TESTING TESTING

after a one year hiatus, liang is finally heading back to europe again! n this time destination: NETHERLANDS! the land of liberal vice. n he shall b travelling alone >.<

yup, i hope this blog is still working and people actually read it.

this is yingliang blogging from changi airport on FREE internet.

gosh. i think i really may b addicted to the internet >.<>

tea @ the ritz and bag from ted baker

19th june, thursday

we had touched down in london early in the morning, and had made our arduous journey from heathrow green park in the city centre for tea at the ritz - THE quintisential english tea experience. haha.

it's really a very classy affair, and guys have to b in a suit and tie just to b admitted into the hotel. i was dressed in my only suit, with tie, leather shoes n all, and my mom was in a dress! it is the only reason y we had bothered with a set of formal wear for the trip at all! the decor was really very opulent and elegant. and the service rather impeccable and extremely attentive. the waiters n doorboys were all also dressed very well, with waist coats and all.

when we arrived at the palm court, the head waiter had asked for our reservation, and immediately recalled from memory our name and table, and asked us whether we r ready to enter. it felt rather momentous really.

our food soon came in a three tiered tray that had 6 different sandwiches (ham, salmon, egg, n the likes), 2 types of scones (apple n raisin) with clotted devonshire cream (which is as light as nothing) and strawberry preserve, and 5 different cakes and pastries (maceroons, chocolate cake, a white piece of fluffy thing with hints of rose and strawberry, n things i really don't know how to describe and name, which were all very delicious). i had ordered lapsang sochong for myself and ceylon orange pekoe for my mom, and i think we were both disappointed over our choice of tea. so... the next time i go for tea, i'm just gonna trust my instincts, refer to my past likes n dislikes and reflect on my mood when i order.

but overall, the experience had been really wonderful and lovely, and we were bother very happy. it had cost us GBP37 per person, i would suppose i had better b that good and up to expectations! sadly they've got a time limit for us, and we could only stay from1130 to 1315, b4 they start preparing for the next session of tea. they r really very packed. i had booked our tea a month ago, and the only slot available for the day was the 1130 one...

o yes, the toilets r ridiculously luxurious too. they've got bottled high class mineral water, and ice cubes, among other knick knacks in the toilet! wadever for! and there's a toilet attendant too! o well. i'll have to b THAT rich one day to understand such silly extravagance i suppose.

anyway, shopping in london is wonderful and my mom and i absolutely love shopping in london. the ted baker there is really wonderful, and it's a real pity that they haven't got my size, or i would have bought the shirts already. but i did get a bag eventually. n i really love it to bits! :D

i did get a bit rather tired n sickly as the day wore on, and was feeling rather terrible by the end of the day and had just wanted to rest and go home. and the tube had to keep breaking down, and causing massive squeezing on the carriages, as we were on our way back to the airport.

we had washed up and freshened up at the airport (yes, i'm impressed by their free shower facilities) before boarding, and i must admit that BA flights are generally quite enjoyable and pleasant, and i haven't fallen that sick since getting back :)

18th june, wednesday

we had gone to the snow capped mountains and ice caves today.

it's really a very interesting phenomenon, and in all my travels, i've never been to an ice cave b4. the part of the mountain where the ice caves r located isn't snow covered or freezing, but as u venture deeper and deeper in to the cave, it gets cooler and cooler. the outside temperature could b a comfortable 16C, then it'd drop to 3C, and then to 1C and soon it'd b around freezing, or lower. entire caverns can b frozen solid, with ice being 28m thick at some places. entire underground rivers can b frozen, and there'd b so many wierd and beautiful ice formations in the caves. i was really so enthralled, i couldn't stop taking photos. unfortunately, i hadn't brought any winter wear, in anticipation of such an interesting journey to a winterwonderland in the middle of summer, and was sort of freezing in the caves :S

we had returned to vienna in the afternoon.

and the cafe of the day was cafe central.



cafe central's another grand old dame of the viennese instituition. the atmosphere and the decor were quite nice, with arched ceilings, portraits and chandliers. they even have got a pianist playing lounge music, which was really enjoyable. but i was generally disappointed with their cakes. their cafe central torta was dry n too citrussy, while their cheesecake was passable. they've got other classics like guglhupf and sachertorte, but we hadn't bothered to try. the chocolate cake recommended by the waiter was the only thing that saved the cakes from total condemnation. of course, 'thou shall not eat sweet cakes with a not so wonderfully sweet white wine (including the likes of reisling)', or risk being very dissatisfied with both. and that's y dessert wines will just have to b deliciously sweet.

