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  • The Schonbrunn Palace: A Bit of Viennese Magic

    The only unfortunate part of my visit was that the palace is getting the site ready for the annual Christmas markets so the front area looked like it was partially under construction. That said, this is an amazing place to visit. My husband and I were totally enchanted. We have both visited many palaces, including Versailles, Buckingham and Windsor, this one really excited both of us.

    The name of the palace translates to beautiful spring. Its location was chosen for access to fresh water when there were health concerns about the water near the winter palace. Both the location and look of the palace are impressive. This was the Habsburgs summer palace. When it was originally built, the location was in the remote countryside away from the city of Vienna and winter palace. Over the years, Vienna has expanded and the palace is in the city.

    The Schonbrunn is Austria’s number one tourist destination and I understand why. It has something for everyone. It is popular with both Austrians and foreign visitors.

    The palace itself is huge. In its heyday, it accommodated over 2,000 people. The royal apartment rooms are impressive. The palace even has the bed where Empress Maria Theresa delivered all of her 16 children. The Empress Elizabeth, known as Sisi, lived there, too. Lately, between recent books and the mini series about Sisi, there is a renewed interest in the Hapsburg dynasty.

    Interestingly, the Austrian government actually rents out some of the apartments to people. Our tour guide knows someone who rents one of the apartments. In addition, we spotted a bride and groom with a photographer taking their wedding photos. As we were wrapping up our visit, people were getting one of the larger reception rooms ready for a music concert.

    In addition to the extensive gardens, there is even a zoo on the palace grounds that dates back to 1752 and is the world’s oldest.

    We spent several hours at the palace and were able to see everything we wanted to. The only thing we missed was enjoying coffee and cake at the cafe on site.

  • Apple Strudel Viking Style

    I just attended my first Viking River cruise cooking demonstration. The chef and his assistant chef taught us to make apple strudel from scratch! Based on what I saw, I think I can do this at home.

    Naturally, the staff served us Mozart coffee while we waited for the demonstration to begin.

    The two big takeaways from our chef:

    1. Use vinegar when combining the dry ingredients to make the dough elastic.
    2. Place a cloth towel underneath the dough to keep it from sticking to the counter or other surface.

    The best part was enjoying freshly baked apple strudel which the staff served with a delicious vanilla sauce.

    The finished product
    The Baldur Ship Recipe
    The chef Teaching a Guest
    Mozart Coffee
    The Viking Cruise Recipe

  • The Amazing Grand Market in Budapest

    The Front Exterior of the Grand Market
    Our amazing tour guide Anna Marie – a guide with 35 years experience
    One of Several Honey Stands

    Our Viking tour of the Grand Market surpassed our expectations. It helped that our guide, Anna Marie, is a native of Budapest with 35 years experience as a tour guide. It was a small group of us from the ship on the tour. Instead of a tour bus, we walked a few blocks and took the tram several stops to the market. The tram cars were built in Prague and the system goes back to 1887.

    Upon arriving in the market building, which is enormous and with multiple levels, Anna Marie walked us around the entire main floor – sharing cultural stories and local traditions as she explained various products. I knew going in that I was coming home with paprika but Anna Marie showed us variations that I was previously unaware of. The night before, our ship’s chef had made the most spectacular goulash; Ana Marie showed us a paste form sold in tubes that is specifically designed for goulash. Hungary is known for its sausages and our tour guide arranged for us to sample an extensive variety – including a delicious one with smoked paprika.

    After walking the market with us, she gave us a half hour to shop before the next phase of our adventure. Naturally, John, my husband, and I bought lots of paprika. I spent an average of about $5 per container of Paprika. In addition, we bought an assortment of Hungarian chocolate bars, a few refrigerator magnets and hand painted wooden spoons. John saw a leather booth and picked out a really nice belt. The shop owner measured John’s waist and cut and finished the belt for John. He charged us 20 Euros for the belt – we were thrilled. The leather station was the only place where we paid cash. Just about every booth took credit cards.

    We then met with our guide and fellow Viking tourists. Anna Marie escorted us upstairs to a large restaurant where we enjoyed a late lunch of local favorites. We started with small glasses of a plum alcohol that was very strong. I told John I felt like we were drinking rocket fuel; he nodded in agreement. The bread, cheeses, meats and salads were so fresh and delicious. I especially enjoyed a dark smoked ham and a local Brie. My husband hates pickles but I was in heaven. They served us a cheese spread that our waitress called cottage cheese but tasted and looked very different from what we call cottage cheese in the U.S. I normally hate cottage cheese but this was incredible!

