Otmoor Starling Roost

One late afternoon in early December we went to RSPB Otmoor to see the Starling roost. We accidentally found a starling that had just killed one of the aforementioned Starlings and was tucking into his supper. The roost was not quite as spectacular as we had hoped for as they came in to roost in small groups. The guide said it was because it was so cold that they just needed to bed down for the night quickly.

Gran Canaria

Hoopoe, Kestrel and Little Stint

Gran Canaria Photo's

Return from Gran Canaria

Well this week has been one of the darkest for me in a while. I blame a fantastic week in Gran Canaria with daily temperatures of 25 degrees+ the previous week. I think that I must suffer from SAD, as soon as the clocks went back this year I went into a decline, only to be relieved on a temporary basis basking in glorious sunshine for 7 days. It was to return when we hit the freezing cold of Gatwick airport last Saturday evening. I would recommend a week in the Canaries at this time of year if you can bear the pain of the return.

Seriously we had a great relaxing time, mostly spent relaxing with a smattering of bird watching here & there. We saw 11 Hoopoes one morning, pecking away at the golf course next door to the hotel. There was also a flock of Canary Finches and a beautiful Berthelots Pipit. Ian managed to get a good photo of a Little Stint and the Canary Chiffchaffs serenaded us all day as we lounged by the pool. We also managed to see & get some photo's of a Kestral that was perched on a palm tree just outside the hotel.

When not sunbathing, walking or swimming we would be found watching the spectacular sunset's accompanied by a chilled glass of cava or 2. After that we would do a spot of people watching, Mr F's favorite hobby especially at meal times. We came across the "Clone" family, Tracksuit man, business man on holiday with his secretary, The "Local people" from Devon. I expect they were amazed at how perfect Ian & I were, although Mrs Blobby did put in an appearance as did Mr Greedy but they were not around for long.

It is also not advisable to travel a Spanish speaking country so soon after visiting a German speaking country, as you tend to make up words. For example Gracka a combination of gracias and danka. It does rather confuse the natives, who think that I am German anyway.

Will post some pictures when we have had a chance to straighten out the horizons - I think it must be the curvature of the earth as the horizon was so vast.

Vienna

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Not 'Good Night" or a song by Ultravox or Rigby's cat. This IS the real thing at last.

Friday the 22nd October sees Anne, Joyce, Ian & I off to Vienna to celebrate Annes 70th year (Sorry about that Anne). We have a good flight and get a taxi from the airport to our hotel. I have a window seat on the plane so get to see the Alps, just a sprinkling of snow on the tops and also see the Danube which is very wide. The journey was very smooth & no waiting about. Hotel AM Konzerthaus is very nice. Good size room, good amenities, excellent staff on reception and in the restaurant they could not be more helpful. It was also well located for what we wanted to do & see. And L'Ocitane toiletries on top. Very funky lampshades too.

A quick unpack & out for some lunch - I am totally lost and have the city well upside down. I am quite taken aback as it all seems to be quite old world, with the tram wires & the traffic lights hanging down in the street. We find a cafe and somehow manage to order some food and beer, more pointing at pictures and saying bitte than anything else. Hey its a long time since any of us was in a German speaking country. We do get better, promise.

It is sunny but very cold we are all a bit tired and try to get to the Belvedere Gardens but our lack of direction & fatigue gets the better of us. Anne & Joyce go back to the hotel & Ian & I do a quick tour around the local area to see if we can find somewhere for dinner tonight. We pop into a beer keller for a swift half & are amazed to find people smoking. Yes you can still smoke almost anywhere here.

Dinner

We went to the Gmoa Keller which is close to the hotel. We are all a bit tired and it is traditional food and serves good wines according to our book. Boxes ticked. We have difficulty in getting a table but it gets sorted out. The menu arrives, oh dear we do not have a clue what is what. It is fairly extensive - we find an English bit at the back but there is limited choice. The waiter has little or no English but keeps telling us he has a good goose. It became known as the many legged goose as they seemed to be mainly serving goose legs that night. However we had Weiner Schnitzels served with traditional Potato salad. I had lamb, it was very good. For Dessert I had Apple Strudel which was excellent. I made a point of trying as many strudels whilst in Vienna, as I could just to mark them out of 10. This was the best one of the whole holiday. We drank some red wine which was recommend by Mein Herr the waiter.

On getting back to the hotel we were dismayed to find our clothes & hair stank like we had been infused with Chinese food, our room was red hot & I did not get much sleep. Ian woke me at 7.18 to get me out of bed as we were meeting up at 8 for breakfast. Noooooooo. But after a good hot shower I was ready to go.

Wiener Fruhstuck

Having found a great cafe on our way back to the hotel last night we decide to go there for breakfast. Only to find that on a Saturday it does not open until 9. It is bright but cold outside & we need something to eat, nothing seems to be open but then we spy the golden M yes we end up eating our frustuck in McDonalds! Well it was good & we did have the Wiener choice apart from Mr F who had a bacon & egg Mcmuffin heathen!

We head towards the market trying to avoid getting run down by one of the many trams and fast speeding cars. It takes a while for us to get our head around the directions but it is soon sorted. We are not sure of the distances but it is soon clear that Vienna is very walkable and all the main attractions are close to each other. We pass the Succession building an example of art nouveau it has this huge ornate golden dome on the top.

Then the magic of the market beckons - well we are all suckers for looking at food & drink.

I think that you must be able to buy any food imaginable here in this market. Also for such a landlocked country the variety and freshness of the fish is almost unbelievable. You would think that it had just been hauled off the quayside. I wonder why we English cannot provide this standard and quality. We spend quite a while wandering around the stalls but it is freezing cold and we are forced into a cafe for hot chocolate which was very welcome.
One of the things that we see for sale in the market and in some of the beer kellers is something called Sturm it is fermented grape juice only available for a few weeks in the autumn. It is on sale everywhere and people are drinking it in the open air cafes. We did not have any but I later read that it is very potent and Sturm means new wine.

We are lucky in the choice of cafe that we choose as it is right by the Majolika House one of the finest examples of an Art Nouveau style house

Naschmarkt

Coffee Houses & Opera House Tour

After freezing at the Naschmarkt we make our way to a coffee house for a treat. We have apple strudel - ranked 3rd in my listings although it was still good. Ian had a torte called molitoff which had rum & brandy in it. We had coffee which as alway is served with a glass of water and a spoon. The coffee comes in a separate little pot and are served individually on a tray to each of us.

After this and a bit warmer we take a tour of the state opera house. See later post for pictures. We are taken all around including backstage, get to hear all the history. They have a different production every night and the stage hands spend all day changing the scenery and orchestra pit. Some productions need 38 trucks to bring all the props from the store & some only take 2. Still a hell of a lot of logistics to organise everyday,