A Trip to Lainzer Tiergarten & Frozen Kiwi Pops

Last weekend was a long weekend for us, three free days with my husband, we had wonderful weather in Austria  and so we decided to go out and enjoy nature & culture on our free days. The first day we spent in Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens, but unfortunately I had no camera with me that day. I forgot it, shame on me!  The second day we decided to visit the Lainzer Tiergarten. Here are some facts (source: Wikipedia) that might be of interest: The Lainzer Tiergarten, is a 24.50 km² wildlife preserve in the southwest corner of Vienna, Austria, and  80% of it being covered in woodland. It dates back to 1561, when Ferdinand I of Austria created it as a fenced-in hunting ground for his family to use. Since 1919, it has been open to the public. Its name consists of its location by the Lainz district of Vienna's 13th District, and Tiergarten, which means zoo (literally, "animal garden"). Today the Lainzer Tiergarten is home to between 800 and 1,000 wild boars 200 to 250 fallow deer approximately 700 mouflons, and 80 to 100 red deer (elk). 

There is one museum located within Lainzer Tiergarten:  the Hermesvilla. Emperor Franz Joseph I gave it to his wife Empress Elisabeth (nicknamed "Sisi"), and he called it the "castle of dreams.“ The name of the villa refers to a statue of Hermes made of white marble that is located in the garden of the villa. Today, the Hermesvilla is noted for its art and natural setting, and is used by the Vienna Museum for special exhibitions on cultural history.

It was a fun day, no stress, just exploring and enjoying... If you have the chance to visit Lainzer Tiergarten, do it, you will love it!!

Prošli, produženi vikend smo suprug i ja proveli opušteno, bez stresa, iskoristili smo maksimalno lijepe, sunčane dane, uglavnom u prirodi. U nedjelju smo posjetili palaču i vrtove Schönbrunna,  Gloriettu iznad parka, i Paviljon Palmi, ali sam nažalost zaboravila fotoaparat pa ćete mi na riječ morati povjerovati da je bilo prelijepo.:) Imam u planu da nekad napišem post o Schönbrunn-u, a pošto nerijetko odemo u šetnju prekrasnim vrtovima, biće sigurno prilike da to i lijepo fotografiram.  U ponedjeljak smo po prvi put posjetili zoološki vrt "Lainzer Tiergarten", i to smo povezali s razgledavanjem dvorca i muzeja Hermesvilla.

Ako vam se nekad pruži prilika da posjetite Lainzer Tiergarten i dvorac Hermesvilla, obavezno posjetite muzej, gdje se redovno organiziraju izložbe, ili posjetitie privatne odaje carice Elizabeth "Sisi". Evo i nekoliko sličica...:)

Na kraju posta ćete naći i receptić za savršeno osvježavajuće "grickalice"s kivijem za tople dane. Uživajte!

Hermesvilla- front view

Fountain in the courtyard of the Villa

Garden impressions

Restaurant "Artner" in the Hermesvilla

Coffee break :)

Posing with M. :)

And last, but not least, a very easy recipe, more an idea for frozen treats: Frozen Kiwi Pops! Dip a fruit of your choice (kiwi, strawberry, banana) in melted chocolate and freeze, it is so easy and delicious!

Frozen Kiwi Chocolate Pops

                Potrebno je:                    

kiwi (2-3 komada)

drveni štapići 

(u nedostatku štapića za sladoled sam upotrijebila čačkalice- 

ako pravite djeci, naravno one ne dolaze u obzir!)

čokolada po izboru (kvalitetnija)

1 žlica ulja 

kokos (po želji)

Priprema:

Isjeći kiwi na deblje kolutove, ako su prekiseli, pošećeriti, poredati na papir za pečenje.
Staviti u zamrzivač otprilike 20-30 minuta.
U međuvremenu istopiti čokoladu na pari, i dodati žlicu ulja.
U napola smrznute kolutove kivija zabosti štapić, pa umočiti u otopljenu čokoladu. Po želji uvaljati u kokos.
Poredati na papir za pečenje i vratiti u zamrzivač da se stegne.
Prije serviranja izvaditi i staviti u frižider 5-10 minuta, da kivi malo popusti, onda su najljepši! Uživati :)

Christkindlmarkt Rathaus Wien ~ Vienna Rathaus Christmas Market

The Rathaus Christmas market is probably the most well known of Vienna’s Christmas markets. Set outside the impressive gothic style town hall, it is  in my opinion  one of the prettiest. For the period from mid-November to Christmas, the surrounding park is transformed into a magic place, where you can purchase candied fruits, cotton candy, cakes, biscuits, hot punch,  Glühwein (spiced wine) and other delicacies  during Christmas market holidays. Today I have spent a wonderful afternoon with some friends at the Rathaus Christmas market and would like to share some impressions... The only thing we were missing was snow, but you cannot have everything :)

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Diesmal poste ich kein Rezept, sondern ein paar Impressionen aus meinem heutigen, allerersten Christkindlmarkt-Besuch dieses Jahr. Ich war mit lieben Freunden, die ich schon lange nicht mehr gesehen habe, am  Christkindlmarkt Rathaus Wien , und  wir hatten sehr viel Spaß. Es fehlte nur der Schnee, zumindest ein klitzekleines bisschen... Aber man kann ja nicht immer alles haben, oder?

