Into the salt mines
In 1734, the “Man in the Salt” was uncovered deep in the mountains above the Austrian village of Hallstatt. With a history dating back more than 7000…
Is this the prettiest village in Europe?
Some people think so. Others have described it as the most beautiful lake-side town in the world. Welcome to Hallstatt, in the Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria,…
I went to Vienna…and this is what I saw
I went to Vienna for three-and-a-half days and this is what I saw: a beautiful new boutique hotel (where I stayed); two construction sites (yes, hard hat…
Schnitzel, at last!
After four days in Vienna, I was yet to taste a decent schnitzel. There was one, in a tavern in the 19th district, but it was…
A night at the opera
Would any visit to Vienna be complete without a night at the opera? I think not. So, off we go…and luckily it’s an easy one to…
A view of a room
The outside of Vienna’s new Hotel Topazz is designed to look like a huge cylindrical silver vase, studded with large oval stones. From the inside, the…
Vistas from Vienna #1
Looking up in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Everywhere you look is something wonderful. But for the truly surreal, take an after-hours tour at night, where your…
A glass (or four) half full of…Austrian bubbles
Lunch at Hollmann Salon, a designer restaurant in a quiet cobble-stoned courtyard in Vienna’s 1st district, couldn’t go past today without a glass of bubbles. It…
Winging my way to Vienna
Nothing quite makes travelling long distances easier than a lie-flat bed/seat. And occasionally, I am lucky enough to be given an upgrade (or as the check-in staff…
Happy birthday, Queensland!
It’s Queensland Week, a week when my adopted home state celebrates its separation from Australia’s first state, New South Wales, on 6 June 1859. To celebrate, the state’s…
A Glass Half Full 