A lovely little place to stay in Vienna… Springer Apartments!

You can’t find it on AirBnB. Neither can you find it in Tripadvisor. Hence my post on here. But this is a gem of a place right in the heart of the diplomatic district of Vienna. It is less than a minutes’ walk to the HaupBhanoff station. To call it a station is an understatement. Technically it is a giant shopping mall in which you can also catch trains. It has a lovely super market, food court, all types of clothing stores as well as a star bucks. This place is like a little self-contained universe. I could not think of a more conveniently located digs.
The apartment that I stayed in was lovely. It was large, comfortable as well as very artistically designed. And it had everything which would help me to live comfortable including fridge, oven, washing machine toaster and even a dish washer.
There was one down side. Which is that they don’t clean the place till you leave and you have to remove your own garbage. Similar establishments I have stayed in before clean apartments once a week and remove the garbage for you daily.
But to be honest I didn’t mind cleaning a bit myself because the apartment even comes with a vacuum cleaner.
And the best part is that I paid less than 50 Euros a day as I stayed here for over three weeks. I am posting some pics from their website which is here.
I sincerely hope that someone out there found this information useful. J

The Power of perception!

Actually the heading “The problem of perception” would have been better suited for this post. Whilst thinking of how to start this post my thoughts took a trip down memory lane. It was to an advertising campaign done by the Rolling Stone magazine. Not to sell more magazines. But rather to educate potential clients that their perception of the magazine’s audience has transformed over time.
Well my encounter with wrong perception happened with Cake and pies and all things nice.
We all know that Mitsi’s is a place which is renowned for their delicious cakes and other sweet treats. In fact their reputation for dessert was so strong that I never thought they did any other type of dishes. Boy wasn’t I wrong. 

Mixed Grill

Grilled Cheese quite delicous!

Recently I was taken there for lunch and much to my delight I realized that they have an amazing range of savory and meat dishes. Quite similar to German Restaurant. We had a mixed grill which was really out of this world. Though it is not the typical portion served in local restaurants with a fried egg on top. Regardless it was wonderful. Some of their other dishes were also pretty good such as their grilled cheese. Overall I was quite impressed with the food as well as the price which was far easier on the purse than the trusty German Restaurant. However there is one fly in the ointment which is that they don’t have any pork dishes available out of respect for their muslim clients I guess. Regardless of this I am looking to explore the menu further with great relish. Expect more posts on the savory delights at Mitsis.

One of the loveliest places to have a beer….

What an amazing view

 I rarely drink beer these days. But that doesn’t stop me from making notes of ideal places to have a beer when I am travelling.
Guess old habits die hard.
We were at the tail end of a thousand kilometer road trip and making our way from Tangalle to Matara in order to enter the high way.
I wonder if you have ever noticed the beautiful stretch of beach which greets you as you take the bend passing Tangalle town? . It always amazes me that a beach in such close proximity to a town could look so untouched.
I have noticed it many times. And each time I pass it I say damn I wish I could sit here and chill for a while; sipping on a beer.
Now they have a shop. And they have beer! And one of the loveliest and windiest sit out areas with a magnificent view.
But the good news stops their.
The food is horribly expensive. The menu doesn’t have that much variety. And the quality of the food and cooking quite poor for the money they charge.

Horribley expensive less than average food. The cuttle fish in the pic was meant to be hot butter cuttle fish

The next time I pass this place I am still going to stop. As the view is too good to be avoided. But I shall sit and consume only a drink and go for lunch elsewhere. So my stomach will not accuse me of torture.
I believe they also have a few rooms to let on top of the premises. I must say it would be heavenly to wake up in the morning and admire the view with strong gusts of wind brushing against your body. Well it does seem like a dream as long as you don’t have your meals there. In that case it would turn into a nightmare.
The name of the place is called “Emmalaya rockview” and you can find them on TripAdvisor.

The comfort of your presence....

The comfort of your presence...

sometimes it's all I need....

just to feel you close....

so eyes can meet via mirrors

making soft lips transform into a smile

even though rarely a word is exchanged

it makes me feel warm inside.

Isn't Karma a Bitch

"Oh goodness these Sri Lankan men are useless!"
"I will never even associate with any one from Sri Lanka - even though I am Sri Lankan"!
"These people don't even know how to loving or be romantic"
"Or even how to make love properly".
"I want to marry a Sudda (foriegner)".
This was the constant stream of drivel which was spewing out of the mouth of a certain lady I know. And yes she got involved with a white guy which made her even prouder and more arrogant as she strutted around insulting the entire male population of our country.
Unfortunately for her the white guy turned out to be one of these confidence tricksters who tricked her out of over 5000 euros.
For someone who was constantly complaining about the lack of sexual prowess of the Sri Lankan male she certainly got screwed. :)

Island Mentality!

"Every one wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die". This was a phrase I came across many many years ago.
And it crept back into my thoughts as I was contemplating on how to handle a situation I am facing right now.
I have realized that this is true with a lot of people. They want the best of what an organisation can give them but yet don't want to put in the effort required to achieve it. Some call this "The island mentality". Apparently most people who are in islands are like this. Lazy and lackadaisical with no energy to motivate themselves to get their asses in to gear. The laid back attitude of Jamaicans and people from Philippines being a good point of reference. Coming to think of it these same people who seem lifeless over here in Sri Lanka transform themselves to bundles of energy the moment they migrate to another country. Though Australia and UK too are islands. Guess it has to be called the "tropical island mentality". As someone said it is the salt in the air. Just like it corrodes metals it seems to be corroding certain peoples brains.

Emptiness...

He sits quietly in front of his computer…

A luminous square of nothing staring back at him.

Urging him… no challenging him to write something.

He types… then deletes it.

He types again… and deletes once more.

The past few hours have been a constant cycle of typing and deleting.

Someone has told him that he needs to open up.

Be more personal. Show more emotion.

But how does one describe emptiness? How can one define it?

It has no size or texture.

No form or color.

But it is ever present.

It blocks out the sunshine of a beautiful morning.

It sucks out the joy of victory

It is sitting next to you in the passenger seat... silently…..

Transforming a delightful drive into an arduous journey….

It sitting behind you at meetings… lying next to you in your bed…

Even accompanying you to the shower….

It is not a sickness so you cannot treat it…

It does not have form so you can’t fight it.

It is everywhere… It is in everything….



But it is nothing.