What I Did On My Summer Holidays . . . Part Deux

Today I will continue on our Austrian journey. I hope that you enjoyed the places I took you yesterday! I know that we really did.



On day five we went to Swarovski Crystal World in a place called Wattens. I was really excited about this trip as I just love Swarovski Crystal and couldn't wait to see it being made. However we did not get to see it being made, which was kind of disappointing. We did see the factory though and it was huge. There is talk of them moving it to China, I think, but for now it is in Wattens. Instead of the factory we went to this wonderful exhibition called Swarovski Crystal World. It looked like a huge earth mound, all covered with grass, and at the front a huge head, with crystal eyes and a mouth that was a waterfall . . . kind of spooky.



Inside was room upon room of beautiful art composed of crystals. Most of it was quite modern. All of it was spell binding and quite beautiful. Some was even animated. It was quite interesting to say the least. My favourite piece was this sun dancing with the moon. I quite loved it and took quite a few pictures of it.

Of course at the end of the presentation we ended up in the shop. It was filled with gorgeous pieces of Swarovski crystal, of varying sizes . . . all beautiful and all very pricey. I couldn't afford to buy any of it, although I really wanted to . . . instead I picked up several pencils with Swarovski crystal tips! They were well within my budget!



After we finished there, we headed off in the coach to Innsbruck, the ‘Capital of the Tyrol’. Innsbruck came into prominence in the 15th century, when the Emperor Maximilian based his court here. Many fine buildings are a testimony to the city’s regal past, including the famous Golden Roof and the Hofburg Palace, whilst Maria Theresien Strasse is also a must.



We really enjoyed our visit to Innsbruck, walking the cobbled streets and taking in the wonderful sites. There were several people there painted up as if they were statues. They looked like real statues and it was quite un-nerving when they moved, and also quite amazing!



We feasted on a delicious lunch of Bratwurst and sauerkraut, and Todd bought a new feather for his hat. I found a shop that sold gorgeous dolls and Hummel figurines. I would have so loved to buy one, or two or three, but I didn't. I do love Hummels and dolls, but they were very expensive!



Day six of our trip took us to Salzburg and the Sound of Music sights! This was what I had been waiting for the whole holiday! The ‘Sound of Music’ city of Salzburg was the home of the Von Trapp family, around whom the film was based, and was also the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.



We had a very informed Guide to take us to all the places in Salzburg and explain to us some of the history of this beautiful city and of course of some of the Sound of Music places. What a beautiful Alpine city it is, filled with lovely squares, medieval lanes and gothic churches.



We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We saw the house that Mozart had been born in and also the church graveyard from the scene of the Von Trapp's escape in the film, the abby where Maria had been a teacher, the home which was used to represent the Captain's house, and the Gazebo from that famous "I am 16" scene from the film.



Salzburg is a city who's streets sing with music. It is all around you, and every where you look. There was another one of those people made up like a statue in one of the squares as well, playing the violin . . . standing very still and them treating us to an impromptu concert every so often. Quite stunning.



As we walked back to our coach pick up point we passed a church and were invited inside, where we discovered a girl's choir from over in America performing. It was quite beautiful. There had been a whole weekend of choir performances, some of them even from Canada!



That evening back in St Johan, we had made plans to go out to dinner with the "Two Phil's." We set off only to discover that there was a huge beer festival going on in the town's centre. I have never seen so many people in one place in my life. The streets were teaming with life! There were literally thousands, with four live bands playing in different areas. There were vendors selling beer and spirits and barbequed chickens turning on spits, not to mention bratwurst and other delicacies. The amazing thing is that, although most of the crowd appeared to be young people, there was no brawling, nobody being sick and not a policeman in sight!! (how unlike England! lol) What's even more amazing is that when we took our morning walk the next morning before breakfast, there was no sign that this had even taken place. The streets were immaculately clean . . .



Our last day in Austria was a free day for us. We would be heading back to Calais that evening at around 9 PM and so the coach drivers needed to rest for the long overnight drive. Todd and I chose to take a train to a place called Almsee. Almsee is a lake in Upper Austria in the Almtal valley, south of the town of Grünau im Almtal. It is one of the largest lakes in Austria and was breathtakingly beautiful. We enjoyed a boat tour around the lake and a wander through the streets. It was a wonderful way to spend our last day in Austria. All too soon, we were back on the coach and headed back on another overnight trip, to Calais in France and then on to England.



All in all we had both really enjoyed our stay in Austria and have vowed to go back one day. We just loved it. It was beautiful, and clean and the people were very friendly and open. We made some lovely friends and we had a very restful and enjoyable time. We would do it again in a heartbeat! The coach drivers were just amazing. Ours even put together two discs for us, one a slide show of all that we had seen, put to the music from the Sound of Music film and another still shots. That was ever so thoughtful and a gesture we really appreciated. We were able to build more happy memories together and I know this holiday is an experience we will both treasure for many years to come . . . I just love building memories with my Todd.

I got my weekly veggie box yesterday and inside was a beautiful bunch of beets, complete with leaves. I immediately made plans to cook the greens for our supper last night. I just love beet greens! If you have never tried them before, you really must! You are missing out on something very special indeed if you don't! (The pictures aren't great, but don't let that put you off from trying this very delicious, once a year treat!)



*Sauteed Beet Greens*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

I just love beets, or beetroot as they call it over here. My mom always cooked the greens from off the tops of the beets as well. This was always a real treat. She simply boiled them and then drained them well, adding some butter and vinegar at the end along with salt and pepper. I just loved them! This is my kicked up version. This is the way you cook collard and turnip greens, so, I thought, why not Beet Greens. It was a most delicious experiment, and one that I will be repeating! Just make sure you wash the greens really well, in several changes of water. They can be quite sandy and gritty and we don't want to be eating that do we?

1 pound of beet greens, trimmed and well washed, leaves cut into bite sized pieces
(You can also use part of the stalks as long as they are not too large and woody. Just cut them into 1 inch segments)
1 ounce smoked bacon, chopped
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
3/4 cup water
1 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 dash of Tabasco sauce, or to taste
Salt and black pepper



Heat a large skiller over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring until the bacon is crispy and the fat has been rendered. Add the onions, and any stems if using, and cook over medium heat until softened and slightly browned. Add the water to the pan. Stir in the sugar and Tabasco sauce. Bring to the boil. Toss in the beet greens, making sure they are well coated with the mixture. Cover and simmer until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.



Why not visit The English Kitchen to see the lovely potato salad we had along with them!

PS - If I can figure out how to do it, I will upload the slide show to somewhere that you can all go and see if you are so inclined. It shows a lot more than I have been able to show you on here and is very interesting! I'll let you know if I am successful at doing so!