By Silvia Artaza from gastronomistas

We thought we’d fly to the Austrian capital to discover those routes that take us beyond the city’s glittering imperial and classical legacy, beyond St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and the giant ferris wheel in the Prater park. And to be sure, we found streets, neighbourhoods, and very modern projects un which all sorts of interestingly hip restaurants have sprung up, many of them quite wunderbar.

Naschmarkt and Freihausviertel

We began our tour in the Naschmarkt, the city’s best-known food market, which has become a meeting spot for all sorts of people. It’s the place to buy fruit and vegetables, but also to sample exotic cooking from all over the world, as more and more eating places are to be found amongst the market’s 120 stalls. Particularly noteworthy are Neni, with dishes from Israel and the Orient, and the “ecological” cuisine of Tewa. But the best approach is to walk around the market with your nose on the alert for the aromas that most strike your fancy. There are even more places to eat on the streets near the market, such as the spectacular On Market, specialising in Asian food, or the Café Amacord, for Viennese treats in a setting heavy with local atmosphere.

Leaving Naschmarkt, we headed for Schleifmühlgasse to find a street that is also famous for small, exquisite Indie restaurants with very tempting fare behind the show windows. One such is Babette's, a shop selling cookbooks, spices, and other items where hot food is also served, and then there’s Coté Sud with its tasty French dishes. More temptations await you on other streets of the Freihausviertel son interesantes en la ruta.

Karmelitermarkt

Like Naschmarkt, another market taking on a whole new life is Karmelitermarkt, on the other side of the Danube in District 2 (Leopoldstadt). Check out Schöne Perle, with its home-cooking interpretation of traditional Viennese cuisine, and the organic, seasonal fare offered at Zimmer 37, There are many more surprises for you on the lively, nearby streets of Praterstraβe and Leopoldsgasse.

MuseumsQuartier

Another spot worth a visit it MuseumsQuartier (MQ), a cultural enclave with numerous museums and exhibitions of a wide variety of artistic disciplines, and also brimming with the most inviting cafes and restaurants. In the courtyard, mulled wine is served these days at the Christmas market, to the music of a DJ, and in the summers you can even rent hammock space there for serious chilling. Glacis Beisl, though almost hidden in the rear part of MQ, is usually fully booked by people anxious to partake of its local and international dishes at very affordable prices in a pleasant atmosphere. If you can get a table, this is a great place to eat after a morning visiting museums.

Spittelberg

Jus behind MuseumsQuartieris the charmingly Bohemian Spittelberg, consisting of a few cobbled streets enclosed by Burgasse, Breite Gasse, Sigmundsgasse and Mariahilter. Here you’ll find a wide choice of dining options, amongst then Amerlingbeisl with its lovely courtyard, Das Möbel with its original furniture, and all for sale, Die Burgermacher for delicious hamburgers and also vegetarian dishes and a fresh “special of the day”, and Trattoria da Paolo & Anna a small Italian restaurant with chequered tablecloths and delicious food.

And if you come at Christmas time…

At Spittelberg you’ll find one of the city’s best Christmas markets, specialising in handcrafted items. Another busy and festive Christmas market is that of Rathausplatz, with 150 stalls selling decorations, gifts, and sweets treats of every variety. You should try the hot wine (Glünwein) and the Viennese pasty –you can’t leave Vienna without sampling the Apfelstrudel, and here you’ll find it at its very best.

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¡Kalinka, Kalinka, Kalinka moyá! Can't get Tetri´s song out of your head? Easy..., the same thing happens to us as well. We have just landed in Moscow and we are going to eat a lot! Going out in Moscow and try some restaurants can be an amazing and enriching experience where you will discover both the delicious flavors of Russian cuisine and customs of the Russians, which may seem a little peculiar.

The dishes of Russian cuisine are usually quite caloric, due to the harsh winters where greater caloric intake is needed. The Russians give much importance to the ritual of food and like to make life around the stove.

A typical meal starts with a Russian zakuski (appetizers) that can be salads, and small plates of pickled fish like pod Seliódka shuboi (herring coat) or a pirogi (dumplings) meat with vegetables, and always accompanied by a good shots of vodka.

As is typical starter soups, both hot and cold in winter and summer. Russian soups are very strong and more than a starter for us are almost a full meal, since all carry vegetables, meat, chicken, fish ... The most popular are the borsch, made of beets, cabbage, potato and meat; and solianka, made of meat or fish, with an acidic due to the lemmon they put on it. Another soup is shi made ​​of cabbage and Uja, made of fish.

Main courses can be stroganoff meat, shasliki (a typical meat kebabs from Caucasus), golubtsi (cabbage leaves stuffed with meat) or the dish we liked the most: pelmeni (a kind of Russian ravioli filled with meat, potato or vegetable)

Many dishes can be served with smetana, a sour cream sauce flavored particular that we loved. The most popular drink in Russia, in spite of the general though, it's not the vodka but the tea. For dessert, along with tea, you can taste some delicious blini (pancakes) or marlenka cake, something like a strudel.

My-My

At Mu-Mu restaurants they serve typical Russian food. It is a self-service restaurant with tiny portions, so it is ideal to try different dishes. They are very popular among Muscovites and it is well priced.

Jachapuri,10 Bolshoi Gnezdnikovsky per.

It is a nice and central Georgian food restaurant. The food is very good and it is not too expensive. Totally recommended.

Pushkin Cafe, Tverskoy bulvar, 26A

It is considered the best restaurant in Moscow. It is a nice vintage place, very well preserved where can you can taste high level dishes of the Russian cuisine. Good service and medium-high but reasonable price.

A couple of features to consider when venturing out for lunch or dinner in Moscow: dinner can be served until the minute they close the place, but they will not wait until you finish the meal, so if you do not want to have to swallow all in five minutes, we recommend not arrive too late. Russians do not like you to pay them with coins, so if you're planning to spend those last loose rubles at a dinner, do better buying souvenirs in Red Square, or you will receive disapproving look from the waiter.

Приятного аппетита!!

By Nadia Polo

solianka by Шнапс | stroganoff by Pittaya Sroilong | zakuski by Timothy Post | pelmeni by Bernd Hutschenreuther

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Some airlines let you bring your pet on board: dogs, cats, birds (except birds of prey), fish or terrapins. Vueling is a pet-friendly airline and makes sure that pets travel as comfortably as possible. But there are some rules, and we tell you about them in this post!

There is an easy solution for those of us who can’t bear to part with our furry friends: we can take them with us when we travel! That way they will also be in all our holiday photos!

It’s possible to beat the January blues. Travel somewhere sunny or cosmopolitan, somewhere full of art, history, nature, mysticism...