Reka and the Chocolate Factory

“Inside this room, all of my dreams become realities, and some of my realities become dreams. And, almost everything you'll see is eatable, edible, I mean, you can eat almost everything.” /Willy Wonka/


Josef Zotter, the man behind the Zotter Chocolate Factory in Riegersburg, Austria is almost as mad as Willy Wonka of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. His creations are filled with the most unusual flavors like marinated plums with caramelized bacon, nougat with pork crackling, candied cranberry with porcini mushroom or alpine cheese with grapes and walnut. In his Chocolate Theatre, you can see how his chocolate (certified organic and fair trade) is made from bean to bar and have the opportunity to taste all of their products and can compare chocolate (flowing from chocolate fountains) for cocoa content from 10% up to 100%. The funniest part is the drinking chocolate tasting, because the bars are coming out in chairlifts circulating all around the room. The final tasting station is where chocolate bits of different flavors go around on a conveyor belt and you can sample them all.



I also love the packaging of Zotter chocolates; Andreas H. Gratze is in charge of the visual design and his whimsical, quirky graphics make every Zotter bar “an expedition into the realm of the senses”.

Sleep Mode

With the onset of winter, some animals hibernate, which means that they go into a deep, long sleep to escape the cold and conserve energy when food is short. Some of the most well-known hibernators are badgers, bats, chipmunks, dormice, frogs, hamsters, hedgehogs, skunks, snakes, turtles and bears. However, others stay active all through the winter and if you keep your eyes open for signs of animal life during your walks, you can see for yourself that not all of them disappear on the approach of cold weather. But for the rest of them, I wish sweet dreams until 2010.
Below you can see some winter-active animals I’ve recently spotted when being out.

November Rain

November is a rainy month. Rainy and windy. The strong wind annihilated my automatic fold-up umbrella (mine was not the only one actually, on my way home I saw so many of them thrown into dust bins, beaten by the weather) so I decided to buy a new one that is more massive and does not get blown open by the wind all the time. I love how cheerful it looks, it is ideal for anyone who wants to add some fun to the gloomy, rainy days. If stormy weather surprises you, just out of the blue, instead of getting grumpy from getting soaked in the rain, wrap your wet hair in a cute towel. And one will not be able to stop laughing at the clouds so dark up above…

No matter what the elements throw at you, these ultimate rain-beaters keep you dry and add a splash of color to your wardrobe:

showerproof mac Anthropologie
rubber boots Spiegelburg
umbrella Umbrella Society
rain hat Tamara Henriques

The Kleine Zeitung Project

In October, Kleine Zeitung launched a competition for their readers to design creative, quirky job ads for any of the three positions (project manager, graphic designer, cook) given by them. The deadline to enter was 7th November and I just mailed my creation. The three best ideas will be presented at the Closing Ceremony of the Job & Karriere Award and the winners will have a chance to take home some fantastic prizes.
Wish me luck, will you?

Graduation Ceremony

It is official now; last Friday I physically received my Translation and Interpretation Diploma. I actually rushed to the departmental ceremony held at the university from a real-life interpreting. Honestly, I wish I could be as good in real-world deployment scenarios as I was at school. Oh well, there’s still a long way to go. Interpreting can pose so many unforeseen challenges that just take one by surprise. Here it is how bad it can get: A bit of Fry and Laurie – European Deal

Then I was treated to a Japanese dinner at my favorite sushi place. I had mizo soup, tuna maki, California rolls, and a bento filled with maki, fried chicken, Japanese potato salad and pickles. I had no space left for dessert. At home I could somehow manage though to have some of the chestnut cake sitting in the fridge.

This will be my next big cooking adventure: Making sushi at home