Today started with a hijacking. I’ve never been hijakced before and never did i think that it would be by an Italian women’s travel group. We were on our way to Oberndorf to see the Silent Night Holy Night chapel when a talkative bunch of women boarded the train. We got off and proceeded to our waiting horses and carriage only to find them piling on board after us. Not wanting to deny fellow tourists a ride we let them on and thus our short lived hijacking saga began.
We took the scenic five minute horse ride through the narrow streets and past the river-literally on the other side of the river was Bavaria, Germany. We’re trying to avoid being lumped together with the other tour groups so we move quickly and visit the Silent Night Holy Night chapel where the famous Christmas Carol was composed.
On December 24th 1818 at this site Silent Night was performed for the very first time. The lyrics were written by Joseph Mohr who served a a parish priest. Christmas meant something different back then. It meant that people would gather and it would also mean that they would eat better food but this year their organ had broken so they needed to find different music to play.
Mohr had written a poem which was the words of Silent Night and he gave this to Franz Xaver Gruber who was a teacher and organist and that afternoon on the 24th of December he write the music for it. 1000 people first heard them singing it and in 1839 it was brought over to America where it became popular very quickly and it is now estimated that it is sun in 400 different languages. In 1906 the original St Nicola church was burnt down and in 1937 this memorial chapel was built instead.We’ve arrived just in time as two singers playing Mohr and gruber sing us Silent Night. With this cue, two singers enter and sing us Silent Night.
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February 26, 2010
by Not Quite Nigella
Welcome Christmas cookies and fruit
After our two hour drive from Munich Airport to Salzburg, we reached Hotel Auersperg, a 4 star boutique hotel which features a blend of modern and traditional Austria. The rooms are given are in the new villa wing and are all very modern and when I walk in I see a welcome plate of Christmas cookies and fruit. It’s a nice touch as this is what a typical Austrian mother would prepare for her family around Christmas time.
A bakery in Salzburg
We’re experiencing what is known as an “old lady’s Summer” (Alt-Weiber Sommer) which means that the weather is unseasonably warm which will probably mean a distinct lack of snow as the temperatures peak at 12 degrees celsius. I’m a little relieved as I am rather hopeless in the snow although snow capped photos would be lovely indeed.
Salzburg is a small, charming city in a sublime alpine setting. It houses 150,000 residents but every year also hosts between 6-8 million tourists a year and it is clearly a city that makes it’s living from tourism as witnessed by the groups of tourists and guided tours. The two main drawcards are of course composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was born in Salzburg and the Sound of Music film which was filmed in Salzburg.
Saint Rupert, Patron Saint of Salt
Salzburg means “Salt Castle” as they used to mine salt here directly from the mountain. Salt or “white gold” was precious indeed as it was the only means of preserving food at a time when there was no refrigeration. The best way to get around the city is with a Salzburg card which you can buy in 24, 48 and 72 hour blocks with the 24 hour card costing E22. This includes free entry into most of the attractions you’d want to see as well as transport.
Shopping street in Salzburg
It’s late in the afternoon once we’ve arrived. Tonight we are headed out to dinner at one of Salzburg’s most famous Hotels preceded by a quick tour of Salzburg. Our tour guide Martina is dressed in traditional Austrian costume and she shows us around the old and new areas of Salzburg. Night falls quickly here and when it does the beautifully lit streets almost come to life.
Guided Symbols
She tells us about all sorts of fabulous details like the guided symbols which date back to many centuries ago when people couldn’t read. To locate places, they simply looked for the symbol; the key is a locksmith, a pretzel is a symbol to the bakery and the beer barrel below is for a beerhouse. Can you guess which place this is below?
Guess whose guided symbol this is?
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January 14, 2010
by Not Quite Nigella
All trips to the airport should start out like this. There’s a knock on my front door and I open it. “Hello Mrs Elliott, I’m a touch early but I have your car waiting for you outside” says the chauffeur of the car that is to take me to the airport. Being chauffeured to the airport is part of the business class and first class service on Emirates Airlines and I, as a non driver couldn’t be happier about it. I arrive 2 hours before we are to take off and go to the business class lounge where I meet my other travelling companions. The walk through is easy as we have an express pass that they’re currently trialling that short cuts us through every queue. Check in is also a breeze with only 3 people in front of me in the queue instead of the fifty that are in the economy queue (I’m starting to worry that I’ll become addicted to business class at this stage). The luggage allowance was a whopping 40kgs. That’s a small person! I wouldn’t get caught out with my compulsion to buy jams again.
