A different turn for today.....

So tonight we turn right out of the hotel instead of our usual left.  We are heading to a new part of town and a new adventure.....Mongolian Barbecue!  That is correct we are  throwing another language into the mix tonight! We arrived at 18:00 just as the doors open.....yes this is early but we were hungry.  We are seated and the hand gestures begin.....I think the gist of the "conversation" was would you like to order off the menu or do the buffet and BBQ.......and what would you like to drink. Note....coke light is cola light here.....just saying. In the picture to the left the right side is BBQ ingredients that have Chinese and German labels, lol. The left side is a Chinese buffet again with Chinese and German labels.      Since I am not a big fan of buffets I stuck to the right side.  I put raw leeks, carrots, snow peas, onions and shrimp on my plate.....I am not presented with six sauces.....no idea what they are so I just pick the one that i think says Mongolian sauce.  I take my plate to the flat grill when a gentleman cooks it to perfection.  I make a stop at the sushi station and pick up a couple roll type items.  The dinner is very good....in need of a little heat but over all pretty good....on my next trip I create another plate of the same raw ingredients but ask the chef to add some  hot sauce which he has on his grill.......perfection!  Stephen had both the buffet and BBQ.....he reported that he should have stayed with the BBQ.  Dessert was ice cream....banana and strawberry...it tasted like old school juicy fruit gum.  There was also a purple gelatin like item.... curiosity got the best of us and we tried it......it tasted like popcorn.  Here is a link to the restaurant; http://www.china-restaurant-sonne.de     

We pay the check and walk up the street to a Bierhaus...as we are walking in we are joined by fellow guests in costumes.......hum what is going on here?  Stephen points out that the costumes are all variations of cards....hum is this the Faching I read about?  

 Fasching - celebrated across the country, this festival is similar to what other countries call Mardi Gras and is observed enthusiastically in Dresden with street-based activities and general revelry in pubs, bars and various public venues.

The people in costume enter the building and turn left and head upstairs we turn right and enter the Bierhous.   We place our order and inquire with our waiter what is happening upstairs.  We were correct it is the beginning of Fasching...

In the name of research I climb the steps to investigate the party further.  It seem to me that there is some kind of civic organization...similar to the Shiners or Lions sponsoring the event.  There are people of all ages in various card type costumes.....the room is decorate in purple and green streamers, there is music and general revelry.  I ask the women at the door about the party.....more hand gestures and broken English and German.....from our "conversation" I determined that anyone can purchase ticket to join the party but you need to be in costume and it is going to happen again tomorrow night.  Our waiter let's us know that the cost is 8 euro......

Today's task.....work on costumes...oh and Stephen wants beads....how hard can that be....stay tuned for a full report tomorrow.

All my best,

Jill 

Poland.....mostly Warsaw March 4 -6, 2011

The Mermaid statue in Old Town Market Square

First thing that needs to be said....Poland is in the European union......but does not use the euro they use the Zloty which is about 1/ .35 USD.......if you are traveling via train make sure you have some....it makes life easier for everyone.

Getting to Warsaw from Dresden is no easy trip via train.....we took a combination of regional and ICC trains.  There are three main routes from Wroclaw to Warsaw....one goes to the south from Wroclaw to almost Krakow then north to Warsaw.....one goes north and one goes straight......one would think the straight route if fastest.....not true.  
We arrived in Warsaw Centralna at 23:30...walked about  half a mile up Al Jana Pawla  to the Westin.  We found a great deal from Orbitz via Kayak.  While we are checking the desk clerk asked for the credit card we used to secure the reservation.....I gave him my card and he said no it was made with a master card....I tell him I don't have a master card.  He then says...well if you don't have the card it was secured with we can't give you this rate....$72.....verses $275.00.  I pull out the handy dandy iPad, pull up my reservation number with has the last 4 cc digits and the type of card.......he then apologized and gave us a larger room.......always have your confirmation! 
 We run upstairs. drop our bag and decide to find someplace for a night cap.....there is a place called 99 about a block from the hotel.......dig dig dig we have a winner!  The place was very pretty.....lots of cool lights and candles.  Even the bar was up lite.  Another kind of cool thing about the bar was it's smoking  area  which was a vented  three sided section so guests did not have to go outside......We enjoyed our drinks and then headed back to the hotel.  Which was quite pretty in the night sky.

The next morning we venture out for some breakfast as we have noticed hotel breakfasts in Europe are expensive.....about $20-$25 USD.....when they say 16 euro...not so bad but in reality the higher USD amount.  Anyway off that soap box.  While we are eating, at the restaurant next to the hotel, we notice a stead flow of people with roll behind carts and market bags.  We finish up a very yummy breakfast...and follow the flow of people.  We find a market bustling with people....not like the market in Vienna....no restaurants or prepared food at this market......but lots, and lots of flowers, meat and veggies of all kinds.  some all packaged up for soup.....parts of pigs I don't want to know how to cook...on the outside portion of the market and the inside was a series of different store....a drug stand, a jeweler,  a grocery store all under the same roof....then upstairs you could get a manicure and buy clothes......interesting place!  I leave the market feeling sad that we in the US are not as thoughtful in our food choices and planning as the people of Europe.  I have a friend who plans her family's meals...lunches AND dinners for the month .....they have home cooked at lest 5 nights a week and she works and works out like crazy......I am going to try and be more thoughtful about food when we get back!

inside market

lot of flowers

rows and rows of vendors

Off to see the sights of Warsaw....I had objective that included seeing the Ghetto wall, the Jewish Cemetery, The Old Town, the Mermaid statue, the Palace on the water and anything else interesting along the way.......it should be noted that the weather was less than pleasant......about 1 C and overcast, then raining, then snowing, with a wind!  This coupled with the fact that Warsaw's sighs are very spread out...we taxied more than we have in any destination yet........

FYI about the taxis; have an address and the Palace on the Water is not an address, don't use the ones with hotel on top...super expensive.....but the others are very reasonable.  Also remember the Jewish Cemetery is not open on Saturdays......silly error on my part.

Ghetto wall

We took in the sights.....the Palace on the Water is a pretty far hike but worth it....the Old Town is beautiful and you have to see the last portion of the ghetto wall and the memorial to the Warsaw uprising....but overall Warsaw did not wow me.....it might have been the weather, might have been the fact that Vienna was so WOW....not sure.    Here is the Wikipedia link for Warsaw http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw and some pictures:

Part of Old Town                            

Palace on the Lake

  Now let's talk food and beverage....I ate pierogies.....cheese and potato pierogi, meat pierogi, steamed or fried that is what I ate......oh and the smoked sausage was yummy!  I had that with breakfast and Stephen had it at the Beer House...he also had golsbki which I remember having at friend's home growing up......They are ground meat rolled in cabbage with a tomato sauce.  Two places I would recommend visiting are Zapiecek checkout their website for recipes.....http://www.zapiecek.eu/......the hot wine and vodka is very yummy and warms you on a cold blustery day.....I would not recommend the warm beer......it had cloves in it....I ordered it for Stephen on accident.......it was good for a laugh,  it looked like the cloves were drinking the beer......but again not good. to drink.  A cute cafe with awesome sweets is A. Blikles check out...http://www.blikle.pl/ for more about their history in the Warsaw community and finally Stephen's preferred place  Bagatela Pub all types of beer in small and large versions and very nice wait staff.

Bageta mug

the golabki

hot beer

We paid the 99 another visit for a night cap but called it a night pretty early.  We had a LONG trip back to Dresden in the morning.  Our train left Centralna early but we had a 4 hour layover in Wroclaw so we would not get back to Dresden till about 21:30.  

Oh what to do in Wroclaw.....the plan was to find a place to eat and kill some time.  Note the Wroclaw's train station is being redone so there are temporary food vendors outside but we had time so we went for a walk to see what we could find.  So.....not much my friends, not much at all, we looped around about a mile and all we saw were a couple grocery shops and several sex shops.  We headed back toward the train station and found a little hole in the wall spot that was open and offering pizza and cold beer.  We enjoyed our "pizza", a couple of beers and a chilled shot or two of Polish Wodka and some kind of toasted almond type of liquor.....the shots were the Russian's fault!  That is my story and I am sticking to it.........that is also way I sleep most of the way home on the regional train and was up writing this blog at 2:00!  Oh and did I mention the Polish women loved them some Stephen!  What is not to love! 

my honey!

 I hope you had a great weekend I know we did!  

Next week's topics to be determined but I am hoping to visit the Dresden zoo and Pirna .  I have heard there will be Fat Tuesday celebrations around town.....so maybe that will be one day's topic!  Stay tuned.

All my best,

Jill

Lunch in the Kunsthofpassage.......

This little spot is where I had lunch on Thursday....
the weather was a balmy 7C and sunny.

The Kunsthofpassage was a spot I enjoyed my last trip to Dresden....so I decided to visit it again without the snow.   It was just as lovely as I thought it would be...the shops had a wealth of fun, creative and unique inventory.  A couple of lunch spots were open for outdoor business and people watching.  I had lunch at the Tiki spot across from Feng Shui Haus...http://www.fengshui-haus-dresden.de/

Cool rain catcher......

Here are some more pictures from this must see spot.....

Same view of lunch spot......the December trip                                             

Who knew there were these cute stone under the snow........

Have a great day!

All my best,

Jill

The Blue Wonder.........and Cafe Toscana

02/03/2011

A trip to Dresden is not complete without a visit to the Blue Wonder......here is the Wikipedia link for more information....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Wonder.
This week the weather has begun to warm a bit so I decided to revisit the Blue Wonder..here is a picture from my December trip...it snowed about 4 inches


I decided to have lunch in the sun room  at Cafe Toscana which has almost as interesting a story as the Blue Wonder.......here is a link to it's website....http://www.cafe-eisold.de/cafe_toscana.html.   I had a a nice bruchetta made with yellow and red tomatoes with a balsamic vinegar reduction drizzled along the edge of the plate....the majority of the guests were a bit older than me....but is was super cute to see so many couples enjoying lunch or an afternoon treat together....I was "working" on my iPad and the gentlemen at the table next to me keep looking at me....I was worried he thought I was being rude...no he wanted more information on the iPad.....AND he reminds me of my Daddy....so cute!

20/02/11

20/02/11 

Across the street from Cafe Toscana is Schiller Garten which is one of Stephen favorite spots.....we were there on New Year's Eve and it snowed about 4 inches, and again our second weekend back in Dresden, the temperature was -10c with a wind......but the adult beverages and the heaters make it OK.........except when the wind blew.....more gluwin please!

02/03/11

On Wednesday the weather was much warmer but I did not have time to check out the back garden this visit....but I was able to check out the food vendors that were along the driveway at the entrance to Schiller Garden.....

02/03/11

As you can see the Blue Wonder and the surrounding area is a must visit spot on a trip to Dresden........