  • Enjoying Paprika with My Dinner

    For our final dinner in Budapest, the head chef of the Viking Baldur, and his team, prepared a great menu featuring paprika. The salad was served with a delicious dressing which showcased paprika. The showcased entree was chicken and homemade spaetzle noodles served with peppers and a creamy paprika sauce.

    For dessert, most of the table ordered the chocolate lava cake which was fantastic. I am a cheese monger when not on vacation so I had to try the cheese plate. I enjoyed it except for one detail. The crackers appeared to be Ritz crackers – really? What a disappointment! My husband roared with laughter; the rest of our table chuckled, too.

    On a positive note, during our nightly presentation in the lounge, the chef offered us an amazing smoked salmon mini cone. Both my husband and I loved it.

    Early this evening, we started sailing towards Vienna. I cannot wait to see what our chef comes up with. Stay tuned for more!

    Fun smoked salmon tidbits served in the lounge
    Dinner Menu for Second Day
    Farm Salad with Paprika Dressing
    Chicken with Paprika
    Chocolate Lava Cake
    Cheese Plate

  • Budapest By Night

    Budapest Parliament building
    Nina and John in Budapest
    Budapest Parliament building
    Castle Hill
    Sculpture at Castle Hill
    Castle Hill
    Fountain at Castle Hill
    FELIX Bar&Restaurant
    Sparkling wine toast at FELIX

    Last night we took a night time tour of the Buda section of Budapest with a local tour guide hired by Viking. It was amazing. The tour was two hours in length and included three stops with wonderful opportunities for photo taking. First, we enjoyed a sparkling wine toast at the restaurant Felix which is located in the historic section of town. Next, we enjoyed a thirty-minute walking tour of the castle neighborhood. This included the Sandor Palace where the President of Hungary lives.We then ended the evening with a stop at the embankment near the Parliament building area for some great photo taking.

  • The Viking Ship Experience

    It’s only my first day on board the Viking Ship Baldur but so far the ship experience surpasses my expectations.

  • Day 1 Viking Cruise Dinner – Wow!

    I was advised by others to order from the international menu and I am so happy that I followed this advice tonight!

    Tonight’s Dinner Menu
    Veal Salad
    Beet Goulash
    Hungarian Dessert with Walnuts

    Our dinner was really delicious and interesting. John and I both ordered the identical items tonight and agreed that the goulash was the best version we ever tried. We sat at a table for 6 with two couples from Chicago.

  • Day 1 of Our Big Trip

    My husband and I planned and booked our first Viking River cruise last year. We opted for Viking’s Grand European Tour which starts in Budapest and ends in Amsterdam. It’s a 15-day cruise and we added 2 additional days in Amsterdam.

    Today, we started out at 2:45 AM to make sure we were at the San Diego airport in plenty of time. I am so very grateful and lucky to have such an incredible friend. My childhood bff actually volunteered to pick us up and to drive us to the airport!

    We were concerned about potential problems because of the federal government’s shutdown but it has been smooth sailing so far. Both our San Diego and Chicago flights left on time. The airport in Munich is downright pleasant and attractive. The German efficiency we have experienced so far is terrific.

    We briefly checked out one of the duty-free shops in Munich and discovered that the airport store sells Lindt Dubai-style chocolate bars for more than what I pay for them in my local grocery stores in San Diego.

    I will be posting daily updates during our 15-day cruise and 2 additional days in Amsterdam.

    The map of our river cruise we start today
    Chicago was uneventful but definitely needs an overhaul – dated & crowded
    We flew Lufthansa from Chicago to Munich and then from Munich to Budapest
    The soft pretzels in Munich
    John’s first beer in Germany
    The most amazing sparkling apple juice

  • Frogtown: From Factory Town to Artist Colony

    Housing Overlooking the L.A. River

    Over the years, I have heard so much about Frogtown and the Los Angeles River. Recently, my husband and I opted to sign up for one of the Los Angeles Conservancy’s tours of the area – also known as the Elysian Valley. The tour of the area was done in partnership with Friends of the Los Angeles River. Our tour met at the Lewis MacAdams Park, named after the founder of the Friends of the Los Angeles River. MacAdams, who passed away in 2020, was a huge advocate for restoring the river to a more natural state. The park and surrounding area has been designated a protected butterfly habitat with lots of milkweed planted to encourage butterfly activity. Consequently, beautiful butterflies are everywhere within the park and nearby homes.

