London Calling

I guess London is one of the destinations I want to go every year. No matter how long you’re staying – a week or four days – you always end up feeling that you haven’t done everything you wanted to do. I for one haven’t managed to try all the vegan restaurants I was interested in, as I didn’t want to force my fellow travel companions to eat vegan food. 

Oxford Circus tube station

One thing I can recommend is going to Churchill War Rooms. It is worth every penny and you can spend at least a day. You get an audio guide, see the rooms where decisions were made and where people spent the night. In the center of the museum is the heart of it all, an interactive museum concerning Winston Churchill’s life and the history surrounding him. Unfortunately, we had a lunch date with Yauatacha Soho, so I had to run through part of the exhibition. Yauatacha is an outstanding place for dim sum. Starting from 14:00 you can get a fixed menu for two people for 30 Pounds (15 each). The dim sum was excellent and they managed to serve a variety of vegan dishes.

Yauatacha Soho

Another highlight of every London visit should be Boiler House on Brick Lane. I managed to get the last burger from Pomodoro e Basilico, which is 100 % homemade and vegan.

If you fancy some nice cocktails or an excellent dinner in a stylish bar or restaurant, go to sketch. The vegan main dish was to die for. Sadly, the Gallery is so loud that I would recommend just going to the Glade for a few cocktails. The best drink in my view is Pimm’s Lemonade. It is Pimm’s No 1 with ginger ale and – depending on the bar – fruit.

If you want a chill-out day in between, go to Greenwich (free) or Kew Gardens (15 Pounds). You should definitely plan a few hours or a day off, because London is very exhausting.

Greenwich is a nice area in general so explore a bit. If you want some good beer or good food go to The Greenwich Union. 

Sky Garden

Other places worth mentioning: Tate Modern, The Blackfriar pub, Borough Market, Sky Garden

Next stop is Bangkok. Wheeeee!

Femcamp Wien

Kommenden Samstag, am 16.3., findet das Femcamp Wien statt. Ich war noch nie auf einem BarCamp und dachte zuerst, dass mich das Femcamp nicht interessieren wird. Dann stolperte ich allerdings über eine Diskussion auf Facebook zum Beitrag der ÖH BOKU, wo es um die Suche nach SachbearbeiterInnen für das Frauenreferat ging. Leider lief sie nicht ganz sachlich ab, wie so oft bei diesen Themen. Vielleicht finden wir am Samstag ein paar Gründe dafür. Jede/r ist herzlich eingeladen teilzunehmen.

Ein Kochbuch auf Reisen – die Rezepte

Gestern habe ich das Kochbuch an meine Nachfolgerin Bigii weiter gegeben. Da ich gleich die Zweite war, die aus dem Kochbuch etwas nachkochen durfte, hatte ich die Qual der Wahl. Es sind Gerichte für jeden Anlass dabei. Was mich natürlich gefreut hat war das Kapitel zu den Broten. Mein erstes Rezept war dann:



Basilikum-Zitronen-Pesto
Pesto di basilico e limone

Die Hauptzutaten sind Pinienkerne, frischer Basilikum, Zitrone, Knoblauch, Olivenöl und Gewürze. Der Basilikum, den ich gefunden habe, kam sogar aus Österreich. Das ganze wird püriert und dann mit Pasta serviert. Das Pesto wurde vielleicht etwas zu flüssig, aber gemischt mit den Nudeln hat man das nicht mehr gemerkt.


Schwierigkeit: einfach
Geschmack: leicht, frisch, zitronig
Rezeptverständlichkeit: sehr gut
Anlass(tauglichkeit): sehr schnelles einfaches Gericht; geeignet für viele Anlässe (Essen zu zweit, Abendessen mit Freunden, ...), allerdings braucht man bei mehr als vier Personen sehr viel frischen Basilikum

Ich wollte schon immer ein Focaccia backen. Da ich schon seit über einem halben Jahr Brot selber mache, war es nur logisch, dass ich ein Brotrezept testen muss.

