Ocean of Sand

Last weekend I headed over to Dubai to get a couple of things. On the way home, I decided to go off the beaten track and take a wander in the desert a little just on the outer edge of Al Ain. I didn't stray far from the isolated little road I was on. I drove a short way into the desert along the road, pulled over, got out and went for a walk in the dunes. It was lots of fun. Here are some pics from my cellphone (since I didn't have a proper camera with me):

Along the way into the desert, I passed through a small farming community. Here are the roadside shops.

 

Lonely mosque

I took this picture after climbing up to the ridge of a sand dune. You know, it's much harder than it sounds climbing up a sand dune. It depends which side you're on. Generally speaking, one side has more compact sand and the other has softer sand. It's as if you take three steps forward and slide two steps back. But when you get to the top and can look out over the desert like this, it's worth it. It's like an ocean of sand stretching as far as the eye can see.

It astonishes me how plants manage to grow in such an arid environment. 

I always think of the lines in the sand as looking like thousands of snakes. The question is, are they slithering up the hill or down? Or perhaps it's more like a giant fingerprint on each dune?

In one of the valleys (or basins?) between dunes, I came across these tracks. I have no idea what creature would have caused them. lizard? snake? scorpion? desert hedgehog? Surely it doesn't look like a bird's tracks. There's a big one and a smaller one intersecting it. Any ideas?

And as with every adventure into the sand here, by the time I got back to the car, my shoes were filled with sand! haha. I have to say, for such a seemingly boring and monotone place, the desert is fantastic and strangely beautiful. I think I'll have to take more trips into the desert from now on. I say "trips" but I just mean driving a few minutes out of town. I don't fancy going on dune bashing trips or desert safaris or anything enthusiastic like that, just driving down a road, parking the car and going for a stroll like on this occasion. It was fun.

Visitors

Bryn's brother Owen and his fiancee, Melissa came to visit us in Al Ain for Christmas.  We (mostly Bryn) gave them the grand tour of all the must see/do things in and around Al Ain.  Here are some of the pictures! (Some are stolen from Owen and Melissa's camera!)

Vienna Scenes

No, I didn't loose one glove and one mitten...I just found taking pictures in mittens very difficult!

The icing work on these cookies was amazing...so delicate and intricate!

As I go through our Vienna photos I'm sort of regretting not jotting down some notes each night so that I would remember exactly what we did each day (I used to do that every time I traveled).  Even though we were only there for a short time, the days sort of blurred together (the punsch and gluwein might have had something to do with that!) and my camera seems to be stuck on Japan time, so even the dates on the photos are off!

The remainder of our days in Vienna were much like the first couple - wandering streets, each turn offering a new, breathtaking view (which is why I took so many photos)!!  We stopped for hot drinks at each Christmas market we came across, always excited to see what the mugs looked like, drool over yummy looking treats, take in the amazing smells and look through all of the fun Christmas knick-knacks.

We did manage a bit of culture and toured the royal apartments and Sisi Museum housed in the Hofburg palace, but unfortunately photos weren't allowed inside.  Seeing inside the palace simply confirmed that I really was meant to be a princess...sigh...haha.

Vienna, you were great to us yet again.  If you've never been, I can't recommend it highly enough!

More Vienna

After our first proper day in Vienna we had dinner at Kern Beisl, a restaurant that had come recommended from our guidebook.  It was a nice, very traditional place.   

Bryn had roast pork with hand-rolled dumplings and a local beer, and I had weiner schnizel with house wine. 

As soon as our meals had arrived, a man sitting next to us offered to take out photo.  We were grateful since it's difficult to get photos of us together when we are traveling alone!  He chatted with us for a bit before letting us finish our (delicious) meals.  Once we were finished we asked for the bill, and our waiter told us that the man had already paid for our meals!   We were completely stunned...it's not often that you come across kindness like that!  We thanked him and he gave us his card, telling us to look him up if we ever found ourselves in Vienna again.  It's nice to be reminded that there are genuinely kind people in the world.

After dinner, we decided to walk off our meals and go to the big Christmas Market at the Rathaus.  This is the Christmas Market that's on all of the postcards, and the photo that will likely come up if you Google Vienna.  We passed some stunning light displays, shop windows and palaces on the way.

This is a candy shop window...she's made entirely of marzipan!!

That tower in the background was our destination.

Of course our first stop was the punsch stand before wandering the grounds to browse through the many booths selling sweet treats, toys, knick knacks, Christmas ornaments and practically anything else you can think of!

 

It's a crowded market, especially in the evening, but the crowds are completely forgivable with a little help from the Christmas cheer that fills all those mugs!! 

After exploring for a while, we made our way back to the hotel to thaw out and get some rest for the next day.