21-23 September - 2012 - Food Glorious Food

After I had finally digested the food from Le Cinq in Paris I had just enough time to purge the stomach to face this weekend's festival of food. It was to be another "spectacular, spectacular" organised by the lovely S. 

Friday 21 September 2012

Our journey begins in typical style....SLK.... aerodrome.... lounge....champagne.....just your average day.  Today we were flying into Frankfurt on Swiss on the BAe Avro or sometimes affectionately called "Jumbolino" as it has four little engines. 

On arrival into Frankfurt S had organised a rental car.  The type of car was a mystery as you can only order in a category and not a specific car (S tried his darndest).  We ended up with an Audi A8 so I was also pretty happy about this.  I am missing my little car.  The A8 is not a little car on the other hand and is full of walnut and leather and lots of buttons for little boys to press and play with.  It was also full of power and seemed to float on air.

Stephan drove the first part of the journey to our hotel just outside of Frankfurt.  We could not test the real power of the Audi until the next day.  We were staying at the Villa Rothschild (which is said quite differently in German) and is a former home (read mansion) of the Rothschild family.  It is now a hotel with 22 rooms.  The reason for this location was that S along with Stefan had signed up for a champagne tasting through American Express.

The hotel was traditional in style in keeping with the history of the home.  We had a wonderful suite with more than enough space.  I did think the addition of the gas masks in the hotel cupboard were an interesting touch.  Either they really want to protect their guests in case of fire or just are a bit kinky.

The afternoon was spent admiring the view and the grounds and also downing a couple of vinos.  It was then time for the champagne reception and dinner.  It was hosted by Amex and a wine importer (so, they were there to sell champagne) and each champagne came with commentary (in German....I just drank, I wasn't there to listen!).

It was an incredible list with seven out of eight being vintages.  Now I will give away a little tip....apparently if you really want to show off about how sophisticated you are about champagne you should order the Salon "S" (was anyone expecting I would say Cristal?).  This is made by a small producer who only bottles about 35,000 per year and that is if he thinks the grapes are good enough.  Compare this to the 35 million bottles that Moet & Chandon produce!  It was quite a nice drop but comparable to others I have tried.

The food that was served with the wine was, well, pretty average.  My first course seemed to have the chicken left off it and the risotto was crunchy.  Still, the focus was on the champagne.  Interestingly enough during the course of the event our table ended up with two bottles which were corked.

We were also given a demonstration of how to open a champagne bottle with a sabre (sword).  I was the only one there who had seen this before (in a bar in North Perth no less!!) and it is still very neat.  I was given the chance to try it (as the Australian special guest star) and failed miserably.  I was more concerned with dropping the bottle or slicing my hand - pathetic really.

After all of that champagne it was time to lie down (and have a bit of a groan - a happy groan mind you).

Saturday 22 September 2012

Awoke with a slight headache (I thought only cheap wine could do that!?!?!) and then it was off to a relaxed breakfast in the dining room.

We are on the move today to a town near Dusseldorf called Bensberg and this meant a chance to see what the Audi could do.  As you know those crazy Germans do not believe in speed limits on their autobahns.  First leg was to catch up with some of Stephan's university friends. 

I was allowed to drive the beast and I took it through its paces and managed to get to 200 km/h.  Oddly enough it did not seem that fast when the rest of the traffic around you is travelling at at least 150 km/h. 

We had a lovely time at Stephan's friends and some delicious cake....mmmm, cake.  It was then time for the last part of the drive and meeting up with Stefan once more.  Stefan had brought his Ferrari this time and I was to be the passenger.  I was a bit intimidated I have to admit.  Off we went with a roar and to the autobahn.  The traffic was a bit heavier today so we were only able to get to 270 km/h (phew for heavy traffic).  S was in the Audi and kept up the entire way.  I have never been in such a car (other than the showroom) and never travelled that fast.  It was exhilarating and scary all at the same time.  Stefan is a very safe driver and let's face it, does not want to die either!!.

After about two hours we reached our next hotel which is the Grand Hotel Schloss Bensberg.  I certainly needed a little down time after such an amazing car ride - thank you Stefan. 

We settled into our room and relaxed a while before dinner.  Tonight we are off to Vendome which is one of a few three Michelin star restaurants in Germany.  I cannot believe the quality (and amount) of the food that I am being presented with.  I really need to be cycling a lot more or I will turn into the Michelin Man after eating all his food!!!

