...and not a day too soon.
Why is it that we tend to ignore the things that are right under our very noses? Single women forget to look at the guy next door, families want to go to far flung holiday destinations and don't even look at their own country and of course the obvious one that happiness is within us and not in someone / someplace else.
Even back in South Africa, the local attractions, such as the Natal Midlands were often eschewed and only considered when visitors arrived. As most sporting events such as the weekly rugby matches were shown on TV on weekends, a lot of couples only got as far as their lounge. Yours truly also. Very sad indeed.
The four of us-The four Eat-a-teers, planned a last day of venturing forth into our beautiful surroundings. Bob had to go to the computer parts shop in Oberwart and my Dad got his newspapers at the same time. ( Gosh, can you believe it, he reads 3 whole newspapers daily. How amazing is that! ).
While we were waiting for Bob in the car, we changed our general area of destination from Hartberg to Pinkafeld. I thought as it was only an extra 11 kilometers from Oberwart and in Burgenland, it would be nice to see. Altogether it is a mere 40 kms from us in Eisenberg. Off we drove and what a pleasant surprise awaited us.
Pinkafeld might not have a Colosseum, National Museums, Cathederals and the like, but it has plenty of old world charm. The city center has still the old layout and standing there, I could picture a life lived there a hundred years before. Pinkafeld is utterly enchanting. They still have shops. Yes, shops like a Butchery, Seamstress, Shoe shop, Bakeries and restaurants galore.
We are so used to the huge shopping malls that we forget the pleasure of shopping in original shops. One of a kind shops. As convenient as a mall is, there is no more individuality. What you buy there, is hardly unique as all the major chains have a gazillion branches all over. We as consumers are herded like sheep by advertisers and conglomerates so it is darn nice to stumble across the high street of Pinkafeld.
Of course, we found a great place to eat as well. Naturally near the local church. All four of us liked it so much, that we took turns to fight over who saw it first. The jury is still out! Walking into the restaurant -Gasthaus Szemes - you could instantly feel that it was the right place. We were early ( eh, before noon but don't tell anyone ) and there was only one other person eating. Just as well we came early because within the space of 20 minutes the restaurant had filled up to capacity.
The biggest and most wonderful surprise was that the kitchen mostly used local and regional ingredients, listing them on the menu. There were about five meals on the menu that were totally organic. Then they showed which meal could be had by a Vegetarian and Vegan! Wow. But their normal menu was littered with delectable dishes. The choice was hard, but as it is so close to us, Bob and I can order more variations another time....
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