Vienna -> London
Highlight
- Weather was really bad, raining the whole time. We decided to catch transport everywhere.
- Had a look at the parliament, before hurrying back under the cover. Didn’t really get to enjoy the beautiful rose gardens around the Hofburg.
- Hofburg Palace with the horse statue and the food market that was not happening
- Another quick glance at the Museumsquartier to complete our tour of Vienna.
- Stopped off at Hotel Imperial for their Imperial torte. The service was good here, but I think the Sacher torte is nicer.
- Did our shopping at the supermarket… yup, picked up all those Mozart balls and wafers, then arrived nice and early to the airport
- Too bad the bad service continued at the airport. They didn’t bother refilling the food at the airport lounge despite a lot of people asking.
Food
- Hotel Sacher sacher torte
- Kinder cake with whipped cream
- Hotel Imperial:
- imperial torte
- apple strudel
- hot chocolate
- Airport lounge:
- sausages
- beef soup
- cream cheese with bread
- potato salad
Vienna
Highlight
- Weather was really good.
- We tried to get to Demel for breakfast, but got sidetracked by so many sites on the way. Albertina, the Mozart statue, the Hofburg, then the glasshouse of Schmetterlinghaus. By the time we got there, the place was packed and no one was willing to serve us.
- Not wanting to waste even more time, we left, and went to the Strauss house. It turns out that we had to pay and the displays were all in German.
- Had time for lunch at Café Landtmann. I was so surprised that you could still smoke inside. We weren’t in the smoking room, but could still smell the stuff wafting in. The interior was nice, the service better, but still not up to scratch. Luckily the food portions were large and quite acceptable.
- Time to head to Schubert’s birth place, which was actually quite large. Alas, the displays were not very plentiful or informative.
- Enjoyed a pleasant walk around the gardens of the Belvedere, and lots of photos with Allie
- Headed to the most interesting thing we saw – KunstHausWien and Hundertwasserhaus, rows of colourful and almost crooked houses, in the style of Gaudi.
- Finished off at the currently being renovated Stephansdom, and likely the hub of all tourist activities. The outside was more impressive than the inside.
- Dinner tonight was actually the best service we got all trip, but then I wasn’t expecting much by this time. Food was very good too, possibly the best schitnzel I’ve had.
- Took the night route back, passing the Opera House
Food
- sacher torte
- apple cake
- Café Landtmann:
- lambs hip
- beef goulash
- sausage platter with horseradish
- Viennese soup with liver dumpling and bread dumpling
- Maria Theresa orange liqueur coffee
- berry strudel with berry ice cream
- pancakes with apple sauce and berry sauce
- Figlmüller:
- Viennese schitzel
- potato salad
- Pike perch with potatoes
- fried sweetbreads
- Fried Rolled pork with mushroom sauce
London -> Vienna
Highlight
- As usual with our first stop, we went to the local market, which in Vienna is the Naschmarkt, The place was huge and really happening. All the people were sitting at the indoor/outdoor food places having a drink and leisurely lunch.
- We walked past rows and rows of Turkish shops offering the same wares. Eventually we found some shops selling something different, so stocked up on some bread and cheese to sustain us until dinner time.
- Weather was grey, but at least not raining.
- After filling up on food and cake, we walked to look at the weird gold dome of the Secession Building.
- Admired Karlskirche and the fountain from afar, but didn’t pay to go in
- Enjoyed the Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Pavilion disused old tram stop, by Otto Wagner
- There was the big opera film festival going on at the Rathaus with lots of food stalls, but alas, we had already eaten, and we had Allie so couldn’t go and see the films.
- Caught the tram around, just because we could.
- Looked at the cool trompe de l’oriel at the Jesuitenkirche
- Settled in for a big meal at the very busy Plachutta. The food was actually very good, if a little too salty. Too bad the service was substandard. The waiters never responded to us, and kept bumping into Allie. They were so slow, and then even had the nerve to ask us for a tip when we didn’t leave anything.
Food
- BA lounge:
- bacon roll
- tomato roll
- yoghurt and fruit
- danish
- croissant
- tomato juice
- cheese
- biological bread
- doughnut cake with walnut
- doughnut with cinnamon
- ham roll with cream cheese
- Chocolate mousse cake
- pistachios gelato
- Plachutta:
- meat platter – goose liver pate, beef tartare, beef in jelly
- Boiled beef soup
- Boiled beef: ox tongue, shoulder, brisket
Berlin -> London
Highlight
- A later start today. Unfortunately it started to rain.