I kept being told that the food was pretty light so the forty (just kidding) courses should be a breeze.  The restaurant is lovely and modern and the service is sensational.  Everything is done meticulously well and often with white gloves - maybe the big QF could introduce these (before they become the big EK). 

We elected to go for the medium menu (only 14 courses) and added one course and took off two.  The food was sensational and very inventive.  There was still a bit of foam and micro herbs which still seems de riguer these days and I still get a chuckle out of it but some of the food pairings were cool.  My favourite had to be the fois gras in soy and sesame matched with a cherry sake - pure genius.  I was very full by the end but I would have to say it was the best meal I have had so far.  Put it on your list I say!

Sunday 23 September 2012

We managed to have a lovely sleep in (Sunday is the day of rest after all) and then had a late continental brunch in the hotel lobby bar.  It was then time to hit the road and head to Dusseldorf Airport and home to Zurich.

What an incredible gastronomic weekend it was - thank you, thank you, thank you S.

18-19 September 2012 - If it's Tuesday it must be Paris

Momentary scare this morning gentle reader in that I had trouble logging into the blog.  Had I been hacked?  Was someone stealing my identity? Did this mean I had to start Swiss-batical II?  Luckily it was merely some user error caused after a Microsoft software update.  Phew!

So, back to my movements (travel and not bowel).  S had a work trip organised to Paris so I thought I would tag along.  He was off to visit a fabric fair (looking at looms, wefts, jacquards, satins, sequins, glomesh etc, etc to work out the latest trends and quality available).  Sadly I was not invited to that bit of the event....give me food and I wine I cry and I will be happy.  I sound like a nasty drag queen...that glomesh and sequins may come in handy afteral from the fair.

As S would be working all day I had to entertain myself....I believe Paris has some things to see.  I was able to manage to organise a couple of playmates to join me in the French sandbox in Pauline and Scott.  Pauline was a former colleagure of mine at my very short stint at a hotel chain based in Queensland. 




18 September 2012

Relatively early start to get to the aerodrome for that 9:00 turbo prop service (well, an A320) to Pareeee.  We made it in plenty of time and briefly enjoyed the Swiss lounge.  We then took our lovely exit row seats for the one hour journey to Charles de Gualle International Airport, Paris. 

On arrival we went our seperate ways, me to the train and the hotel and S off to see chambray and chintz.  Easy little journey on a very dirty train (Swiss trains are pristine, French trains are piscine!).

Was not able to check in but could store my bag and get access to the internet.  Got in touch with Pauline who was staying ten minutes away and off I set.  I was then to discover that Pauline and Scott had not been to Paris before which meant it was time to see as many trashy touristy sites as possible.  This seemed to suit them both and were generally content with a photo of or in front of said trashy tourist site.  I regailed them with a whole bunch of made up information which they absorbed and will share with their friends.

We set off with our first priority being lunch.  We found a little bistro and I impressed/shocked/bemused P&S with my French.  Time was marching on so we continued our walk (we had already seen Notre Dame, Sacre Couer (both in the distance) and the Seine) to le Tour Eiffel.

I had not been up close in a number of years and it is still pretty neat.  Glad they didn't tear it down after the World Exposition.

We also, by complete accident passed over the tunnel where the "Peoples' Princess" came to her untimely passing when her Mercedes slammed into a pillar.  Don't think this is an official memorial but it has no become one.

The walk continued along the Seine and along some typical Parisian streets to the Champs Elysees.  We ambled along here until we reached the Arc de Triomphe (another Kodak moment).  By then we had been walking for hours so it was time to head to the sewers and take the Metro back to the hotel.

We met Stephan at the hotel.  The poor thing did not realise I had checked in and he could have used the room.  Instead he was reading the paper at the bar across the road. 

We had a little rest and then it was time for dinner at Le Cinq at the George V, a Four Seasons Hotel.  This is a very grand dining room and proudly boasts two Michelin Stars.  We had the tasting menu which consisted of a number of courses of which I will share some with you below....

 

 

After all of this it was well and truly time to lie down and I may have groaned a little.

19 September 2012

Slow start to the morning as S and I needed some extra time to digest last night's dinner.  We then had a very light breakfast.  It was time for a little culture and I went with P&S off to the Musee D'Orsay after a beautiful walk to the Louvre (read photo op for P&S).

As there is no photo taking inside the museum I cannot share with you the range of Ken Done and Jenny Kee art they had on display - it is without peer.  The Rolf Harris wing is of course the crowning glory.  So you will just have to use your imagination.

It was then just a spot of lunch and then off to the airport for me (and S) and the Eurostar for P&S.  Was great catching up with P&S and being able to show off a beautiful European city.

