Christmas decorations

Christmas baubles and decorations from one of the Christmas markets in Vienna. I never come away buying anything because they’re all so pretty and sparkly and glittery that I can’t decide.

~ Spotted Cow

Viennese cemetery

A wintry walk through a spooky cemetery in Vienna.

~ Spotted Cow

Vienna. Eating to stay warm.

Let’s go back to somewhere seasonally cold.  Vienna in December is -1°C to 3°C.  It didn’t take away from the atmosphere of the Christmas markets, but honestly, it felt colder than that. Brrr. Regular pitstops at the hot chocolate and mulled wine stalls were essential. We’d linger for warmth at the stalls cooking large pans of potatoes. I could barely get my fingers out of my gloves to take photographs.

It brings to the fore, food as fuel. We dropped into the Esterhazykeller for lunch. It’s a traditional Viennese wine tavern that’s been around since 1683.  It’s subterranean – well, it’s a cellar –  and you sit in cosy wooden booths among the caverns of vaults. We ate roast pork with dumplings and cabbage, as suggested by the guidebook, and we drank beer.  It was probably delicious and nourishing, but I don’t remember. All I could think was that I needed to get in some food to pad the sides for another foray into the cold.

~ Spotted Cow