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