Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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Vienna – Kunsthistorisches Museum (Head of a Child from 1589)

This is of a similar age to the head of a sleeping child which is displayed next to it. Once again, it’s a wax and wooden model of a baby’s head and the ‘Memento Mori’ reminds us of our mortal fate. It’s Austrian, it’s unsettling and I’m not sure why anyone would want to own this, I’d feel I was being stared down by a Renaissance toddler that could somehow see into my soul.

It’s all part of the trend at this time in early modern Europe to be reminded about death and life ending soon, there was an element of cheerful little skulls, skeletons dancing about the place and then this small child’s head to ensure there’s some existential dread to the whole arrangement. It was probably located in a private devotional space and, to be fair, there’s something quite admirable about this period’s attempt to make death part of the conversation, a sentiment we could perhaps learn from today, even if we choose to express it with slightly fewer haunted wax babies.

July 13, 2025
Lowestoft – The Harbour (Two Julians)

Second on our Lowestoft pub list for the day as the Harbour, which I’ve always known as the Harbour Inn, although I don’t think that they’ve offered accommodation for a long time. It’s located by the town’s bascule bridge in what I would call the southern part of Lowestoft.

The venue opened as the Harbour Inn, also referred to as the Harbour Hotel, as a coaching house in 1849 and became known for its decadent wine selection as well as its lodging options and ales. Samuel Howlett was recorded as being the innkeeper in 1855, likely the first landlord of the venue. As is visible in the above advert, I rather like that the venue was helping with the supply of 4.5 gallon casks, that’s a pin and they’re currently rather in favour.

In 1862, the Suffolk Mercury reported about a serious crime that had taken place in the pub, the text of which I’ve copied below.

“STABBING AT LOWESTOFT.

John Small (23), sailor, was charged with feloniously wounding W. Toby, at Lowestoft, on 13 February, with intent to maim, and Martin McDonough, with aiding and assisting the same.

Mr. Phear prosecuted; the prisoners were undefended.

William Toby: I am a smack owner, and on 13 February was at the Harbour Inn. I was playing cards when the prisoner came in, in company with their master, the Captain of the schooner Enterprise. Prisoner wanted to play with me, at all fours, the captain, myself, and the two prisoners, making up the party. Shortly after they had an altercation with the master, and the landlord ordered them out. I went to the door with them, shook hands with the captain, and while doing the same with McDonough, Small knocked me down. I rose, and at once stood up in my own defence, when they both attacked me. The landlord asked me to go round to the back door of the Inn, and he would let me in, so that I might get away from the prisoners. While there I saw McDonough come round the corner. He called out, “Come on, Jack, here is the b—––,” I then tried to run away, but they both chased me, and when they got up to me fell on the top of me. The landlord pulled the men off me. I looked round for my hat, and went into the Inn to seek it, not finding it outside. I went home and said to my wife, I am hurt, and shortly after I fell down in the kitchen, and the blood flowed from my side. I had only one wound.

Edward John Thomas: I manage the Harbour Inn, Lowestoft. On the evening in question I remember Mr. Toby and prisoners leaving the house. They were in the act of shaking hands when Small struck prisoner. They then began fighting, after which I took Toby round to the back door, in order to get him away from them. I ran to the front to enter the house to let Toby in. I met McDonough coming round as I made my way to the front. I called out, “he is not here, he is gone round the other way.” I said this in order to mislead them. McDonough, however, got to the corner of the house, and called out, “Jack, here he is.” They then rushed at Toby again, and Small struck him a body blow on the side. I assisted again in pulling McDonough off Toby, who at once entered the house. I then led the prisoners over the bridge. As we walked to the bridge, Small remarked, “I have lost a good knife.” Small ran back to resume the fight, but was prevented. I left McDonough in charge of the Capt. A knife was afterwards brought to me, picked up by Mrs. Adams, outside the house.

Mary Adams: I was standing so that I could see Mr. Thomas into Mr. Toby, some round the house. Small ran passed me, and as he did so, he drew his knife from his side, and called out “Here he is, Jack.” I afterwards picked up the knife produced. I saw the three men all fall down in front of the knife immediately afterwards. I picked up the knife just where Mr. Toby was lying.

P.C. Simpson: From information I received I went on board the schooner Enterprise, and searched the prisoner Small, when I found him with the sheath produced suspended to his waist. I said, where is your knife? He said “I have not got one; although I carry a sheath, I never carry a knife.” I apprehended him stating the charge. He asked me whether it was a bad case. I said it was a bad stab. He was very anxious to know what punishment he would receive, and said “he hoped to God Toby would not die.”