Fladenbrot mit Tomaten und Knoblauch 
Focaccia alla barese
 

Bei der angegebenen Mehltype in der Zutatenliste handelt es sich um die deutsche Typenbezeichnung und entspricht in Österreich 1600. Mir ist diese aber im normalen Handel noch nicht unter gekommen. Ich wurde dann in einem Forum fündig und bekam den Hinweis, dass es von Alnatura die entsprechende Type auch in Österreich gibt. Den Roh-Rohrzucker habe ich mit (Bio) Rohzucker aus Österreich ersetzt. Den gibt es, glaube ich, noch nicht so lange, aber ich dachte, dass das eine gute regionale Alternative zum Roh-Rohrzucker ist.

Zutaten (für vier Personen)
500 g Weizenmehl (Type 1050 - Dtld.)
1 Päckchen Trockengerm
2 TL Meersalz
1 TL Roh-Rohrzucker
5 EL Olivenöl
etwa 250 ml lauwarmes Wasser
3 Tomaten
2 – 3 Knoblauchzehen
3 EL fein gehackter Oregano
Meersalz
frisch gemahlener schwarzer Pfeffer

Zuerst wird das Weizenmehl mit Germ, Salz, Zucker und 2 EL Olivenöl vermischt. Dann in der Mitte des Mehls eine Mulde formen und das Wasser hineingießen. Alles zu einem glatten Teig verarbeiten. Den Teig so lange kneten, bis er geschmeidig ist und nicht mehr am Schüsselboden klebt. Mit etwas Mehl bestäuben und abgedeckt an einem warmen Ort etwa 30 Minuten gehen lassen.
Danach den Teig halbieren und jede Hälfte auf ein mit Backpapier ausgelegtes Backblech legen. Mit dem Handballen jeweils gut 1 cm dicke Fladen formen. Beide Fladen mit je 1½ EL Olivenöl bestreichen und nochmals 15 Minuten gehen lassen.
In der Zwischenzeit die Tomaten an den Stielansätzen kreuzförmig einschneiden und mit kochend heißem Wasser überbrühen. Die Tomaten 10 Minuten ruhen lassen. Das Wasser abgießen, die Tomaten enthäuten und fein würfeln. Dann die Würfel auf den Teigfladen verteilen.
Knoblauchzehen schälen, fein hacken und die Fladen damit bestreuen. Das Ganze dann noch mit dem Oregano sowie Salz und Pfeffer würzen.
Das Fladenbrot im Backofen bei 200° C (Umluft) 20 – 25 Minuten backen.
Noch ofenheiß servieren.

Mein Mixer ist leider nicht sehr gut, daher gehe ich davon aus, dass es mit einer guten Küchenmaschine besser funktioniert. Der Teig ist leider nicht gut aufgegangen, aber das Problem habe ich oft mit Rezepten, wo die Ruhezeit nur so kurz ist. Vielleicht helfe ich das nächste Mal nach oder warte ein bisschen länger, denn ein Focaccia (so wie ich es aus Italien kenne) sollte locker sein. Meines wurde zu fest.

Schwierigkeit: mittel
Geschmack: tomatig, würzig
Rezeptverständlichkeit: sehr gut
Anlass(tauglichkeit): als Vorspeise oder zum Salat gut geeignet

Nun warte ich gespannt darauf, was meine NachfolgerInnen zaubern werden!

Ein Kochbuch geht auf Reisen

Mein Blog soll endlich wieder belebt werden und wie kann man das besser machen, als mit einer Aktion, an der mehrere Blogs teilnehmen werden. LaGusterina organisiert „„Ein Kochbuch geht auf Reisen““. Dabei wird ein Kochbuch durch ganz Österreich geschickt. Jede Person wird dann zwei Rezepte nachkochen und dokumentieren.



Ich darf nach LaGusterina die zweite sein, die das Kochbuch bekommen wird. Da ich vor kurzem die Entscheidung getroffen habe mich vegan zu ernähren, kam diese Aktion wie gerufen. Bei dem Kochbuch handelt es sich nämlich um „Cucina Vegana – vegan genießen auf italienische Art““. Ein Überblick über die Reiseroute ist auf LaGusterinas Blog zu finden. Ich bekomme das Kochbuch heute und werde in den kommenden zwei Wochen zwei Rezepte nachkochen und an dieser Stelle davon berichten.