17th june, tuesday

we had visited a salt mine in the mountains the morning. n boy was it an interesting experience! the pple there mine their salt from the mountains, so their salt comes in a form not unlike sand and gravel, with dark bits that resemeble tiny stones. the finely ground salt reminds me greatly of sour plum powder that we eat with guava... anyway, we've all got to put on 'miners' clothes to enter the mine, and swoosh down long slides in the caves, which were all very fun. it's really a labyrinth in there! it was also very cool so see salt crystalizing spontaneously on random surfaces, like some of the beams, and cut rock surfaces. touring the salt mine was really very educational and fascinating :)

and since the weather was so fine, i had thought that i might just take a dip in the beautiful lake and swim among the swans and the ducks! when i asked some of the locals abt where the swimming area was, most of them thought i was crazy to want to swim now. apparently, the lake's still too cold, and pple just don't swim this time of the year. maybe a while later. like in august. but i just gave it a try anyway. n boy it was so cold i could barely last a minute in the water, and was struggling to scramble out. n i cut/ bruised my knee in the process of escaping the freezing waters. it was so cold, it felt as if i was being pricked by so many needles all over, and really felt very scary. o well.

dinner was wonderful grilled meats and fish at this restaurant with real ivies creeping in from the exteriors. the grilled stuff were really very very good.

food galore!

i've had the sweetest tomatoes i've ever had this morning for breakfast. they are so sweet and juicy, with only a light hint of saltiness to suggest that they really r indeed tomatoes, i'm sure i ate like more than 10 little ones.

we did lots of shopping in slazburg this morning! OMG. salzburg is such a nice place to window shop n to shop! n we got so many things! mainly practical utilitarian stuff, but with an aesthetic twist! haha. SO HAPPY. we've gotten some of the cutest ceramic stuff from a speciality store from italy (see here). the things r so cute my mom n i were squeeling with delight and hugging throughout our time in the shop and we kept grabbing more n more stuff. i got this very cute owl table clock! really m very very glad with our buys :)

o yes, and we had icecream at salzburg before leaving. and the ice cream was so delicious! it had got apple struddel flavour! which was so delicious! i'm sure joshua would have loved it and so hope i could have gotten some back for him. their cones r also freshly made and almost crispy waffle like - very nice!

we're now in this little town in the mountains by the lake and it's absolutely terrific here, if not just to sit by the hotel balcony and watch the scenery! so happy! :D

we had topfenstruddel (cream cheese struddel) for tea and this wonderful special austrian pan cake for dessert during dinner. so delicious, so full, so happy! haha.

the hills are alive!

i've left vienna early this morning and made my way to salzburg in the west, bordering germany. yes, salzburg - home to SoundOfMusic and mozart chocolates (and of course the man himeself.

and i was particularly awed by the austrian country. it'S really so pretty, i think i could just sit on a picnic mat and stare into the distance for the entire day. there were rolling green hills peppered with colourful blotches of villages far apart, set against the snow capped mountains under a blue blue sky with dramatic clouds. and this is just wad i see chugging down the railway line in 2nd class. i really can't wait to go stay in the austrian country!

anyway, salzburg is pretty fine n dandy too! we r very impressed by our hotel (which isn't cheap at all!). it's located in the heart of the old town in between two cobbled streets full of a mix of international brands and local delights, and counts LV and boss as it's neighbours. being part of the old town, it's exterior betrays an impression not unlike the rest of the district - quaint, charming, a tad run down, mellow with age. but wow n behold, the interior's given a chic modern overhaul, with sleek and strong coloured furniture and designs. über cool! see here.

and we've had our first hearty traditional austrian meal for lunch. n boy was the food (and wine n beer) good n filling! omg. the schnitzel and the sausages are simply heavenly, and the grilled meats was just just right, so full of flavour and so juicy, yet so simply done! we really had a very very good meal, and were extremely satisfied.

our day was spent soaking in the SOM sights (really charming n sing-along inducing ^^), and visiting mozart's house (and learning all abt him). and wandering round the old town, with all it's very interesting shops; a row of shops specializes in painted eggs not unlike easter eggs and look absolutely exquisite. pity most shops are closed on sundays. but fortunately, we're staying for the night and will be around to window shop (n maybe even shop for real) tmrw morning, b4 we go to the village in the mountains by the lake.

dinner was at another chic fingerfood place that promises the 'finest fingerfood'. well, the items r all really very interesting, in terms of the concept, the menu, the creative dishes and the cone/tall glass presentation. the ambience was also rather good, with a dark modern finish. pity the service sucks.