14-16 September 2012 - Berlin Bound

It is another weekend which inevitably means another little adventure to distant shores (well Switzerland is land locked so they crave shores....I think they have no sea so the cows can't escape.  They are excellent swimmers).

This time it is off to Berlin.  S and I went there last year and did most of the tourist things in the 20 or so hours that we were there.  This time it was to visit some friends of S of which one was celebrating a birthday. 

Friday 14 September 2012

It is like I am repeating myself but we set off on the autobahn in the mighty SLK for Zurich Flughafen (note all those German words....I am so fluent) for our Swiss flight to Berlin.  New aircraft for me (and another model allowed out of the box) on a Swiss A320 and yes, it was in economy - e-gads!  We had a little time in the Swiss lounge (some wurst und bier as a snack) as the offering on board is pretty light.  This time it was some Movenpick ice cream and a beverage.  I am watching my figure (expand) so just went for a white wine for hydration.

We were picked up by Thomas (S's friend) at the Tegel airport and taken to their home where we were also staying.  They have just moved into what they call a "villa" which was not like the ones down under.  It had three floors and very large rooms! I did not take any photos as I thought it may not be appropriate but there will of course be a review on TripAdvisor.  Pretty low key evening with a lovely dinner of steak and potato gratin....full of creamy goodness.  S and I did then venture into the city to explore the nightlife and managed to visit one bar.  We soon realised that we were both exhausted and had one beer and headed back - I know, bad gays.

Saturday 15 September 2012

We had a leisurely start to the day which translates into a sleep in until about 11:00 am.  Our hosts waited for us until 10:00 am and then gave up and had their breakfast.  I was surprised that service had not ceased by the time we surfaced but there was still plenty on offer. 

S and I then headed by S-Bahn into central Berlin for a spot of shopping.  I was getting sick of my clothes and I am sure you are sick of seeing the same ones in photos.  This mission was for new jeans and trousers - the most annoying thing to shop for I think.  We did remarkably well and managed to pick up four pairs.  I also found a beautiful Armani coat for S which was 50% off and a Zegna suede jacket for me at 60% off.  Very satisfying retail therapy I can tell you.  I don't have photos of all the items but they will be making appearances in photos in future posts.

We returned "home" for coffee and cake before we set off for dinner back in the city.  Dinner was for Thomas' birthday and they chose a place called Fleischerei (the butcher) and so as you would expect the focus was on meat.  It was a very cool spot in what used to be a butcher. S and I had the tartar to start - love a bit of raw meat of an evening and then I had a schnitzel.  It was served with a potato salad and a cucumber salad and was a hefty piece of meet.

We resisted dessert and headed back to Angela and Thomas' home (see pics below.....no idea what I was rabbiting on about) as there was left over cake from the pre-dinner dessert.

Sunday 16 September 2012

Although the urge was strong to sleep longer we made it down for breakfast with the family (Angela and Thomas have two daughters) for about 9:30 am. 

It was a beautiful clear day so S and I decided to head to a place called Potsdam which is a capital of the next region, Brandenburg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam).  It is famous for some of its palaces, in particular the Sanssouci (below left) which means without sorrow which I guess would be the case if you lived there!  The picture below right is the new palace.

 

We can across the two fellows to the right in the gardens amongst the many statues. The one on the left is either in pain or in ecstasy.  I did like the way that the sculptor has the towel discreetly covering the bearded gents rude bits but went to the trouble of carving the other fellows testicles.  Maybe that is what he is upset about that they were carved too small.

 

It was then back to Tegel Airport for our little Swiss jet home.  As I am sure you are desperate to know, Berlin is getting a new airport but it has been fraught with delays.  It was supposed to open one year ago but is not expected now until mid next year - does not seem like German efficiency to me! 

11-13 September 2012 - Basel and Another Antipodean

It is moi once more, calling from the land of throat singing and alpine horns.  I come to you today with some more tales of far away lands, feasts and beverages and visiting friends.

As this is a warts and all epistle I need to share with you my day today (17 September) as I spent some of it in the local emergency room.  Do you like that for a dramatic start???  What happened?  Was it a bar fight?  A hideous skiing accident? An incident on board when I did not get my allocated seat or the champagne was too warm?  Well, it could be any of those but in fact I seem to have got some stupid eye infection (eyelid eczema apparently).  Whilst I was waiting I did find the poster in the waiting room very amusing which included a bunch of photos of broken limbs and an airlift helicopter and it was signed by the.....wait for it......wait for it.....the "Notfallteam".  Too funny!!

