Sophie came for a week of skiing in Austria's Lech on the Arlberg in the Austrian Alps and the architecture here cannot be any more different than the one in Manhatten, but it is for sure as beautiful.
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Austria
You already know I have a mild obsession with everything mildly snow related, so when I checked the weather forecast and saw that it would be snowing all night in Salzburg, I naturally had to wake up at the crack of dawn to capture the empty, snow covered streets. Funnily enough, we got there almost too early, as it was almost too dark to take good pictures in the very beginning, but tour busses full of tourists soon rolled in and I found myself stalking poor innocent tourists to capture the snow on their umbrellas. Sorry, not sorry I love the way those photos turned out. Also if you're looking for a traditional Austrian cafe to warm up in after walking, try out Tomaselli!
Hallstatt is probably on every single list of hidden gems in Europe. The Chinese government loved this little lakeside village so much so that they built their own replica version in China. Nowadays it's much less secret than anyone really wants to admit, but beautiful nonetheless. About an hour southeast of Salzburg, Hallstatt is nestled into the mountains just on the edge of Hallstatt Lake and it's hard to picture a more picturesque place, especially with fresh snow. You can't really drive through the village, but end up climbing up staircases and walking in-between the tiny houses to get views of the churches below. I visited last summer as well, but I much prefer it in the winter as it's a lot less crowded and you can really take everything in, not to mention there's mulled wine, and who can say no to that?
Each year we start off with high hopes and anticipation for the most important family time of the year, Christmas. Weeks before Christmas even the ignorant start watching the weather forcast in order to find out how likely the white decoration from above is going to make it down the valleys of the nation. And each year the white fluff becomes more and more a moody, erratic, fickle memory. OK I admit I am so disappointed!
This year instead of skiiing and cross country, sledding and watching ski races, we are hiking with a rather bad mood, as we all must now admit, Global Warming is reality and the draught that we will have to face soon indepensable. No snow, no melting water from the mountains ... Tell me, shall we not be alarmed?
A cry for comfort food breaks free and lots of white powder sugar piled on top. At least some white fluff, and a compromise on my diet in the week between two major feasts. Skipping lunch for this afternoon treat is worth the wait and the house is filled with soothing aromas.
For the first time in my life I made the dough all by myself. I thought this was quite the challenge because here in Austria you can buy strudel dough in every supermarket. But making my own was on my list all my life and 2015 had to end on a bucket list shorter than it started out, just for the record. And it was super easy. I found this recipe in a cookbook by Lafer and I made up the filling while at it. Because I cannot stand raisins and I wanted to try a new go on apple strudel with apples and nuts only. No breadcrumbs as in the original recipe. So please try it for yourself the dough is super stretchy and didn't break once and the filling far less sweet than usual.
See how elastic and easy to handle the dough is, you will succeed! Promise!
Preparation time 1,5 hours
Chilling 2 hours
Baking time 25-30 min
Oven temperature 200°C | 400°
You Need
Dough
200g | 1 ¾ cups flour
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 dash of salt
120 ml | ½ cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp oil to cover the dough before refrigerating
Filling
1 kg | 2,4 pounds apples, peeled, core removed, quartered and cut in slices
juice from 1 ½ lemons
80 g sugar
80 + 80 g butter
110 g ground almonds
50 g ground hazelnuts
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Making the dough is the first step. Put all ingredients in a bowl and attach the dough hook, knead after combined another 5 minutes to allow the dough to become elastic and smooth. Brush with some oil and refrigerate covered with cling wrap for about 2 hours.
Wash and peel the apples, quarter them and remove the core with the seeds. Cut slices and marinate in a clean bowl with the juice of the lemons.
In a little saucepan warm 80g of butter to be used to brush the dough with.
In another pan on medium heat roast the grounded nuts with the butter, season with cinnamon and sugar and set aside to cool.
The dough can be divided in two equal parts to make two smaller strudels. On a floured work surface roll out the dough until thin enough them lift off the dough and stretch it over the back of your hand pulling slightly, turning the dough round and round over your hand helping it to become thin like a sheet almost see through and as large as 2 sheets of A4 maximum. Spread a soft and slightly moist tea towel on your work surface and place the dough straight on it. Brush the entire upper side with butter, place half of our marinated apples on the first lower half, leave 3 cm (a little over an inch) to the edges free and cover with the roasted nut mix. Lift the left and right side and fold in to the middle to make the ends secure, brush the visible sides again with butter, this way they will stick together and hold the filing in. Then take the tea towel and lift it from you with the dough and filling, roll it away from you, the filling will move a bit while being rolled and with the upper empty part of the dough close the strudel. Now the rolled strudel sits still on your tea towel. Line a form or a baking sheet with parchment paper and lift the strudel with the help of the tea towel carefully let the strudel roll softly on the paper. Do the last steps one more time and leave some space between the two strudels. Brush again with butter on the top and bake until crisp and brown, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm with some whipped cream and loads of powdered sugar.
After many many years of visiting the skiing paradise of the Arlberg, we need to pay it a well deserved tribute.
