The End !

Ten years in Vienna are over and I have left a wonderful city taking a lot of good memories with me to my next destination, Svångemåla. A very different place as you can see on www.svangemalanews.blogspot.com

Thanks for having visited Vienna Neews and welcome to Svangemala News!

Tulips

Vienna city's gardener have decided to use this color theme for its spring decorations and I must say that it looks very nice!

Storks

A sure sign of spring is the arrival of hundreds of storks to Marchegg, a small village about 35 k from Vienna, on the Slovak border. It is a big show when they mate and build their nests. When we where there about 50 nests had been taken which mean that about 100 of the big birds had arrived.







And here is a film on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC-T6p1dgzw

Spring is everywhere!

Suddenly, spring is not only in the air, it is everywhere! A short trip outside Vienna convinced me that an unusually long and cold winter finally is over. The birds are singing like crazy, half naked bikers are going up and down the roads, and many of the spring flowers are out. Absolutely fantastic!







And it is warm enough to sit outside and enjoy some ham from wild pig or a smoked trout.

One more sign...

Spring is in the air!

No need to despair, spring is in the air! The first snowdrop has just managed to come up in the sunshine we all enjoy in Vienna today.

Semlor

The tradition of making "semlor" has come to Vienna! It is a very popular and old tradition in Sweden to eat this kind of buns before Easter. Since they are not readily available in Vienna yet, we had to make them ourselves and to make it easier for all who would like to try it out, this is how they are made:

First, make a normal wheat bun without any special spices. Some like to add some cardamom, but I do not. To be on the safe side, use a good cooking book!





More exciting than most TV programs !!



As always, click on the picture to get larger buns / pictures :)




Make a mixture of the scoped-out bread crumbs and almond paste









as well as a bit of milk / cream.



Whip some heavy cream



and put it on top of the mixture you have by now put in the space you made earlier in the middle of the bun.



The final touch is a little powder sugar on the top of the semla.



A semla can be enjoyed either with a cup of coffee or in a bowl with hot milk. It is then called "hotwall" !




If you would like to know a bit more about the history of the "semla", go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semla

Still no signs of spring

It is still very cold in Vienna and winter has a strong grip of the city. The signs of spring are few but you can still find beauty if you look carefully.

OPEC

OPEC (www.opec.org) has for a long time had its HQ in the second district and countless times have reporters from CNN, BBC and CNBC been standing in front of its rather dull facade to tell us about what to expect the price of oil to go. That era is now over since a new HQ has been built and the old one is being completely removed to make space for a much higher bank building.

Freezing birds

The birds are suffering when it is as cold as it is now and more and more are gathering along the channels and rivers where the water has still not frozen.

Ice skating in the Centre of Vienna

If you are interested in ice skating, you can now do just that right in front of Vienna City Hall. What is walking paths in the summer have now been transformed into skating paths and other areas are also covered with ice. A well functioning system is in place to allow the general public to rent skates for a nominal fee as well as taking care of your belongings while you are out on the ice. Very impressive. As can be expected, there are plenty of food and beverage stalls.



Although it was Saturday afternoon it was still possible to really enjoy being on ice again and even if it is about eighteen years ago since the last time, the balance was not too bad.

Not only cold...

The weather in Vienna is really going on my nerves. One day it is minus ten, the other plus five. An other the snow is covering everything with a shiny white cover and the next it is all melting away and just look awful.

Even the snow looks sad.

Cold, very cold....

It is cold in Vienna now. When the sun does not shine, the cold, damp winds make minus 4 C feel like minus 10 C. And most colors are also gone but where?

Invader from outer space?

Vienna hosts "United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs". Is that the reason for the presence of this creature?