Field trip for Chocoholics
If you are passionate about chocolate, just curious about the newest coffeehouse in the district or if you fancy a Belgian beer: mark your calendar on Thursday the 25. of August. We will meet for a try out visit in the recently opened Zart Pralinen & café in Staatz. We will meet at 10:00 a.m.at the Burgring 17 in 2134 Staatz. Please let me know if you are coming at livinginmistelbach@hotmail.com , as there is only a limit of places.
Hope to see you there!
Martine Roovers
Add comment August 14th, 2011
When I lived in Prague and started to understand some words in the for me very complicated Czech language, I imagined to hear some familiar german or english sounds in the conversations around me. Some examples: krosovat (to cross), flek (germ.:Fleck), haksna (germ.:Haxe), plac (germ.: Platz), hajzl (germ.: Häusl=Toilette), Oberkašpar. Like in every living language these are common international influences. In the Wine District the Czech language plays a role in f.e.cooking terms. This is not a modern movement but it originates in the 19th Century when a wave of Czech servants and craftsmen were working in Vienna. Some examples that you maybe have heard or seen on the menu: Karfiol (karfiol), Kukuruz (kukuřice), Palatschinken (palačinky), Kren (křen), Zwetschken (švestky), Pomerantsche (pomeranče) , Powidl (povidla), Schmetten (smetana). I suppose there are more czech words circulating in our region. Please let me know and we will continue the list.
So on New Year´s Day we eat lentil soup. This “lucky” dish will bring us enough money in the new year (because lentils supposedly look like coins). Also, we do not do any laundry on New Year’s Day, lest a member of the family be ‘ washed away’ (die) in the upcoming months.For more New Year´s beliefs 
Thanks to these ladies (and 3 others who had to work that day) we had a successful cookies exchange party in the beginning of December.
This afternoon we decided to repeat a trip that we did on Easter Sunday this year. I remember to enjoy the first spring sun than. It was sunny again today (maybe one of the last warm days before the cold comes). The walk starts on the market square of Retz. In October almost every weekend there is a wine tasting going on on this place. You just follow the signs “Windmühle” and you will find yourself passing a romantic church, the backyard of the Hotel Retzerhof, some Heuriger and at last you will stand in the middle of the vinyards of Retz, where the windmill appears in front of you. On top of the hill, there is another winery where we had a glass of white wine from the region.On our way to Retz (coming from Laa an der Thaya) we met a lot of trucks full of grapes as it is harvest time now. The region of Retz is also well known for his pumpkins. We passed fields full of orange-green pumpkins ready to pick.