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Danas nema recepta, već nekoliko sličica s današnjeg izleta na bečki "Christkindlmarkt" kod vijećnice,  s meni jako dragim ljudima koje već dugo nisam vidjela. Ovaj božićni sajam je najveći u Beču,  i  moram priznati i najkomercijalniji, prenatrpan je, što se meni osobno ne dopada, ja više volim otići u Schönbrunn, te na Freyung (na kojem se prodaju isključivo umjetnička i obrtnicka djela), ali kad nam dolaze gosti iz inozemstva obavezno posjetimo i ova ispred vijećnice, onako turistički :)  Uživali smo uz kuhano vino, keksiće i kolače, koje nisam ni stigla uslikati jer smo ih brzo pojeli! Falio nam je snijeg, da predbožićna atmosfera bude potpuna, ali i naši gosti, a i mi smo se lijepo proveli! Evo i nekoliko fotkica:

Volim Te... in Vienna :D

Candied Apples

Maroni Maroni :)

Vienna Rathaus Christmas Market

A Day at the Viennese Naschmarkt

Today I will not post any recipe. I thought it might be of interest to show some photos from Vienna’s best-known market: the Naschmarkt. I will share some impressions of our latest visit to the Naschmarkt. Well, it's still all about food! ;) It has around 120 market stands and restaurants for a colorful culinary offering ranging from Viennese,  Indian, from Italian to Vietnamese. The Naschmarkt has developed into a meeting point for young and old! Named the "city's stomach" by locals, the Naschmarkt, a food and flea market, has existed since the 18th century and is Vienna's  largest inner city market. You can buy everything to do with food: fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, bread and cheese as well as also delicatessen such as Persian caviar, sushi and oysters, as well as a colourful display of international produce, especially from the countries of former Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Japan and China. If the sight of all this bounty makes you hungry, you can eat right in the Naschmarkt at a choice of restaurants. And on Saturdays it is most interesting to visit the most famous flea market in Vienna, which is held right next door. It is worth visiting even if you don't want to buy anything! A good idea is sitting outdoors on the Naschmarkt in summer, eating and drinking and just watching people.:) 

Wiens bekanntester Markt hat rund 120 Marktstände und Restaurants und verfügt über ein buntes kulinarisches Angebot und reicht von wiener, über indischen, vietnamesischen, bis zu italienischen Köstlichkeiten. Der Naschmarkt hat sich zu einem Treffpunkt für Jung und Alt entwickelt.
Seit dem 18. Jahrhundert  ist der Naschmarkt Wiens größter innerstädtischer Markt. Hier kann alles gekauft werden, was mit Essen zu tun hat: Obst und Gemüse, Fleisch und Fisch,  Brot und Käse aber auch viele andere Köstlichkeiten  wie zb. persischer Kaviar, Sushi und Austern.  Man kann auch eine eine bunte Auswahl an internationalen Spezialitäten aus den Ländern des ehemaligen Jugoslawiens, Griechenland, Türkei, Japan und China bestaunen, probieren- und  selbstverständlich kaufen!:)  Der Anblick allein  macht mich (und sicher nicht nur mich :) hungrig, und fast immer endet mein Einkauf in einem der kleinen Restaurants auf der rechten Seite des Naschmarkts.  Am Samstag ist es für mich am interessantesten, da der wohl berühmteste Flohmarkt in Wien (gleich nebenan) stattfindet. Man muß ja nicht ubedingt etwas kaufen, gell? :D  Obwohl, beim Stöbern finde ich fast immer etwas kleines und feines ;).

Bečka najpoznatija pijaca/tržnica  sa više od 120 prodajnih mjesta ("štandova" ;)  i ne malog broja restorana nudi veliki izbor hrane, voća i povrća, začina, morskih plodova  iz cijelog svijeta, možete ovdje pronaći sve -od austrijskih, preko indijskih, vijetnamskih, do talijanskih specijaliteta.

Naschmarkt je postao okupljalište za mlade i stare.

Već od 18. stoljeća pa sve do danas je Naschmarkt najveća i najpoznatija tržnica/ pijaca  u Beču. Ovdje se sve može kupiti, što ima veze s hranom: voće i povrće, meso i riba, kruh i sir i mnoge druge delikatese kao npr. perzijski kavijar, sushi i ostrige. Također možete uživati u  širokom izboru internacionalne kuhinje iz zemalja bivše Jugoslavije, Grčke, Turske, Japana, Kine... Nakon svake posjete Naschmarkt-u  ja i moj dragi navratimo u jedan od mnogobrojnih restorana, jer toliko ogladnimo gledajući sve ove poslastice.;)  Subotom je najzabavnije otići, jer tik uz Naschmarkt otvara najpoznatiji buvljak u Beču. Meni lično bude jako zanimljivo zbog knjiga i starinskog suđa i posuđa. Ponekad se tu mogu naći prekrasne stvari! Današnji post je bez recepta, evo nekoliko slika sa naše posljednje posjete prekjučer (po najvećoj vrućini, puuh) ...

Half-dried fruit... We bought far too much! :)

Sweets :)

Do you like Wasabi nuts?

Spices, spices, spices :)

And more spices :)

Tea for One Sets... Kind of cute :)

Dürum or Döner Kebab?

Waiting for our Turkish coffee :)

Peppercorns...

Chili XXX.... I would say that's VERY SPICY :)

Chocolate!

Melon Vinegar