The Most Expensive Free Trip Ever - TR Link is Up! Pg. 164

[winkers]

The forgetful one is so much more tasteful than our "brain fart".

you mean this isn't the hight of refinement?

 

[All7OfUs]

you mean this isn't the hight of refinement?

You must spend hours trying to find this stuff! How do you post it once you find it??

 

[glennbo123]

you mean this isn't the hight of refinement?

Um, no. I love his hair.

You must spend hours trying to find this stuff! How do you post it once you find it??

We can always count on Cherie to provide the visual!

 

[glennbo123]

B drove us to the airport and we checked in at the ticket counter. Then we said goodbye when we got to the security area.

On to Vienna, and some pampering from The PChef!

We arrived in Vienna and we were met by PChef representatives. They took us by bus to the hotel, where we checked in and registered with PChef. After unpacking and ironing our suit and dresses, we took a guided “orientation” walk to the center of the city, Stephensdom (St. Stephen’s cathedral).

Burberry!

We were dropped off there (Stephensdom) by the guide and we decided to backtrack to a restaurant that had a sign out that said “pasticcio” on it. I was thinking of the great tortellini pasticcio Italian dish that Judy makes, but it turned out to be a Greek restaurant and their pasticcio was more like a macaroni and cheese dish. (I figured it might not be the same since pasticcio literally means “mess” – it could be anything.) The owner of the restaurant explained a few things they had for lunch, and I said we’ll just look at the menu and decide. Well, the menu was in Greek, with a German translation – I hadn’t realized he was trying to help me out. Oh well. We remembered he had mentioned a zucchini soup, which sounded good since it was cold outside and we didn’t want to eat a lot since we had a big PChef dinner that night. It turned out that the soup was awesome! Very flavorful, served with some bread – just the way I like soup. He wouldn’t tell us what was in it – it was a traditional recipe from his grandfather, from northern Greece.

From there we walked to the Stadtpark, the People’s Park or public park. Upon entering I saw a sign that said that hounds are verboten. I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned it in this writing, but we had seen lots of dogs with their owners inside cafes. So, when I saw that sign I said to Judy, “yeah, take them to where they belong – a café.”

I took a couple of pictures of the Johann Strauss statue. Almost all of my pictures are of buildings and food, with a few statues thrown in for good measure. What can I say?

I don’t know what this means in German, but I know what it means in English!

We went back to the hotel and got ready for the reception for 1st time achievers of the premier trip. Judy got to introduce me to the Vice President of Sales that Judy knows from one of her Outer Banks retreats. We were served some champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Then we went to the dinner – a huge buffet line, I couldn’t even begin to tell you what all was on it, just that we each had two plates when we reached the end of the buffet line. Since the people from the 1st time achiever reception got to go through first, we were the first ones at our table and we each tried to get rid of one of our plates before the other people assigned to our table joined us. While eating we were entertained by a female group playing Strauss waltzes.

Judy’s upline director, L, and her husband B2, joined us at our table.

For dessert, they had an assortment of small cakes, such as the famous Viennese Sacher torte. After dessert we were treated to a group of professional dancers in tuxedoes and gowns waltzing, and then they pulled-in people from the audience. After dinner we went to a party in the suite of Judy’s National Executive Director. Then we called it a night. Back at the room we had received gifts of water bottles with carriers, and they each had a pedometer inside. Cool! I almost bought one of those for our Disney trip last year.

Link to next chapter

 

[All7OfUs]

Those catherdrals are so massively WOW! You really can't get a good idea of the WOW factor until you're standing right up next to one! My favorite cathedral of all time is in Koln, Germany! Gorgeous!!

PChef treated you well, too! Maybe not quite a nicely as back on Amsterdam, but I'd say you made out pretty well!

Gute Fahrt!! You know that'll get some laughs around here!

We have some laundry soap around here called Barf. Just like that- barf.
Funny what you find in other places.

 

[glennbo123]

Those catherdrals are so massively WOW! You really can't get a good idea of the WOW factor until you're standing right up next to one! My favorite cathedral of all time is in Koln, Germany! Gorgeous!!

I know, it's so huge I couldn't really get a good picture of it.

PChef treated you well, too! Maybe not quite a nicely as back on Amsterdam, but I'd say you made out pretty well!

Just wait 'til the last night...

Gute Fahrt!! You know that'll get some laughs around here!

I know! I hadn't shared that picture with anyone before, and had actually forgotten about it. But when I was going through them to post here, I thought "oh, this is perfect!"

I hope Magdalene chimes in to let me know what it really means though.

We have some laundry soap around here called Barf. Just like that- barf.
Funny what you find in other places.

Love it! I'd buy that.

 

[All7OfUs]

The north end of a southbound zebra! Writing like that tickles me every time!!