- Somehow we managed to get lost going to the East Side Gallery, but when we finally made it the sun came out. Some of the artwork was interesting, others quite ordinary, but they were all newly touched up and fresh. I actually would have liked to have seen some of the old faded ones.
- Caught the bahn across town to go to KaDeWe and the famous wurst stand. Witty’s didn’t disappoint, it being the best chips and sausage combo we have tried so far – it being organic can only help.
- KaDeWe’s food hall was quite impressive. I like the say that it’s laid out in little stalls. We didn’t buy too many things, but managed to pick up the best Berliner we’ve had.
- Back on transport to visit a marzipan shop, which turned out to be quite small and a bit of a disappointment.
- Trekked across town again to the WeihnachtsZauber Christmas Market on Gendarmenmarkt. Everything was open, but the weather was turning bad again. It had the best food of all the markets we’ve been to so far, but actually, for a market you have to pay for, it was better than I thought.
- It meant though, that we had time to visit Fassbender & Rausch, the famous chocolate shop and drink so very yummy hot chocolate.
- Back to hotel, after wondering through the finally opened Postdamer Platz Winterwelt Christmas market and picking up more food.
- A very crowded ride to the airport, then a big delay for the plane because of rain in London, and made it home before 10pm.i>
Food
- mandarin
- Witty’s:
- curry wrust
- fries with satay sauce
- Berliner jam donut
- marzipan
- Christmas market:
- tree cake
- bratwurst with bun
- fried dough with garlic
- Austrian flour batter with cinnamon sugar
- mulled wine
- mulled apple drink
- bratwurst #2 with bun
- Fassbender & Rausch:
- chilli hot chocolate
- coffee hot chocolate
- Lufthansa:
- apple
Berlin
Highlight
- Early start to go to the Reichstag
- No line, good weather, interesting audio guide and photos, but had to wait for ages for Elaine to finish.
- Waited for our tour to start. Luckily they didn’t put too many people on each group on the tour.
- Our Scottish tour guide Emma was very knowledgeable on history and was no nonsense.
- Walked through some of the major sites:Branbenburg Gate, Reichstag, Jewish memorial, Nazi architecture at the tax building, Bits of Berlin Wall at Topography of Terror, Checkpoint Charlie, Babelplatz, Museum island
- Tried to find some wurst for lunch, but we were out of luck, didn’t even see any at the Curry wrust museum!
- Was really tired and hungry after our 3.5 hrs tour, so didn’t bother going to any museums, just to the to get something to eat, before going back to hotel to rest.
- Made use of the lovely rooftop pool again, it was much less crowded so it was very nice.
- First Floor was a much nicer experience than Margaux. The restaurant is more old stuff, the food slightly more traditional and much more tasty.
- Desserts weren’t quite as creative but we got out at a very reasonable time.
Food
- apple strudel
- apricot strudel
- carrot strudel
- grapes
- Aroma café:
- goulash soup with bread
- pretzel
- curry wurst
- potatoes and bacon
- apple
- First Floor:
- pike fish with beetroot sauce
- bread sticks with beetroot, parsley and sour cream dips
- walnut, multi-grain, pretzel, white, wholemeal bread
- Lobster, red mullet, cod, duck with foie gras jus, coffee dessert
- Fish menu - Variation of tuna with avocado
- Fried scallops with romanesco and truffled cream sauce
- Red mullet in bouillabaisse broth
- Cod with green cabbage and mustard sauce
- Little soup of baked apple with almonds and rum raisin ice-cream
- mini cheesecake, lemon tart, sugar lolly, flapjack
Berlin
Highlight
- Plane arrived early. We got to our hotel in very good time, and actually had to wait for Elaine before going out.
- Weather was very nice, quite mild.
- Checked out briefly the Christmas market and the toboggan slope, and ate our first of many sausages
- Made our way to the excellent Winterfeldtmarkt, where there were all manners of the usual knick knacks, as well as great food stalls.
- It got dark quite quickly, so we tried to check out the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, but the line was just too long to wait.
- We went for a brief walk around the Tiergarden, but it was getting too dark, and there wasn’t much to see besides trees with no leaves.
- Decided to go to the shopping centre near the hotel, where we checked out a few shops, before turning our attention to the supermarket to stock up on Haribo lollies
- Took advantage of the excellent roof top pool to unwind before heading out to dinner.
