This is one of our culinary finds at the Naschmarkt in Vienna. Lacking in taste they unfortunately were quite a disappointment, despite the stand owner swearing (“…’til I die or poke a needle in my eye“) that they were ripe… Any clue, what these are?
Could anyone not be loving berries? Strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blackberries, and -the tiniest of all- blueberries. Having enjoyed innumerable bowls of fresh strawberries and raspberries over the last weeks, I’m now ready to move on from bright red to a devilish blue/purple.
I believe there is a perfect role for each sort of berry: Strawberries are the undisputed king, whether simply dusted with sugar and whipped cream or on a traditional strawberry cake. Raspberries jazz up every dessert merely by their presence. Blackberries conjure jam into some really addictive stuff. And blueberries?
Did the news we received over the weekend really change the weather or was it coincidence? On our way out the door last Friday it began to rain cats and dogs and didn’t stop once during our ride to Vienna. A Salzburg déjà vu? The first morning wasn’t really any better, walking along the Naschmarkt with soaking wet shoes isn’t the most fun – but we finally got rewarded with lots of Viennese schnitzel and strudel in all possible variations. A little annoyed by the constant rain, we headed back to our cozy hotel and shortly after found ourselves in front of a PC screen checking our emails and could not believe what we were looking at – I wildly gestured Oliver to come over and tell me I’m not starting to see things… we’ve been selected by TIME.com as one of the 50 Coolest Websites (2006). In the late afternoon the very same day, the weather started to clear up – I kid you not – and for the remainder of our trip and the wonderful wedding of our dear friends Dagi and Craig had invited us to, the weather god meant well!
We thank each and every one of you for your kind comments and emails and will get back to you as soon as we have settled in!
“Brotzeit“, a term we Bavarians quickly claim to be our own invention, translates to a small meal, that A) typically consists of down-to-earth Bavarian delicacies and B) preferably is eaten in a cozy Bavarian beer garden. Not to be confused with the obsolete greeting “Mahlzeit!” (an abbreviation of “Gesegnete Mahlzeit!”, roughly translating to “Have a blessed meal!”), an expression that is being abused in countless German offices around lunch time (and annoys the heck out of me).
So why is it, that now that temperatures have dropped to somewhere between a pleasant 22 °C and an already chilly 16 °C all of a sudden there is no time left for cooking? During our recent heat wave it was simply too hot to do anything, let alone stand in the kitchen and flip a steak.
