An Oktoberfest Warm Up

In late September, London was just as gorgeous an Autumn as any city I've lived in. The idea that London is always gray and gloomy I've found to be utter nonsense. Thankfully. With the sun out, I headed South of the Thames to an Oktoberfest tent set up in London.

The tent was huge, and being Sunday it wasn't too crowded. A traditional German band was playing loads of traditional German songs. I had no idea what they were saying, but the music sounded fun.

We cashed in our groupons for our 1/2 pint beers and quickly upgraded to the big boys.

Then our sausages and chips arrived. We happily ate them up.

We had a few more friends join and danced on the benches. Apparently, it's a very traditional part of Oktoberfest. Who are we to argue with tradition.

It was a great time. I hopped on the bus home after a bit and passed by Parliament and Big Ben on the ride home. I'm still in awe that I live in this city. It's a beauty.

An Evening in Vienna

Our last night in Vienna was a nice low key evening. After a rainy day and an afternoon full of glorious cheese, we decided to go for an evening stroll. Earlier in the weekend we had noticed a beautiful rooftop right next door to our AirBnB. We decided to go and check it out.

The next morning I got a better picture of the outside. It's a luxury hotel called Palais Coburg. It's a palace in the center of Vienna that was built in the 1840s.

As soon as we walked inside we were greeted with a beautiful wine bar. We headed to the right and up to the rooftop we'd been eyeing.

The restaurant upstairs looked like it was encased in massive greenhouse. The opulent chandelier lit up the night and every perfectly set table. I loved everything about this place.

After gawking after the insight, we decided to check out the rest of the rooftop. Somehow they had huge trees growing out of the concrete.

Mike walked up a set of stairs and declared he'd found something special.

He was right. Inside the rooms looked like something out of Versailles. I imagine princes and princesses dancing here a century ago. Or spoiled rich 21st century millionaires having their weddings in there.

We had a glass of wine on the roof and suddenly one of the waiters came up and asked if we wanted to see the wine cellar. He said he wasn't supposed to, but the night was slow and I guess we just got lucky. The owner of the luxury hotel is a wine fan to say the least. The hotel has 6 wine cellars with over 60,000 bottles totaling near 30 million Euros. One of the largest wine cellars in Europe. The lights were dimmed (since no one was supposed to be down there) so a lot of my pictures didn't turn out. But a few did, starting with a wall of some of the greatest wines to ever grace this cellar.

Downstairs in the heart of the wine cellar, the medieval  city walls from the 1500s form a stunning event space. There's a little Grand Piano sitting there in the center. Apparently the likes of Dior, Versace, and Chanel have had runway shows right where we stood.

Tucked into the back were some of the oldest bottles along with a famous quote in glowing Arabic. I don't know what it said, but it's safe to say it had something to do with wine.

We left very happy with our secret wine tour.

The next morning we went to the famous Hotel Sacher for a tasty breakfast. The hotel is famous for the original Sacher Torte, a chocolate cake with apricot jam and fudge-y chocolate icing.

I picked one up to take back to the office. It was the best chocolate cake I've ever had. Sadly, that was the end of my Vienna trip. But I really can't complain, back to London I go!

Milk Bar in Vienna

The next day we awoke to rainy skies. Mike and Mara had to make a quick umbrella pitstop which resulted in a scene out of a movie. We had to take a picture.

We picked up a deck of cards and played hearts at a cute little outdoor cafe, Cafe Haweika. Mara and Mike enjoyed the Viennese coffee while I warmed up with a pot of mint tea. We nibbled on pastries and laughed for hours. Hearts is not Mike's game.  

After a while we decided we needed a cheese snack. We grabbed our card from Christophe from the night before and marched off to Meierei, the Milk Bar. We were greeted by a giant milk bottle. Picture time!

Now normally you need a reservation to eat here, but if you go around 4 PM the place is empty.

The decor is amazing. It's a whimsical restaurant that reminded me a bit of the Mad Hatter's tea party from Alice in Wonderland. Glowing milk bottles, curved forks as coat hooks and white dishes along the walls.

There were rows of cheese everywhere. The staff took care of it all with such loving care. They knew everything there was to know about every single cheese. What farm it came from, how many more weeks it needed to mature, the subtle notes in each slice.

When the menu arrived were had no idea what to choose. We started with steak tartare and showed our lovely waiter the card from Christophe. He smiled and treated us like old friends. He answered all of our cheese related questions and told us not to worry, he'd put together an excellent cheese plate. He did not disappoint.

Then arrived the mother of al cheese plates. It was 9 cheeses in a 'Tour of Europe' from Vienna, France, Italy and more. We were told to start at the front center (with the grayish rind). This was the mildest cheese, a goat cheese from Austria. We then ate them all clockwise until we ended with the strongest cheese, a gorgonzola from Italy.

The gooey cheese were phenomenal. They brought out a basket of breads but you didn't need them. The cheeses on their own were some of the best I have ever had. We slowly worked our way around the plate taking breaks. It was a lot of cheese!

When we finally made it to the end we were stuffed. I think if you would have poked us, we would have oozed cheese like a mozzarella stick.

It was nearly impossible to pick favorites. But the last two, the gorgonzola and one of the gooey cheeses, were high on our list. I would go back to Meierei anytime.