Tomato Juice with Pepper & Salt

I have drunk tomato juice many times but not with pepper and salt. I first came across this on a flight back to Malaysia. Thanks to the Emirati air stewardess.

I'm loving it now! :)

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Bratislava

Slovakia was part of Austria-Hungary a thousand years ago and after World War I, it merged with the Bohemia and Moravia - present day Czech Republic - to form Czechoslovakia. Slovakia celebrated its independance from Czechoslovakia fairly recently in 1993.

Bratislava is not only the capital city of Slovakia, it's also the cultural, political and economic centre of the country. Vienna and Bratislava are probably the closest capital cities of 2 countries in the world and are only about 60 km away. We took a train from Vienna's Sudbahnhof station and arrived Bratislava 75 min later.


Bratislava has got very graceful medieval old town with narrow winding cobblestone alleys. Getting to the city centre by tram was so cheap from the Hlavna Stanica railway station. It costed us €0.20 per person only! Comparatively, the cheapest bus ticket in Dublin is €1.05.




The Old Town is compact and easy to navigate with Hlavne Namestie being the central reference point. The main square was bustling with tourists and locals and many were enjoying a cuppa at the alfresco cafes under the wonderful Spring weather. The Old Town Hall stands prominently at one corner of the square and currently houses the Municipal Musuem. We strolled around the alleys off the main square.






In an attempt to enliven the city, a number of funny and quirky statues have been installed in recent years. Apparently they have become a tourist attraction. Well, we did a little treasure hunt to locate them as well. Hm. We should have spent our time better to visit other area. ;)


Primate's Palace was a neoclassical palace built in the 18th century and is now the seat of Bratislava's mayor.




The beautiful street of Sedlarska. We even stumbled upon an Irish pub along our way. Irish pubs are known for their atmosphere, or craic as how the Irish call it. Irish pubs are so popular to the extent that there is scarcely a major city in Europe and North America that doesn't have one.






St. Michael's Gate is the only fortification left and preserved from the medieval period. It was built circa 1300 and is among the oldest town building in Bratislava. Today it houses the Exhibition of Weapons of Bratislava City Musuem.




Under St. Michael's Gate and along the street of Michalska are many designer shops and alfresco restaurants and is one of most expensive streets in Slovakia.




St. Martin's Cathedral is the largest and oldest church in Bratislava. It's also the seat of the Archdiocese of Bratislava. The gothic cathedral was built in 14th century.




Hviezdoslav Namestie is a large square nearer to the Danube River.




Slovak National Theatre. This neo-Renaissance theatre was constructed in the 19th century and consists of 3 ensembles - the ballet, opera and drama.

Bratislava is a marvellous city which still retains the medieval atmosphere at its Old Town area. It's just nice spending a day to explore it. :) Unfortunately, Bratislava Castle was under renovation.

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Vienna

This is the last instalment of my Vienna trip and I'm sharing some random shots of the attractions in the city. There are just too many beautiful places to visit in Vienna.




Johann Strauss II Memorial at Stadtpark. There were many music legends in Vienna history and memorials have been erected to commemorate some of the more famous one. So I decided to do a treasure hunt to locate them. Strauss was an Austrian composer renowned for his contribution to dance music and operettas and he was best known as "The Waltz King". I really thought of extracting this gilded bronze statue and I suspect it could fetch me millions! Hehe!


Ludwig van Beethoven Memorial at Beethovenplatz. He was a great German composer and pianist. He relocated to Vienna in his early twenties and continued to compose great music even after he was completely deaf. His illustrious short life has left many legacies to the classical music world.


Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Memorial at Burggarten. He was an influential composer during the classical era and had composed over six hundred musical works.


Freyung Passage is a posh luxury shopping centre located in the city centre.




Sache-torte is probably the most popular chocolate cake in the city of Vienna. How could we miss tasting torte in our itinerary? I ordered myself a torte and a cup of Melange coffee at Cafe Sache. Honestly I think the torte was just so-so and didn't live up to the hype but the Melange, a caramelised coffee with milk on the hand was quite aromatic though.




The street of Domgasse, is a beautiful cobblestone street where Mozart once lived at. Apartment No.5 of Domgasse has been well preserved until today and is opened to tourists nowadays.


An artist at Graben.


The Secession Building. Secession was an architecture movement during the late 19th century which emphasized linear ornamentation in a form commonly called whiplash or eel style at building surfaces. Secession was a close genre to Art Nouveau style. Regardless, I still couldn't figure why on earth did the architect of Secession Building installed a Mister Potato's moustache above the entrance of the building. ;p


Rathaus in the background. Rathaus is a gothic building built in the 19th century and is currently the seat of both the mayor and city council. The famous Vienna's annual Christmas Market is held annually at the park to the front of Rathaus.




Hundertwasserhaus, is one of Vienna's most eccentric apartment cum office complex built in the 80's. The apartments feature undulating floors and roof covered with extensive tree landscaping. It has become a major tourist attraction.


Prater is a large public park in the city and within located one of the oldest Ferris Wheels in the world, Riesenrad. The structure of the wheel looked really run-down and I did not even dare to take a ride. ;p We just strolled around the park and theme park under the early morning sun.


On our way to our next destination after visiting Prater, we stumbled upon this street busker who played beautiful music at Praterstern station - indeed a great legacy of Vienna. ;p

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Vienna Naschmarkt

Naschmarkt is Vienna's most famous central market. The market is about 1.5km long and existed since 16th century. Fresh fruits and vegetable, exotic herbs and cheese from all around the world, breads, meats and seafood could be found here.




I made it a point to visit a local market whenever possible while visiting a city as I believe local markets reflect very much the way of life and culture of the people. While I was trying to take Siew Leng a photo, a friendly Viennese local pulled over to her for the shot and chatted slightly. The handsome stall owner happily joint in and posed too. :) And we didn't buy anything from him though. Oops. ;p






This stall sold a variety of pickled food and local delights. I was scouting in front of the store curious of what were being sold. The jovial lady kindly offered her assistance and asked "can I help you?" I politely replied "can I take your photo?" Hehe. She nodded and business dealt. ;p She's a lovely lady.




Frankly, we don't know what these spices are. I guess, SESAM = sesame? ;)


The name of this shop is Gegenbauer. It's a popular local shop selling vinegar in various flavours. They sell beer vinegar, drinking vinegar, fruit vinegar and wine vinegar. I never knew there are Apricot's, Blueberry's, and Tomato's vinegars!


Apart from the stalls mentioned, there are also a variety of restaurants selling foods from Asian, Middle Eastern, German, Spanish to American styles. We resorted to try some kebab and falafel.




I had a falafel and washed down with a pint of Viennese beer. :)

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PS, I Love You

I have just finished reading PS, I Love You, a novel written by Cecelia Ahern. Cecelia is the daughter of Ireland's former prime minister and has got several bestsellers under her belt. The novel is about the agony suffered by a young married lady, Holly who had just lost her husband due to critical illness, and how her late husband taught and guided her that life goes on with a bundle of notes left behind.

It's a classic heartbreaking love story set in Dublin city with strong Irish accents. I find that the storyline is rather predictable and there is no real climax. Nevertheless it's still worth reading.

Life's for living, Holly realises-but it always helps if there's an angel watchin' over you.

I'm looking forward to see the movie next starred by Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler.


I'm currently burning my midnight oils on The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. ;)

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