My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

AUSTRIA | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [502] | View Smaller Image

For a light lunch I wanted to try a local speciality. This lady is preparing fresh potato chips at one of the Advent Market stalls. The machine she was using was quite intriguing - a fresh, uncooked potato is inserted into an oval hollow and pressed down with the movable piece at the top. It is spun through a series of sharp blades and cut very thinly into a spiral, which falls into the large metal platter below. The whole thing is then deep-fired and put into a paper cone. What I found amusing are the size options mentioned on the plaque on the right: "Vü" or "sehr Vü". This is an Austrian dialect for "a lot" or "very a lot". I had "a lot".

Tags: potato, chips, austria, st. gilgen, shop, stand, stall, market, christmas, advent

As I ventured further into the town of St. Gilgen, I stumbled upon a small Advent Market. It was mid-day and the streets were quite empty, but the stalls were all open and I had a little browse to see what I could find to put under the Christmas tree back home. This decorative toy, hanging from the ceiling of one of the stands made me feel like I was him - up in the mountains hunting for a bargain. This stand was particularly well decorated, and sold some of the most intricate nativity scenes and religious dolls I've ever seen.

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Eventually I reached the shores of lake Wolfgang and was greeted with a magnificent view of the mountains shining though the clearing clouds .The sun was setting and gave the peaks a magical yellow hue, while the lake was crystal clear emerald, despite the surprisingly large number of ships… This must have been a patrol boat arriving from another town on the lake.

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My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

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