Anyway, enough of this and my swollen eye....that is going to look very glamorous on the jet to Paris tomorrow. 

 

Tuesday 11 September 2012

 

As it is a Hildi cleaning day I like to make myself scarce and head out on a little day trip.  Any excuse to see a new city and take a choo choo ride.  This time I elected to head to Basel which is in the north west of Switzerland and near the German and French borders.  Had a lovely ride on the TGV and then it was time to find a spot for some lunch.  First impressions is that it is a very beautiful historic town. 

 

I timed my lunch perfectly as just as I sat down a thunderstorm rolled in.  That was not on the forecast I had looked at.

 

After lunch I took myself on a little walking tour of the city (in the drizzle) using a handy little app that Kate had shown me with offline city guides.  I would have done a couple more but it really was not touring weather.  I also stumbled across the local natural history museum and went in to keep dry.  It was very small but did have this neat little piece in one of the stairwells...as an art critic would say....I just looove the juxtaposition of the ancient and the medieval.

 

I took myself back to Zurich where I was meeting another visitor from a land downunder, the delightful Jeremy Chitty who is also taking an extended leave of absence from "working for the man".  S also came to join us after his day.

Had a lovely beer at the park Hyatt and then wandered through the streets to have dinner Swiss style at Kaiser Reblaube.  You will be pleased, or disappointed that somehow I forgot to take pictures of the food!!

The rain had pretty much set in by then and was coupled with a very loud thunderstorm.  I normally sleep pretty well but there were a couple of thunderclaps that made me jump!

Thursday 13 September 2012

I know I have skipped a day but there was nothing really to report.  There is only so much you can describe about being prostrate on the couch listening to the rain!

That said, for most of Thursday I did not do too much either.  In the afternoon young Jeremy ventured down to the mystical town of Einsiedeln for a little time in the countryside.  Who can resist the sound and the smell of cows?

Once he arrived we took a wander through the fields to see as many animals as possible which included cows (of course), goats, sheep, dogs, rabbits, donkeys, ducks, geese and horses (Jeremy grew up on a farm so may not quite share my enthusiasm for the local animals.  The scenery on the other hand is still very pretty).  A veritable menagerie!  After all that farming (!) we needed a manly beer so off to the pub we went for a local brew.  There is in fact a local beer.  The marketing team spent some time on the name, endless focus groups and to-ing and fro-ing before they finally settled on Einsiedler Beer - genius!

It was then time for some dinner and more Swiss fare was the order of the evening and we headed off to a local restaurant.  It was also here that Jeremy stayed the night.

Friday 14 September 2012

Jeremy joined me for breakfast where I provided the traditional continental offerings.  We headed out to hit the town and paint it red and noticed that it was pretty quiet.  I just assumed the shop keepers were having a little lie in.

We wandered up to the Abbey and headed inside to discover there was a service taking place and it was packed!!  On top of this the service was in Latin - when was the last time you heard that???? 

It transpired that 14 September is the anniversary of the consecration of the Abbey and so a pretty big deal.  It is also told that Jesus himself had been here (not today of course, that would be a pretty big draw card).  We had a bit of a wander outside and then discovered that the entire town was closed to recognise the anniversary.

So we both took a little down time before we took trains (me to meet S and then head to the airport and Berlin and Jeremy back to Zurich).

So folks, next stop is Berlin...stay tuned.

6 September 2012 - Austrian Outing

Many of you may not know this but S is a bit of a classical music buff.  He has a lovely and stately Steinway & Sons grand piano (which I am scared to go near) which has just returned from a tropical holiday in Germany to be retuned and have an air-conditioner installed!  Gotta keep them ivories cool I guess.

S is also quite the accomplished pianist although I have not as yet received any sort of personal performance (hint, hint!).  S claims to be a bit rusty and is practising before hitting the concert circuit again.

He also has a favourite composer being Franz Schubert, an Austrian composer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Schubert).  So, what is all this leading up to?  Just over the border in Austria (read, two hours car ride) in a town called Schwarzenberg they hold a Schubert festival called the Schubertiade.  This runs a few times during the year and fans from all over the world come to this particular concert hall to hear the pieces performed.  As you can imagine I was a bit of a virgin when it came to Schubert so this was to be my first foray.

