. and I drove around with caution (missig the passenger window that shattered and fell on my lap), exploring the area...well, actually retraced our steps to the Fredericksborg castle in Hillrod. We were looking for Ullrod I think, but I suck at directions so we ended up going to the same pkace J. took us two days before...And of course chillig in the house doing nothing but taking cat naps and playing with Buddy (who can poison a whole house with his farts).



I will remember this trip in Denmark fondly as those two showed me how it is to be in that happy place they see in each other's eyes...(sigh) And I have gained a whole new family in Denmark...people so friendly, simple and generous..

John Smith and Pocahontas

Today lots of things happened: I woke up at 9am for no reason, when I had nothing planned for the morning. All I had to do was to join Zab at University to grab lunch, a giant XXL modified Scnitzel (with ham and cheese inside). I managed to drag myself to the Belvedere castle under the scortching heat.
This is the residence of Eugene de Savoy, a Frenchman who defended Vienna back in the days:)



I could have explored the botanical garden nearby but I was drenched in sweat so headed home instead to have a nap. Later in the evening, John Smith and Pocahontas decided to have a little paddling afternoon on the Old Danube. So we sailed passed little bridges, passed the naked naturists, passed the various rowing boats and even a beautiful swan.



Then headed for the waterfront grill restaurant that had the slowest service ever in the history of serving drinks...we even got yelled at because we sat at a table of 6 and there were only 2 of us. But hte spare ribs were awesome and I know for sure now I'm completely hopeless in loosing that belly of mine.

Traditional Vienna: Clergy and Army

We managed to spot a real monk in Stephan's Dom.


And we also saw these two weird guards guarding the Hofburg castle.

Finished the evening watching some guy doing haircuts onstage with techno music (Hair salon: black and white in colour) and walked home in disgust to get drunk on Pimm's and lemonade and lemon liquor....

Swimming in Wien and drinking Weissgespritzt

Watching the Old Danube....

Day 1 - memories of Vienna and lost in Wienerwald: Landing in an airport in construction, in a 23C city, I got a quick tour of the city and a refresher from 2001 trip: The Danau Kanal, the StaatOpera, the Rathaus, the Stefansdom. But most memorable this time is the search of that sweet swimmingpool that overlooks the whole city from the heigh of the hill next to Kalhenberg.




And overlooking the Wienerwald...

Finished the day in a Wine garden, listening to an accordeon and a violin play, eating local specialties while the mosquitoes eat us....

'Mustek, Prestup na linku A'

And that's what's the lady says when we are at station Namisti republiky in Prague...
and it's only the second sentence I know in Csech, apart from 'Dobry Den' which means good day.

I've just got back last evening and trying to gather my wits together after 3 days of sleep deprivation. Drinking, window shopping, and sightseeing were the daily activities, and most enjoyable was the dancing in Solidny Nejistota: 80-90 music playfully remixed...awesome!! The hardest part was to remeber how to dance on Vanilla Ice 'ice ice baby'...magnificent.

I was so happy to reunite with my good crazy purple friend (no, the Smurfs are blue). I did stay in her room at the Hilton, when we had the chance to sleep that is.

The city is beautiful, once you get over the uninspiring soviet block building used for social lodging or dorms.

Upon arrival (wednesday) I got a quick tour of the famous Old Town Square and its clock. I also got the first taste of the cobblestone streets and sidewalks. It seemed the city made every effort to design beautiful patterns with the cobblestones, but disregarded their long time effect on tourists' feet: mind defying pain. With the complicity of coffee shops and cafes all over town, it sure brings in the Krone.

Pargue is known for its beer. But I had none of that. instead I got a huge paprika hotdog, goulash and loads of ice cream...mmm. It's also the capital of Bohemian crystal and all souvenir shops would sell you every quality of Crystal and porcelain.



The castle in Prague is on the hill that overlooks the river Vtlava and the sinuous Karlov Most (Charles Bridge), and the view is magnificent. The famous bridge is packed with stalls and tourists during the day so on our last night, we pulled an allnighter and caught the sunrise on the bridge, almost alone.

And now, I am trying to pack, and hopefully will catch on some sleep before going to work.