唔好PK呀!/ Don't fall!

CaCa今日決定去Salzburg。咁一早去到佢嘅酒店，好多人呀! 淡季都咁多，呢間酒店好店。
Today CaCa decided to travel to Salzburg.  Therefore I went to her hotel early in the morning.  There were many guests in low season.  This hotel made good business.
跟住CaCa一路食breakfast buffet一路同我傾。其實我都可以食埋一份，冇人理。
We talked while CaCa was having her breakfast.  In fact, I could eat together.  Nobody cared.
然後我帶咗佢去買火車飛，送咗佢上車我就去行街lu。
Then I brought her to buy the train ticket.  After seeing her off, I went window shopping.

Bon Voyage! 希望Salzburg唔係好多雪，佢唔會PK 啦。

Bon Voyage! Hope there isn't much snow in Salzburg.  Don't fall.

想睇CaCa 嘅見聞，去佢個blog啦。

If you want to know what have happened with CaCa, please visit her blog.

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!UQ_KJAaTAhkxDANHNosu

火車站附近嘅 Mariahilfer Straße購物街每逢12月嘅星期六(記住星期日舖頭唔開)會變成行人專區。今朝尚早，條街唔係好多人。

The shopping street, Mariahilfer Straße, which is near the train station, becomes pedestrian zone on every Saturdays in December. (Remember: Shops don't open on Sundays).  It was still early so there were not many people.

返屋企嘅時候，地鐵站度好多人喎，行去八吓。原來係維也納公交每年一度嘅賣物會，佢哋攞啲舊嘅路線牌黎賣，收益用作慈善，係一個幾好嘅活動。

On the way home, I saw that there were a lot of people in the subway station.  Out of curiosity, I had a look. It was an annual sales from Vienna Public Transportation Company.  They sold old destination plates.  All the profits would go to charity.  It was a good activity.

補送Mariahilfer Straße嘅夜景

Mariahilfer Straße in the night.

與Blog友見面/Meeting with blogger

Blog友CaCa黎咗維也納工幹，琴日約咗出黎見面．我哋素未謀面，但係一出地鐵就已經相認．(緊係啦，都冇其他中國人)．

Blogger CaCa is on her business trip in Vienna.  Yesterday we arranged to meet.  We had not met before but recognised each others once I got out of the subway station. (Of course, there was no other Chinese waiting)

因為我就快返香港，所以叫佢唔使帶啲乜嘢俾我．但係我仍然有禮物收，係我至愛嘅Simpsons’波凸'．Hohohoh

Because I will go to Hong Kong soon, so I have told her not to bring anything for me.  However I still got gifts from her, my favourite Simpsons products.  Hohohoh
跟住我就帶咗佢去Shopping,我嘅強項.

Then I brought her to go shopping, that's my strength.

Shopping完，食咗啲嘢，就帶咗佢搭巴士返酒店．

After shopping, we ate a little bit.  Then I brought her back to her hotel by bus.

琴日講咗好多廣東話．
Yesterday I talked a lots in Cantonese.

呢位就係CaCa. 佢已經被煮成.......??

唔係唔係,係有一對玉手嗰位

This is CaCa. She was cooked.......??

No, no, the one with beautiful hands.

 琴日收嘅禮物，合桃酥已經食咗lu, 我依家屋企有三對Simpsons拖喇．多謝CaCa.

The gifts I got yesterday.  The walnut cookie was eaten.  Now I have 3 pairs of Simpsons slippers at home.  Thank you CaCa.

爆谷/ Popcorn

仲喺度諗緊返香港食啲乜. 突然醒起食爆谷.

I'm still thinking what to eat when in Hong Kong.  Suddenly popcorn came to my mind.
呢度啲爆谷只有原味同鹹味, 由細到大只知有甜爆谷嘅我就唔太鍾意呢度啲爆谷.
The popcorn here is only with original favour or salted.  I didn't like it as I grew up with sweet popcorn.

記得有一次上堂, 啱啱學完酸甜苦辣嘅德文, 要作句. 我就寫咗‘爆谷係甜’. 老師見到時好驚訝．於是大家開始討論爆谷，好多同學唔知有甜爆谷，好在有位波斯尼亞嘅同學話佢哋嗰度有朱古力味，唔使搞到我咁異相．

Once in my class, we had just learnt the German words for sour, sweet, bitter and spicy.  Then we were requested to make a sentence.  I wrote 'Popcorn is sweet'.  When my teacher saw that, she was surprised.  Then we started talking about popcorn in the class.  Many of my classmates didn't know that sweet popcorn existed.  Luckily a classmate from Bosnia said there was chocolate favoured popcorn in her country.  Then I didn't look like I was from outerspace.

呃飯食/ cheating

睇咗blog友一篇’中國專家’ 嘅報導，令我覺得呢啲’中國專家’呃飯食．

After reading a blog of a blogger about 'China Specialist', I think some of them are cheaters.

就好似喺克羅地亞嘅Pula時，我去到Information Centre見到乜都攞一餐(旅行嘅習慣)．但係佢哋將啲英文資料收收埋埋．見冇乜嘢好攞嘅時候，俾我發現有印刷精美嘅中文同日文嘅catalog．兩本都啱我，即時有滿載而歸嘅感覺．

Like in Pula, Croatia, I went to the information centre to get pamphlets (It is my habbit when I travel).  They hid all the information in English away and there were not many interesting things to get except two nicely printed catalogs in Chinese and Japanese.  Since I could understand both, I took them and felt satisfied.
返到酒店，攞本中文catalog出黎睇．明明係寫中文，但係我一啲都睇唔明．冇理由我離開香港年半中文差咗咁多．於是攞本日文，中日對照．原來中文版係用嗰啲’全句翻譯王’ 譯出黎架．但係就話係一個克羅地亞人同中國人翻譯嘅．

Back in the hotel, I read the Chinese version.  It was obviously written in Chinese but I couldn't understand anything.  No way that my Chinese became that worst after one and a half year away from Hong Kong.  So I took out the Japanese one and read together.  Now I found out that the Chinese version was translated by electronic translator.  However it said the translation was done by a Croatian and a Chinese.

我諗克羅地亞旅遊局俾人坤咗，嗰兩位翻譯，用電腦交貨，收咗人工就走人．

I thought Croatian Tourist Office was fooled by these two people.  They used computer to finish the work, got paid and gone.

返到維也納我將呢個重大發現sent email話俾克羅地亞旅遊局知．但係到依家好幾個月都冇回音．算啦，佢俾人笑啫．

When in Vienna, I reported that to the tourist office by email.  Until now I still have not gotten any reply.  OK, forget it.  They became the laughting stock, not me.

online shopping

幾個月前喺科隆，夜晚得閒冇嘢做，朋友提議玩佢喺瑞士帶返黎嘅board game, Brändi Dog. 要用腦，好益智，心諗喺奧地利見到一定要買．但係一路都搵唔到．

I was in Colonge a few months ago.  One night I had nothing to do so my friend suggested to play a board game, Brändi Dog, which he brought from Switzerland.  You needed to think, it's an intellectual game.  I was thinking when I saw that in Austria I had to buy one.  However I couldn't find it.

就快返香港，拎呢個game做手信會幾好．於是上網搵．嘩！一副啤牌+4塊木板要七十幾瑞郎(五十幾歐羅)．唔好去搶！

As I return HK soon, bringing this game as a souvenir will be a good idea.  Then I looked for it on the net.  Wow! a pack of playing card and 4 pieces of wooden board costed seventy something CHF (fifty something euro).  It's really a daylight robbery.

諗吓amazon.de會唔會平啲呢? Search吓睇睇，冇呢個game，但係show咗另一個叫Dog, Den Letzten Beissen Die Hunde嘅game．玩法完全一樣．只係１３euro．星期二訂，今日收到喇．

Would that be cheaper in amazon.de?  Let me search.  There was no such game but it shown me another one called Dog, Den Letzten Beissen Die Hunde.  It was the same and only costed 13 euro.  I ordered it on Tue and got it today.

今日嘅工作就係將instruction譯成中文．

My work of today is to translate the instruction into Chinese.

註: 依家喺amazon.de買嘢滿20euro會有免費送貨，於是訂埋Reamonn(德國組合)嘅CD．

Remark: amazon.de offers free delivery when you spend 20 euro or more.  Therefore I also ordered the CD from Reamonn, a German group.

富貴人家嘅跳蚤市場/ Flea market for the rich

Dorotheum 呢間拍賣行有３００年歷史．對我黎講佢似係富貴人家嘅跳蚤市場．有好多嘢賣，有首飾，傢俱，陶瓷，皮草，硬幣，郵票，餐具，油畫......

Dorotheum is a 300 years old auction company.  It is like a flea market for the rich to me.  They sell a lot of things, like jewellery, furniture, ceramic, fur clothes, coins, stamps, crockery & cutlery, paintings......

四個香港雞年郵票，６９ euro

4 Year of the Roosters stamps from Hong Kong, 69 euro

教堂捐獻箱

Donation box of a church

整牛油嘅桶

A barrel for making butter

聖誕樹下嘅雪橇都係賣架

The sledges under the Xmas tree are also for sale

喺香港要飲要食嘅嘢/ Things I want to eat and drink in HK

益力多喺呢度好鬼貴, 好小買黎飲. 可能貴嘅原因, 益力多喺呢度嘅target customers係嗰啲女士.

Yakult is very expensive here.  I seldom drink.  Maybe because of the high price, the target customers of Yakult here are ladies.

益力多喺香港平好多. 返到香港一定要飲.

Yakult is much much cheaper in Hong Kong.  When I'm in Hong Kong, I must drink some.

其他要飲要食嘅嘢

Other things I want to eat and drink

臘腸　Chinese sausages   炸雲吞 Deep fried Wonton    爆谷 Popcorn  蛋卷 Egg rolls  腸粉 Rice rolls    車仔檔燒賣&咖哩魚蛋 Siu Mai & curry fish balls from road side hawkers    雞蛋仔  Egg shaped waffle          粽 Rice dumpling  Ben and Jerry's   燒味 Cantonese barbecued food     維他奶Vitasoy Soymilk     菊花茶 Chrysanthemum tea   利賓納  Ribena          真珠奶茶 Bubble tea  點心 Dim Sum     菠籮包 Pineapple bun 蛋撻 Egg tart     葡撻 Portugese egg tart Mos Burger嘅 rice burger 壽司 Sushi  墨魚丸 Takoyaki    牛井 Gyudon 日式滑蛋豬扒飯 Katsudon 芒果 Mango

(會不斷增加/the list will go on)

公眾假期做咗啲乜/ what did I do on public holiday?

去完教堂, 可以行街, 幾好!

I could go window shopping after church.  Very nice!

行到Karlsplatz睇睇一個雕塑, 唔睇新聞都唔知呢個係桑拿房, 仲以為係出年Halloween裝飾添. 好一件藝術品!

I went to Karlsplatz to have a look of a sculpture.  If I didn't watch the news, I wouldn't know that it was a sauna.  I thought it was a Halloween decoration for next year.  What an art!

番屋企途中見到呢架靚靚電車.

On the way home I saw this beautiful tram.

今日係公眾假期Mariä Empfängnis, 特別係舖頭小有地可以開門做生意. 喺我住嗰度啲舖頭只係開半日.

Today was a public holiday, Mariä Empfängnis. The special thing was shops were allowed to open.  In the area where I live, the shops only opened half day.

一早,唔係教徒嘅我去咗Stephan Dom聽彌撒, 大時大節呢度會有合唱團同弦樂隊. 唔知係咪呢個時候好多意大利遊客, 主教要講意大利文.

Early in the morning I, not a catholic, went to the mass in Stephan Dom.  On big days, there are choir and string players.  I wondered, maybe, there were many Italian tourists now.  The bishop needed to speak in Italian.

收垃圾/ Garbage collection

喺維也納，只係一星期收一次垃圾．　唔使擔心，啲垃圾唔使擺喺屋企成個禮拜．　可循環廢物可以放喺街邊收集箱，其他可以擺喺垃圾房．

In Vienna garbage is collected once a week.  Don't worry. You don't need to keep your garbage at home for a week.  Recyclable garbage can be put in the collection boxes on the streets.  The others can be put in the garbage room.

到收垃圾嗰日，垃圾佬(冇垃圾婆)會將喺垃圾房嘅垃圾桶搬出街，遲啲垃圾車就黎收．但係佢哋專喺朝早繁忙時間黎收，阻住成條街，製造冇必要嘅交通擠塞．

On garbage collection day, the garbage men (no female) bring the garbage bins out from the garbage room to the streets.  Later come the collection truck and collect them.  However, they always do that in peak hours and block the streets.  They create unneccessary traffic jam.

成條街就係咁塞住咗

The whole street was blocked like this.

移動收銀處/ moving cashier

呢度每個侍應都係收銀，佢地喺腰度咩住個銀包。埋單時直接找續，貼士佢直接袋袋。所以埋單要搵噃serve你嗰位waiter。

Every waiter is a cashier here, they carry a wallet around their waists.  You pay to your waiter directly and your tips go to him/ her.  Therefore when you ask for your bill, you need to call for the one who has served you.

喺一啲家庭式餐廳，佢地冇電腦落單。埋單時要自己報數食咗啲乜。呢個方式喺香港一定唔work。
In some family restaurants, there is no computer system recording the orders.  When you ask for the bill, you have to report what you have eaten.  This method never works in Hong Kong.

多謝Zuo擺pose俾我影相。

Thank you Zuo for posing for me.

Nikolaus

 (picture from internet)

今日係Nikolaus Tag．　點解Nikolaus冇黎送禮物俾我？我好乖架！

Today is Nikolaus Day.  How come Nikolaus did not come and give me a gift?  I'm well behaved!

喺維也納所有公立幼稚園都禁咗Nikolaus．　理由係好多小朋友見到Nikolaus會驚．　但係好多人認為真正原因係要尊重非天主教嘅小朋友．

All public kindergartens in Vienna ban Nikolaus.  The reason is that many kids are afraid of Nikolaus.  But people believe the real reason is to respect non Catholic kids.

Nikolaus係乜水？　請去我呢個blog睇睇．

Who the hell is Nikolaus?  Plz visit this blog.

大家買咗月曆未/ Has everyone bought a new calendar?

大家買咗月曆未呀? Has everyone bought a calendar yet?

我有個疑惑，一星期嘅開始係禮拜日定禮拜一? 我記得我小學老師係咁講，禮拜日係一星期嘅開始，所以禮拜六就叫做週'末'。
I have a question. Which is the begining of the week, Sunday or Monday?  I remember my primary school teacher has said that, 'Sunday is the begining of the week, that's why Saturday is called weekEND.

但係呢度啲人話係禮拜一，所以啲月曆同我地啲唔同。同埋奧地利人好重視第幾週，喺月曆會列埋出黎。

However Austrian say it is Monday.  Therefore the calendars here are different to ours.  Weeks are also important to Austrian.  The numbers of week are also printed.
好似搭車時，喺車票打印。佢地唔打幾月幾號，淨係打第幾個禮拜嘅星期幾。

For example, when you take the public transportation and validate the ticket, the date is not printed, it only prints which day of which week, likes Wed of the 1st week.

扭蛋/ Capsule toys

扭蛋唔係日本嘅專利，奧地利就有呢啲舊款扭蛋機，通常扭糖或者小玩具。依家日式扭蛋機好普及，每次1 or 2 euro。同香港價錢差唔多。

Capsule toys are not Japanese speciality, there are these kind of old fashioned capsule toy vending machines in Austria.  Usually you can get toys or candies.  Nowadays Japanese style vending machines are common.  It costs 1 or 2 euro each time, similar price as in HK.

最近嘅收穫

I have gotten this recently

陳舊摩天輪/ Old Ferris wheel

Mama Mia!

尋日山長水遠去咗市郊嘅Media Markt買Mama Mia the movie DVD。只係9.90 euro，超平。呢度DVD同CD每間舖頭價錢都唔同，有時相差好大。
Yesterday I travelled a long way to the Media Markt in uptown to buy the DVD of Mama Mia the movie.  It only costed 9.90 euro, extremely cheap.  The prices for DVDs and CDs here vary a lot from shop to shop.
Mama Mia電影跟musical 一樣歌舞連場。而我為呢個 musical着迷，睇咗三次。第一次喺香港睇，好enjoy因為可以跟住唱。(澄清: 我唔係聽Abba大，要多得舊曲重唱同埋A Teen呢隊group)
Mama Mia the movie is the same as the musical which is full with singing and dancing.  I have a craze for the musical.  I have seen the musical 3 times.  I have seen it the first time in Hong Kong.  I really enjoyed it as I could sing along.  I have to clarify that I did not grow up with Abba's songs.  It's all because of the cover versions and the group A Teen.
第二次喺倫敦，嗰度太多musical，唔知睇邊齣好。最後決定睇噃Mama Mia。一樣enjoy。
The second time was in London.  There were a lot of musicals to choose from and I didn't know which one to see.  At the end, I watched Mama Mia again.  I still enjoyed it.
第三次喺柏林，有啲失望，因為連歌都係全德文。跟唔到黎唱。
The third time was in Berlin. I was a little bit disappointed because it was in German, even the songs.  I couldn't sing along.
一月Mama Mia musical會喺維也納做，佢地會唱英文。好大可能會去睇多次。
Mama Mia the musical comes to Vienna in Jan.  They will sing in English.  I may go to see again.