For the first time in 12 years, snow fell on the slopes of Yangminshan. The first photo up top was taken on Sunday morning by a friend riding his bike about a kilometre, as the crow flies, from where we live. Hordes of people jammed the mountain roads and scores of kiddies (and adults) copped their first sight and experience of snow. There were snowmen on car roofs, snowballs brought home for the freezer and Taipei's best impersonations of Douglas Mawson replicated over and over again on all the roads and lanes leading up to the mountain. As for your intrepid correspondents, we were nestled under blankets in our uninsulated apartment with a tiny blow heater with the effectiveness of a disposable lighter in a force 5 hurricane. We strolled through the dank mists to the cinema on Saturday evening and enjoyed a meal out, but come Sunday morning and the plunging mercury and whirling sleet, we hunkered down for the duration.

Last weekend we celebrated our wedding anniversary by visiting one of Taipei's latest and greatest fusion cuisine restaurants, Mume, just squatting in a little lane way off the great Ren Ai Road circle in the south eastern restaurant belt of the city. Both gaily tripping out in our new Italian shoes, we taxied there and back and had a wonderful gastronomic experience. The  decor was Asian urban cool, the waitstaff diligent and attentive and the food selections were all divine. We marveled over each dish as it came and enjoyed them with the accompanying explanation of same. Cabbage completely burnt on the outside and smashed up ("deconstructed") cheesecake were just two of the unusual but incredibly tasty items we tried. Accompanied by a cocktail and fine glass of white wine each, it was a really special treat. Another strange sensation was cutting and splicing a tiny segment of our wedding video and posting it on social media. We received lots of lovely comments, but we felt a little voyeuristic watching this gorgeously outfitted and outrageously young couple who seemed just vaguely familiar!

You'll be mortified to realize that I'm yet again going to refer to our Christmas trip, but come on, I have to write about a whole "nother" country yet! Vienna is within metaphoric spitting distance of the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, and we couldn't deny ourselves the oppportunity to check it out.
After negotiating the German language ticket machines, we hopped on a train we thought was going to Slovakia, waving Vienna behind just temporarily on Boxing Day. As it turned out, we'd chosen the right train and the city quickly slipped away to reveal flat expanses of farmland dotted with gigantic wind turbines quietly churning away for endless kilometres. There were also literally mountains of potatoes at railway sidings, dwarfing the rail stock set to haul them. The train whispered over the Slovakian border with the customs officers looking bored and bemused. How could we enter another country without even a cursory glance at the all important documents? In Slovakia, all are welcome it seems!

It's really bizarre to be jettisoned into a post communist world after the refined surrounds of Vienna in such a short space of time. Within an hour and a half we were using clunky roadside boxes to buy bus tickets, and trying to read incomprehensible signage vaguely pointing us towards the main attraction of the capital Bratislava, the old square and surrounds. Somehow, after going the wrong way from the bus stop, we headed up the hill towards one of the other attractions, the city castle perched atop one of the few high spots in the immediate countryside. It was really impressive and despite the fact it was closed for the public holiday we had all sorts of fun posing for silly photos in its vast courtyard and castle wall viewing areas!

We moseyed on down the hill passing restaurants selling various cuts of wild boar, game meats and other intriguing delicacies: if only they were open for Cass to sample some Slovakian fare! Eventually, we sniffed our way across to the cobbled streets and lanes of the old town and were treated to some beautiful architectural curiosities and wonders. A tiny terrace (the narrowest building in Slovakia) was sandwiched between ancient town wall gates and street sculptures. The town was eerily quiet as most shops were closed down or clossing down for the holiday, but we thoroughly enjoyed our wanderings without the crowds. There were slightly unappealing reminders of Bratislava's emeging identity on the young backpacker's trail, with swilling grog fliers and "shot" pubs springing up in some of the backstreets. Mercifully, though, it remains exactly what it was: a city recently emerged from communist rule and its associated crumbling infrastructure, which has managed to maintain the soul of its central core.