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December 16, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
Salzburg Christmas Markets
There are times when food blogging is quite the most fun thing on earth to do. It makes up for the times writing at all hours and never having a day off. One of these times was when I was invited to a media famil trip by the Austrian National Tourist Office which was sponsored by Emirates Airlines. When I was first asked if I’d be interested in coming along to see the Austrian Christmas Markets in Salzburg and Vienna along with partaking of some gourmet goodies, I must have looked rather comically disbelieving. I may have even stammered in disbelief and after recovering briefly, I started packing my bag mentally in preparation. And a few weeks later when I saw the itinerary I was even more delighted. I may have squealed. And settle in for this story as it’s a long story (but I promise a goodie!).
Decorations at Vienna Christmas Markets
This was my first time to Austria. Of course I have my friend M who is Austrian who has made me all manner of Austrian food from Pancake Soup to Malakoff Torte but to actually visit Austria was a thrill and not only was I going to participate in Austria’s culinary and shopping tour, I was also going by Emirates Business Class and trying out the A380! My fellow travellers are Alison formerly of Vogue who now writes freelance for Get Up And Go magazine among others, Mike from the Daily Telegraph and Gerard from the Sydney Morning Herald along with Astrid from the Austrian National Tourism Office.
After a quick unpacking and refreshing, we all set off to check out the Christmas markets. Advent or the Pre Christmas season is very important to Austrians and starts four weeks before Christmas. There is a candle holder wreath with 4 candles inside and on each Sunday one candle is lit until 4 weeks later and all 4 candles are lit. There are many Christmas markets throughout Austria with a general rule that only good quality hand made items can be sold. Each market has its own personality and they each have special items that you don’t see at other markets. The Christmas Markets also serve as a gathering place for locals where they can shop for Christmas presents and ornaments and also rather importantly, drink cups of hot Glühwein and Punsch to help ward off the chills and eat Christmas Cookies. During our visit it’s unseasonably warm (which I’m rather happy about but we were all hoping for snow for some true winter photos) but the effect of the Glühwein and Punsch isn’t lost on us. It’s fabulously warming and even after we’ve left Austria I still have a hankering for a cup of Punsch at around 5pm (when we typically had it). So without further ado, here is your guide to some of the amazing Christmas Markets that we visited during our time in Salzburg and Vienna!
You can also skip through to the Christmas Market that takes your fancy from the list below.
Christmas Market at Salzburg Cathedral Square
Our first Christmas Market and a truly lovely one at that. These markets are housed at Cathedral Square in the centre of Salzburg. They’re very large with stalls selling all manner of items from beautiful glass ornaments, gorgeous wooden Christmas decorations as well as wooden children’s toys (there was even talk of banning plastic items here). The prices are reasonable but depend on the stalls. Buying from the stalls here will inevitably save you about 20%-50% from buying from a regular store, particularly if it’s a touristy store.
The Christkind
Whilst wandering around Salzburg we spotted these girls. They are the Christkind who are the child like bearers of gifts as opposed to Santa which is more an American or British tradition (and there is some opposition with Austrian traditionalists who don’t want Santa to intrude or overtake on their Christkind). Every year the Christkind is chosen in a competition and they dress up in gorgeous outfits and parade around the city centre wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. One is the Christkind (in the gold dress) while the others are angelic types that surround her. The Chriskind usually has blonde hair and wears angel wings.
The Hot Chestnut Stall
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December 10, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
When I come to France, all I want to do is eat pastry. Should an immigration officer ask me my reason for entering France, I’ll simply say “To eat pastry”. Forget chocolate, I can always get good chocolate in Sydney, Tokyo, London or anywhere else I travel. However pastries like this are much harder to find. Poilâne is an institution, their sourdough bread of miche is said to be legendary. Using stone-ground flour, sea salt from Guérande and a wood-fired oven they set about conquering the world, one loaf at a time.
So a visit to Paris isn’t complete with a visit to their flagship store on the rue de cherche Midi. I have tried Poilâne bread before as it is available in London so we visited just to “take a perv” at the store and buy some pastries and some other breads. It’s an unusual set up. The shopfront is in a small street and hints not at the auspiciousness of the bakery. A stern looking unsmiling woman sits at the counter taking money while a group of older and younger woman flutter about backs to the wall watching customers and straightening displays of bread.
There is a small selection of breads and pastries and a sample box of their flower petal shaped butter cookies. The miche is sold by the weight and you can choose the amount of thinly sliced bread that you want. One woman offers me a sable biscuit from the box while I am browsing and a friendly young woman, a dead ringer for Natalie Portman offers her help. They package up the items for you, you don’t help yourself, and they wrap it and write the price on the paper bag and hand it to you and you then pay the stern madam behind the counter.
Le haul
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August 10, 2008
by Not Quite Nigella
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