- Very disappointed with Margaux, especially considering the very high price they charged. The restaurant was so heated up that you just wanted to get out of here. The 7 course menu took 4.5 hours to complete, with a one 55 minutes wait between 4th and 5th course. With the exception of the inventive and beautifully tasty dessert, the rest of the meal, while imaginative, missed the mark on taste. I of course complained, and only managed to get us 2 bottles of water for free – if they didn’t heat the restaurant up so much and make us sit there for so long, we probably would not have got through all that water anyway
- This meant that we missed our bahn back to the hotel and had to walk, and was very tired by the end of it all.
Food
- plums
- Lufthansa:
- bratwurst
- Berlinder
- pomegranate juice
- poppy seed cheesecake
- lemon cheese cake swirl
- grilled trout with dill mayo and lemon and bun
- Margaux:
- baguette
- Tuna & Egg a la Russe - marinated tuna with berbana and Szechuan pepper, eggs a la russe with marinated cuttlefish and crispy bacon, salad of spinach beets, grapefruit and sweet potatoes, Honey eggplant cream
- Pollock & Gillardeuar Oysters - smoked with charcoal, parfait of oysters with chives foam, salad of sea urchin cockles, mustard and lovage
- Bretonic Lobster, Apples & Hamachi - marinated lobster and hamachi with herbs, confit of raw and green apples, jus with fried Fairy Ring Mushroom
- Codfish, Black Salsify & Truffles - steamed with olive oil, glazed black salsify with water cress and black truffles
- Autumn Vegetables - steamed turnips, carrots, celery, chervil, fennel, kohlrabi, Spring onion,s lettuce, filled pointed cabbage, Texstures of fried vegetables, sauteed bread with vegetables and jus of vegetables
- Wild Duck of Mieral sous-vide cooked and stuffed with liver, stew with roasted red cabbage, pumpkin with candied olives, sauge and black pudding, jus with vinegar of quince
- Vacherin Mont d'Or - salad of turnips with black nuts and spinach, cream of goat cheese with ashes of cabbage
- Le Dessert Voyage
- Seaweed & Pumpkin - salad of seaweed, spring onions, red hibiscus, candied lemon and ginger, jus of pumpkin and lime, baked sushi of pumpkin and couscus
- Celery & Chives - celery cooked in sea salt with celery gnocchi and celery cream, Glazed celery with chives and almond oil
- Autumn Vegetables - steamed turnips, carrots, celery, chervil, fennel, kohlrabi, spring onions, lettuce, filled pointed cabbage, Texstures of fried vegetables, sauteed bread with vegetables and jus of vegetables
- Crapaudine - Cooked in sea salt, Marinated with grapes and beetroot, Sabayon of grapes jus, sauce of red wine and turnips
- Black Salsify, Truffles & Water Cress - glazed black salsify with sauce of water cress, Cream of salsify with truffles and truffles jus
- Vacherin Mont d'Or - salad of turnips with black nuts and spinach, cream of goat cheese with ashes of cabbage
- blackberry lolly pop
- chocolates – olive, coffee, honey macadamia
London -> Bournemouth -> London
Highlight
- Well, it turned out to be a glorious day, so it seemed like the whole world decided to descend on Bournemouth today.
- It started off with the very crowded train, which was luckily on time, then the great rush for the whole train to get off at Bournemouth, and then waiting a long time for all the people to pass through 2 ticket gates.
- First stop was off to Castlepoint shopping centre, where there was a market being held. We got a bit distracted though…first we discovered they sell lots of baby stuff at TK-Mexx, which incidentally, we’d never stepped into before this, and then all the shops that had all the maternity clothing…you can’t find them in London, and have to go all the way to Bournemouth to find.
- The farmer market was small, but we did manage to pick up some locally made cheddar.
- Caught the bus back out to the City Centre, where the crowd has truly arrived.
- The beach is probably the best I’ve seen so far in the UK, golden sand, not much waves, cliff faces at the end. The surprisingly thing is that the broadwalk is not too commercial – all of that is concentrated by the Pavilion, with rides and tacky stores, when you get out to the beach itself, there are only a few stores selling snacks and drinks, with more of people’s private hut than anything else.
- We took a walk on the broadwalk, and was happy with the sun shining, the wind in our hair, and the crowd thinning out as you move away from the lifeguards.
- Trek to Chez Fred, but was dismayed to discover that it was not open for lunch, so we lunched on some M&S Takeaway instead.
- Relaxed in the central garden, watching all the families and lovers making a day of it.
- Took a walk around the town centre, but really there is not much there. We ended up going to more shops and buying more stuff, and ate even more ice-cream.
- Went back to Chez Fred to get those infamous pea fritter – which is really mushy teas fried in a dough ball. It was pleasing, and the fish and chips were outstanding too. Worth the trek.
- Spent some time eating in the garden, and took a last glance at the beach, before joining the crowd to fight our way back to London.
Food
- berries & clotted cream and strawberry ice cream (£3)
- pesto pasta salad
- avocado and bean salad
- Italian biscuit gelato (£1.50)
- Chez Fred dinner:
- cod and chips with mushy peas (£4.40)
- haddock (£3.90)
- pea fritter(£0.75)
London -> Petersfield -> Liss -> London
Highlight
- Well, the sun was shining, so off we went to Petersfield on SouthWest Trains again.
- Train arrived on time, and we took a brief walk around Petersfield. The town was much bigger than I thought, with a few interesting shops and a nice town square.
- There was a small market, with food, clothes and others on sale. It was very nice with people sitting al fresco at the square, enjoying the sun.
- Walked to JSW restaurant, where we were of course underdressed, and also the first ones there.
- There had no trouble accommodating the no raw food request, and I even got a different dessert off the tasting menu.
- The food was only ok, the risotto was very nice, but other than that, pretty standard really.
- Set out on our walk, which is part of the Hangers Way. Generally it was quite different, in that it was little paths through bushland rather than on flat ground or through open fields. The highlight was the view over Hampshire from the top of Shoulder of Mutton Hill. The lowlight was definitely trying to avoid the huge puddles or mud, a result of rain the 2 days before.
- We finished the walk by visiting a pub which really was in the middle of nowhere, but didn’t drink anything. I couldn’t finish the 11 mile walk, so we cut it short to 6 miles, before heading home.
Food
- JSW lunch:
- parsnip chip
- green olives
- assorted bread: rosemary, bacon, walnut and raisin, baguette
- Cod with Curried Mussels & Coriander
- Wild Sea Bass with Ratatouille & Pesto
- Fricassee of Sole with Girolles & Samphire
- Mushroom Risotto
- Slow Cooked Lamb with Minted Peas & Wild Garlic
- Pork Belly with Apple Sauce
- Salted Caramel Mousse with Peanut Praline
- Lemon & Tullamen Raspberry Feuillantine
- Gariguette Strawberry Trifle with Earl Grey Tea
London -> Winchester -> London
Highlight
- The train was delayed on the way in, but the weather was nice.
- Walked past the Westgate, then took a walk to the Great Hall, site of the former castle, and saw the Round Table, as well as an exhibition on the
- Walked down the high street, observing the nice statues and the Butter Cross they have.
- The garden around Winchester Cathedral was excellent. And because it was a nice day, there were about a million people there enjoying themselves.
- Maybe it was Sunday, and a lot of it was closed, but we didn’t have to pay the £6 entrance fee into the Cathedral. It was magificent, in the same style as Canterbury Cathedral, but not as grand.
- We spent awhile admiring the architecture, and also took pictures of Jane Austen’s grave. The crypt and the bible were closed off though.
- Passed St. Swithun's upon Kingsgate, which is a little church located on the arch of the Kingsgate
- Off to lunch at the W Arms. It was a bit of a wait, but the food was pretty good. I personally found the beef at Gunard’s Head a bit better, but I loved the lemon posset and the lamb.
- Walked past Winchester College, but didn’t want to pay money for a tour, as we had already been to Oxford and Cambridge
- Passed Jane Austen’s house, where she spent about 6 months of her life, on the way to Wolvesey Castle, which was pretty much all in ruins, but gave an idea of how big it used to be.
- Went to the Winchester City Mill, where we watched a working mill machine ground flour by the flow of the River Itchen, and enjoyed the little garden it has.
- Walked up St Giles Hill to get a good view of the city. It was very peaceful there.
- By this time, it was past 5pm, so all the attractions were closed. We passed some beautiful gardens, looked at the Guildhall
- Went to the station where we caught the train home, which was running 30 minutes late.
Food
- The Wykeham Arms:
- Prawn and Lobster Salad with Marie Rose Sauce
- Slow Roasted Top Rump of Beef served with Roasted Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, Yorkshire Pudding and Gravy
- Roasted Leg of Lamb served with Seasonal Vegetables, Roasted Potatoes
- Sticky Toffee Pudding with Toffee Sauce
- Lemon Posset
Exeter -> Marazion -> Gunards Head -> London
Highlight
- The weather unfortunately turned nasty.
