Cold and Christmasy London

This was not our first trip to London, or our second.  We went to visit Maria and to get in the holiday spirit by seeing a Pantomime.  Panotmimes (Pantos) are plays based loosely on fairytales and they are a holiday tradition in England.  Several theaters in the country perform pantomimes during the holiday season.  They are normally geared toward children, but almost always contain plenty of adult humor.  That being said, they are meant to be fun and silly.  In addition, there is a certain formula that is common to all pantos, regardless of the story.  See below:

Pantomime plots are very easy and simple -

•A Girl will dress up as a boy

•Who is usually the son

•of a man who is dressed up as a woman

•who will always win the other girl (and surprisingly dresses as a girl)

•with the help of a person(s) dressed in animal skins.

We saw Jack and the Beanstalk at Lyric Theatre Hammersmith and it was hilarious!  We chose that particular theater because we liked the fact that it was a somewhat edgy and alternative neighborhood theater. 

Aside from the National Gallery, we had already seen most of London's tourist spots.  So we spent one day there (at the gallery), followed by a walk around the city and the rest of the time exploring further afield.  One day was spent in Windsor visiting the magnificent castle and another day was spent walking along Regent's Canal to Camden Lock. http://lndn.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_lndn_archive.html

We also finally visited the world-famous store, Harrods.

We had a great trip, aside from the Eurostar debacle, which forced us to stay an extra night and fly home one day later, rather than taking the train.  However, one good thing came from this inconvenience.  I went to visit an amazing museum that I probably wouldn't have taken the time to see otherwise.  Since Rick was meant to be at work our last day, he decided to stay at the hotel and get some work done.  I ventured out to the Imperial War Museum and spent 4 hours there!  It's not a museum filled with tanks and guns as the name suggests (although, they do have some of that).  It contains a comprehensive and interactive exhibit on the history of every war and conflict you can think of.  There's a huge section just on the Holocost.  It thought it was very interesting and informative.

A VISIT WITH MARIA

 

NATIONAL GALLERY AND SURROUNDING AREA

OXFORD STREET ALL DRESSED UP FOR CHRISTMAS

 

COVENT GARDEN AT NIGHT

 

WINDSOR AND WINDSOR CASTLE

PUB LUNCH - VEGGIE COTTAGE PIES

ETON

 

REGENT'S CANAL WALK AND CAMDEN LOCK

Vienna...Again

This was our 3rd trip to Vienna.  Rick was on a business trip and I joined him a few days later so that we could stay the weekend with our friends, Gabi and Vladimir.  We weren't that interested in being tourists.  We just wanted to spend time with them.  Gabi met with us on Friday and we walked around the city.  It was a sunny and relatively warm day so it was nice to be outside.  However, we didn't take any pictures because we already had some from my other trips. 

Later that evening we went to the Christmas market that's located in front of the town hall.  The market was really beautiful and the atmosphere was great.  Just what I needed to get in the holiday spirit!  I've been to several Christmas markets around Europe and I thought this was one of the best.  Gabi took Sara inside the town hall to do some crafts and children's activities.  Vladimir, Rick and myself stayed outside drinking punsch (Austrian version of hot spiced wine).  The punsch definitely had some punch!

We did a couple of other outings, but mostly just stuck around their place playing cards and chatting.

Christmas Market

Klosterneuburg

We tried to visit this cloister that produces wine.  We were going to tour the building and the wine cellars and then have a wine tasting.  Unfortunately, they were not yet finished with the harvest and were closed to visitors.  We were there on a Saturday and the cloister was going to reopen on Monday.  Oh well!  Instead, we visited the wine shop, where we were able to taste a couple of wines.  We found a couple that we liked and took home with us.  We would have bought more, but didn't have enough space in our suitcases.

Wine Region

The Vienna Hills are home to numerous vineyards and Heurigen (wine taverns).  They are open during the harvest months (August - October) when they have a big wine festival.  During that time, you can walk the trails, stopping along the way for a drink.  Most of them are small, old buildings that have tables for wine tasting outside.  I can only imagine what a fun, festive atmosphere it is.  Plus, I'm sure the vineyards and surrounding environment are really beautiful that time of year. 

In November, when we were there, the vines and trees were bare, it was cold and the heurigen were all closed.  Nevertheless, we had a nice walk through the area.  The best part is that this region is practically in Gabi and Vladimir's backyard.

Hundertwasser Buildings

This complex was designed by an architect named Hundertwasser.  They are sort of Gaudi-esque.  I had not seen them on any other trip to Vienna and was interested in having a look. 

A Walk Around the Neighborhood

In the garden of a heurigen near the Beethoven house