The street art was quirky and fun, apparently an attempt by the city planners to lighten the mood from the dour face portrayed by previous ideologies. We had fun with the worker emerging from the man-hole cover, sitting on the racked Penny-Farthings and escaping the falling portcullis in the main street! We ducked into the start of a mass in a beautiful church and watched as a thousand pigeons took flight to darken the sky momentarily around the main square. We lunched in a restaurant where Cass ate Slovakian dumplings and I had Slovakian style goulash (which, Mum, I must report tasted remarkably similar to your famous casserole!) and we warmed ourselves for an hour or so with good hearty meals and a splash of wine.

All too soon, however, we realised that we'd need to bus back after negotiating the clunky orange ticket boxes once more, whereupon we arrived again at the station which had definite undercurrents of Stasi chic about it (see above!). We'd misjudged the timetable slightly and were barely seated before the train slipped away from its stodgy moorings, heading back to Vienna and more adventures. Mercifully for you, dear readers, our travel tales have ended. However, as I threatened previously, I will post the first of many videos today up top, with one more to follow each week for the foreseeable future...cop that!

Photos: snow road in Yangminshan on the weekend, shots from Bratislava and shots from our anniversary dinner. I'm reading the second in a Dennis Lehane trilogy, Live By Night, the first being thoroughly entertaining. I'm having trouble keeping this bit up-to-date (and I've been slack keeping up with Cassy's voracious reading, however I know she has recently finished the quirky light read, Crazy Rich Asians before her current darker tome, Richard Flanagan's Narrow Road to the Deep North).

The grey and pink hued swirls of colour permeating the marble of The Duomo in Milan, with their ability to catch the light available and present a different face to the world as the streetlights cut their way through the winter mist, was an awesome first evening sight to behold on our wander in the neighbourhood when we first arrived.

After a seamless connection via Austria Airlines to the gleaming showpiece, Malpensa Airport in Milan, and a ride on the Malpensa Express train and a taxi to our apartment, we took the air in the evening just to explore our immediate environs. Just a turn from our lane into the shoe shopping utopia of Via Torino and a hundred metres stroll had us turn into the Duomo square and before-mentioned magnificence. We wandered the square, marveled at the edifice(and the crowd!) before heading to a nearby supermarket for some breakfast supplies for the next week. No more hotel buffets, we were now in our own slick little Italian apartment for the week!

Our apartment certainly lived up to our expectations. After a week in our beautifully appointed but relatively small hotel in Vienna, we were greeted by our slick, white living spaces with all the mod cons, fully functional apartment with luxurious features. Usually our preference, as it allows us lots of autonomy and forces us to be independent travelers, the apartment came with great advice and a little map of local eateries in the local area (from our host) and all the facilities we could possibly imagine. It was a treat to stay in and come home to: check it out.

The next day, we bit the bullet and joined the long queues to enter The Duomo and associated crypts. Before we got there, we dropped in at the cute Santa Maria Presso San Satiro to view its amazing eye-deceiving trompe l'oeuil. At the square, the security presence was exceptionally large and visible and their efforts, although appreciated, meant long delays entering the church. This is the first building I've seen that I feel can compare favorably with the Taj Mahal in terms of beauty and majesty. It certainly was awe inspiring, the sheer scale of the building, the types and extent of marble present and the intricate carving and positioning of said stone. Even the floors within were a work of art. The intimidating size and grandeur of the place must have kept those Milanese Catholics well in line! Apart from the main building the recently excavated crypt area was fascinating and we'd had our fill before possibly the greatest thrill of all: the stairs to the roof! Despite a crippling wait in the freezing cold (my back was a mess after an hour and a half shuffling in line on the cobblestones), the vistas and architectural details that greeted us made it all worthwhile. The flying buttresses and associated spectacular elements of the roof-line were jaw-dropping, and despite my vertiginous tendencies, the height didn't seem to be too overwhelming. Cass had a ball up here and took about a zillion photos which she only very reluctantly later culled just a little!

