Thankful

Chilly and raw November in Vienna was significantly brightened by my brother's visit. We'd made the travel arrangements for him to come months before he arrived, so I had a lot of time to think about what we might do and what we might show him.

It seems strange to say this because Vienna is really a wonderful city, but there was part of me that felt apologetic that he would only see Vienna. Vienna isn't Paris; Vienna isn't Rome. This would be his first trip to Europe, so there was something in me that wished I could show him everything - all of Europe in one trip. He would love the food and wine in Paris! Wouldn't he miss the delights of Rome? What about London? Venice? Oh... there are so many wonderful things to see....

As I walked around my city in the weeks leading up to his visit, I tried see the city through his eyes instead of my own. I realized that, in many ways, Vienna is actually the perfect city for a first visit to Europe. It is grand: Austro-Hungarian Empire Grand. It has palaces and museums with world-class art and horse-drawn carriages. It has cobblestone streets and coffeehouses and Grüner Veltliner. The airport is easy; transportation in the city is easy. Most important, Vienna has his sister and brother-in-law.

His arrival!

After he arrived, we fought his fatigue with a nice walk around the city - a chance to get a sense of the place. We walked to the Hofburg Palace:

 

And over to the Rathaus - City Hall - where the "Magic of Advent" Christkindlmarkt (an enormous Christmas Market) had just opened.

We had some Glühwein
 and Punsch to warm us up.

 It was raw and cold, but fortified by the hot drinks, we continued along the Ring - the perimeter of the Inner City. As we walked, I just kept at looking at the delight in my brother's eyes. Pure delight.

The next day, we ate Wiener Schnitzel, of course:

And went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which M and I love.

My friend Miriam came from Germany to join us for Thanksgiving - we celebrated her arrival:

Having Christian's visit coincide with Thanksgiving was just so cozy and perfect. M and I were so thankful to have family, as well as old and new friends here with us.

This is not the first time Christian & I have collaborated on a Thanksgiving dinner. No matter how much time passes between occasions, he and I work well together in the kitchen. Cooking with my brother has always been pleasure for me - he's a trained chef; I'm not. This makes no difference once we're in the kitchen together. We're just brother and sister, and together cook like our mother: "A certain amount of this; cook until done..."

You may remember from the entry of the previous Thanksgiving, that there are some challenges to cooking a Thanksgiving dinner in a small kitchen, with a small oven. This was also true this year, but we had the inspired idea (my brother had the inspired idea) to braise the turkey legs ahead of time and to roast the turkey breasts separately. What a revelation! We turned out some great food, and had a wonderful time:

 

What else did we do? Let's see... M and I had been invited to an Early Music concert in a private, candle-lit baroque hall in a friend's home. It was great to be able to bring Christian with us. Sadly, the candlelight didn't help with photos, but trust me - it was a wonderful, one-of-a-kind experience.

We ate sausages and drank beer at a Wurstl stand (also a must-do in Vienna):

The three of us went to the Christmas Market at the Schloss Schönbrunn. It was festive, crowded with people, musicians, gift stalls, and food.

 Of course, we drank Punsch and ate wonderful snacks:

We had also planned ahead of time to visit two wineries - visits that were graciously arranged by Christian's boss. Both were at least an hour away from Vienna by train, but far enough away from each other that we really needed two days to visit them. Unfortunately, M couldn't join us - it would have been such fun to have the adventure all together. After much research and a few phone calls, we figured out how to get where we were going.

Our first stop was Schloss Gobelsburg, which is in the Kamptal region in Lower Austria. We took a train from Vienna toward Krems, and then switched to increasingly smaller trains twice. When we got off our last train at Gobelsburg, we followed the directions we'd been given: "Walk toward the steeple. Keep going and you will see the Schoss." This was easy because really, in the gray of November, there was nothing to see except the steeple and the Schoss:

We met Michael Moosbrugger, the winery's manager, who gave us a tour of the cellar and told us about the history of the Schloss and the winery. It's fascinating, and you can read about it in the link above the photo. He was engaging and knowledgeable - as well as really generous with his time (apparently, they rarely give public tours). We had a wonderful tasting with him, and learned quite a lot about Austrian wine.

