年宵/ New Year Fair

聖誕過咗跟住好快就過年, 喺Rathausplatz 嘅Christmas Market已經變咗做年宵. 除咗有熱酒小食攤檔外, 仲有賣吉祥物嘅檔口. 而廣場正中嘅舞台會有除夕倒數活動.

Christmas passed and New Year is approaching. The Christmas Market in Rathausplatz has already turned into a New Year Market. Besides booths for hot wine and snacks, there are also booths selling the good luck things. There is a stage for the countdown party in the middle of the square .

其實喺舊城區都有大大小小嘅倒數活動.

In fact, there are many countdown parties in the old city area.

運程預測/ Fortune telling

奧地利過年有呢個小玩意Bleigießen. 首先準備一大碗水, 然後用嗰隻’羹’載住啲鉛, 再用蠟燭火煮熔 (即係好似我哋煲蠟咁). 之後1,2,3,將熔咗嘅鉛倒落啲水度. 跟住用呢啲再次凝固嘅鉛嘅形狀黎預測來年運程.

There is this thing, Bleigießen, to play in Austrian new year.  First prepare a bowl of water.  Then use the 'spoon' to hold the lead and melt the lead with candle fire (just like we do to melt candle in mooncake festival).  1,2,3 pour the melted lead to the water.  Then you can tell your fortune by the shape of the re-solidified lead.

雖然說明書有好多唔同形狀嘅解釋, 但係呢啲凝固咗嘅鉛, 好多時好似啲新派藝術咁係睇唔明.

Eventhough there are explainations for diffferent shapes, quite often the sharp is like a modern art that you cannot understand.

煙花/ Fireworks

呢度過年冇煙花匯演. 市民會買煙花喺除夕自己放. 買煙花好方便, 超市都有得賣. 呢度又有啲專賣煙花嘅舖頭, 一年只係開嗰幾日, 唔知佢點維’鄙’.

There is no fireworks display for New Year.  People play their own fireworks on New Year Eve.  Buying fireworks is convenient.  They are on sale even in the supermarkets.  There are also shops only selling fireworks.  They are only opened a few days a year.  I really wonder how they can survive.
以前住喺市郊, 喺屋企可以睇到市中心放嘅煙花.
I used to live in uptown.  From my home, I could see the fireworks inthe centre.

喺維也納最中心嘅Stephansplatz, 啲人週圍放煙花, 真係好驚會俾佢哋射親.

In the most central part of Vienna, Stephansplatz, people set off their fireworks everywhere.  I was afraid that I would be shoot by them.

Baumkuchen

(nearly 15 euro)

見到呢個Baumkuchen包得靚靚咁, 決定買黎做手信. Baumkuchen唔記得香港譯樹輪蛋糕定係木輪蛋糕. 呢個係德國巴伐利亞州同西奧地利先興(匈牙利都有, 但係個樣唔同) 喺維也納好小見到.

When I saw this beautifully packed baumkuchen, I decided to buy it as a souvenir.  I don’t remember the Chinese translation of baumkuchen.  It is popular in Bavaria, Germany and Western Austria (You can also find it in Hungary but it looks different).  You sedlom get it in Vienna.

第一次食Baumkuchen唔係喺奧地利or德國, 其實係喺日本.  我覺得日本人好叻將人哋嘅嘢據為己有. Baumkuchen喺日本普遍程度高過原產國, 你喺日本啲便利店都可以買到.  喺香港嘅日式超市都有.

The first time I had baumkuchen was not in Austria or Germany.  It was in Japan in fact.  I think Japanese are good in ‘stealing’.  Baumkuchen is more popular in Japan than in its original birthplace.  You can buy it in convenience stores.  In HK you can get it in Japanese supermarkets.

清道夫/ Street sweepers

見到呢度啲清道夫真係想打佢幾鎚. (記住暴力解決唔到問題)

When I see the street sweepers, I really wanna give each of them a punch. (remember: violence cannot solve problems)

佢哋做嘢mimi momo, 倒一個垃圾桶要磨成分幾兩分鐘. 推住架垃圾車就好似散步咁. 得閒就停低食口煙.

They work so slow.  It takes 1 or 2 minutes for them to clear one garbage bin.  Pushing their carts are like taking a walk.  Also they always stop for a cigarette break.

我相信佢哋工作量冇香港嗰啲咁多, 至少佢哋唔使掃行人路. 喺奧地利行人路嘅清潔係大廈業主負責.

I believe the workloads of them is fewer than those of the ones in HK.  At least they don’t need to clean the pavements.  In Austria, cleaning of pavements are the responsibilities of the builiding owners.

