Dec 2-3: VIENNA!! (Part 1: Christmas Bazaar & "La Bohème"

It feels like I’ve been caught in a whirlwind, it’s been so busy, but I’m finally sitting down to write about VIENNA! Last Friday night, Tiny and I caught a (almost) midnight train from Graz to Vienna. I think this was the first time I had been on a train for actual travel …crazy, isn’t it? Subway, bus, tram…but not a train! It was amazing. My preferred mode of travel from now on.

Train ride! (Guess who's tired?)

We stayed with family friends of Tiny’s, who were so generous to meet us at the station and make us feel at home. Thank you! On Saturday, we volunteered for a couple of hours at the Canadian booth at the UN Christmas Bazaar. While one half of our table had assorted baked goods, the other was completely taken up by maple syrup and beer. ;-) You could pinpoint the Canadian buyers almost immediately – as soon as they spied the baking, they’d rush over and squeal, “Nanaimo bars!” We opted for the maple fudge. :-D

The Canada booth...see the Mountie in the back? ;-)

Afterwards, we had some time to browse the tables. Of course, since this blog is now universally considered food-themed (though peppered here and there with other non-culinary details), I have to mention that we tried Kenyan and Armenian food, along with Australian pavlova and Brazil’s signature drink, caipirinha! Delicious.

Kenyan food!

After buying lots of Christmas gifts and feasting our eyes on all the beautiful displays, we went to Karlsplatz to see the traditional Austrian Christmas markets, and then headed to the opera. I’m not really an opera fan, but I absolutely love Puccini’s “La Boheme” and I’ve always wanted to see it live. Where better than the Vienna State Opera?! It was incredible. Beautiful sets, powerful singing, and jealousy-inspiring playing. We had seats right over the orchestra pit, and I could see the violists. J

Traditional Christmas markets at Karlsplatz.

At the opera.

We were in a small booth really close to the stage!

The orchestra pit.

A final note on a perfect day: I could definitely live with Vienna’s public transportation system. :-)

Chandelier.

The elegant seating to the right of us.

Maria am Leech

Cold iron

Pull back

Step inside

(Yet another footstep in a history of echoes)

Columns rise, arch above

Might they aspire to reach

The very floor of heaven?

Dip down

Disturb the clear coolness, be the cause

Of a thousand tiny wrinkles

Moving in icy stillness

(Breath melts, fades, vanishes)

Opening up

The grey gives way

In the fading light

Scarlet reds

Peacock blues

Glow with vivid, vying hue

Unseen, unknown along the street

It is within, not without

Where the spirit sits

Where truth be found

Where the heart is known.

Nov 19: Finnish Dinner

Our friends M and A from Finland held a Finnish dinner party on Saturday the 19^th. And what a wonderful dinner it was! Smoked salmon, mashed potatoes, meatballs… And as a special gift, M’s parents had brought REINDEER when they visited her in November! It was delicious, and everyone got to try some. Thank you again for having us!!!

(How they managed to make this whole dinner plus bake three blueberry pies is beyond me. J)

If you do ever find yourself at a Finnish dinner, take care if you spy a shiny black bottle…the liquorice liqueur is quite a mouthful! ;-)

Pictures are below. Enjoy! J

The whole crew!

Our friend N from England. :-)

The far end of the table. See the full plates?

REINDEER! (N, A, M)

Pacman carrots...;-)

Tiny looks only slightly apprehensive...

Yes, the reaction was almost universal. ;-)

Nov 18: Opening of the Christmas Markets!

It’s 7:30pm. You just got out of a 6 hour class. Not only did you have a test, but delivered a group presentation. You’re a little tired, but since it’s Friday night, you are ready to get out and do something.

What better than to go to the opening of the Christmas Markets?!!!

The “Christkindlmarkt”(literally, the “Christ Child Market”) originated in Germany and Austria in the 14^th century. The markets appear roughly around the start of Advent and last for the whole of December. Usually there is a nativity scene depicting the figures of Mary, Jesus, and Joseph. Visitors can find many different kinds of cookies and sweets, toys, handmade items, and Christmas decorations. Not to be missed are the stands that sell Glühwein – hot mulled wine! The cup keeps your hands warm as you drift through the crowds, exploring the booths.

Take a look at some photos of our first excursion! 

Stands in the main square (Hauptplatz).

Advent in Graz.

It was very busy!

"Ich habe Dich liebe!" ("I love you!") :-)

Beautiful candles in some booths.

The crazy trio. (P, E, Tiny). :-)

Nov 16 – A Limerick for Lilalocks!

At the end of two weeks of assignments galore,

Little Tiny set out to the pink BIPA store:

In search of a hue –

A marvelous brew –

A dye that’s a purple you just can’t ignore!

Violett.

Box in hand, we set out to meet E and meet P

Curry, rice, cake, and brownies were eaten with glee

Then P mixed the dye

(The smell’d make you cry!)

While M turned the camera on all she could see.

Topfen brownies...

The brew!

Tiny and E sure were doctored up well –

E an alien princess, Tiny: tin foil belle

While we waited around

Different chocolate P found

We sat down and watched “Juno”, which really was swell!

"E.T. 'E'"

"My Foil Lady" ;-)

And when Tiny’s hair at long last was revealed

That which under the foil had been so well concealed –

She couldn’t resist

That violet bliss!

On this dark, shining night, lasting vict’ry was sealed!!!

Magenta Mohawk!

The End Result. :-D

(To be repeated in mid-March. ;-)

Nov 11: Martinsgansl! (St. Martin’s Day, Involving One DELICIOUS Roast Goose!)

November 11^th in Canada is dedicated to Remembrance Day, a time to remember those who fought and died in armed conflict. Austrians remember the fallen particularly on All Souls Day – November 2^nd. Families usually visit the cemeteries to light candles for their loved ones. We had the chance to visit Graz’s cemetery on All Souls’, and it was a very peaceful opportunity to reflect.

November 11^th in Austria is St. Martin’s Day, dedicated to St. Martin of Tours, a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity in the 4^th century. According to legend, one bitterly cold winter night he cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar, who would have otherwise frozen to death. His feast day marks the end of the harvest, and is a time for celebration and thanksgiving before Advent (previously a period of fasting).

In many parts of Austria, it is traditional to cook a goose. After personally ordering a 9 pound bird, E & P cordially invited us to celebrate St. Martin’s Day with them…an Austrian Thanksgiving! The meal was superb, thanks to P’s expert cooking skills. Homemade tiramisu and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” rounded off a wonderful evening.

Austrian goose, Italian cake, British comedy, and two hungry Canadian girls? We truly live in a multicultural world. J

The goose!

Shears.

Now we're getting serious!

Es hat SEHR gut geschmeckt. (It tasted awesome!)

The Tiramisu, in all its glory. :-)

E, the photographer.

A suggested serving. ;-)

Nov 7-10: A Week in the Life of an Exchange Student

Today is blog catch-up day. The last couple of weeks have been slightly hectic, so there was very little blogging done (as you’ve probably noticed J).  So, to sum up (and to keep track for myself), here’s an overview of what a busy week is like for me in Graz.

Monday: I had to present literature sources for a musicology paper on Tuesday. So I found a nice place to work and stayed there ALL DAY. I also met with my friend K from Japan. We were preparing for a presentation on “Vienna’s Lost Daughters.” I went to orchestra that evening, and we read through Fauré’s Pavane. So SO gorgeous! I’ve fallen in love with it.

Main building, Karl-Franzens Universität

Tuesday: Brought in my musicology sources. Apparently, brain research for musicians and non-musicians wasn’t exactly the right angle, so I was back to square one. Rather frustrating, since I had a presentation in 2 weeks where I had to present my thesis and supporting evidence. (I’m very happy to say that this is no longer the case. My presentation is now in December. J)

On campus.