I am not a complete ludite and have been to a number of classical performances and even some opera, and, wait for it, enjoyed it.  S was a bit worried as Schubert often lends itself to those with a particular taste in classical music - doesn't it all sound the same [insert barrage of outrage here.......].  I have also affectionaly called Schubert, Scooby Doo which of course makes his fans the Scooby Gang!  Not sure if all are sharing in my affectionate name.  Oh, the trouble I can get myself into!

Anyway there were two performances to attend, one at 4:00 pm and one at 8:00 pm.  So off we darted in the SLK across another border into Austria.  You will be pleased to know that the cows also had bells on them, so all is right in the world.

We arrived into Schawzenberg in time for a coffe and piece of cake.  I have to admit the urge to run throught the fields and up the hills crying "climb every mountain" was strong but I could not find Maria (she is a problem after all).  There was a doe, a dear a female dear, and ray, a drop of golden sun though.  Oh, I could go on for hours.

I have to say though that there were a number of people who were dressed in Austrian traditional dress and there was the cutest family who looked like the Von Trapp family singers - I am not kidding.  Worst part was I could not get a photo!

The first performance was by a Martin Stadtfeld who performed some Schubert and Rachmaninow.  He was a tall, lanky fellow who has his own paino stool that is set very low I am not sure how he plays!  Anyway he did a pretty good job by my reckoning and S was delighted (as was the rest of the Scooby gang).

The second performance involved singing (who says classical music doesn't have words!!). The tenor was Ian Bostridge who is from the UK and world renowned.  The pieces were all Schubert.  It was an interresting experience for me.  The pieces themselves were fine but I struggled with the singer.  He looked very strained and pulled some amazing faces!  Most were thrilled with his performance (I think he came back four times on stage and did two encores) but apparently he does otracise some fans.  I thought it was merely because I was a bit of a thug.  I will go with the first option and pretend to be clever! 

Also met a bunch of friends of S who are part of the gang who were very enamoured with the show too.

Was then time for the two hours drive home after a fun night of new experiences.

2-5 September 2012 - Prague Calling

Dear readers, it is your very tired scribe here once more.  How could I be tired you ask?  My life consists of jetting off to exotic destinations, french champagne and Michelin starred restaurants and, well, not working.  Even I could not believe that this could take its toll!  So we took a biblical approach to the weekend of 8/9 September and "on the seventh weekend, they rested".

Before that though there were more adventures to be had and this time to Prague with my dear friend Kate.

2 September 2012

The end of Kate's Swiss adventure had come.  She finally got the hang of the name of the town (Einsiedeln) rather than Iseldine which to me sounded more like the nasty tech company (Cyberdyne) in the Terminator films.  So we hit the choo-choo to the aerodrome to meet our little flight to Prague.  Guess what people...a new airline for me!  There was a limited number of options of getting to Prague non-stop (by limited I mean one option) and that with was with Helvetica Airways who operate a fleet of Fokker 100s and with Swiss Airlines flight numbers.  Trying to get a model of this aircraft is proving difficult I must add.  After a visit to the very busy Swiss Lounge we boarded a bus to our little jet.....




















Service in a leather clad economy seat consisted of a buttered bread roll and a drink....white wine for me thanks.....

We were met at the airport by the hotel car (lovely Mercedes S Class with ventilated seats!) and Kate later confided in me (and now all of you) that she thought the driver's eyes were dreamy....we then arrived, with Kate clearly weak at the knees, at the Mandarin Oriental Prague.  We were warmly met by a member of the team and a glass of iced green tea.

Room was a lovely garden terrace view room and lived up to the Mandarin Oriental standards.

Neither of us had been to Prague before so we were eager as a platypus to head on out and explore a little before dinner.  We engaged the services of a very helpful Concierge who gave us some ideas for a little walk and a boat tour.  The location of the hotel meant everything was pretty much in walking distance.

We took ourselves around the corner to the "John Lennon Wall" which has some images of him amongst the graffiti (note that is not Harry Potter on the wall).  John Lennon has never been there but the wall is now a youth symbol for peace and poetry. Awwww.  After that it was across the famed Charles Bridge with about another million tourists.

After a wander around the old town we took the concierge's advice and took a quick river tour and it had nothing to do with the fact that it included a free beer.  Truly it didn't.  The tour took us a short distance around the river and into some canals.  It was quite peaceful but after a while I started to get the "locks in Paris" feeling again.  Thankfully it was only 45 minutes long and did not involve a screeching guide.

We then retreated back to the hotel where we had booked dinner in the hotel restaurant.  I know it sounds like cheating but we had a Euro 250 voucher for food so were were not going to waste it.  We elected to have the Czech menu rather than the Asian degustation.  Seemed the obvious choice to me but perhaps if you have had enough of the potato dumplings, pig knuckle and cabbage you may be crying out for different flavours.  We washed all of this down with quite a nice local Czech wine.

