You know you are in Libya when....

.... you pull up alongside a truck with some camels in the back. A common sight around these parts!!!

No doubt they are off to the friendly butcher....

Sahara Gal

Gastronomical Wonders in Vienna

A trip to Vienna is nothing without trying some of the most amazing cuisine. Luckily our friends who live there are very committed to finding the best that Vienna can offer and they led me on a gastronomical journey that I shall never forget (Thanks Guys!!). These are only a few of the highlights!

Tafelspitz - this is effectively beef and vegetables boiled in stock, served in 2 courses. The first is the stock (broth) in which they add dumplings. The second course is the meat served with horseradish and creamed spinach or cabbage. Oh my gawd!! Words can not describe how divine this dish is!!!

The Viennese know how to make desert too! These are definately not for the faint hearted!

Palatschinken - pancakes with fruit compote


Topfenknodel - (or cheesy poufs as I prefer to call them) - light curd cheese dumplings. These ones I had at Cafe Central also had apricot inside them.

My mouth is watering just looking at these photos again!!!

Sahara Gal

A Return to Vienna

A few days after we got back from London, the Desert Fox had to make a short trip back to Oz for work. I was at a bit of a loose end so decided to head back to Vienna to stay with our friends there. It was a fantastic week - I not only got to see more of the city (and even beyond) but also went inside some of the amazing art galleries and churches that Vienna has.

Here are just some of the things I saw in Vienna:

Schonbrunn Palace

Maria-Theresa Platz

Hofburg Complex

Karlsplatz

The Belvedere Palace

On one of my days in Vienna, I caught the train to a town called Melk which is located on the Danube River about 80km out of the city.

View overlooking Melk

Cafe where I had my breakfast!!

A special 'hotel' for the native insects to stay in (how cool is this!!)

The main tourist attraction in Melk is the historic Benedictine Abbey which has had monks in residence since 1089. It is set high above the township and was really interesting to visit. A highlight was viewing the library.

Melk Abbey

Inside the Library

Next to the abbey is its park which contains the Garden Pavillion - a baroque building with stunning interior murals:

After touring around the abbey, I hired a bike for a couple of hours and cycled alongside the Danube. I also went on a boat cruise which allowed me to continue my journey along the river. A couple of very relaxed hours later, I disembarked at a town called Krems and caught the train back to Vienna. I was so lucky to be there on a perfect summer day, as you can see in my photos. These are just some of the sights I saw along the river:

Sahara Gal

Lounging in London

In July, the Desert Rat and I spent a few days in London. I love London, it is such a great city and apart from catching up with our many friends there, I like to try and do something different each time I go there. This time we ventured over to the Tate Modern on the south side of the Thames. They had an outdoor exhibition on the side of the walls - giant pieces of art which were really cool.

After looking at the exhibitions on the inside, we came out to find a storm almost breaking, giving us some pretty atmospheric photos looking over Saint Pauls:

We are a bit starved of live music in Tripoli, so when we found out that Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (a very, very cool Motown style band - check them at out at http://www.daptonerecords.com/) were playing at the Rise Festival in London while we were there, we jumped at the chance to see them perform. Unfortunately their set was cut short due to some technical difficulties, but they were worth the wait!

It was a great trip, even though the Desert Rat did have to work some of the time and we look forward to next time we are back in London.

Sahara Gal

A Weekend in Vienna (Or How to Eat Your Own Body Weight in Pork)

The Desert Fox and I recently spent a weekend in Vienna catching up with four of our very good friends. On the first day we wandered around Vienna, drinking coffee and taking in the sights.

St Stephens Church

Hofburg Complex

Vienna is renowned for many things - art, music, culture....and Wurselstands (sausage stands). I can not even begin to tell you how good the Käsekrainers (cheese kransky) are!! They are an absolute cullinary must for any traveller to Austria!

To cancel out the badness of the sausage, it is berry season in Europe at the moment!!

After lunch we went on a tour of the State Opera House.





But enough of the high-end cultural stuff!!! On the Saturday night, the Desert Rat and I spent a fantastic evening with our friends at the Prater - a huge park containg restaurants and cafes and an old style funpark. The adventure began in one of the many beer gardens. These are cultural institutions in Vienna. You are assigned a waiter who then brings you out enough food and beer for a small army! Anyway, 37 beers and 3 legs of pork later we moved onto the funfare.











The Prater area has been a public recreation ground for hundreds of years and the amusement park since 1895. The giant ferris wheel was built at this time. We did go for a ride on the ferris wheel - but not until later in the night!!

The highlight was definately the gals in the group deciding to go on the rollercoaster! It wasn't a terribly well thought out plan and it wasn't really until they were pulling us up the slope that I really realised what I was in for. As many of you know, I am not the most adventurous person so it was quite an experience - an one I am most likely not going to repeat!!

It was a wonderful weekend - Vienna is a wonderful city. Little did I know that only 3 weeks later I would be back again!!! (More on that soon)

Sahara Gal