Travel and Food

Vienna Christmas Markets

December 21, 2015 Leave a Comment

If you haven’t heard of a Christmas market, then you are missing out. For my entire life, I’ve been missing out on this wonderful tradition because I had no idea that it existed! I bet somewhere in the USA there is a Christmas market, but I’ve never heard of this phenomenon until I moved to Austria.

Christmas markets are living, breathing Christmas cards. People bundle up in their winter gear, topped off with puff-spritzed hats and mittens. On the weekends and evenings, crowds meander through well-lit stalls showcasing sparkle-gilded ornaments, frosted cookies, and many other beautiful things. But the cheeriest moment is when a hot mug of punch of mulled wine is placed into your hands by a vendor. If you return the mug, money back; if not, a souvenir for your cabinets of this Christmas-crystalized memory.

Europeans are used to this Christmas tradition, but I clearly have stars in my eyes when it comes to these markets. But of course, they’re only wonderful until your toes are so cold that you can’t walk normally anymore!

I admire Austrians for their love of cold weather, and how they incorporate it into their lives and communities. Even my small little town on the outskirts of Vienna has its own tiny Christmas market where locals hang around with their mugs, children, and puff coats.

If you ever find yourself in Vienna in the month of December, be sure to visit the Karlskirche, Spittelberg, and Rathaus Christmas markets. Here’s a guide for December 2015.

But let me assure you that you’ll find a Christmas market no matter which direction you wander if you’re sightseeing in Vienna!

December 2015 Inspirations

December 3, 2015 Leave a Comment

I’m a January type of girl, but I adore December still because this is the time of year where we vault into holiday cheer, cozy clothing, and mugs full of hot drink. But most of all, I love the time of reflection that can be offered in this time.

Because I love the beginnings that come from reflection. When faced with a complete ending, reflection often offers the open window or wide-open door to beginnings. So I love December because we can look at where we’ve come from and where we want to go next.

Best Part of December: Christmas movies.

My Favorite Christmas movie: ELF

Okay. But I have to admit the first time I saw this movie, I thought it was impossibly stupid. But then, I watched it again in the Dominican Republic with a team full of wonderful people, and suddenly, this movie became my favorite. Sometimes you just need the stupid silly. Life is far too serious.

Currently Binge-watching: Psych

For years my sister has been talking this show up, but it took me moving farrrrrrrr away from her to actually start watching the show. It helps that my flatmate owns all the seasons on DVD. You know, I’ll probably go watch an episode after this.

Favorite Food: Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie

What? You’ve never heard of it. TRAVESTY! This is my favorite holiday pie always and forever. I’ve been hoarding a can of pumpkin puree so I can create this tasty treat in a week or so for my friends here. I seriously can hardly wait.

I couldn’t find a picture that does this dessert justice so you’ll just have to imagine it or follow my instagram. I’m pretty sure this delicacy will be pictured there in the next few weeks.

Current Jam: Sorry by Justin Bieber

I think I like Justin Bieber, guys. I feel a bit odd about that because his entrance onto the music scene never interested me and then his subsequent years just made me raise my eyebrows. But his new album caught my attention. Perhaps it’s the lyrics? Yes, but also, I just love the artistry of the music videos. This kid’s done some good work.

The book in my bag: The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay

Seriously, this author keeps on getting better and better. I just love how she marries classic literature to modern day life. It’s the most refreshing writing I’ve read in a long time that has to deal with classics like Austen and the Bronte sisters.

December is so fun to me. I love the expectation of delicious food, family, Christmas movies, cozy clothes, reading under a blanket, ice skating….there is just so much goodness at this time of year.

I don’t want to wish any second of it away.

As you look over the year from the threshold between 2015 and 2016, may you see how you’ve grown and blossomed right where you were planted—no matter if the soil was rich or rocky, how you made the best of every unmanageable situation. But most of all, I hope that you choose to live with an open heart.

A Weekend in Prague

November 9, 2015 Leave a Comment

Well, I’ve been to Prague now, the very real and exciting city to an over-exuberant friend who has never been. And you know, I think he was right. It is a pretty neat city. It’s size makes navigation simple, and the exchange rate is not bad at all. I withdrew 100 euros (roughly 3000 Czech Crowns) for the weekend, and I came back with about 30 euros worth of Czech Crowns.

