THE MEXICAN EMBASSY "COFFEE"

Friends representing Indonesia, England,
Canada, and US

Last week we had another "Welcome Coffee" at the Mexican embassy. Strange that they called it a "Coffee" because there was no coffee. When we walked in the door we were greeted by the ambassador of Mexico. Next we were met by a woman carrying a tray of white/red wine and juices. It seemed a little strange to be offered wine at 10:30 in the morning, but the early hour didn't seem to deter many of the women attending.

The big attraction at this Embassy was the area designated for the "Day of the Dead." In Mexico this is a very important day on 10/31 every year where people spend the entire day at gravesides conversing with their loved ones. They also place around the grave all the things that departed ones loved while alive. They had a man standing in the room to answer all our questions about this day. It was quite eerie!




The food we feasted upon was fantastic and made me feel like I was right back in NM. The guacamole and red/green salsa were my favorites.

The people at the Embassy were extremely warm and friendly and made us feel very welcome.

So amazing that we can "take a trip around the globe" when at these Embassy events as there are women from many countries all under one roof.


We were entertained by these senoritas

MAYERLING, HEILIGENKREUZ, & SEEGROTTE

Since Monday was a holiday we took a bus tour south from Vienna to a small town called Bad.

First stop was Mayerling, home of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife in the 1800s. They had one son (Rudolf) who would have succeeded his father as emperor had he not died in 1889. The truth has never been discovered as to the cause of death. Rudolf married Stephanie in 1881 at the age of 23, but quickly found himself in a loveless marriage. Rudolf's mistress, Mary, 17 yrs. old, died with him. One rumor was that he shot Mary then committed suicide, but there was no evidence of a gunshot wound to Mary. So, the truth may never be known.

Mayerling

Mary

Next we visited Heiligenkreuz (Holy Cross), the oldest continuously occupied cisterciana monastery in the world. It has existed without interruption since 1133. Currently it houses 70 monks who daily occupy the building to recite liturgy and gregorian chants in Latin. Heiligenkreuze combines both Romanesque and Gothic architecture. It was beautiful, but very cold and damp. Prayers are offered daily for the dead in a room with skeleton statues. It is supposedly very simple compared to abbys built later. We will have to see others to have something to compare it to, but it looked very ornate to me.

Last stop was an old gypsum mine called Seegrotte in the village of Hinterbühl.

In 1912 a blasting operation let loose millions of gallons of water which flooded the lower caves of the mine, creating the largest underground lake in Europe. During the 1930s a team of cave experts found the lake. During WW II Germans requisitioned the mine and pumped out all the water. They set up an underground factory to produce the fuselage of the world's first jet plane, the HE 162. Over 2000 prisoners of war worked in the cold and damp caves to produce these airplanes.
We walked down a very long path in the cave to arrive at the lake where we took a boat ride. It maintains a constant temperature of 8 celsius in the cave and the water is only a meter and 20 cm deep.

On the way back we were driven by an old castle, Lichtenstein. It looked amazing from the outside and I can't wait to be able to go in it. I think we will wait for grandkids to visit this site.

FITNESS & PANCAKES

Monday was a national holiday in Austria called National Day. National Day commemorates the day in 1955 Austria was officially incorporated after having been occupied by foreign powers during World War II.
On this holiday people are encouraged to take a long walk!

I find it quite ironic that in the same article I read about this holiday becoming a national "fitness day" there was a recipe for Kaiserschmarren. Actually, I've had it several times and it is very yummy (but you must share between several people!)

It was originally made for Emperor Francis Joseph I and has become an Austrian specialty.

