Josh and Schloss Ambras

Our friend Josh arrived yesterday. He stayed up all day and even went skiing with Jim at Kühtai. They said the conditions had deteriorated quite a bit. But today it snowed up in the mountains, 10 centimeters, so maybe it will be good again. After that, Josh slept well. Today it was supposed to rain but turned out pretty nice. We decided to do an indoor thing, so we went to see Schloss Ambras.

Among the photos is one of the Archduke Ferdinand's bathtub, from the 1500's.

There is a nice park around the Schloss, where we saw crocuses blooming. This is where we saw the peacocks last time we were here (when Rosie & Brendan were here) but today, no peacocks.

Wandering in Oberperfuss

Here are some of the photos I took on my walk around Oberperfuss on Sunday. It was a warm and sunny day, lots of people were out walking, some of thewm with their dogs and/or horses.

Leftovers

I deconstructed the leftover baked vegetables of squash and eggplant and made two new dishes. Jim is anxious to use up the leftovers in the refrigerator (so that we can go out and buy more food for the upcoming guests!)

I separated the squash and the eggplant. With the squash, which we thought wasn't as tasty as our American pumpkin, although it has a beautiful color and texture, I made a soup. I sauteed 1/2 onion in butter and added the squash, leftover orange juice, leftover ginger root, some water and vegetable seasonings, as well as white pepper. I used the "Purierstab" (gee I love that word, it means "Pureeing-wand") to mix it all and gave it a shot of cream. Delicious!

For the eggplant, I added the leftover cucumber, cubed, some of my fresh basil from the plant downstairs, as well as fresh thyme and dried oregano, leftover olives, leftover Bärlauch goat cheese and Jim's homemade goat cheese, olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, and leftover pretzel salt. Presto - Mediterranean Salad.

Sunday is a great day to work on using up leftovers because all the stores are closed.

Maulwurf Kuchen

The first photo is of a Maulwurf lump. It is a lump made in a field by a "Maulwurf," a blind mole.

There is a cake here, I found out, that is called "Maulwurf Kuchen" because it is made to look like the lumps of earth that a Maulwurf throws up from the fields they burrow under.

So I Googled the recipe and it sounded good. It is made with a chocolate cake, that is baked and hollowed out. You fill the crust with sliced bananas and top that with chocolate-flavored whipped cream (or a pudding-like cream) and then top it with the crumbled innards of the hollowed-out cake. It is very good!!!

Ötztal

Jim went skiing at Kühtai today. Jim M., Chris and I went to the Ötztal. Chris wanted to have a "High Alpine" experience. The Ötztal gets higher the farther into it you drive. At the very end, you are on the border of Italy, looking into the Dolomites. The high road to Timmeljoch and into Italy, is closed in winter. So we drove all the way into the end of the valley. We wanted to take a gondola up to a high peak and have lunch there in a Berg-Restaurant. So we drove into Hochgurgl, which was already half way up the mountain and from there took the Hochgurgl Bahn. From the top of the Bahn, we took a chair lift to the very top of the mountain. The mountain is called Wurmkogel and it is at 3082 meters, about 9000 feet. The views were spectacular. Even driving there through the Ötz valley the , views were terrific. We had sunshine and fresh snow, which added to the atmosphere. The Ötz valley is a hundred times more beautiful than the Ziller Valley. Less industrial, less populated, and much more natural. From a distance, we clearly saw two Steinbock (Alpine Ibex) running around on the side of the mountain. There is also a beautiful river - maybe a large brook, that runs along the valley floor. That was very pretty too. You can see the photos and judge for yourself.
We had lunch at the Mittelstation of a ski area at Hochgurgl. It was very much the high alpine experience Chris was looking for! The views were amazing. There was a round observation tower cum bar at the very top, where we took some photos and looked into Italy.

This is the area where Ötzi the Iceman was found, up on the glacier between Austria and Italy.

After Hochgurgl, we drove into a side valley, the Ventertal, to the town of Vent. That valley was also very pretty, narrow and steep. We stopped for coffee in Vent, the last town in the valley, before driving back.

For dinner Jim is making Käsespätzle for us. I am making Maulwurf Kuchen for dessert, with Chris' help. Too bad Brian and Dan won't be here to experience it.

Salzburg

Yesterday we drove to Salzburg, two hours away, and spent the night there in the Altstadt in a hotel in a 700-year old building. We took a funicular up to the high fortress which was the seat of the Archbishop-Princes of Salzburg and dates back to 1077. We took some great photos looking down at Salzburg, from up on the highest tower. We toured the state rooms and archbishop's residence. I took a photo of his toilet. The bedchamber and toilet date to the late 1400s. Also the sitting room with the beautiful tile stove.





We had a wonderful dinner at the Goldener Hirsch. The service was impeccable, and each one of us had something very delicious. The Goldener Hirsch is also a very nice hotel, highly recommended if you are going to Salzburg. But if you want something less pricey, we liked our quaint little hotel, called the Goldene Ente, too. The Proprietress was quite a hoot, very friendly.

The Altstadt is beautiful and very quiet because it is a pedestrian zone. We had fun walking around and looking at the shops. We bought fresh bread at the monastery bakery. The monastery of St. Peter dates to 696 and the bakery might be close to 1000 years old. The fresh warm Brioche was wonderful.

When we got back to Oberperfuss, we were happy to see fresh snow on the ground. It is snowing now.

Bianca, Christoph and Konstantin

Jim's cousin Bianca came to Oberperfuss to visit us today. Bianca lives in Innsbruck with her husband Christoph and their new baby, Konstantin, who is three months old. It was really nice to see them all, and to meet Christoph and Konstantin for the first time.

We were intimidated about cooking for Bianca, because, like everyone in her family, she is great cook, and a professional chef besides. We made eggs benedict, and Indian Pudding for dessert. She had never had either before, so we were glad to be able to make something typically American for her.

Tonight we are going to the Landestheater in Innsbruck to see the Richard Strauss Opera "Salome."