A stunning event is coming up at Schoenbrunn Palace

Locals and German speaking people 

watch out!

Keep posted!

Very, very soon the secret is unveiled

and you'll be happy to know it first hand!

HERE!

Yummy Time - Meet the Jamie Olivers and Gordon Ramsays of Austria

Hungy?

Greedy for food?

Fancy some local delicious dishes?

No need to wait, no need to visit a posh restaurant!

Just visit Vienna's Stadtpark

on Friday, Saturday or Sunday,

6th to 8th May

and meet 'n' greet Austrians top chefs!

Free of charge!

At the stunning Gourmet Festival or Food Festival, to put it more international, you can experience Austrian cooking expertice.

We do have an equivalent to the internationally beloved Gordon Ramsay with it's famous F-Word: the Austrian TV chefs Alex and Andi are loved because of their slang and wit during cooking.

Jamie Oliver, though, famous for being the Naked Chef, is difficult to be compared.

In general Austrian chefs are too earnest, so serious, not a lot of them take it as easy as Jamie. But that's our culture. Unfortunately Austria does not live the british rule: The importance of not being earnest!

But Austrian Chefs do deliver excellent quality, nonetheless or perhaps precisely because of it. Think of Wolfgang Puck in Los Angeles!

Enjoy the chef's passion for food and pop into Stadtpark!

Meet Reinhard Gerer, Wini Brugger, Toni Mörwald and Christian Domschitz, to name just a few!

And do come hungry as a hunter! Eat as much you can. Rest on the green.
Done!

Just for fun: compare Gordon cooking Chicken Tikka Masala with Alex & Andi cooking a soup 

Wedding free zone in Vienna

No Royals in Vienna!
No Wedding Party in Vienna!

But let's not forget, we could have had the same hype it life had developed differently.

Karl of Hapsburg, grandson of the last Austrian Emperor, Charles I of Hapsburg, is of our age.

For long time he lived in Anif, a small village outside the city of Salzburg. His residence is called Villa Swoboda and was formerly used by crown prince Rudolf.
Yes, The Rudolf, not the reindeer. But the son of Sisi!
The son, who committed suicide .... all royal families have similar occurencies!

Ok, back to Karl.
He married  Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon and has 3 children with her. Like many marriages in blue-blooded families not a happy relation.

Since then he has been living in Vienna, his children visit one of the three international schools of Vienna, they submerged in daily routine and live an (almost) normal life.

Their granddad Otto is exiled, their grand-grand-dad Charles I, the last Austrian emperor married exactly 100 years ago!

But we are no monarchy anymore and monarchists are not welcome.

Different to Britain, where monarchy is back to it's peak today!

Grace-Kelly-ish Catherine and Wills gave an excellent couple, parrot-coloured Queen did look impressivley young and the baby girls on the balcony couldn't stand the noise.

"'It's amazing" commented the Queen and indeed it was!

But how different it was 100 years ago!

What do William & Kate have to do with Austrian candies?

What do Will 'n' Kate have to do with Austrian PEZ candies?

until 17th April you can bid on this couple on ebay - hurray!



The story of PEZ started in Austria nearly a century ago.

In 1927 the PEZ candy was invented by Eduard Haas III. It was originally developed as "luxury confectionary for an elegant world" - with valuable peppermint aroma. The product primarily addressed adult consumers at this time. PEZ was a refreshing candy and a cigarette substitute for smokers, and the candies were sold in small tins.

Sometime in the 40ies Eduard Haas III had the idea of creating a PEZ dispenser. Thus in 1949 the PEZ box was first invented: A small plastic candy dispenser shaped like a cigarette lighter.

In the 1950s the dispenser became a best-seller in the United States, with Japan following in the 1970s.

Eduard Haas III quickly realized the potential of his product for children; the company began developing fruit-flavoured varieties and the cartoon heads were put on top of the PEZ dispensers, starting with the popular Disney characters Mickey and Donald.

Since then PEZ dispensers have become highly sought-after collector’s items and PEZ has built a strong standing as a cult brand.

PEZ nowadays is available in over 80 countries, the brand’s key markets are Europe, the United States and Japan. The Group manufactures 80 million dispensers and 4.6 billion PEZ candies every year.

Lady Gaga in Vienna

Yes, she's here ... 

Lady Gaga arrived yesterday and will have her showdown on Thursday, tomorrow, when she will appear on stage with her latex outfit, kicking off the "Monster Show". The "Stadthalle" in Vienna is sold out since ages. Quite a bargain for international visitors: the highest tickets were 104 euro, while you could maybe just imagine but definitely hear her for 34 euro only too, located somewhere in the big venue.

Lady Gaga stays only a minutes ride away from our bluedanube apartments in Vienna in the famous "Ringstrasse" where a lot of posh Hotels can be found.

It is said, that she wants to do a tourist tour through Vienna, as she loves to see historic buildings and culture. So you may be lucky to meet her in "Schoenbrunn Palace" or in one of the grand Museums. Today she told the press, that she want so see "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt.

Ah, yes, by the way, she is also recording .... and that she is on stage too, did I mention that before?

And know what? She will enjoy Vienna with her parents! Yes, what a lovely daughter!

So if you see Lady Gaga in Vienna, trust me, no fake ... it's definitely her!