    After a massive flood in 1938, the Army Corps of Engineers created a 51-mile waterway encased in concrete to prevent future devastating floods. The area we visited is one of the few areas with a dirt basin. A nice walkway with a bike lane, adjacent to the park, has been built. We were warned in advance about speeding cyclists and the warnings were valid. We stayed on the far left side closest to the river and managed to avoid a collision with a few Lance Armstrong wannabes. Future plans include new parks, recreational areas and restored habitat areas for wildlife. Unfortunately, the plans are moving at a snail’s pace due to conflicting goals and concerns from the multiple government agencies involved.

    The surrounding area started as a working-class neighborhood of affordable housing near industrial facilities, including the Kruegermann Pickle and Sauerkraut factory and the massive Hostess Bakery facility. The pickle factory site is now a dance studio and the bread factory is now an amazing film industry prop house. As part of our tour, we spent some time exploring the prop house. The place has furniture, lighting and dishes from every decade. Based on the hold tickets I saw, every major studio is renting items from this place.

    In addition, a nearby automotive repair shop called Salazar’s is now Salazar’s Mexican BBQ restaurant. Our tour guide mentioned this restaurant and we met a friend there for lunch. The food and atmosphere were amazing. Salazar’s serves a delicious salsa made with tomatoes that they roast on the grill. The tres leche cake was phenomenal, too. Our waiter was an actor originally from Argentina. Apparently, he grew up primarily eating Italian food in Argentina and was relatively new to Mexican cuisine. He and the rest of the crew were incredibly welcoming.

    The neighborhood dates back to the late 1800 and the streets are extremely narrow. Parking is limited with street parking at a premium. With all the cars parked on both sides of the streets, the remaining street space is too narrow for cars to pass going in opposite directions. We found ourselves frequently waiting for a car going in the opposite direction to pass before we could continue driving.

    Additional fun business have opened up in the area including Bauer Pottery. I have been buying dishes made by Bauer online and was really excited to have the opportunity to see the company’s showroom.

    LA River and Bridge
    LA River
    LA River
    LA River
    Gallery Adjacent to the LA River
    LA River
    LA River
    LA River Walkway
    Interior of Bauer Pottery Showroom
    Salazar’s – Former Automotive Repair Shop and Now Mexican BBQ Restaurant
    LA River Walkway
    Former Wonder Bread Bakery – Now a Movie Prop Business
    Interior of Gil & Roy Props
    Boarding House Built in 1917
    Historic Home Near the River Park
    Local Graffiti at the Freeway Underpass

  • From Automotive Repairs to Killer Tacos

    Today, while checking out Frogtown in Los Angeles, we stopped for lunch at Salazar. What a gem this place is.

    Originally, this site was home to an automotive repair shop called Salazar. The restaurant opened in 2016. It’s an outdoor Mexican BBQ restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere . Even the salsa is made from scratch – starting with grilled tomatoes. The tacos were outstanding. The al pastor ones come with small pieces of grilled pineapple and a slight taste of heat.

    Dessert options are limited but fantastic. The tres leche cake was probably the best version I have ever eaten. It even came with tiny bits of fresh peach. Our friend ordered the flan with blueberries; it looked exquisite.

    It was a hot summer afternoon and we had a long drive home. Hence, we skipped ordering cocktails. However, the drink menu was impressive. The place does a great business and the staff is friendly and efficient. Our waiter was an actor from Argentina who shared great stories and made us feel so welcomed. Mexican food is plentiful in California but Salazar’s is special; both the food and atmosphere really stand out.

    My only complaint is the parking. Frogtown is an older community with narrow streets and limited parking. We found street parking about half a block away on a busy street near the 5 on-ramp. Exiting was definitely an entertaining experience.

    Salazar – An Amazing Restaurant in Frogtown.
    Homemade Salsa with Roasted Tomatoes
    Al Pastor & Carne Asada
    Machas & Al Pastor
    Huevos Rancheros
    The Famous Tres Leche Cake
    Flan With Blueberries
    The Bar Area