3 September 2012

We had organised a private guide for the next two mornings.  We were met by Peter who is a history professor at the local university (he is also married, has two daughters and a hamster, is Jewish and 42 years old and originally from Slovakia - you learn a lot after a couple of days or perhaps I am just nosey).  Anyway, the first morning was to explore the palace and surroundings.

We took a scenic walk to get up to the castle and wandered through the local modern art museum and through a park which showed photos of the massive flood in August 2002.  Apparently Prague floods every 50 years or so (they don't put that in the brochure) and the water levels were the highest in 2002 reaching about 2.5 metres.  The oddest thing about this is that I have no memory of this in the news.  I am a bad citizen of the world.

On a lighter note, I did like these penguins with the Charles Bridge in the background.

Our walk continued uphill through some areas with some beautiful views.  Near the top is a micro-brewery (Czech's love their beer) which is run by monks.  We stopped and had a sampler.

Now the palace grounds are apparently the largest in the world and still house some government buildings and the office of the President or Prime Minister, I forget which.  I took a lovely photo from the top which clearly shows the lovely red rooftops of Prague and then proceeded to forget to take any photos inside.

The rest of the tour took us (downhill) and through some wonderful side streets and gardens filled with green hedges and peacock.  We also received some nice insight into Czech history and life in modern day Prague.  It was then back to the hotel full of information and feet tingling from the cobblestones.  Poor Kate than announced to me that she had a dodgy tummy and would lie down for a while.  As the "while" grew it was clear she was not well and was only confirmed by the ripeness of the bathroom.  I know I should be more sensitive but I did go concierge and explain the situation.   He provided me with a range of medicinal remedies sent up a chamomile tea for Kate and not me.  See, I can be lovely and caring!

As Kate was then prostrate for the rest of the afternoon I took myself on a long walk around the city, randomly choosing cute streets.  After about 2.5 hours I was exhausted and back at the hotel.  Those cobblestones play havoc with feet in heels.  Kate was still poorly and we both agreed that leaving the hotel would be a bit risky.  So in complete support and solidarity I took myself off to dinner at Cafe Savoy (where Franz Kafka used to watch plays) and then to a Gold Class cinema to watch Total Recall (nowhere near as good as the original).  I figured that I was allowed a Wiener Schnitzel as the Czech Republic used to be part of Austria.  The Laurent Perrier champagne to go with it was merely whimsy!

4 September 2012

Kate was much more chipper this morning and seemed to have expelled all the nasty germs from her system.  So it was time to meet Peter once more and this time for a tour through the Jewish Quarter.  This consisted of a history of the Jews and their persecution and a visit to a number of synagogues.  We learnt that a synagogue is a place of teaching and not the same as a church in terms of it being consecrated.  We also learnt how to tell the difference between an orthodox synagogue (the ten commandments are written in Hebrew) and a reformed synagogue (the ten commandments are not written in Hebrew).  There are also a series of coloured lights which mean something too.  Most places you were not able to take photos so this section is picture free.  Instead I will include us with our guide.  Once we had completed this tour we went to a local micro-brewery for lunch (more carbs) and a bit more of a wander through the old town (see photo on left below).

It was then back across the river to visit the Franz Kafka museum which was very interesting but a little eerie in its set-up.  A wacky inclusion is some "modern" art which shows two men, well, pissing.  Their hips move as do their willies and each day they spell out different messages of Czech writers or you can send an SMS and they will write your message! (http://www.davidcerny.cz/startEN.html).

It was then time to retreat for some prosecco at the hotel before dinner.  We had received a number of ideas for dinner but settled on the Blue Duckling which was about 30 seconds from the hotel.  It did in fact specialise in duck but also other game.  Another good recommendation and another good meal and a Spanish rioja.

5 September 2012

Another new city and adventure comes to an end.  Was great to spend time with Kate (thank you, thank you, thank you) and see a new city. 

It was merely a travelling day for us and we parted with me back to Zurich and Kate off to Paris.   My flight was via Geneva on an Avro RJ100 (so cute and another model allowed out of the box) and in business.  They were two short flights but not a bad little service.  I particularly liked the cheese served on the piece of slate.  On the sector from GVA to ZRH I think I had members of the Manchester United Football Club on board.

I met S in Zurich where we had an early dinner at the Park Hyatt and then home. 

Always good to be home.