22nd district, Vienna

22nd district, Vienna, a photo by .·˙ƒain˙·. on Flickr.

Twelfth Night, or What you will by William Shakespeare

We were supposed to see Struwwelpeter yesterday, but a fortunate change of the playing schedule made it possible to see Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or Was ihr wollt. It was a public rehearsal and, as far as I was able to understand from the seats at the far back, the director Matthias Hartmann let us know that what we are going to see will (might?) have nothing to do with the play as it will be shown in six days. I also heard something about four hours, that we might leave after the break, but the actors might not like that and that they were lucky to have the chance to play it in front of an audience.


Feste (the jester, played by Sven-Eric Bechtolf) was opening the play and soon afterwards a piano came swirling on to the stage. They had me from that moment and didn’t lose me until the very end. I won’t dare writing more about the production (I am not sure if I am even allowed to?). Oh, but one more thing. Curio played by Karsten Riedel – in this case though mostly sung by him – framed the play with music (written by Karsten Riedel) reminding me of medieval music brought to the 21st century. And don’t let us forget the lap harp.


Unfortunately I haven’t read the play yet, but I just made sure, that I have material for the Christmas break. Twelfth Night is a comedy about twisted and unfulfilled love (e.g. Orsino played by Fabian Krüger – fantastic). But as always with Shakespeare’s comedies, at some stage it drifts off to become a tragedy – yet not quite. Speaking of comedy, Nicholas Ofczarek plays the drunkard Sir Toby Rülp (Sir Toby Blech in the original), which is great fun.


It is fascinating for me how William Shakespeare’s plays are still entertaining the audience. Needless to say, what we’ve seen yesterday was a 21st century production therefore interpretation of it, but still. For more in depth analysis of Shakespeare, his work and his time you would have to do more research – and the material is abundant.


I already decided during the first half that I want to see the play again. The premiere is on the 22 December at the Burgtheater. Go and see it!

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Library

Next to the VHS (adult education centre) next to where I live is a library as well. So today, after enrolling for my second semester of the French course, I thought I’m going to check it out. And I almost got lost! Oh dear! It’s not big, but it has enough interesting stuff. Also plenty of music CD’s from Spice Girls to Björk, classical, jazz. So I ended up taking more than I wanted. When I go to the main library at Urban Loritz Platz, I’m never taking more than one or two items. It seems they have too much or the things I want I cannot find or it is not there. I used to go to the library very often, when I was living in Uxbridge (UK) and would take four books at least. I haven't been to the library in over a year. I just rediscovered it recently. We’ll see how long it lasts.



Yesterday at the rehearsal for Tanz die Toleranz Josef used music for the warm-up and I had more space (front or second row FTW!). Also we made two groups, which always helps! The piece comes slowly together. But it is still a long way until perfection. Oh dear! And the music! You cannot really count it and I don’t know it very well so I don’t have any feeling for it either. We’ve still got four weeks to go.

Big City - New York

When I went to the Big City exhibition at the Wien Museum, I noticed, that I haven't uploaded most of my New York pictures yet. I Made them one year ago on 1 June and 2 June 2008, at the end of the Trek America trip. It is not really street photography as seen at the museum, but it is about the Big Apple.

The unbearable lightness of being unemployed

As the weather is not inviting at all to do ... stuff, I might as well write another rant about my situation here. I got a few invitations for interviews in Austria waiting for me. And I am so grateful, one can’t imagine! It really seems a slightly bit easier to get work after a few years of experience in your pocket. It might sound presumptuous, but maybe the UK thing did help as well. But I won’t wait until the money really comes in to get a nice flat in Vienna. This task might be a bit harder though, with us still being abroad. Those estate agents with their commission are not making it easier!
What else? I am waiting for a few pounds from the UK (tax refund), the council (Council Tax) and the water company (thanks again for non-metered water!).
My family (parents and sister) is coming on Friday. We will explore London and hopefully Brighton. I haven’t been to Greenwich yet. So please! Rain! GO AWAY!
On Saturday is The Big Dance 2008 on Trafalgar Square. If you are in London either come and see or come and dance! There are still around 400 places left. I would’ve liked to do more during this event, but the weather was oh so disgusting. I guess we’ll have to turn on the heating again. I much rather spend the day in bed, sleeping. Brrrr.
Ah and for the record! Our flight home is on the 30 July. I am planning to be in Vienna the week after (4 August), to do a few interviews and hopefully look at a few flats as well. I am afraid it is time for me to get a Wiener Linien annual travelcard. Ah the fun of a new beginning! No! Honestly! I like it.