I'll have to admit, the pool area is just peachy!! I could hang out here for hours, I think, with my kiddos! Then when I'm done getting squirted I'd head over to the Maji for a cool, blended adult piece of tastiness! Kathy's Tangierine Dream looked mighty dreamy.

You're right Marlene's face just exudes joy- almost euphoria even. I love shots like that!

I think you've given us a pretty good array of African artifarts.

 

[dd50]

I don't care if it is an angel...I don't want anything peeing in my mouth./QUOTE]

I see you were into taking pictures of food before you started here. I thought my daughter only did that. She would always take pictures of her food at camp.

Did you have to mention creme brulee? Now I really need one.

The pics of Vienna are beautiful.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

enjoying these pictures very neat to see.

it would take me forever to stack those chocolates like that because i would keep eating em.

 

[winkers]

All the beautiful buildings and culture in Vienna.....and you manage to find a "fahrt" sign.

That cathedral is amazing....I don't realy have words to describe it.

where I live theres maybe 10 houses @ 100 yrs old....that's within about 60 miles, in all directions. So, I can't even imagine how old that building must be.

 

[Tribilín]

All the beautiful buildings and culture in Vienna.....and you manage to find a "fahrt" sign.

And lucky him he just found the perfect audience a few years later

Hey glennbo123, I just blink and you add like 5 pages in your PTR. Just caught up, fantastic trip, can't wait for more.

Oh and yes, I also drooled with that chocolate shop pic

 

[glennbo123]

The north end of a southbound zebra! Writing like that tickles me every time!!

I'm glad you like it. Sounds like what happens to me every time you write "hubba hubba".

I'll have to admit, the pool area is just peachy!! I could hang out here for hours, I think, with my kiddos! Then when I'm done getting squirted I'd head over to the Maji for a cool, blended adult piece of tastiness! Kathy's Tangierine Dream looked mighty dreamy.

I remember being in the pool thinking, "I love this place".

You're right Marlene's face just exudes joy- almost euphoria even. I love shots like that!

Me too! Nothing brings it out of a kid like a good ol' fashioned water battle.

I think you've given us a pretty good array of African artifarts.

I read somewhere that Animal Kingdom Lodge has one of the largest collections of African art......but I don't remember the ending.....in all of....the world? U.S.? Florida? Greater Orlando and suburbs? The entire tri-state area? The would be an important piece of info. right there, to make this anecdote really work.

 

[glennbo123]

I see you were into taking pictures of food before you started here. I thought my daughter only did that. She would always take pictures of her food at camp.

I had the makings of a DISer before I was a DISer.

Pictures of Camp food?! Maybe she was documenting it as evidence?

Did you have to mention creme brulee? Now I really need one.

I remember when I ordered that C said that she was sure it wouldn't be as good as at her restaurant. I let her have a taste, and she was like, "oooo, they got it right." It was gooood.

The pics of Vienna are beautiful.

Thanks!

enjoying these pictures very neat to see.

it would take me forever to stack those chocolates like that because i would keep eating em.

Oh yeah, me too. They'd say, "hey, I gave 100 chocolates to stack, that doesn't look like more than a couple dozen?"

All the beautiful buildings and culture in Vienna.....and you manage to find a "fahrt" sign.

That cathedral is amazing....I don't realy have words to describe it.

where I live theres maybe 10 houses @ 100 yrs old....that's within about 60 miles, in all directions. So, I can't even imagine how old that building must be.

Vienna is known for their culture!

It's amazing that there are buildings that are hundreds and hundreds of years old.

And lucky him he just found the perfect audience a few years later

Hey glennbo123, I just blink and you add like 5 pages in your PTR. Just caught up, fantastic trip, can't wait for more.

Oh and yes, I also drooled with that chocolate shop pic

What do they always say? Know your audience!

Glad you're caught up, and that you got to drool over some chocolate today.

 

[jordanyosh]

I almost didn't recognize you and judy...you didn't have sweat running down your face and you weren't squinting in the sunlight....

You clean up real nice!

 

[All7OfUs]

I read somewhere that Animal Kingdom Lodge has one of the largest collections of African art......but I don't remember the ending.....in all of....the world? U.S.? Florida? Greater Orlando and suburbs? The entire tri-state area? The would be an important piece of info. right there, to make this anecdote really work.

Whatever it is, it wouldnt' surprise me! I read too, that AK itself has the largest collection of non-native flora in like the world?? I'll have to go look it up in my Imagineers guide

 

[winkers]

I almost didn't recognize you and judy...you didn't have sweat running down your face and you weren't squinting in the sunlight....

You clean up real nice!

it's because he showers more than once a week...

 

[All7OfUs]

it's because he showers more than once a week...