Kaiserschmarren (Emperior's Pancake)

Ingredients:
1 cup sifted flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
½ cup milk
2 cup heavy cream
½ tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup butter
½ cup raisins soaked in water (or rum!) for 30 minutes
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Plum Compote
5 ounces granulated sugar
5 ounces water
1 cinnamon stick
1 t. anise (crushed)
1 ½ lbs pitted and sliced red plums

Directions for the Kaiserschmarren:
Sift flour, sugar and salt together. Whip eggs until light and frothy; beat in milk and cream and melted butter. Turn flour mixture into beaten egg and whip until you have smooth batter.
Grease a 6″ or 8″ skillet with a little butter and when moderately hot, pour in just enough batter to cover bottom of skillet with a paper thin layer. To do this, pour batter, then quickly tilt and rotate pan so batter runs over it evenly. Cook over moderate heat until pancake is golden brown on underside; turn and brown second side. Remove to a heated platter. Continue frying pancakes this way until batter has been used.
With two forks, tear pancakes into small pieces, approximately 1″ to 1 1/2″ squares or rectangles will do. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a 10″ skillet and add soaked, well drained raisins and cinnamon. Put cut pancakes into this sauce and sprinkle with 1 cup sugar. Toss lightly over low heat so that it becomes evenly distributed. Do this quickly, as sugar should not melt but retain some of its grainy texture. Serve immediately. Makes 16-20 pancakes.

For the Plum Compote:
In a saucepan, bring the sugar, water, cinnamon, and anise to a boil.
Gently mix in the plums, reduce heat and allow to cook for 5 minutes, covered.
Serve warm or at room temperature as a dipping sauce for the Kaiserschmarren

ENJOY! Oh, and remember to take a long walk after you eat.

BLESSED NANA, INDEED!

I've been thinking about my grandkids
today and how much I miss them.

They all have unique personalities; no two are alike.
It's amazing how that can be.


They range in age from 3 mos. to almost 10.
I can't believe how fast the years have gone by
and that in a few weeks we will have a grandchild
in the double digits in age.

AND HERE COMES WINTER......

What happened to our Fall?


I love Fall. It is my favorite time of year and I was eagerly anticipating a beautiful Vienna Fall. It appears that the recent cold and wind is responsible for the leaves dropping to the ground before they had the opportunity to dazzle us with their gorgeous autumn colors. I guess there's always next year! It has been damp, cold, and dreary the last few weeks. It isn't easy having moved here from Los Alamos, NM where the sun shines most every day all year round. My friends remind me the worst is yet to come. Thanks a lot-just what I needed to hear!

So, in anticipation of five months of basically very little sunshine I am beginning to line up some projects to help stave off the "winter doldrums."

Quilt square I made for our quilting class group quilt.

I aspire to quilt like Mam from Korea who is in our quilting class.

So, I will plan to enjoy the upcoming activities as weather permits: Women's Guild Tea at the Mexican Embassy (do I hear green chile calling my name?!), tour of Viennese porcelain factory, Albertina Museum, Euro-American spiritual retreat in Germany....... I will pray that my body can hold up to this lifestyle that it's not accustomed to and will secretly yearn for the quiet and peacefulness of the back porch of our retirement home in the Hill Country of Texas.

AMAZING CLIMBING WALL

A few weeks ago on Saturday we were having to wait on approval for our cell phone plan so we decided to explore the area. We walked down the street a short distance and came upon an aqua center that housed all kinds of water critters. The building was very tall (probably over 100 ft.) We walked around the little park that surrounded the building and following are pictures of what we saw.

MORE PICTURES OF FILZMOOS

Our hiking group

Cafe at the alm after hiking an hour

First view after arriving at the hotel


The cool spring water was awesome



A mama goat and her twins

FILZMOOS, AUSTRIA RETREAT

Most mornings we watched the fog lift as we ate breakfast.
The village we were in was so charming and quaint.

The week in Filzmoos, Austria was wonderful! Even though there was some language barrier, I found the women very warm and friendly. The train ride there and back was very scenic and I discovered that travel by train is actually quite nice. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of how great the week really was.

The train ride was long, but lots of nice scenery.

The desserts and coffee we enjoyed every afternoon were awesome!
We either went on very long hikes and had a snack at a cafe at the top of the Alm or walked to town for a bite to eat. Both provided lots of good talking time to deepen relationships.

The cows with bells served as my alarm clock every morning-I really didn't mind at all. Not quite as obnoxious as a real alarm clock.