Let’s have some tea for my cold toes.

QuarkXPress 8.0

I recently discovered an entry about the new QuarkXPress 8.0 (via Michael Preidel). But I am really bad with reading all that interesting stuff I stumble upon. There are PLENTY of folders in my bookmarks toolbar, which are called Things to read, to read or similar. But with my aim to use Firefox instead of Safari, it is a bit easier, because I just keep those tabs open until they annoy me that much, that I have to read it, or forget about it.
So. QuarkXPress 8.0. The big news:

There are now single-letter key commands for Tools in the Tool Palette.

Wow! What a winner! InDesign has that since, at least version 2, I think and is currently available as version 5.
OK, to be fair here. I worked with QuarkXPress 6, which basically is just useless. The 7 version got so much better, so I guess 8 adds the few things users asked for after 7. But I so much hope that I never have to work with that tool again, at least not that intense as I did the last six months.

Erykah Badu, 30/06/08, Brixton Academy, London

We had to wait for hours, but it was definitely worth it! At the beginning we were so far at the back, that I didn't believe that it is really her. I really got even more short-sighted after those six months of work. Moved a little to the front behind a tall guy, where nobody dared to stand. That was better. But no pictures, at least not from me. But I found a set on flickr. They aren't that bad, but ISO 1600 shows if you look at the bigger versions. Ouch. But you did a good job! Don't be afraid!


Originally uploaded by PaulJay

Hello party people, it's me again

Oh yes, it's been a while and so much happened! Oh my!
Ah short, really short recap about the US of A. I post the route and the activities we did, if I can remember correctly.

22/05
arrival on JFK
cab to Secaucus, New Jersey
stay at the Holiday Inn

23/05
gulp down the breakfast
meet J (our awesome tour guide/driver/papa J)
drive to Lake Placid, New York
visit the Lake Placid Olympic Center
set camp

24/05
mini golf
canoeing

25/05
left campground no 1 (Rollins Pond)
drive to Vermont
ferry over Lake Champlain
first WalMart visit
Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory visit
set camp (Smugglers Notch)
small hike to Sterling Pond

26/05
left campground no2
Montpelier, Vermont (capital of Vermont)
small parade (Memorial Day)
set camp (Lafayette Place Campground,New Hampshire)
aerial tramway up Cannon Mountain

27/05
BIG hike, my personal Dakar (but after reading Race to Dakar, that hike was nothing compared to the Dakar), Franconia Ridge

28/05
left campground no 3
drive to Acadia National Park
WalMart no 2 (incl iPod, Dunkin Donuts)
set camp (Bar Harbour, Maine, Baaaa Haaaaabaaaa)
sunset sail
lobster bake (minus the lobster for me)

29/05
up at 4 to watch the sunrise
pancake breakfast
sea kayaking
small walk near the coast
mini golf

30/05
left campground no 4
drive to Cape Cod, Massachusetts
set camp (Dune's Edge)

31/05
Provincetown, Massachusetts
whale watching
trying hard and taking medicine against the urge to throw up (boat trip to the whales)

01/06
left campground no 5
drive to New York City, New York
drop luggage at JFK
made a few stops at PoI (Places of Interest), such as Time Square, Wall Street ...
back to Holiday Inn in Secaucus, New Jersey
goodbye J!

