Picnic Baskets Are Heading To Our Beautiful Slice Of Burgenland Paradise.

Ooh la la, what an interesting Summer ahead!

At the moment the powers that be are still debating if they will initiate project picnic basket...that should really only take a second.

When I told Bob about it yesterday, he mumbled:

" Where can they go and picnic here? "

to which I replied:

" Where not? "

our area abounds with undulating hills, pastures, vineyards, forests and many many comfortably placed benches.

Imagine, setting up your bit of heaven on the side of a lane, eating delectable cheeses while toasting the odd car passing by with your glass of Grüner Veltliner or Blaufränkisch and of course a smug grin...

Nowadays, there is the eternal ( contradictory, isn't it ) problem of drinking and driving. Personally, I tend to think that this picnic basket idea would solve this. All one needs is a strong fella to carry the basket and one can either walk a few miles to find the perfect spot to picnic or just a few hundred meters.

Even writing this, my mouth is watering at the thought of reclining on a checked blanket laid in a lush meadow, with a few cows mooing in the background while Bob is feeding me morsels of delectable cheese, ham and crisp freshly baked bread washed down with numerous sips of perfectly chilled white wine.

The beauty of our slice of paradise is that should you wish to leave the basket behind when you are finished ( rather if you are too lazy to carry it home ) it will still be there the next day. Should the urge for an afternoon snooze in the warmth of the sun overwhelm you, guess what? No one will disturb or harm you except for the odd pheasant, field mouse, cow or grasshopper.

This idea of picnicking might ignite a new trend in picnic clothes and paraphernalia and why not. Can you think of anything more special than to sit still and enjoy the moment instead of rushing around stressing about this, that and the next thing.

By the way, what a marvellous way to taste all the local wines. The various wineries can pack their own individually calibrated baskets, to harmonize each sip of their perfect nectar of the gods.

Please, don't put Salamis, Viennas ( oops, in Austria they are called Frankfurters ) or too spicy cuts of meat, because those usually overwhelm the wines so you can't taste the individual nuances of it.

Biggi