Among all the celebrities who choose to spend their winter vacation here like Tom Cruise, the Royal British Family, the Royal Dutch family, some Austrian politicians and Hannes Androsch, we feel quite at home here and despite its fame Lech is and will always be a place where one can - with the help of a little extra spending money - enjoy the season at its finest.
It’s posh but not pretentious, chic but not showy.
~ the Independent wrote today
As soon as it snows, the off piste areas will be tried and tested by those knowledgeable of the terrain and when the sun comes out and you and I would like to try the powder off the beaten track we must realize, someone was here before ... Skiing was invented here, this is the birthplace of the best winter sport ever and the Arlberg skiing school is known worldwide for its excellency.
There are skiing instructors, most of them being fluent in broken English :) and the mountain guides, who are allowed to lead one responsibly into the more challenging off piste routes and make one climb over a safety rope or lead their guests for a hike up to the peak after a heated chairlift took them already to the top. The top is not the top, there is more behind the visible. Higher and higher we are prepared to hike up, for the one ride that will make us yodel when our joy is complete, the line we leave behind in the fresh snow looking perfect! It is addictive to cut through the powdery snow - never becoming boring!
In Lech, Zürs and St. Christophen the hotels and restaurants know how to make you feel like royalty and the level of cuisinart is absolulty top here. Our favorite is by far that special place below: The Almhof Schneider and its excellent gastronomy. Being fortunate to be able to stay in one of these prestigious hotels requires a known status of a periodic guest and it is recommended to book the following year when departing.
Helicopter skiing in Austria is a lot different from the States and Canada. but it is for sure worth a try if you are fit and skilled for the challenge. The best part is when the Helicopter leaves you behind, you look around and that 360° panoramic view of mountain tops and peacefulness leaves you speechless.
The Austrians are funny when it comes to self announced hymns as this one by an our pop legend Wolfgang Ambros. Everyone knows the lyrics and has sung it at least once in their life. It means probably nothing to you but if I would translate it: you will understand the heart of the Austrian.
I just want to ski !
Photos by jsvob, my husband and me.
Isn't this a lovely place ? Here in the heart of Vienna you will find since last year a raw bakery making delicious and nutritious cakes, cupcakes, truffles, salads and more, you can order green smoothies and almond milk, the ingredients are healthy vegetables and fruits and nuts and seeds.
All is vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, soy-free, and sugar-free.
Are you curious now? I was ! What on earth do they put into their cakes to make it tasty and be attractive to the Viennese who are really spoilt by their tradition. In the vicinity of established bakeries and pastry shops, chocolate havens and the famous Coffee Houses with their vitrines full of temptations that have centuries of history here! You must try it out, promise me, please!
I fell in love with the place immediately, I felt welcome right away, I felt great when I left because all I ate was yummy and healthy and good for me ! One must feel at home here when you see how this place is designed by Shanna herself a graphic designer and daughter of Gabriele.
OK another reason why I just love Simply Raw Bakery: A mother – daughter enterprise ! Just like Sophie and I !!! Gabriela has completed her Raw Food Chef degree in California at the Matthew Kenney Academy. She combines her skills and techniques with the talent of her daughter Shanna in this unique place for healthy indulgence that taste terrific and makes you want to come back soon. I particularly love the slice of " break with onion lard" The bread is made of zucchini, nuts, seeds and spices a secret recipe created by them and the substitute for lard is purely vegan and outstanding in taste. The Pumpkin tart was spiced with kurkuma and curry and the base is made with chia and almonds and oriental spices! Then we had "Kaiserschmarrn with Röster", something very Austrian:
The Kaiserschmarrn must be translated with "Emporer's Nonsense", a Röster is made of plums, mostly in form of a compote. This version again was raw healthy, no sugar great taste and a very good combination with the plums. They make cupcakes and smoothies and my favorite of all time is the "Hello Dolly" bar made of nuts: Oh My! I always take it home when I am there! Then there is a heart warming Almond milk and a great large bowl of fresh Zucchini noodles.
Open from 10 am to 6 pm from Tuesday to Saturday. You can have breakfast and lunch and everything in between.
If you like to try one of their "Lucky Truffles":
1/4 cup organic orange juice
1 cup dates, pitted
2 cups ground almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1tsp vanilla
dash of salt
coconut flakes or ground nuts for rolling
They are done in 10 min and here is the trick:
Soak the dates at least for one hour in orange juice and mix in a strong blender together with all the ingredients into a paste like dough. I recommend a Vitamix of some kind. Most important is the power of the blender, some might not be up for the task. Form balls and roll them in either coconut or nuts. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
German:
Lucky Truffles
Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains!
For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
– Isaiah 54
“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself.
Forests are the lungs of our land,
purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. ”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
At the Dombeisl in Vienna, you will find some of the most important ingredients for a pleasant and enjoyable evening. Thomas Wohlfahrter, new chef at the Beisl, which is an Austrian nickname for a pub, loves to make his guests happy.