ugh. i think we're spending too much money, and i really ought to rein in a bit :S

but o well, we're all very happy, and that's wad counts! ;)

endless sprial of staircase

the cafe of the day's cafe demel.

it's one of the few grand regal places that have been around since the days of the empire, and are by appointment to the imperial household - as they say, könig und kaiser (k u k: king and emperor, essentially the same person). it's really quite a nice place, spread over 2 levels, different salons and rooms (smoking, non smoking, n the like) with nice displays of the cakes & pastries where u can order from (while most others insist u order from the menu nonetheless).

the atmosphere's really lively and spriteful, and it felt really light and refreshing, cafe sacher was a tad stuffy and too serious, while cafe sperl was plain lazy and as if from the turn of the century (the interior has remained the same since it opened in 1880). plus, it was on kohlmarkt, their main pedestrainised shopping drag. i thought the melange wasn't as good as cafe sperl's though, and the 'eduord' sachertorte just didn't cut, with an intensely sweet (and dry) single chunk of sponge and a mere outer chocolate icing hinting of citrus. THE 'original' sachertorte is multilayered, and every layer is moist with a deliciously 'plummy' taste. haha. o well. i think i've become quite a cake and coffee counessiour after so many cafes of fine cakes n coffee! :P in fact, i fear i may be getting sick of them! (no more fine cakes n pastries till the end of the year, except under special circumstances!) :S

o yes, (window) shopping in vienna's really fine. but everything's so EXPENSIVE!!! the things they sell are really very classy and desirable no doubt, n the variety and magnitude of things are just amazing! i'm very glad i got to go to a berguet speciality store and oogled at fine berguet watches. n boy r they expensive! the cheapest starts in the range of tens of thousands of €, and the one i really like is in the range of hundreds of thousands of € :S the watches r really very very nice and i was very glad just to admire them.

females' fashion was all the rage throughout the entire shopping district, and my mom n i had a hell of a time rushing into all the interesting shops and browsing through clothes. n the trinkets were so exquisite and adorable! i simply SO ADORE them. i really do have a very soft spot for trinkets, but i've sworn off buying any of them, in a bid to prevent wasting money. sigh. the little animal ceramic figurines r SO CUTE!

i'm also very very glad to have visited the 'monet to picasso' exhibit at the albertine museum, where they display the evolution of modern art from the impressionists to the cubists/ fauvists/ avant garde crap, which all all very nice. there were many works that i loved, but pity they didn't allow photography and we were too law abiding to steal snapshots. i was particularly enthralled by kischner's 'naked youth and girl on a beach'. they had another exhibition by kokoschka, which was absolutely marvellous and inspirational. it's my first time encountering kokoschka so intimately, and i was completely blown away, really really very impressed and awed. things really come so alive and so animated, and it's simply amazing how he does it. yup yup, so i m very very happy to have visited the albertine and it now counts among one of my favouritest museums :)

we ended our day by visiting a heuringer (wine garden) at grinzing, a tiny town on the outskirts of wien (read 'veen' - how the austrians call vienna). the heuringers are actually little country estates that make their own wines and serve them in a little 'tavern' like manner with (a very limited) marche styled spread. the heuringer we chose (recommended by 'timeout' which has got very good eat, drink, shop n entertainment sections) is in the outskirts of grinzing and up a steep hill, n required quite a trek, which my physically challenged mom found excruciaiting. but the view and the atmosphere up there was definitely worth it - we had an unobstructed view of the whole of wien, and grinzing right below. it was simply marvellous and really so so pretty, that we didn't really feel like leaving. i must say their reisling was very good. i had tried the reisling from another vineyard, and it tasted horrible (comparatively). of course, it was more expensive too @ €5.30 glass.

i must say i've had a good time drinking on this trip. i'm still particularly found of bikaver from eger, hungary, and kekfranchos from villany, hungary, and hope i've gotten more, while HBH beer from this little eger pub is among the best i've had. regrettably i haven't had any czech wines (not that i can remember) and czech beers r just sort of forgettable.

anyway, the earlier part of the day was spent in the emperor's apartments in the centre of the city and the 'imperial & eccelestial' treasury, which i find r just as splendid as russia's or any prominent imperial/ royal househould of immense significance. n i had also ascended the tower of the biggest (and most important) church in wien, and the spiral stairs just continue all the way non stop from the ground to the stop. it was really very tiring and scary going up and down the stairs. i had felt like tumbling down!

tonight's my last night in vienna for the time being, and i shall b leaving for slazburg in the west tmrw, and later to hallstatt, a little town i nthe mountains by the lake. till then!