As we wait for our late lunch, we enjoy this fine malt Enoshima beer. I don’t like beer much because they are bitter. But this one I definitely can drink. 乾杯！
(guess who’s having the bigger volume. 🙂 )
Wien Staatsoper
Been having some sort of writer’s block lately. Lots of deep thoughts churning inside my head these days that I’d rather just be silent. And mull and chew on the stuff that’s nagging me or better yet discuss it with Hubs. Suffered a terrible migraine last weekend and yet again hubby proved how he’s the best husband there is. Because he took care of me, I decided not to cut my head off lest he be a widower, even when the pain was strongly telling me to go and cut my head off. 😀
Anyways, I digress much. Let’s battle the writer’s block, shall we?
Upon arrival in Vienna and depositing our luggage in our 4-star-but-doesn’t-seem-quite-so-4-star hotel, we immediately set off to go looking for Vienna’s State Opera House aka Wien Staatsoper. Our mobile map app (don’t you just LOVE Steve Jobs? And yes, for us, like Michael Jackson, he isn’t really quite dead yet… 🙁 ) told us The Staatsoper was just a 23-minute, 2km walk from our hotel. However, being a tourist and a first-time traveller on that country, what was normally a 23-minute walk took three times longer as it was coupled with lots of picture taking and even stopping over to watch a great performance of some local (or neighboring country) band in the park – for free.
To quote Rick Steves,
Vienna is the cradle and the world capital for classical music and The Staatsoper is its throne room
. Built in 1869, it is one of the world’s premier houses of music, built in the Neo-Renaissance style. It’s the harbinger of a busy intersection in Vienna – Kärtner Strasse meeting Ringstrasse. Mighty impressive, isn’t it?
(All photos unedited save for the watermark).
I’ve some attachment with lampposts. Probably it wells out of dreaming of Narnia. LOL.
The Staatsoper feature a different opera per day. Our visit fell on Il Barbiere di Siviglia on stage.
Er, we practically headed straight to Staatsoper the moment we hit town. Show was at 7, we were outside the opera at six, just in time to tour around the place before the performance hence no time for dinner anymore. Hence, we bought some snacks and cheese on a grocery store on the way to the Opera. End result, hubby was carrying a plastic bag with our purchases while almost everyone around us were dressed to the nines.
Impressive. Lavish. Sumptuous.
We booked a seat in a private box albeit a bit far from the stage.
Everything that’s red is vee~~~~lvet.
The stage!
Almost everyone who watched made some effort to dress up. But a Japanese couple who sat right in front of the orchestra was really serious with the dress code – the woman was wearing a kimono. I figure that since it’s a bit impractical to be a tourist and cart around a kimono, they probably are working in Vienna and that the husband is probably a consul? If this is twitter, I’d add a hashtag #assumingmuch. 🙂
Yes, the play was in Italian. But no fret. We had our Staatsoper version of “subtitle”.
Hence, we still laughed as the plot unfolded; Il Barbiere was a comedy yes. A word of caution though. Don’t watch the opera right after traveling halfway across the world without a wink of sleep. But I must say though that the orchestra was soooo good they were lulling us to sleep sometimes. 😉
In totality, it was a GREAT experience!
It was already pretty late when we got out the opera and tired as we are, we were not up for a late night dinner and would rather just flop into the bed and try to recover our jetlag to prepare ourselves for long days of walking in the next few days. Hence, we decided to try the must-try wiener hotdog. Our first (of many) good food experience during our trip.
Ho-hum. Time for sleep!
K.u.K Hofzuckerbäcker Demel
It’s time for goodfoodhunt’s October post! Decided to feature our delicious experience in Demel this time.
Do drop by and click the link! —> K.u.K Hofzuckerbäcker Demel
P.S. goodfoodhunt.wordpresss.com is my blog that’s solely dedicated on featuring good food.
K.u.K Hofzuckerbäcker Demel
It wasn’t until we’ve visited Vienna that I’ve had a full grasp on how filthy rich the Habsburgs were. Albeit if a family has been in power for 640 years in a number of countries, one could just imagine the wealth they have amassed over the years.