From www.gobelsburg.at

From there, we took the train to Krems, where we would have dinner and stay the night before going to the second winery the next day. M and I went to Krems, you might remember, as part of our Wachau Valley cruise down the Danube. It looks quite different in the fog of November than it did in the bright summer sunlight. Still, it's a charming town and it was fun to show Christian another side of Austria. We had the whole morning to explore:

After a quick lunch, we waited at our hotel for someone from Weingut Markus Huber to pick us up. Apparently, there's no good way to get to that winery from anywhere other than by car. Markus' brother Michael arrived and off we went, to the winery in the Traisental region of Lower Austria. Markus met us and gave us a private tour of the winery.

We did a tasting right in the cellar:

Image from www.weingut-huber.at

Image from www.weingut-huber.at

Markus also took us for a drive around the vineyards, explaining to us about the soil and climate that make his wine so special. Although I paid attention, he probably says it more accurately than I could recount it: 

SOIL

Many great wines of the world are grown on limestone rich soil, and the Traisental valley is the only wine producing region of lower Austria where this exact soil type can be found. The limestone soil here forms the base of the finest sites for growing wine. This unique soil formation is rich with precious minerals and helps to keep the water supply to the vines at an optimum level. It provides our Grüner Veltliner with an unmistakable spiciness as well as a distinct and clear bouquet, and the Riesling with power and smooth body.

CLIMATE

The valley of Traisental lies at the crossing point of the pannonian and continental climates. Here cool breezes drifting down from the nearby Alps meet with warm air currents coming from the Donau valley, which lead to extreme variance in the temperatures of the day and the night. This natural phenomenon is never more important than during the ripening season of the grapes, as it is hugely beneficial to the development of the aroma and their absorption into the skins which result in intensely aromatic wines. All these elements combined help our wines to develop their unmistakable character.

He showed us the inside of a cave where the minerals in the soil were easily seen:

We were so grateful to both Michael at Gobelsburg and Markus at Huber for their generosity of time. These private tours and tastings were great fun!

Back in Vienna, we enjoyed more of our favorite things:

Eating little sandwiches at Zum Schwarzen Kameel:

Eating dinner at Hollmann Salon - M and I always get the tasting menu:

so we can fill the table with a bit of everything:

M and Christian had a chance to have lunch alone one day, which was so nice because they haven't had many chances for that. They went to a restaurant that, sadly, appears to be gone now. Every time M and I  walked by it, we said "We've got to take Christian to this place." It was called Porcus and it served "nose to tail" pork in all forms. (If you don't know why we would say that Christian would have to check this place out, read this). I joined them for a photo at the end of their lunch.

We went to the Wiener Konzerthaus to hear Ars Antiqua Austria, with Gunar Letzbor on violin, play a Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber sonatas. Wonderful.

We did a lot of walking around the city. We went to more Christmas markets and drank more Punsch. We visited Stephansdom. We saw the spectacular Christmas lights on Graben.

 

I loved having Christian here - both because, of course, I miss him, but also so that he could spend some time with M and me - in our home, in our normal lives. Seeing us where we live and how we live is so different than when we're back in the States visiting. I think Christian got to see a fun and comfortable household - full of silliness, chaos, music, food, and love. I think he got to see how truly happy and relaxed his sister is, beyond her (occasionally-appearing) chatty blog posts.

I was so proud of Christian's openness and happiness as we explored Vienna. He smiled, charmed, and talked with everyone. He learned a few German phrases, but it was his enthusiasm that delighted everyone he interacted with - from usually-grumpy waiters to harried sales clerks.

Just as looking at the beauty of Vienna through his eyes reminded me of the joy it is to live here, his openness and fearlessness reminded me that I behaved the same way when I first came to visit. I think I can say those reminders have stayed with me - and have opened me up again. I hope to continue to hold onto this, just as I do the fond memories of a wonderful visit.