而佢哋嘅垃圾鏟嗰柄係一塊木板黎. 喳住個咁嘅垃圾鏟, 做嘢點會有效率架.

In addition, the handles of their dustpans are made of  wooden boards.  How can you work efficiently with this kind of dustpan?

過年吉祥物/ Symbols of good luck

今朝10點幾出門口, 只係零下4度. 經過Belvedere, 見到個噴水池啲水結咗冰, 啲雀仔喺上面’溜冰’.

When I left home this morning at 10 something a.m., it was only minus 4C.  I passed Belvedere and saw the water in a fountain was frozen.  Some birds were 'ice-skating'.

咁嘅服務..../ the service was....

呢度啲服務簡直....又一好例子

The services here are so..... another good example

報紙有得免費訂閱幾個禮拜. 我呢個cheap精, 見冇洩底. 睇唔明都照訂.
There was free subscription to a newspaper for some weeks.  Being a mean guy, seeing that I would  not loose anything, I subscribed eventhough I could not understand.

咁有一日, 冇報紙黎. 以為訂閱期已過. 第二日居然收番前一日嘅報紙.  有邊個會睇舊報紙架. 喺香港我一定投訴咗. 我都唔會續訂, 算啦!

One day, there was no newspaper.  I thought the subscription might be over.  On the next day, I recevied the newspaper which was the day before.  Who will read old newspaper?  If I were in HK, I would have made a complaint.  Anyway I will not continue with the subscription.  Forget it!

聖誕歌/ Xmas song

呢兩日聽得最多嘅係Silence Night呢首聖誕歌喇.

The most played song in the last two days was Silence Night.

呢首喺香港幼稚園已經學嘅歌, 黎到呢度仲未學識(自學).成日唔記得歌詞 (其實我中英文歌詞都唔係好記得).

We learnt this song when in kindergarten.  I still have not leart it good here.  I always forget the lyrics, in fact, I don't really remember the lyrics in Chinese and English, neither.

咁喺呢度寫低啲歌詞, 出年唔使週圍搵.

Therfore, I write the lyrics here so that I don't need to look for it next year.

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht! / Alles schläft, einsam wacht / nur das traute hochheilige Paar. / Holder Knab im lockigen Haar, / schlafe in himmlischer Ruh, / schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht! / Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht / Lieb aus deinem göttlichen Mund, / da uns schlägt die rettende Stund: / Jesus, in deiner Geburt, / Jesus, in deiner Geburt!

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht! / Hirten erst kundgemacht; / durch der Engel Halleluja / tönt es laut bei ferne und nah: / Jesus, der Retter ist da, / Jesus, der Retter ist da!

拆禮物

遠方嘅好友一早送咗聖誕禮物俾我. 今日終於拆禮物喇! 原來係各式各樣嘅Simpsons玩具黎架. 超開心.

Dolmades 葡萄葉包飯

(1.79 euro)

之前睇blog友,土耳其新娘, 介紹一種土耳其食品Sarma. 睇黎幾得意.  打算去呢度嘅土耳其人超市睇吓有冇, 但係一路懶得去搵.

I have read a blog of 土 耳其新娘.  She has introduced a Turkish food called Sarma.  It looks interesting.  I want to go to the Turkish supermarket so see if I can get it here.  But I'm too lazy to look for it.

今日喺普遍超市見到外貌一模一樣嘅嘢, 於是買黎試試.

Today in a regular supermarket I saw something looked exactly the same.  Therefore I bought one can and tried.

呢樣嘢叫Dolmades (葡萄葉包飯), 包裝介紹話係地中海特色食品. 一罐十舊, 俾啲油/汁浸住, 細細舊一啖放晒入口.  就咁凍食, 塊葉好淋, 啲汁酸酸地. 味道都OK.
It is called Dolmades (Vine Leaves stuffed with rice).  The packing says it is a speciality from the Mediterranean Sea.  There were 10 pieces in a can.  They were soaked in something kind of oil/ sauce.  They were small in size and you could put a whole one into your mouth.  It was ready to serve (serve it cold), the leaves were very soft and the sauce was a little bit sour.  It tasted OK.
唔知Dolmades係咪=土耳其Sarma呢?
I'm not sure if Dolmades are the same as Sarma.

土耳其新娘嘅blog

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!icHg.3KREQVkuHyFwyrGxmY7

經濟衰退/ Recession

今日行街見到兩大服裝連鎖店C&A, H&M已經減價. 往年呢度要聖誕後先有減價. 依家咁快就谷營業額.  可以感受到經濟衰退嘅影響.

When I went shopping today, I saw that the two fashion chains, C&A, H&M, had already had winter sale.  In the past years, winter sale was only after Christmas.  Now they already need to boost their sale figures.  You can feel the effect of the recession.

我就留番返香港先買嘢. 今日出街係要儲糧, 黎緊長週末舖頭休息. 而下星期會有6個人黎食飯, 買定啲急凍點心同餃子招呼佢哋.  用咗我35 euro. 一個人嘅話真係唔會買, 就快返香港, 有得食新鮮, 使鬼食急凍!

I will only shop in HK.  Today shopping was mainly to buy food for the long weekend.  You know, shops are closed.  And also next week there are 6 guests for dinner.  I bought some frozen dim sum and dumplings to serve.  I spent 35 euro on them.  If I'm alone, I will not buy them.  I am going to HK soon.  I can have fresh ones.  There is no f**king need to eat these frozen things!

農村動物園/Zoo with farm animals

噚日去完教堂經過Spanische Reitschule(西班牙騎馬學校), 見到啲馬由馬槽排隊等去表演.

Yesterday after church, I walked pass Spanische Reitschule (Spanish Riding School) and saw these horses waiting for their performace.

跟住我去咗市郊山區嘅Cobenzl, 嗰度啲雪仲未溶晒.

Then I went to the rural hill side area, Cobenzl.  The snow had not been totally melted yet.

呢度有個細細聖誕市集, 主要賣天然食品, 有火腿,酒...

There was a small Xmas market selling natural food, like hams, wine...

但係吸引我嘅係Landgut Wien Cobenzl呢個農村動物園. 城市嘅小朋友(包括我)可以見到兔仔,綿羊,山羊,雞,鴨,鵝, 馬仔

But the most interesting thing was the Landgut Wien Cobenzl, a zoo with farm animals.  Kids, including me, from the city can see rabbits, sheeps, goats, chickens, ducks, gooses, ponies

同埋平時俾人擺咗上枱做乳豬全席嘅豬仔

and piggies which were usually served on the talbes as roasted pigs dinner.

呢對孔雀可以自走動

These pair of peacocks could walk freely everywhere.

聖誕餐@波蘭人屋企/ Xmas dinner@Polish family

噚晚喺朋友屋企食聖誕餐, 早咗到, 佢哋乜都未準備好, 有啲尷尬. 聖誕樹仲係光脫脫. 於是幫手一齊掛裝飾.

Yesterday I had Xmas dinner in my friend's.  I arrived early.  They had not prepared anything, it was a little bit embarrassing.  The Xmas tree was still 'naked'.  So I helped them to decorate.

奧地利傳統係24號先裝飾聖誕樹,而棵樹會擺到2月頭. 我就見過有人一早買咗聖誕樹,然後吊喺露台.

It is Austrian tradition to decorate the tree on the 24th and keep it until early Feb.  I have seen that someone has bought a tree and hung it outside the balcony.

傳統樹上嘅裝飾有糖,蠟燭

Traditional decorations are candy, candles

同埋樹頂呢個裝飾(唔係用星星架)

and this thing on the top, they don't put a star.

睇吓棵樹幾靚

Look! How beautiful it is.

因為女主人係波蘭人, 佢整咗…

Because the female host is Polish, she has made...

波蘭紅湯Barszcz

Polish red beet soup, Barszcz

波蘭餃子Pierogi (薯蓉餡)

Polish dumplings, Pierogi, with mashed potato filling.

奧地利人聖誕係食魚,唔係火雞. 所以有呢碟炸魚配波蘭沙律. 我唔食魚嘅, 所以只係食小小.

Austrian have fish on Xmas, not turkey, therefore I had this deep fried fish with Polish salad.  I don't eat fish so I only had a little bit.

飯後甜品係奧地利嘅聖誕餅仔.

We had Austrian Xmas cookies for dessert

 

最後交換禮物. 奧地利冇Boxing day. 禮物係喺25號拆.
At the end, we exchanged gifts.  There is no Boxing day in Austria, gifts are opened on the 25th.

主人家咁早慶祝聖誕係因為佢哋要返鄉下(波蘭)過節.

The host celebrated Xmas so early because they will spend the holiday in their home country, Poland.

日頭睇燈飾/ Light decorations in day time

今年係第三次喺呢度過聖誕．喺香港各大小商場每年都有唔同主題嘅裝飾．呢度唔係好興shopping mall．聖誕裝飾就只係街上嘅燈飾.

This is the third year I have spent Xmas here.  Every year in Hong Kong there are differents themes for Xmas decorations in different malls.  But shopping malls are not common here.  Bigger Xmas decorations are the lights on the streets.

三年黎啲燈飾都係一樣，住多幾年可能會悶死．

The decorations are the same for the past three years.  If I live here longer, I will be bored to death.

我用嘅傻瓜機影夜景唔係好店．咁唯有帶大家日頭睇燈飾啦．哈哈！

My camera doesn't take good pics in the night.  Therefore I bring all of you to see the light decorations in day time. Hahah!

Tom Tom

Tom Tom係奧地利產嘅character. 但係Tom Tom喺呢度好low profile, 只係見過郵票同呢啲卡．
Tom Tom is a character from Austria.  But it keeps a low profile even in this country.  I have only seen stamps and these cards.

反而喺香港幾年前有Tom Tom嘅公仔同漫畫賣．以佢咁嘅樣都可以知到佢喺香港受唔受歡迎．

However there were Tom Tom stuffed dolls and comics in Hong Kong some years ago.  With its look, you already know if it is popular in Hong Kong or not.

星島/ Sing Tao

呢度喺遊客區可以買到中文報紙。但係我依家冇買lu。上網都可以睇頭條日報、都市日報。
You can buy Chinese newspaper in tourist areas.  However I don't buy it anymore as I can get Headline News and Metro News online.
如果買緊係買星島啦。我懷疑呢度嘅歐洲版星島係入口貨，因為即日嘅星島要晏晝先有得賣。

If I buy, of course, I will choose Sing Tao.  I suspect that the European edition of Sing Tao is imported.  It is because I can only buy them in late afternoon.

歐洲版星島嘅意見: Opinion on European edition of Sing Tao:

好多英國嘅廣告

Many British ad

有專版講歐洲新聞

There are pages focusing on Europe

大陸新聞可能係照吸大陸報紙，因為字彙唔同, 好多時睇唔明。
Maybe they just copy the text of the mainland China news from mainland Chinese newspaper.  Because of the differences in some terms, quite often I don't understand the meanings.
娛樂版有篇幅報導大陸明星，我完冇興趣
They also cover entertainment news of China which I'm not interested.
最後就係冇香港咁厚，試過一次靠手感買報紙，個收銀問我係咪買咁多，原來我拎咗兩份。

Finally, it is not as thick as the HK ones.  Once I bought the paper and took it out just by feelings.  The cashier asked if I really wanted to buy all.  Then I realised I had taken two.

聖誕樹/Christmas Trees

 聖誕節緊係唔小得聖誕樹. 喺維也納唔同嘅角落都會見到呢啲聖誕樹地攤. 喺香港見慣假聖誕樹,初初見到呢啲真嘅,光禿禿,一啲都唔靚.

There must be Christmas trees in Christmas.  There are Christmas tree markets everywhere in Vienna.  I used to see fake Christmas trees in Hong Kong.  When I saw the real ones the first time, a little bit bald, I didn't think they were beautiful.

聖誕節過後, 喺市內有聖誕樹收集點俾你’dump’ 聖誕樹.

After Christmas there are some collection points for you to throw away your trees.

我都係鍾意假樹,一頗真樹價錢(喺歐洲)就可以用好耐.

I prefer fake trees.  You only pay for the price of a real one once and you can use it for a long time.

市中心聖誕樹地攤

Christmas tree markets in the centre

呢度泊車一國兩制/One country two systems in parking

呢度泊車唔係香港咁每個泊車位有咪錶. 喺其他城市, 泊咗車, 跟住落車搵Parkscheinautomat呢部機俾泊車錢,然後擺番張飛喺架車度.行黎行去.

It is not like in HK that there is parking meter in every parking space.  In other cities, after parking your car, you need to look for the pay-and-display machine (English translation from my dictionary) to pay for the parking.  Then you take the ticket back to your car.  You need to walk up and down.

喺維也納就冇呢部機, 泊車係用Parkschein, 有10分鐘(免費),半個鐘, 一個鐘, 兩個鐘..泊車時自己mark日子,時間. 呢個方法你要好記得今日係幾月幾號同埋帶筆. 我就試過喺街度俾人問借筆.

There is no such machine in Vienna.  We use car park ticket.  There are 10 minutes (free), half an hour, an hour, two hours tickets.... When you park, you mark down the date and time.  With this system, you have to remember the date and to bring a pen.  I had an experience that someone on the street asked me to lend him a pen.

呢度泊車真係一國兩制. 有好有唔好.

Parking is really 'one country two systems' here.  There are advantages and disadvantages.