After such an assault on all our senses, we were a little giddy and enervated, so decided to wander the famous shopping street, Corso San Emmanuel II before indulging in the first of many meals of purely Italian fare. The pizzas and red wine were superb and we followed them up a little bit further down the street with some mouthwatering giant gelatos in cones. Weirdly, yet not altogether unexpectedly, the pizza's taste was imperceptibly different from our own Pizza Oggi, that of all the certificates and licenses just round the corner from our place here in Taipei. Happy days!

The following day, after a morning coursing through the underground network, missing tram connections out in the suburbs and finally walking miles through flash suburbia, we left behind pretty parks and fountains, ancient water drinking springs and flower stalls to arrive at the rather nondescript shopping warehouse we sought. Inside was designer world of goods, Versace and Armani casually flung over hangers and piled in bins. Cass did her very best to find something she really liked but preferred to "keep her powder dry" for something more amazing further afield. As it turned out I bought an oxymoronic "designer" beanie, which I promptly placed on my head like a flowing tea-cosy for the trip home!

The most amazing afternoon awaited literally just up the road from our apartment. We wandered rooms full of Renaissance masterpieces, including the most exquisite miniature Breughel paintings we'd ever seen. The gallery tour ended however with one of the world's great art treasures, Michelangelo's Portrait of a Musician, along with Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit and a full sized plan by Raphael for his School of Athens masterpiece. Quite overwhelmed by this feast (and the luscious kissing of a male couple doing the rounds of the gallery with us!), we were quite unprepared to then be in the presence of the original drawings for many of Leonardo da Vinci's famous machines, including the plane, helicopter, tank and machine gun. Beautiful, separated page by page from his original manuscripts and individually encased in glass and subtly lit, this was true genius up close. Almost the most stunning aspect was that when we left the exit at the back, we were within 50 metres stroll, in the same lane, of our apartment!

An exploration of the inside galleries of the Castello Sforzesca was an equally incredible experience and despite the rooms full of incredible arms and armour, furniture through the centuries, and musical instruments along with works by Titian and others (including a fresco by Leonardo), it was impossible to compare with Leonardo's last, unfinished, work housed in a purpose reconstructed space within the grounds. Beautifully restored and presented perfectly lit in a long viewing space, the Pieta Rondanini is breathtaking. A subtle calf-high glass barrier surrounds the piece about two meters all around, otherwise you have an uninterrupted 360 degree view of this ultimate work...
A stroll round the Brera district was delightful and full of street art and unplanned street theatre! For such a classy area, we nabbed the best value lunch in Italy: a lasagne and expresso for 6 euros in a backstreet cafeteria...crazy!

A huge day started with a visit to Monastero Maggiore, a church with intricate frescoes on every wall and surface, many done by the famous Luini (one of Cassy's new favourites). His work on Noah's Ark in the back corner is worth the visit alone. Sections of the old town wall and ancient columns and sarcophagus farewelled us casually as we made our way over a few blocks for our appointment at Santa Maria Della Grazie. Arriving early, our guide explained the procedure for us to visit and observe The Last Supper by Leonardo! In groups of just 30, we were allowed entry to the fresco room on condition that we wait in two consecutive airlocked rooms to "de-dust" before entering. In the presence of the great work we were allowed to take non-flash photos (a rule only just allowed in December) and take in the work for just 15 minutes. Our guide's background information was informative and surprising....this work has experienced a lot, including having beer tankards thrown at it by Napoleon's soldiers and being bombed almost into oblivion in World War II! The worst ignominy perpetrated against it however, was someone deciding it would be a good idea to cut a doorway through the wall, losing a precious chunk of it forever.

Not satisfied with this breathless assault on our senses, we then attended the world famous Teatro alla Scala for the ballet that evening! Despite my best efforts and managing to secure tickets online, I was less chuffed when our seats turned out to be in the second most upper tier. Owing to the shape of the theater, we needed to crane our necks to see the full performance, but Cassy assures me it wasn't detrimental to the lavish experience! It really was an amazing thrill to be in this theatre which has been operational since 1778 and is widely known as one of the most famous opera and ballet houses in the world. Our ballet, Cinderella with music by Prokofiev, was indeed another delight, which surprised me a little, I must admit!

Other days were similarly full of activities and wonders, all of which were interspersed by delicious meals in fine restaurants. We managed to eat our fill of pizzas and pastas of all designs and flavours while feasting on local breads, wines and desserts just for fun in between!  A morning in San Ambrogio church was full of history, art and sculpture and we managed to catch the underground all the way over the other side of the city to check the canal network at Navigli and Porto Genoa. We wandered the canals which had been almost as ubiquitous in Milan as Venice before they were mostly filled in for streets. We managed once again to secret ourselves in a fine restaurant for lunch on the edge of the Grand Canal! After we made our way back to the middle of the city, the modern museum of Novocento right on the main square provided hours of stimulating contemporary art highlights before offering us stunning views of the cathedral and central square yet again.

As you can imagine, knowing my darling's life long love affair with Italian shoes, there had been a fair bit of window shopping, spotting, comparing and trying on of shoes and boots during this week: well, now, in our last full day, it seemed it was time to pull the trigger! In what I thought was her most efficient and circumspect shopping effort ever (considering the scope of temptation!), Cass managed to get in, try on and purchase just three pairs of shoes and boots within an hour and a half....what a champion! I really, really expected much worse: the amount didn't really matter, but the time did!

To celebrate we had yet another gourmet meal (!) then headed across town to another sleepy, rich suburb. Here was the Casa Museo Boschide Stefano and it was the perfect way to celebrate the end of our mini love affair with Italy once again. It was an apartment bequeathed to the city as a museum and the art works littered on every wall in every room are sublime examples of early to late 20th century Italian art. Not only that, but every room is draped in light from a Murano glass chandelier and floor lamps and Italian designer lounges and tables are still in situ. It was a special jewel frozen in time!

Oh, what experiences we had during these two weeks! Our time back has been a little difficult as we adjusted again to demands of work: ....Couldn't we just get up at our leisure, have some espresso and panettone before luxuriating in some beautiful renaissance art? Apparently, you need to work hard to be able to afford all those moments: I suppose it's worth it then!

The slide show can be found up top for a week or so and then here. The last photo up top is of our anniversary this weekend....more about that next week!

A more convoluted flight sequence than usual was needed to bring us to Vienna after leaving on Saturday afternoon from Taipei: Kong Kong, Frankfurt then a change to Austrian Airlines to Vienna. A bus from the airport saw us deposited within a 200m stroll from our hotel on a tiny tributary of the Danube, which I'd rather unkindly referred to as a sewer canal on first viewing!

European cities are all vastly different and uniquely their own beasts, but the ties that bind them are familiar enough to let the air escape from travelling lungs and relax upon arrival. Slick airport connections to bustling hubs on cobbled streets, incomprehensibly historical structures sitting casually on every lane and alley and a casual air to the people that quietly screams, "this is a great city and we all know it!"

Cass and I were embarking on another two week Christmas jaunt to European destinations, this time to Austria (Vienna), a side trip to Slovakia (Bratislava), and a re-visit to Italy (Milan). We'd chosen these destinations for partly solid and partly quirky reasons. One of our main criteria since immersing ourselves in the beauty housed within the Musee D'Orsay, The Louvre, Musee Marmottan and others in Paris 20 years ago has been to chase the impossible light of the Impressionists' body of work wherever it may be secreted, and has developed into an appreciation of the Renaissance masters, especially of the Italian and Flemish schools, and the must-see power of contemporary art that a revolutionary Europe has thrown forth in gallery-loads since the liberation of many countries from communist regimes.

These destinations could slake our thirst for such art, as well as impress with their building's beauty, pedigree and volume and take us to places we've always wanted to visit in romantic winter settings: like the Musikverein in Vienna and the oldest opera house in the world, Teatro alla Scala, in Milan. Cass ticked off a few more items on her list with these visits, plus an ethereal experience of listening to the Vienna Boys' Choir singing in their ancient chapel on Christmas morning.

After being underwhelmed by the quality of the Air BnB offerings in our preferred sections of Vienna we researched some hotels. Our choice, the Capricorno, was a delightful haven from the winter chill at the end of busy days and lived up to its four star standard with beautiful modern details in a compact room and a sensational comprehensive breakfast to start our travelling legs on the right foot each day. We quickly descended into the subway system with a station right in front of the hotel (deliberately chosen!) and figured out the lines, ticketing and system. Another thing that we've usually found is that the subway is the hidden gem for tourists rather than the sometimes erratic service and destinations of trams and buses. It proved to be the same here in Vienna and the lines neatly quartered the city and environs. The city proper ended up being so compact that we chose to walk home a lot of the time, basking in the street theatre and knowing the 30-40 minute walk wouldn't get the cold seeping through the clothing barriers!

Centred on the majestic, soaring St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna was a fairytale city of monumental buildings on an epic scale in terms of size, majesty and sheer numbers. If it wasn't the matching mirror image art galleries  and history museums it was the Hapsburg's city palace or the Town Hall or Parliament House, each a destination in and of itself. Dotted between the great edifices were perfectly maintained parks and gardens, fountains spurting mists on vistas of grand statues and sculpture and a populace quite intent on enjoying the beautiful holiday atmosphere as every spare space had been quite magically transformed into a Christmas Market.

We wandered and "oohed" and "aahed" through many of these markets by night and day. The products were, in the main, top quality goods unlike the junk foisted on people elsewhere in the world. There was an emphasis on clever arts and crafts and the stalls housed many different items from decorations to pottery to jewelry and of course, food and drink. A piping hot orangen punsch with or without a massive German hotdog with mustard was a "go-to" for me and Cassy had her fill of giant potatoes with exotic toppings!

We had primo seats on the first night for a performance of Hayden and Mozart at the Musikverien. It was quite a surreal experience to be in this most famous performance centre with conductor Markus Landerer and with our special view of the entire orchestra and soloists. It is an intimate and rich space, a very special vibe. On Christmas Day we arrived at the 14th century chapel in the Hapsburg Palace to be ushered into our special seats in the front section. We attended the entire mass (Mum, you'll be excited to hear) but all responses from the congregation were sung in the most ethereal manner by the Vienna Boys' Choir. Hidden away in the high landings they were heard and not seen, but it was an amazing treat and one we'll never forget. The beautiful voices of the soloists are impossible to describe but we did feel like we were floating down a warm, chocolate river! I took a sneaky video when they were warming up, which will give you some idea of the sounds to come....

On most days, we'd head out with a vague plan of attack, but quite prepared to deviate completely if the whim took us, which it quite often did! One of the very few "organized" adventures was a little quirky but proved to be a real winner and lots of fun. We went on a "polawalk" which involved using vintage Polaroid cameras to take shots of the city on a walking tour with a guide. Our small group met at the owner's apartment where he explained the intricacies of using the cameras effectively (not as easy as you might imagine). Our small group of five headed out loaded with black and white film (best for the cold weather) and Thomas took us to various locations round the city where we could take some good shots. These included the aforementioned buildings, parks and markets giving us a great idea and feel for the city. We ended the three hours with a hot punschen (of course!), our own polaroid photos and a recommendation from local Thomas of the best schnitzel in town....score!

The art highlights were too many to mention, but we unexpectedly stumbled on a boutique serving of Monets and Picassos at the Albertina amongst a massive collected body of works by Munch. Expecting it to be just a few paintings we were staggered by the scope of the former, room after room full of these artist's (some seminal) works and fine Fauvist paintings scattered in-between. Cass just wanted to take home one of the Picasso plates! Edvard Munch has a much wider oeuvre than "The Scream" might indicate: there were just so many examples of his different wood block prints and a contemporary feel for works finished in the century before last.

The Kunsthistorische, one of the mirror image museums in the museum quarter was an amazing structure inside and out. Grand stairways and hallways led to giant vaulted rooms with impossibly high ceilings, each of which had been draped in a bold, rich colour to further highlight its treasures. Viscous, blood red walls fell with horrific, biblical beheadings and disciple intrigue by Caravaggio and deep, royal blue rooms were awash with Rueben's delicate nudes while Titian's stern black cloaked young men were backdropped in sombre hues of forest green. Each room was curated quite brilliantly and colour matched to the vibe oozing from the walls.

We spent a full day at the Schonbrunn Palace and marvelled yet again at the riches and excesses of the Hapsburgs. Their collections somehow managed to remain virtually intact, probably because of the sheer volume of the treasure. We wandered the grounds and parks and even Cassy mentioned the verb, "enduring" when talking about the palace rooms. There's only so much regal luxury one can accommodate at any given time!

We ventured to yet another Hapsburg palace, The Belvedere, to soak in Austria's famous son, Gustav Klimt, and an incredible array of his works amongst yet more impressionist masters works and a smattering of the great French impressionists and post-impressionists. Klimt's most famous works still housed in Europe (missing of course, the famous "Woman in Gold" repatriated to rightful owners in the States after Nazi looting) were there, including the jaw-dropping "The Kiss" and "Judith". Works by Schiele and Kokoschka in the lower palace were equally impressive and I've really taken to Kokoschka as one of my new favourites.

In 1896, Klimt and six other frustrated artists formed the breakaway "Secession" and an amazing space was built to house their art, one which still dazzles with its contemporary design today. The gargantuan, gilded leaf dome glitters on top of the building today just a skip and a stroll from the Opera House and must have looked like an alien spaceship when horses and carts trundled by in its infancy! It houses interesting contemporary art on the upper floors, but the purpose built vaulted ceilinged basement hosts the Beethoven frieze in perpetuity. What a delight to gaze upon this masterpiece in situ after extensive care and restoration. Its soaring power assaults from a 4m height, the long walls 17m each and the short wall 6m, the public able to gaze upon all aspects of the work in an uninterrupted manner, owing to its high placement on the walls.

I was determined to eat a schnitzel every day we were in Austria but I didn't quite manage it! With all the other delicious offerings, it just wasn't possible. We (yes, we!) did indulge on three separate occasions however. After our aforementioned tip from Thomas we went twice to Plachutta's Gasthaus zur Oper, and I'll let this little spiel do my talking. Suffice to say...best ever, by a long way!

Our other contemporary art fix came in two visits: one to the unlikely haunt of the Hapsburgs furniture museum. After viewing the exquisite furnishing from the Sissi apartments, we ventured further to Austrian contemporary furniture and a special exhibition on light, "Lightopia" which was fascinating. It, in turn, saw us venturing to new parts of town and new sights on the street. The MUMOK was a five storey dedicated space with so much space, it must be the envy of art galleries everywhere. It enabled pieces to be displayed in wonderful open settings and gave the public plenty of room to move around and interact with the works. It was enormous and we were quite physically exhausted, yet mentally invigorated, when we exited.


I'm afraid, as I suspected, that I've been both unable to be succinct and equally unable to adequately describe our experience! Bratislava awaits, as does Milan....if you're game, tune in next week for the rest!

Slideshow of Vienna is up top for now, or here more permanently. I've also taken a slew of videos: I intend to post one each week in a most annoying fashion for the foreseeable future!