Guess I’ll have to go back to Czech Republic for dinner or shopping.

In traveling to Prague, there were a couple of different public transportation options open to me and my friends. We could train, bus, or plane. The contributing factors to our planning were the following: time, cost, and comfort.

We actually didn’t even consider going by plane.

Train was a first vote. Upon further research, we discovered that train and bus took about the same amount of time but the cost of a round trip ticket by bus was only 28 euros rather than 70-80 euros for a train ticket. So we bussed ourselves to Prague for a weekend (Saturday to Monday).

One other practical point before we gallivant through some more of the fun stuff. We stayed at Sir Toby’s hostel for both nights in Prague. They offered reasonable prices plus a great breakfast spread and you could rent public transportation passes from the front desk. The other guests I saw were fairly youthful but super fun and friendly.

Sunday morning, my friend Erin wanted to go in seek of delicious breakfast outside of our hostel, but our other two travel companions had no desire to stir earlier than they had to. Erin and I went in search of Cafe Savoy (which Erin did find), but it was reserved probably for all of forever.

We backtracked for a while to a couple of cute looking places I had eyed as we beelined (which in reality and for us as well was not very straight). It took us a few tries before we settled on Vescovi Caffe. The outside was super quaint (man, do I wish I’d taken a photo), and the inside just warmed my heart. Jazz music. Calming decor. Unique plants. And the food…!

People keep asking me what my favorite part of Prague was, and I unashamedly admit the sandwich that I mmmm-ed my way through from Vescovi Caffe. They’re on Trip Advisor, too.

This sandwich. It was a shot in the dark since I don’t read Czech. But my taste buds tell me it was goat cheese, jam, lettuce, and a fabulously dense and nutty bread. My gosh. Even thinking about that deliciousness, I want to jump on the first bus back to Prague. (Oh, the pie was good, too!)

Anyone want to tell me what that label says in English?

Okay. Okay! I’ll stop fangirling over a sandwich.

The rest of the day in Prague, we meandered through the various sights and historical monuments. We climbed high over the city to get some snapshots of the view! We also found some beautiful nature and a Deer Moat tunnel that connects two different fields.

We also wandered through a beautiful space of castle, and from that view, we saw this wall, which looked very much like dried lava. To me, it also could have been a holocaust memorial with humans piling or climbing over each other frozen in time. Trying to find that wall through the curving streets of Prague without GPS proved impossible. So we circled to a McCafe, and then we tried again.

We found the Wall of Sculls in a pretty little garden that was lit up with fall colors. Wallenstein Garden.

Midway through the adventure, I was unsure if I’d find a lion statue to teach how to roar. My sister and I have this thing of teaching stone lions about roaring. But I had yet to see one, so I opted to have this back-up picture with a fish fountain statue. Naturally, making a fish face turned out more difficult than I thought.

You can see more of the fun on Instagram!

Happily, while waiting for a tram, I looked up and saw a ferocious lion with wings across the street. I grabbed one of my photographer friends and dragged her across the street to capture an image of me facing off with a lion who actually already knew how to roar.

When we were researching places to see in Prague, the John Lennon Wall was mentioned a few times over. It’s a place where you can graffiti Beatles song lyrics, and other inspiring thoughts or pictures. But if you’re like most tourists, you just show up for some pictures in front this public art.

Grabbing some wall space for your photo is pretty difficult, though.

Best story of the trip goes to Erin, though, because as she stood in front of the wall, saying she wanted to have someone in the photo with her, a group of American guys jumped into her photo. It was such a fun and funny moment. The best was the audacious dude that decided this photo should include his butt, front and center.

The dude was probably inspired by this cheeky statue. But you can never be sure…

That’s the thing about traveling. You never can totally be sure what will happen. I mean, there are about a trillion other little moments I could tell you about from this trip. This is just the highlight reel!

Prague brushes modern and historical together into a manageable heap of entertainment, good food, and beauty. And it’s all quite affordable, too.

So go!