All my best,
Jill

Oscar night.......well morning

     I need to start this with a bit of background......I LOVE Oscar night!  I try to see all the nominated movies in the major categories and love to have parties with crazy themes.  One year, we had an ugly bridesmaid dress contest......that was our red carpet attire then we changed into PJs and had all kind of fun finger food.   Last year I was in Boston and had technical issues but still was able to watch the pre-game show and broadcast.  So I was bound and determine to watch this years. Stephen did the research on what TV station would be broadcasting the Oscars, yeah pro 7, he got me the iPad apps, we went to the market and got Brie, crusty bread and a bottle of champagne.  There is a 6 hour time difference between Dresden and Eastern Standard Time so the pre-game starts at 1:00 AM with  the broadcast beginning at 2:00 AM.  I set my alarm for 00:30 and grab a couple hours of sleep.
     The alarm goes off and I shake out the cobwebs.......try the iPad app....it is not working so well, it is telling me I need Flash to make the program work.....OK so I go to Flash....yeah that is not available for the iPad.   grrr, I try channel 7 it is a guy speaking Germany to the "stars"  uhg......to the netbook.  I google the Oscars.....I get the ABC website....this can not be viewed outside the US.......I am losing my sense of humor!  I click the next item down the google list....that is a previous year's broadcast.  Come on....I did the research...I check back to channel 7....still the scary guy and no fashion!  Again I think COME ON........the next item on the list is AP broadcast.......oh please please please!  I click on the link, scroll down the page, click play on the video stream.....and there is a reporter on the carpet talking to someone who is nominated this year!  Score!  So I watch her work the red carpet...which by the way does not look like an easy job but I thank her for it......I don't know her name but she was sure cute and knew her stuff.....thank you, thank you AP!  As I watch my now favorite AP reporter, I will find out her name.....I am Facebooking with friends about the fashions......yeah Oscar night is saved...I don't dare pour the champagne yet for fear I will fall asleep....by now it is 1:30 AM, but I do break out the bread and cheese.....It is now 2:00 AM, time to check channel 7......oh please let the scary guy be gone!  Yeah he is gone, replaced by Time Gunn and Robin Roberts both speaking English!  Oh happy morning, I watch their pre-game.....which most of the dresses I had seen since my AP reporter worked her tail off.....then it is the moment of truth...the show begins!
     The opening montage....was OK I get the idea behind it...Then the hosts come out on stage........they are so stiff and nervous.....but hey it is a tough room, so I hear and a huge audience.  Out come Kirk Douglas.....he was awesome....stole the show for me!  He was cute, loss and off the cuff.......I pour my glass of champagne yeah the Oscars are off and running this is going to be great........However, the rest of the program was stiff and sorry to say boring.  I almost feel asleep in the middle during the costume design sound editing section.
      I have to give it to Anne Hathaway she seemed to understand the concept of hosting and entertaining where James Franco was just reading lines.  My only issue with Anne, too many costume changes........I love a great dress just as much as the next person and she is stunning....but really did we need to see 8 different dresses?  Overall I was happy I watched the program although I went to sleep at 5:30 AM and Stephen's alarm went off at 6:00 AM.

All my best,
Jill

A one day trip to Vienna

Our trip to Vienna began at 21:00 on Friday February 25...with a scheduled arrival in Vienna., which by the way is spelled Wein, of 6:22.  We were advised to get a sleeper car for the trip......best 78 euro ever spent!
 It had bunk beds a closet, shower and bathroom.

 We arrived in Wein on time and kind of resreshed.....neither of us was brave enough to try the shower.  We jump in a cab and head to our hotel in the hope of dropping our back pack till we can check in.  We arrive at the NH Wein and the front desk manger jokes...you are early......we laugh back and ask if we can drop our bag.  He does us one better, he informs us that we could check in now but the room was a bit smaller than the one they had plan for us.  We decide to take the chance.....how much time do you spend in your room when you have one day? Our gamble was handsomely rewarded.....the room is bigger than the one in Dresden.  We take quick showers, grab some breakfast and head out to see the sights.
      No plan or agenda just see the sights.  Within about 10 minutes of being out we realize Vienna is a much different place than Berlin or Prague or even Dresden.  There is an air of elegance....you see it in the store windows, the building , the natives, heck even the tourist looked different.  We head out north toward city center...we spend the next 3.5 hours looking at beautiful old building, as Stephen says....He is still looking for the palm trees....I did find him one on a poster. as you can see the architecture is beautiful:

A beautiful day to go skating...

The Secession building

Our deal when we have one date to check out a city is..... half is spent on buildings, etc....the rest on the culture.....meaning food and beverage and what the locals like to do......we stop in a local shop for an adult beverage and to get our bearings....we have the iPad, the German, O2 sim card does not work in Austria...but the GPS does...we enjoy our beverage and head off to the neuer-Market which is suposse to be an open air market with loads of interesting vendors......on our way to the market we discover Stephansplatz and Karntnerstrasse which are crazy busy and full of people.....we are stop and asked if we plan to attend a concert...which would be nice but we do not have the clothes for this type of event....we then try to confirm our route with the ticket sales women....she pointed us in the opposite direction of the iPad directions so we asked a second ticket person who was excited to talk about his sister in Chicago and he confirmed the iPad's route.  Note to self.....be careful who you ask for help!  Karntnerstrasse is a very busy street with great shops as far as the eye can see.....but we are focused on the neuer-Market......well I am never too focused to ignore a shoe store.....kinda interesting how closely the shoes match the bags:

After my minor distraction we arrive in the market just in time for lunch.
We sit down at an outdoor table at a cafe at the top of the market.  This spot is perfect for people watching....and oh the people to watch.  After I finish my lunch of grilled prawns.....Stephen holds out hope for a sausage spot further down the market,  we venture further into the market.  It is a mix of what I would expect to find in a middle eastern market, with bits of Italy, German and of course Austria....I wish I had the ability to cook here...the wealth of natural and fresh ingredients is amazing!  There are meats of all kind, spices...lots of spices, dry fruits and nuts and all kinds of vegetables stuffed with a cream cheese stuffing.....the energy is incredible, all the vendors are giving samples and it is hard to say no to their product once you have had a taste. The place is wall to wall people.... .not sure how I managed these pictures:

 

 Other than loads of food vendors and true cafes there is your "typical" flea market items......we head back to top of the market to enjoy some more people watching.  This time we choose a stand-up table as our venue.........here is one of the market goers:

Stephen was not impressed......

On our journey into the market we did not find a cooked sauage stand so we head back to Karntnerstrasse in hopes of finding a hot dog....which is a grilled cheese brot in a baguette....we found this stand at the corner of Karntnerstrasse and Karntner ring. The hot dog was very good.......

Stephen shared a little......

The first time down Karntnerstrasse I was mesmerized by the Swarovski window but did not take a picture....I did not make the same mistake twice.......




Our next stop is the American Bar....which is full of locals....we end the evening playing dice with three teachers from the Vienna American School in an Australasian restaurant......We headed back to Dresden first thing Sunday morning...but as our front desk clerk said one day is not enough time in Vienna......which I agree with whole heartedly!

All my best,
Jill

Just an average day....

Today is just a an average day in Dresden......my objectives work on Richmond Children's Festival vendors, check in with a couple clients, do laundry, get new flowers for the room, workout, treat myself to a manicure and then attend a good bye dinner for part of Stephen's team.  I head out of the NH Dresden at 8:30 with a backpack full of laundry.  It is about a mile walk to the laundry mart....but when you walk by architecture like this it is not such a bad walk even if it is -10C.......

This picture is from my December trip.....but you get the idea.

I am happy to be the only person at the laundry mart at this hour.  The whole laundry mart is worked off a control panel.....numbers for washers, letters for dryers.......wash soap is distributed via this panel as well......I load my washers and get to my tasks .....it is so nice to be mobile...I have a netbook , a Skype number and mobile internet!  I can work anywhere!

Highlight of today's trip....I was able to help some else master the control panel.........deposit money choose machine, deposit money for soap choose soap.....put soap in machine via a top tray, hit start......you then have about an hour which I used to compile a list of possible vendors for the Richmond Children's Festival.
  
 Are you a vendor who works with children and  families?  Know a vendor who works with children and families?......Do you or they want more information about the Richmond Children's Festival?  I would love to share our vision of the event......my email is... jill@boutiqueaffair.com or call 804-363-8780 and leave a voice mail....I will return your call ASAP.

Now that the laundry is done I head back to the hotel.  I read and answer client emails...... finish my blog for the day and then head upstairs for a workout.....I spend an hour on an elliptical like machine.  Here too the view is beautiful....which makes the workout all the better. Time for my treat... manicure appointment is at 14:30.  I walk to the appointment as the weather has warmed....yeah 0C!  After my appointment I stop at the florist just up the street and pop in a local bakery for quick snack....then back to the hotel for a client call.......did I mention I love technology?  The only hitch is I am 6 hours ahead of EST, but as a way to handle that I have both Dresden time and Richmond time on my computer.  The out come of this afternoon's walk: 

    







Client call complete....... now time for the send off dinner.  We went to a Tapas Restaurant which was super cute...our waitress was very nice dealing with our large group.
    The meal was nice as was the company.


Upcoming topics will include......The Blue Wonder, my trip to Vienna, my attempt to watch the Oscars and the Richmond Children's Festival.


All my best,
Jill