Mr. Chubbe, surgeon, deposed: I found Toby in his house shortly after he was wounded. I found the wound to be 1.5 inches long, and 1.75 inches in depth, and was just below the left hip, striking downwards. I dressed it, and judged Toby to be bad.

His Lordship in summing up, said: Gentlemen of the Jury, the prisoners at the bar are charged with feloniously wounding Wm. Toby, with intent to do him serious bodily harm. It is quite clear that he received his injury from one of the prisoners; which, you will have to say. It appears the parties had been playing at cards at the Harbour Inn, at Lowestoft, after which, when Toby was shaking hands with McDonough, Small struck a blow at him, which led to a fight, in which McDonough joined. Mary Adams saw Small pull out a knife. Small himself afterwards said he had lost a very good knife; and Mary Adams found a knife. When apprehended Small had a sheath suspended to his person, but no knife; concerning which, he said, when questioned, that he never wore one. Small was also seen to strike Toby in such a way as might produce the wound in question. It was evident that two parties could not be convicted in a crime of this sort. But one individual could inflict such a wound: therefore, in my judgment one of the prisoners should be acquitted. You must, however, decide whether Small was guilty of inflicting the wound or not. There is no evidence to show that McDonough had any notion of what was done, or that such a felonious attack was premeditated. He was engaged in a quarrel in which no agreement had been come to, to use a knife. With these observations the case must rest in the hands of the jury.

The Jury at once returned a verdict of Guilty against John Small, and Not Guilty against Martin McDonough. The last prisoner was at once liberated, and despatched to Lowestoft by first train.

His Lordship, in sentencing the prisoner, said, if the case had terminated fatally there could be no doubt your worst fears would have been realised, and that you would have been found guilty of wilful murder. It must be borne in mind the knife was drawn for attack, not for defence. As it is you are only amenable to the county and I think it likely you were at the time somewhat advanced in liquor. If I thought you had been quite sober I should have passed upon you the severest penalty the law would allow. As it is I wish to protect against a knife being pulled out in such quarrels as that brought under my notice, and, therefore, the verdict of the Court is that you be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for 12 calendar months.”

As the judge suggested, this was nearly a murder and that would have meant the death penalty for the attacker. It was probably rather more excitement than Edward Thomas, the landlord, needed for the evening as well.

The venue disappeared from the newspaper record in the late nineteenth century and I’m not entirely sure if it was renamed at this time. Later in the twentieth century, the venue was operated by Trumans until 1978 and then renamed the Oakwood, shortly after becoming known as Bridge House. By the late 1990s, the venue was operated by Inntrepreneur, but in 2003, there were new owners and they sensibly restored the former Harbour name. I do wish pub owners would stop faffing about with pub names, just keep it the same…..

When we entered, there was signage noting that food is no longer served at the venue, although it seems that this only stopped a few days ago. It’s owned by Moss & Co, a small pub operator in this area, who acquired it a couple of years ago. The service was timely and friendly, with the pricing being reasonable for the beers that they had.

There was a shuffleboard available to add some excitement to proceedings. There has historically been a nightclub upstairs, but this has apparently now closed. The pub was clean and tidy throughout, perhaps a little formulaic in the design as it looked like something Stonegate had been faffing around with, but the atmosphere was welcoming and comfortable. It wasn’t particularly busy when we were there, but it was a Thursday afternoon in extreme heat and I think plenty of Lowestoft denizens were looking to sit in the sun.

The draught options, which didn’t entirely whet my appetite if I’m being honest.

The two real ale options, which were Mosaic from Adnams and the house bitter from Moss & Co.

I went for the house bitter and it tasted like something Greene King would make. It was punchy for its low ABV, but it was very bitter, not well rounded and had something of a muddy flavour. After my announcement that it tasted like a Greene King beer, Julian did go and ask at the bar which brewery made the beer, but they didn’t know but thought that it might come from Greene King. We weren’t surprised. Julian went for an Adnams Mosaic, a beer he’s been drinking since before the war, and was suitably pleased that it was well kept and tasted as he expected.

I rather liked this pub, it was sizeable, clean, organised and welcoming. The venue is well reviewed on-line and it all feels professionally managed. The beer selection was perhaps a little sub-optimal and a little narrow for my liking, but the beers were well kept and the house bitter was memorable. There’s no food at the moment, which is something I understand that the owners are looking at, so perhaps the pub doesn’t have much of a niche at the moment, but I’m sure they’ll develop something to surprise and delight the locals.