Wednesday: “Vienna’s Lost Daughters” presentation! It went very well, I think. Afterwards, our professor gave us more of the history of World War II and the general sentiments among Austrians at the time. It was a very interesting class. Afterwards, I took out my camera and got some pictures around campus of the leaves falling. Such a beautiful, sunny day!

Leaves falling.

Size comparison.

Thursday: I FIGURED OUT THE PHOTOCOPIER.

In many of the university libraries, you can’t take journals and articles home. So you take them out for 2 hours and photocopy the relevant pages. A little difficult if your article is about 40 pages long… I finally got the right hours of the musicology library and headed over to the copier. Ah, right. All the instructions are in German. Hmm, if I press this option that says “Minim-”, do you think it will shrink the 2-page spread to an A4 sheet?

30 minutes later, I walked out of the building with a neat, stapled 20-page article, and a rather foolishly wide grin. I love German cognates. :-D

A study corner on campus (new building).

Friday: ARTICLES!!! (And some painting. But mainly homework.) Then we headed over to E & P’s for a very marvelous celebration…St. Martin’s Day! (Coming soon to a blog near you. ;-)

Topfentascherl Recipe! (Deutsch)

About a week or two ago, I received the most lovely comment on my blog! Someone originally from Graz (but who now lives in Canada) was looking around for a Topfentascherl recipe, and stumbled across my blog. They said that they really enjoyed reading about all the sights that I was seeing, and gave me some great recommendations. I'm very happy to say that I've tried Sturm, but I'm really looking forward to trying the Glühwein served downtown during the Christmas season! (Christmas markets open tomorrow!)

I asked P if he could send me the Topfentascherl recipe that we made in October, and here is the result! See the recipe below the picture. (Thank you, P!!!) I am planning on translating it into English very soon (it's very good practice for me :-). So stay tuned if you'd like to try some traditional Austrian baking!

The Topfentascherl WE made (Oct 26)!

Zutaten für Teig:
500g Mehl
30g Hefe (Germ)
1/4l lauwarme Milch
100g Butter
80g Zucker
2 Eier
Prise Salz

Zutaten für Fülle:
500g Topfen (Quark)
50g Butter
160g Zucker
2 Eigelb
1 EL Speisestärke
1 EL Rum
2 Eiweiß
etwas Zitronenschale (unbehandelt)

Füllung:
Topfen mit Butter, Zucker, Eigelb, Rum, Speisestärke, Zitronenschale
(gerieben) und Topfen verrühren.
Eiweiß steif schlagen und vorsichtig unterheben.

Teig:
Hefe mit einem teil der warmen Milch und einem Teil des Zuckers
verrühren ca. 15 Minuten stehen lassen.
Mischung mit geschmolzener Butter und restlichen Zutaten zu einem Teig kneten.
Teig in eine Schüssel geben und mit einem Tuch zugedeckt rasten lassen
bis der Teig sein Volumn verdoppelt hat (mindestens 30 Minuten).

Den Teig in mehrere flache Quadrate ausrollen (pro Topfentascherln ein Quadrat).
Füllung in die Mitte der Teig-Quadrate aufteilen und zu Tascherln einschlagen.

Backofen auf ca. 200 Grad vorheizen und auf 2ter Schiene von unten 20
bis 25 Minuten backen.

Nov 13: Quote Project (Circular Artwork)

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was starting on a new project. Tiny has written quotes on sticky notes and has placed them all across the wall beside her bed. Since my wall has NOTHING on it, I came up with the idea to make a circle with pie slices for each month (like a “wheel of time”, if you want to get poetic. ;-) I will paint the slice for each month, and within each slice, write down quotations and little phrases that I find interesting, or relevant, or funny…it’s basically a free-for-all.  I finished painting November tonight, and have put up some photos of how we put together this project. But I think it would be really awesome is if you (who are still reading this mostly-food blog!) could send me some quotations or sayings that you would like to go on the circle…J

Getting ready to draw the circle.

The blank canvas...but not for long!




We tied headphones to a pencil to draw the circle. ;-)

 

The circle!



Measuring the pie slices.

November has been painted!

Close-up.

One of the poppies.