Fashion show! Fashion show! Fashion show at lunch!

As you are probably aware, Europe is on the cutting-edge of the fashion industry. If you want to know what's going to be fashionable in the U.S. in the near future, you just need to know what's in fashion in Europe right now. Fortunately for you, dear readers, I'm going to pass along a must-have for this season's fashion. No, it's not the boondoggle key chain. Are you ready for it?

Flags!

That's right, flags are all the rage right now in Vienna. They're so versatile.

One can be worn as a belt.


Or as a sarong or skirt.


Then there's the toga-style.


And one of the most fashionable ways to wear the flag this season is as a cape. That way, you can show your support for your favorite team and fight crime at the same time.




Now, normally when fashion moves from Europe to the U.S. it is tweaked slightly. So you may not see people wearing actual flags as an accessory in the U.S. However, I predict that by Friday, you'll see a lot of folks wearing clothing with an image of the U.S. flag. Come Friday, even you may be wearing an image of the flag.

Wild and crazy guys

Right now, Germany and Spain are playing the championship game of the Europameisterschaft, or the Euro Cup, or Euro2008, or whatever you want to call it. Even though I haven't really been interested in the games, I've enjoyed all of the festivities surrounding the games. Today after church, Brian and I wandered around the city center a bit before heading home. And let me tell you, there was a lot of craziness going on.

First, we stopped by these huge soccer cleats that are display in MuseumsQuartier. I just wanted a quick photo for Almost Daily Vienna, but we ran into this a lot of cheering fans near the Germany and Spain cleats. Here you can see a little bit of the madness as the Germany fans (standing in front of the soccer ball) and the Spain fans (standing next to the Spain cleat) try to out-cheer each other.


As we neared the city center, we heard more crowds chanting for their team. Near Stephansplatz, we saw a large group of Germany fans cheering for their team.



We also saw another group making a lot of noise, but we I couldn't tell which team they were representing.

The nice things

My sister Amber has started a craft business. She makes hair bows, applique shirts and onesies and other girly things. And right now, she's offering buy one, get one half off on all items.

So go check it out. All Things Nice.

Swan river

It's been pretty warm here lately, so Brian and I decided to make our first trip this summer to the river. We found a nice shady area and settled in. That's when I noticed a lovely swan family just a little ways down the river.


Alas, they were just a little too far away to get a nice photo. Brian and I enjoyed the cool water. Sharkdog, not so much. He's not really a water dog. But he does look good sitting next to the water.


A little later, the swans decided the grass looked tastier near where we were sitting. I was quite excited to see they were coming our direction.


Have you ever watched a swan swim? Half the time, they were swimming like this:


See the little foot sticking up? I think they had their bodies twisted so one foot was in the water and the other one was not. You can see the same thing going on with the mama swan in the top photo. Do ducks swim like this as well? It made the swans very effective at moving sideways.

They were all nice and cute until they actually got to where we were sitting. Then Papa Swan started hissing at us. Hissing! It was the most terrifying Anatidae experience of my life.


I tried to get a video of the hissing, but he was almost finished with us by the time I turned on the video, so doesn't sounds all that scary. And I don't want you thinking I am a sissy. Trust me, it's a threatening hiss.

Finally, Papa Swan was satisfied that we weren't going to attack them (though I'm pretty sure Sharkdog wanted to play with them), and he let Mama Swan and Baby Swans enjoy the lush green grass. After they noshed on the grass for a while, they headed off into the sunset. Well, not so much into the sunset, but they headed off nonetheless.


After the whole hissing incident, I was rather happy to see them go.

Jammen

For those of you trying to keep up, here's something else to add to your list of things to learn in order to be like Alisha: how to make jam. In all fairness, I think it's significantly easier in Austria because they have this lovely sugar that contains pectin, so that takes a lot of the scariness out of canning.

Let's start at the beginning. Last week, one of Amanda's neighbors invited her over to show her how to make jam. Now, this woman called it marmalade, but when I looked up the difference between "marmalade" and "jam", I realized what they made was actually jam. After a little more research, I discovered that the English word "marmalade" is translated to "Orangenmarmelade" in German. And the German word "Marmelade" is translated to "jam" in English. I also learned that "jammen" is the German verb "to jam". That's not really related to the food jam, but I found it amusing.

So, Amanda learned to make jam from her neighbor last week and she taught me how to make jam this week. Now I must teach someone how to make the jam within the next week. It's the David Watson method of jam-making. (I know that only a handful of people are going to get that joke, so don't worry if the last sentence didn't make any sense.)

Here goes... How to make strawberry jam.

Start with fresh strawberries. I bought some of these from the Naschmarkt and the rest from the grocery store. The ones from the Naschmarkt were definitely better (looking and tasting), so next time I'll make sure to get enough from there. And while I was at the Naschmarkt, I took a few photos for Almost Daily Vienna. They'll show up over the next few days.

Let's get started. (Have I said that already?) Wash the berries.


Next, hull and slice the strawberries.


Then, add a little water to a large pot (enough to cover the bottom) and toss in the strawberries. Bring to a boil over a medium high heat while occasionally stirring and mashing the fruit. The juices will be released as it heats up. When it becomes juicy, add gelling sugar.

I had never heard of gelling sugar before and I don't know if it's available in the U.S. It's sugar that contains pectin (to gel) and citric acid (to preserve). When I googled it, the first site returned was a store in the U.S. (German Deli) selling the imported German brand, so it may be hard to come by in the U.S.


After it cooks a bit more, pour the hot jam into sterilized jars. I washed my jars in the dishwasher and then popped them in the oven for a few minutes to sterilize them. Put the lid on, then let them set overnight. Amanda's neighbor's grandmother used to always wrap her warm jars in a blanket so they would take longer to cool down. Neither Amanda nor I knew the reason for this, but we did it anyways.


My 7 cups of sliced strawberries made 5 jars of jam. I think I may try to make jam with other fruits

ich bin ein Wiener *

I've been wanting to use that title for a while now... Ever since I read a Wiki article about JFK's speech in West Berlin where he made his famous "ich bin ein Berliner" statement. Have you ever heard that Kennedy made a grammatical mistake and accidentally called himself a jelly doughnut instead of a citizen of Berlin? Well, I had never heard it either. But apparently that rumor is going around. And it's wrong. Wiki can explain it better than I can:

According to an urban legend that is both completely untrue and practically unknown in Germany,Kennedy made a slightly embarrassing grammatical error by saying "Ich bin ein Berliner," referring to himself not as a citizen of Berlin, but as a common pastry:

Kennedy should have said "Ich bin Berliner" to mean "I am a person from Berlin." By adding the indefinite article "ein", his statement implied he was a non-human Berliner, thus "I am a jelly doughnut".

The legend stems from a play on words with Berliner, the name of a doughnut variant filled with jam or plum sauce that is thought to have originated in Berlin.

In fact, Kennedy's statement is both grammatically correct and perfectly idiomatic, and cannot be misunderstood in context. The urban legend is prevalent only in English-speaking countries but largely unknown in Germany, where Kennedy's speech is considered a landmark in the country's postwar history. The indefinite article "ein" can be and often is omitted when speaking of an individual's profession or residence but is necessary when speaking in a figurative sense as Kennedy did. Since the president was not literally from Berlin but only declaring his solidarity with its citizens, "Ich bin Berliner" would not have been correct.

So there you go. The next time you're at a soiree and someone starts in on what a fool JFK made of himself in Berlin, you can set that person straight and turn them into the fool.

Now all of that was just introduction. Let's get to the point. Why would I say, "ich bin ein Wiener? Drumroll, please.

I got my residency permit today! (Brian too.) We're now official (and legal) residents of Vienna. And it only took about a year.

* For all you German-speaking folks out there, yes, I know that "ein Wiener" is masculine. But I figured that if I named this post "ich bin eine Wienerin," no one would start an urban legend that I called myself a hot dog.

A new apron

It arrived! The apron from the Summer Fun Apron Swap hosted by A Feathered Nest.


I love it. It arrived with an adorable cupcake pincushion (which I haven't photographed). I couldn't be happier. You can see some better pictures of the apron along with a photo of the cupcake pincushion and the tag at Yonnie at Home. And don't just look at that entry, spend a little time on the blog. She makes the cutest crochet baby booties and she has some really cute tutorials.

Thanks Yoonie!