Dinner in the City –Getting to Know The Others

Last night we had a fine dinner at an old restaurant in the city. It was Landhaus-Keller, which means ‘government building’s cellar’ and the food was excellent. It included Austrian specialties like boiled beef, super tender beef raised up in the mountains that comes with a cream sauce. Also, we had pumpkin soup and others had a chanterelle soup, which was light and pungent. We sat in the back in a huge square table, and we got a chance to get to know each other.

Some times on a press trip, these moments never come, or are awkward and one person becomes a boor or never shuts up. I am pleased that this group is not like that, it’s a good mix and interesting people with something to say and interest in listening. There’s Adam, editor of Sherman’s Travel in NYC; Latti, who was born in Ethiopia, raised in France, and who has a company that makes boutique vodka in LA with her husband; Ginger, an full time freelance writer who is from Florida and who spent years in DC doing radio and publicity and now has great stories to tell, and finally, Kim, from Boston who is managing editor of Boston Spirit magazine. All four have stories to tell and no egos that get in the way of being interesting.

After enjoying dinner and Styrian wines, we went out to have a few more beers. Our guide Teresa took us to a place called M-1, where we took an elevator up to the fifth floor. Emerging from the elevator, it was a candlelit cool bar with loud but good music, and we found some seats at a banquet. There we talked about US politics and agreed that it’s a pity that no Democrats have emerged yet to challenge the right.

We agreed to get up early and go check out the farmer’s market in town. We also agreed that if somebody didn’t make it, we wouldn’t hold it against them.