Singapore "The Lion City". A fantastic time lapse short film

Sydney photographer and filmmaker Keith Loutit is known as the pioneer of the tilt-shift / time-lapse technique. He was the first to recognize how time and focus combine to support the powerful illusion of miniaturization in film.
In his scaled down and sped up realities, real world subjects become their miniature counterparts. Boats bob like toys in a bathtub, cars race like slot-cars, and crowds march as toy armies. Loutit's aim is create a sense of wonder in our surroundings by "challenging people's perceptions of scale, and helping the viewer to distance themselves from places they know well".

It all looks so unreal, so Playmobil if you will, but amazing.

The F1 Circus is back in town!

The Formula One Singapore Grand Prix continues to enthrall spectators with its exciting mix of adrenaline pumping night racing along public roads combined with non-stop live entertainment and unrivaled corporate hospitality services. 

Fernando Alonso comes to Singapore as the World Championship leader  37 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton who is only separated by 1 point from Kimi Raikkonen and 2 from Sebastian Vettel.
These facts promise exciting and tuff races this weekend.

But it's not only about sports in Singapore. A big part of the hype are the accompanying events with a power packed line up of international headliners.

Multiple Grammy Award winners Maroon 5 are to top the musical bill Saturday night. The US Rock band will appear on the Padang stage at the Marina Bay Street Circuit with admission free to all three-day ticket holders.

Pop Icon KATY PERRY will draw to a close the three days of racing and entertainment spectacular with a grand finale concert at the Padang.

After the race champion is crowned at the podium, Katy Perry will bring the heat up a few more notches. 

The Singapore Food Festival is back

Starting with July 13 (to July 22) all the gourmets can satisfy their desire for mouthwatering delicacies doing the annual Singapore Food Festival. This year focused on SEAFOOD!

You can experience this culinary event at the new Singapore Food Festival Village, the Waterfront Promenade@ Marina Bay! 

Up to 50 stalls will be featuring local favorites:

Chili Crab (my personal favorite!!)

and more.        I’m already salivating! :(  anyways...

Let’s look at some of the event highlights

    For details about the various cooking/demonstration workshops or dinners please checkout this website by clicking the logo

And last but not least, if you think you need a brake from Seafood visit Erich’s Wuerstelstand (who is officially part of the festival promotion) and enjoy discounts throughout the festival

The Sausage War is Over!

Austria and Slovenia finally find a solution in the cheese sausage war!

Austria and Slovenia came to a compromise in their quarrel about the name of a very specific sausage: the Kaese Krainer (cheese sausage). Slovenia files the name " Kranjska Klobasa" with the European Patent Office and Austria can continue to use the names : "Krainer resp. Kaese Krainer".

Both parties are very happy with the outcome.

This dispute about the name of "just" a sausage found a media uproar in both countries. Even international media reported in their newspapers.

This sausage is probably the most popular sausage besides Frankfurter in Austria and banning to use the name could have been a financial disaster for the parties concerned such as Sausage Kiosks, Restaurants and butchers.

Slovenia wanted to patent that name because the origin of the sausage is in their country however during the Austrian/ Hungarian Monarchy Slovenia was part of the empire however Vienna and the rest of Austria fell in love with that sausage and adjusted the recipe and made this delicacy world famous.

Well we're glad everything came to an happy ending and Erich is able to continue selling the Kaese Krainer at his Wuerstelstand in Singapore's Chinatown!

If you haven't tried that sausage you're missing out on a very palatable Austrian delicacy.

I recommend: Get there now and enjoy! And get a bun or pretzel as well ;)  Enjoy!

Erich's latest TV interview

Once again Erich made it into the news. This time Singapore's Razor TV. Check it out:

Wuerstelstand Song

A renown Austrian band has written a funny song about a Wuerstelstand- of course in German :(

Check this out:

Celebrating Austrian National Day: That’s why we love Austria!

There are many reason why we love Austria. Living overseas we see our beloved country from a different perspective. Sometimes more critical, sometimes more sentimental but end of the day we love Austria because our roots are there and will ever be!

We would love to show what makes Austria so special however we only can point out some of the highlights otherwise it would become an almost never ending series.

Today it’s : SALZBURG, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a genius musician and composer. But Mozart is only one of many besides Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert , Strauss and Mahler to name a few.

It was one Hollywood movie that finally put Salzburg on international travel itinerraries,

“THE SOUND OF MUSIC”. Needless to say that there are organized 'Sound of Music Tours’ to show visitors some of the sites used in the movie.

Frohnburg Castle, when Maria arrived at Villa von Trapp.

The glasshouse (which was actually shipped from Hollywood to Salzburg). You can find it in the park of Schloss Hellbrunn, just a few miles outside of Salzburg.

Below is Nonnberg Abbey, the actual abbey where the real Maria von Trapp was a novice  as well as where the abbey scenes in the movie were filmed.

Of course everyone remembers the dramatic scene where the Von Trapps had to flee from the Nazis during the singing competition. It was the Cemetery of St. Peter

Of course Mozart and The Sound of Music sites aren’t all they are to see in Salzburg. There are also a bunch of castles, fortresses and churches.
And then there is the city of Salzburg

Getreidegasse

and not to forget the “Christkindlmarkt” (christmas market) in Dezember

The picture of Salzburg wouldn’t be complete without the picturesque surrounding mountains, lakes and villages such as St. Wolfgang or Hallstatt which are worth spending your time exploring.

Ice skating on Lake St. Wolfgang

Hallstatt in province Upper Austria about an hours away from Salzburg

And this concludes our trip to Salzburg.
Come back to see more of Austria’s beauty.

  

Chintown Is Vibrant Again: Chinese New Year Celebrations

It's this time of the year when Erich needs helping hands. Too many people are waiting to get his world famous sausages and bread.

His kiosk fully decorated as usual
Don't forget to stop at Erich's Backstuben Kiosk 2 stalls next to the Wuerstelstand to get some of his bread as well.

....and there's always time for a chat
This Chinaman is a real Singaporean already but his heart still got Austrian beats!

Ketchup, Mustard, Chilly????
Mr. & Mrs. Sollboeck