02/06
with bus to New York City, New York
Empire State Building
Apple Store, 767 Fifth Avenue
Central Park
subway, airport train to JFK

03/06
arrival on VIE


And on 18 June we go for another 10 days trip around Scotland.
18/06-22/06 Edinburgh
22/06-25/06 Inverness
25/06-28/06 Glasgow

So far so good! Have a nice one. I hopefully will be done with uploading the Trek America pictures by the end of July : )

It’s gonna happen

Yes. Got the tickets, the voucher, tha monies. But still loads to do. I hope I won’t forget anything. But doing something like that for the first time ... When I went on a holiday for two weeks for the first time, I took too many clothes with me. Next time my suitcase was more like half empty than too full.
Good. Went to Regent's Park. I love it, I simply love it and I hope we’ll visit it more often in the summer.
So, now, the itinerary for the next few weeks:
18/05/08 LTN-VIE
22/05/08 VIE-JFK
02/06/08 JFK-VIE (arriving on 03/06/08)
05/06/08 VIE-LTN
And then on the 30 July we’ll fly home. And then there is the usual again. Job-hunting, solving the living situation and so on. But before that I’ll have two months of holiday! The family is visiting and I’ll have to make a nice plan where to go.
We watched Persepolis (Tickets in London are utterly expensive!) on the weekend and though it is an animation, I felt like being in Vienna (it is also set in Vienna, yes) again. Hmmmm, I’m really looking forward to it and everybody there and around it, near it ...


Votivkirche, May 2007 (analogue SLR)

The Tour-Beetle

First this and now the Beetle, in which I toured around Austria gets sold as well :( But I really will not be able to use them more frequently. A car in Vienna is quite useless really.

Counting the days

I love lists and countdowns and planning and all that other stuff connected to it. So yet again (Oh dear! I didn’t even notice, that the title is the same!) I will have to make all that counting of dem months and weeks and days ...



4 weeks until we will be back in Austria for a few days
4 weeks left, where I have to be in the rat race (work)
4 weeks and 1 day until I have my hair as pictured above (Yessss!)
in 5 weeks we’ll be on a different continent for the first time in my life (at least I reckon it’s still happening)
8 weeks and 2 days until seein Trouble over Tokyo live
10 weeks and one day until seeing Erykah Badu
12 weeks and 4 days until seeing Death Cab for Cutie again

There is still some planning to do for June and July, because I want to have a closer look at a few cities in the country (Scotland!!!).

Juggling rings

I still have to practice a lot, but it is a start. I bought them yesterday, shortly before we stumbled upon the International Beatboxing Convention. Find a video and pictures on my flickr account.



I picked up the rings, you can see in the video above, from Camden Lock Market and I was quite struck by the sight of Stables Market, especially the part pictured above. We've been there with D. and S. in late December, shopping for clothes. Now I think of all the people who suddenly lost their jobs and shops and else ... The mind is a strange thing, which is filled by the media unless you go there yourself and see with your own eyes what changed.

Grow up!

They are planning yet another strike! The London Underground that is. Come on guys! GROW UP! The people you hurt, are the people who rely on you and cannot get to work without getting up at 5 in the morning! I hope they call it off again. I have only four weeks to go. Please let them be without a strike! (And I want to get to the airport without any hassle as well!)



via Tube strike threatened. Again. | London Metblogs

BUT! Good news! I learned to juggle rings yesterday! Yessss! I will get me some tomorrow so I can practice in the garden a bit (If it is not raining all weekend, yes, then I REALLY COULD do that! What is it with this clouds, that they always come on Friday and go on Tuesday morning as soon as I am in the office? HA?!!?) In the meantime the Pound is rising against the Euro, which is good, as I earn Pounds right now. I wish it is highest by the end of July, when I move my money back : )

Grand Union Canal

Grand Union Canal
Originally uploaded by .·˙ƒain˙·.

It snowed today!!!!! Wow! I was woken up by the screaming kids and when I sat up I was astonished! I could even see it without my glasses on :) Check out the rest of the pictures on flickr.

Closer

The Atlantic was born today and I’ll tell you how...
The clouds above opened up and let it out.

I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere
When the water filled every hole
And thousands upon thousands made an ocean
Making islands where no island should go
Oh no



Those people were overjoyed; they took to their boats
I thought it less like a lake and more like a moat
The rhythm of my footsteps crossing flatlands to your door have been silenced forever more
The distance is quite simply much too far for me to row
It seems farther than ever before
Oh no

I need you so much closer

I need you so much closer
So come on, come on

Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism