kelle.de

Today we went to Chamonix, a small town located right at the foot of Mt. Blanc, Europe’s highest peak. We wanted to take the tour from atop the “Aiguille de Midi” through the “Vallee Blanche” back down to Chamonix, but unfortunately weather conditions were foggy above 3000m sea level, so we had to change plans and went to the “normal” ski resort of Chamonix which “only” goes up to 3300 meters. The ski resort calls itself “Grands Montets” and has very steep yet long slopes. Difficulty is very high in this resort. It is non-recommendable for beginners, and takes its toll of exhaustion even from the well trained. But it was a great experience to go skiing right within the Mt. Blanc Massive.

My impression of the Mont Blanc is that of a ferocious, incredibly steep-walled, dizzyingly high mountain towering way aloft. All around its lofty summit glistening in brilliant white like a perfectly round shaped cloud, there are claws of rock domes piercing the sky in 4000m height, seemingly guarding the soft giant from unauthorized access.

One thing that’s most impressive is the fact that this mountain is much higher than any other in its vicinity. When approaching from Annecy, the first view is overwhelming. Even from quite a distance it occupies almost the whole sky.

Yesterday I went to Alt-Erlaa. It’s an area in the 23rd district of Vienna, in the southern part of the city. The day before I had noticed a couple of very large buildings in that area, so i decided to go there and explore. It was already late and the light of the day had turned into a hazy purple when the subway emerged from the underground to continue its journey south. Up ahead there were the buildings I had eyballed the day before.  Massive and hulking. I got off the subway swiftly, pretending to know exactly where I was headed, which was easy because the looming building landmarked the way. When I drew closer, however, the sight was roofed away by some kind of a deserted shopping centre. I still walked as though I were completely sure where to go, but I caught myself taking turns and walking into the opposite direction, yet still with a firm stride. At some point I had arrived out in the garden, with one of the building monsters towering directly over me. I felt struck, mesmerized and dizzy. The buildings were not only tall but so BIG.  I tried to take some pictures but even in wide angle I would only be able to capture a small part.

I tried to get inside one building. The doors were locked from outside, so I waited. An old woman opened the door to get outside, but when I tried to grab the open door and sneak through, she blocked me and told me to ring the bell of whoever I was going to visit. Well. Since I wasn’t visiting anyone, I decided to try another time. Also I was beginning to feel hungry at that point. So I headed back to the subway station and went home to my normal, old house flat in the centre of Vienna.

This is a link to a nice description of the Wohnpark Alt-Erlaa, including interesting photography.

On saturday I went to the Nash Market together with my sister. The Nash Market (also known as Naschmarkt) is the biggest market for fresh food in Vienna. It consists of a lot of smaller and larger stands, some mobile, some fixed. Food from all over the world is sold, including many different tropic origins. There is a big thai-style shop somewhere in the middle of the Nash Market. They have the typical devilishly hot small green “bird chilis” that are great for making original sambal. What you need is

• a handful of the green chilis. They have to be fresh, not dried.
• garlic. Chinese garlic is best, because it’s not so pungent.
• sesame seeds,
• soy sauce, of the sweet and viscous kind (go for “sambal manis” and check the viscousity by shaking the bottle).

Then proceed by crushing the chilis, slicing the garlic and add the sesame seeds and (plenty of) soy sauce. Then  let steep for an hour or so and use in low quantity to spice up the food. You can also use it as dip. But handle with care, it’s savagely spicy.