- We had a walk around Exeter, but it was so early nothing was open. It was really like any other English town, with a high street with the usual suspects and a nice Cathedral square.
- We walked down to the Quay to see some classic motorbikes and watch a flock of swans.
- I was looking forward to breakfast at Abode – since it was run by Michael Caine, but alas, it was just standard hotel breakfast. Maybe we should have just eaten at Jury’s Inn.
- Drove for a long time, in the rain, to Marazion for St Michael’s Mount – where the weather was terrible. But before that, stopped by to pick up a Cornish Pasty from a little pastry shop, as well as some scones – so our food testing sorted.
- We had to catch a boat out, and then climb up some slippery slopes to reach the castle/abbey. It reminded me a lot of Mont St Michel, except not as grand and missing the shops.
- I found the whole place very cool, especially all the period furnishing they have in there. Imagine living there!
- On the way down, we were able to walk back as the tide has subsided. We picked up some Cornish biscuits as well.
- Drove to Gunard’s Head, which was really in the middle of nowhere, for lunch. Surprisingly there were so many people there, at 2pm! Luckily we had a booking. This didn’t really help though as it still took ages for the food to arrive. I was disappointed with the fish, but the beef redeemed itself. Since we had been there for so long waiting for food, we didn’t stay for dessert.
- managed to make one more stop, to see the Levant Mine and Beam Engine, which was fascinating, and would have been great if the weather was good, as it was situated in a superb location right by the sea.
- We decided that the weather was too nasty to try to go to Land’s End or Padstow…so looks like another trip to Cornwall is called for.
- Started on our 5 hour drive back, and made pretty good time, only got stuck in traffic near the end.
Food
- Abode breakfast:
- croissant with jam
- full English breakfast with bacon, baked mean, fried egg, black pudding, sausauge, tomato, mushroom
- hot chocolate
- orange juice
- steak pastie
- The Gunards’ Head:
- Irish Soda Bread
- Sardine, Roast Cherry Tomato, Marjoram (£6)
- Slow Roast Rib of Beef (£12.50)
- Grey Mullet, Lyonnaise Potato, Runner Beans (£13.50)
London -> Totnes -> Dartmouth -> Exeter
Highlight
- Left nice and early, the weather was glorious.
- First stop was a walk around Burton Bradstock. It took awhile to get over to the coastline, but once there, it was very pleasant, with views of some rocks that reminds me of the 12 apostles in Victoria.
- Tried to make it to the next place, Castle Drongo, but there was so much on the road we were really delayed, so we decided to go to Compton Castle, which was closer to Totnes instead.
- As usual, Slokky didn’t check thing properly, so it turned out that the place was closed on Saturdays!
- So off we went to Totnes Castle, which was very boring, and we finished it in about 15 minutes.
- Had a walk around the town, which had a pleasant winding street and some nice shops, but we weren’t there for very long, as Aileen’s train had arrived.
- So, after more traffic, finally arrived at Dartmouth. It was busy, but it was nice weather afterall.
- We wasted no time in trying to get the ferry to take us to Greenway. The ride was pleasant, and took 30 minutes.
- The house was like another period house, grand of house, with the standard features. I think the only difference is that Agatha Cristie lived there, otherwise, it wasn’t really that special.
- We spent some time relaxing in the garden and also around the harbour, before catching the ferry back for dinner.
- We were a bit early, but got to eat in the lounge area to enjoy some drinks. Too bad I couldn’t drink alcohol as it was the perfect spot for cocktails.
- Dinner was amazing. All the seafood was so fresh and so nicely cooked. I was very happy.
- We also finished early, which meant we could start our drive to Exeter early. This was good, as we were all very tired.
- The hotel was much better than I thought it was going to be, nicely decorated, with a flat screen TV and 2 comfy beds. It was a little small, but otherwise can’t complain.
Food
- cherries
- sourdough bread with dip
- The New Angel dinner:
- Wholemeal, Walnut bread
- Fish soup served with rouille, garlic croutons, gruyere cheese (£8.00)
- Hand dived start bay scallops served with a cauliflower cream and wild mushrooms (£14.50)
- Grilled line-caught mackerel with beetroot salad
- Poached Dartmouth lobster served in a light basil bytter sauce (£31.00)
- Grilled Sea Bass with tempura prawn, pak choi and mushrooms a light chicken juice infused with soya
- Warm chocolate tart served with Devon clotted cream