This post however will not be about them yet. But rather about K.u.K Hofzuckerbäcker Demel; K.u.K Hofzuckerbäcker aka Imperial and Royal Court Confectionary Bakery. There’s this famous Habsburg Empress, Sisi , who was quite well known for being a Demel fanatic. There was even a receipt of a Demel purchase (and it was quite a long list at that!) in her museum. Now you may wonder why a confectionery receipt ended up in her museum – one would think there aren’t any other interesting stuff to display that’s why they even displayed receipts of her purchases. But no. It really makes sense. Because even with the proof of how addicted Sisi was with Demel confectionery, her waistline was still at a whooping 20″! Albeit she keeps to a strict exercise regimen (the props of which were also displayed in her museum) and that she is quite well known as well for her eating disorders. (Let’s have more of Sisi in another post).
Anyways, having had learned that Demel existed since 1786 and has been the Habsburg Imperial confectionary, you can just imagine how I so WANTED to eat here.
We planned to have our coffee break in Demel at mid-afternoon after scouring the Hofburg Palace. Our map told us we still need to round a corner after the last of the Hofburg buildings but I gave an excited cry when I spotted Demel in Kholmarkt just a few steps after we left Hofburg.
This building is the very same building that stood back in 1786, with the interior in Rococo style.
I love this coat hanger!
Now, I’m not one for cakes. I’m more of an ice cream person. But looking at their display made me want to taste one and all!
We deemed it was best to taste the traditional apfelstrudel in Demel. Of course it was a great decision! Gawdness it was good!
Had trüffletorte as well. Yuuuum!
I am most excited to try Sisi’s favorite ice cream though – Demel’s violet ice cream. My regret? I only had one scoop of it. I should have had four!!!!
I already had melange (the Vienesse coffee which comes close to cappuccino) in another cafè hence we decided to have Demel’s house coffee. It came with a generous serving of unsweetened cream. Wow.
The bill. If you’re living in Japan, after having had ordered all the above, this is definitely cheap.
We were lucky enough to be seated at a table where we can see how the apfelstrudel is made.
Of course, we didn’t pass up the chance to buy chocolates and biscuits with art nouveau packaging for omiyage.
When you pass by Kholmarkt, look for the sign and do drop by.
K.U. K HOFZUCKERBÄCKER
CH. DEMEL’ S SÖHNE GmbH
Kohlmarkt 14
A-1010 Vienna
phone +43/1/535 17 17-0
Fax +43/1/535 17 17-26
wien@demel.com
OPENING HOURS
daily from 09.00 am – 7.00 pm
KitKat – Kanto Region Edition
Love these special KitKat editions. Perfect for pasalubong / omiyage / presents.
Yokohama edition, Strawberry Cheesecake flavor.
Yokohama edition, Annin dofu or almond jelly flavor.
Tokyo-Nihonbashi edition, Kuromitsu or Japanese sugar syrup flavor. Kuromitsu literally means “black honey”; kuro (黒, くろ) for black and mitsu (みつ) for honey.
Buy now, for your loved ones!
Singaw
We have a project party tomorrow and I wanted to bail out of it. Partly because I want to walk home together with hubs. And equally because I have singaw. And it hurts like crazy so much so that I haven’t eaten properly the last two days and I haven’t been talking too much neither. So imagine going to a party where there’s lots of eating and talking to happen. Torture.
Singaw is the Filipino term for those blisters inside your mouth or tongue. Bisaya call it kainit.
Earlier in the evening, when I still didn’t know what is the English term for singaw, I was telling hubs that I’d tell my boss my reason on not joining the party by sticking out my tongue and showing him the blister. Hubby doubled over and went red laughing. I just love making him laugh.
As I looked over the Internet though on the English for singaw, I found THIS article. It was my turn to double over with laughter.
With THAT article though, I learned that the official English term is cold sore or canker sore. Or better yet I’ll just say kounaien which is the Japanese term for this bothersome affliction.
Just came across THIS article. And am thankful we live in Japan. They do have a medicine for it. Hurray!
Am still not decided though whether to go to the party. Oh singaw, please be away.