He likes the rough and ready look.

 

[Flossbolna]

I missed the whole interesting discussions about eyes being considered a delicacy in different countries. At least we don't eat eyes here in Germany!

Your little flashback TR is wonderful! I am amazed how seemingly effortless you adapted to B's a bit chaotic plans for your stay. I think I would have been a bit nervous if I was sent from hotel to hotel without knowing where I was going to stay the next night. But the botel sounds very cool!

Antwerpen is a beautiful city. I have never been there, but my parents visited it a few years back and loved it a lot. Isn't it also a center of the diamond trade? Did you see any of that?

Oh and on the topic of Burberry (yes, I would have known that, too...), Emma Watson, the girl who plays Hermione in the Harry potter films, is their main model.

I am relieved to hear that you don't understand Donald when he talks English! I never understand him.. And always thought that's because my English isn't good enough. It's been a long time since I saw Donald dubbed in German, so I don't know wether I would understand him in German.

How horrible that the best french fries shop burned down when you were there. I was in Brussels this summer and loved the fries there. They had all kind of different sauces to put on top as well which Ioved. Belgium is a dangerous country: chocolate and french fries...

B's dad seems to be quite a character as well! How old is he? I really like the picture you got.

Loved the story about Olen. I guess every country has a place like that where the people are not very clever! At least in anecdotes. Here in Germany it is an imagined place called Schilda. I think one of the stories goes that they had to enlarge the gate in the city wall in order to bring in a beam. Afterwards they saw a sparrow getting a straw through a fence by putting it lengthwise instead of crosswise. That hadn't occurred to the citizens of Schilda as a possibility.

I am surprised that B and his girls didn't know about the Oscars. They are actually pretty big here in Germany, too. But Phillip Seymour Hoffman is not very well known in Europe indeed. He tends to be in rather artistic films, doesn't he? Did E2 get to go the US?

And what you mentioned about it being easy to get around, that's what I am telling everyone! I think as long as you keep an open mind that things are different and don't expect everything to work just the same as at home, Europe is really easy to get around.

I never knew about the name of Antwerpen, but it makes so much sense. Flamish is in the same family of languages with German and you can really tell, in German it would be Handwerfen!

What a wonderful dinner with C and E3! The desserts look delicious. The cheese they ordered for dessert reminds me that I am always amazed that they offer the cheese board as an appetizer at the WDW restaurants. Here in Europe I only ever have seen it as dessert. We even say that cheese closes the stomach.

Ok (and typed this before you mentioned that you were hoping for my explanation!), "Gute Fahrt" just means "have a good drive". In Danish (another close relative to German), the world is even spelled without the h. Most coach tour companies are called something with "turist fart" in the name...

I've watched it now....interesting. Not what I expected when you called it cutting. I didn't expect her to dunk the whole cutting board into the pot of broth/water like she did.

In Pennsylvania Dutch (actually Deutsch) cooking they sometimes add ribbles (I think they're called) to soups. You take the dough and just rub it between your hands like you're making a play-doh snake until the little pieces fall into the soup and it kind of looks like the spätzle in the video you posted. (Check out the "a" with the dots over it! I copied it from your post.)

That's why I posted the link to the video, it is very difficult to explain. And btw, the lady talks very much in the dialect of the region where Spätzle are from, it is very funny to listen to her.

I'm not sure, but actually "our" language MAY have stolen it from Russian. I just know that's what it's called all over the former CIS. and the Russian speakers use it with a slightly different pronunciation.

That may make sense that it is from Russian. We also say it more with the emphasis on the first syllable... But that might be just the German way.

I went when I was 16. Remember VERY, very little. The wine was flowing free, and the cruise ship wasn't carding. Ummm.... stupid!!!! (Those were the "stupid days" Cherie and I were talking about last week.)

Wow I had a trip like that at 16 too.....

And it ended with a cruise that sounds like the same boat? Did you go on the same band trip I did?

Ok, I hope you two will never complain about Brazilian tour groups at WDW!!

 

[glennbo123]

I almost didn't recognize you and judy...you didn't have sweat running down your face and you weren't squinting in the sunlight....

You clean up real nice!

Thanks, I think. Maybe I should work the word "sweaty" into my TR title?

Whatever it is, it wouldnt' surprise me! I read too, that AK itself has the largest collection of non-native flora in like the world?? I'll have to go look it up in my Imagineers guide

Thanks for doing the legwork. I'll be waiting to hear.

it's because he showers more than once a week...

He likes the rough and ready look.

Please tell me these jabs are meant for Jordan.

 

[winkers]

I. We even say that cheese closes the stomach.

or for some, it flushes out the stomach

Please tell me these jabs are meant for Jordan.

yes they are.....I think.