July 13, 2025
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market (2025 Edition) – Week 20 and Crunch

Firstly, it is insanely and intolerably hot today in Norwich (not that I complained of course), so James and I did really well in managing to visit another market stall in our quest to visit them all this year. This is a new outlet to the market, so we didn’t visit it when we did all of this food stall visiting in 2023. As it was so hot, apologies for the lack of photographs, but there’s a limit to my bravery. We have actually tried to come here before, but once it was closed and the other time every single item was marked as being out of stock, which seemed sub-optimal. There were a couple of items out of stock today, although you have to look closely to see the stickers.

I don’t normally buy drinks from the market, as James and I aren’t that decadent, but I desperately needed some refreshment so I acquired this whilst I waited for the food. The service at the stall was efficient and polite, not much engagement outside of the ordering process, but it felt welcoming. They accept cards and cash here, with the prices being towards the lower end for the market.

We found a bit of grass to sit on in the shade, which more suited me as I like being firmly in the cold, although James is quite middle class and was hoping for seating. He didn’t complain though, he had chicken. And, as James mentioned, this meal tasted like the chicken balls in Chinese takeaways, which to me and him is a very good thing indeed. I suppose there could have been just a few more fries, but I was happy with the number and they were freshly cooked. The chicken was served as a generous portion and the mayo and ketchup is supplied free of charge. Everything was at the appropriate hot temperature and I thought that there was an effort made with presentation bearing in mind it’s chicken and chips. I thought for £5 this was definitely comparable to other similar venues, with the can of drink being £1.50 which was also not unreasonable.

By sitting on the grass, James, ever the influencer, was able to carefully position his food so that it was beautifully photographed. He went for the spicy dirty fries, which I avoided as I didn’t fancy the cheese sauce, although it was really just grated cheese on top. The sauce was more tangy than spicy, but I was pleased with my rather more unadulterated affair.

For the value offered, we both thought that this was one of the better visits so far this year despite the solar adversity. The service was polite, there wasn’t much of a wait, it was keenly priced, the food had a depth of flavour and the portion size was reasonable. We’d likely both go back here, if we didn’t fancy Lucy’s chips, so what higher praise could we give it?

July 11, 2025
Lowestoft – Joseph Conrad (Two Julians)

First on our grand Two Julians tour of Lowestoft was Joseph Conrad, the JD Wetherspoon pub located opposite the railway station. It was a hot day in East Anglia, but being by the coast helped matters somewhat.

JD Wetherspoon makes an effort to explain the names of their pubs, so I will use their text:

“When Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowksi disembarked in Lowestoft, in June 1878, he could not speak a word of English. The Polish mariner then signed on as crew with the Skimmer of the Sea, a small coaster. Korzeniowksi had his first English lessons from the ship’s master and went on to become famous as Joseph Conrad, one of the leading writers of the 20th century. Much of Conrad’s highly acclaimed work was inspired by his long career at sea, including his novel Lord Jim – twice adapted as a film.

These licensed premises are named after the Polish mariner who disembarked in Lowestoft in 1878 and signed on as a crew member of a small coaster that sailed out of the port. He went on to become one of the leading writers of the 20th century, using the name Joseph Conrad. These premises are the former well-known Tuttles store, which was built in two stages. The original store opened in 1888. The larger extension was added in 1893. These premises were refurbished by J D Wetherspoon in July 2013.”

And here’s the first half of the Tuttles build, so the photo likely dates to around 1890. Tuttles was a hugely significant department store in Lowestoft, with a long history spanning well over a century, with this area still referred to as Tuttles Corner. The business began in the mid-19th century with Henry Tuttle, who started as a grocer and provision store at 66 High Street in 1843. The enterprise quickly grew, leading to moves and expansions to other premises in the town and by 1866, Henry Tuttle had diversified into drapery and millinery. The iconic Tuttles building at Station Square was acquired by Henry and his son Ebenezer Tuttle in 1886 and in 1888, Tuttle & Son officially opened their ‘Bon Marché’ department store to the public at this location. It rapidly expanded its offerings, adding a dressmaking department by 1890 and undergoing a major refit in 1897 to include departments such as haberdashery, laces, wool, hosiery and other assorted accessories. Ebenezer Tuttle himself was a prominent figure in Lowestoft, serving as a Town Councillor and later as Alderman, eventually becoming Mayor of Lowestoft from 1904 to 1906. In July 1964, a fire sadly destroyed an ornamental turret that graced the south-west corner of the building. In 1960, Tuttles was taken over by Debenhams Limited, but despite this, it continued to trade under the Tuttles name for a time before eventually closing its doors in 1981.

The building remained in partial usage, but it took JD Wetherspoon to come and complete a more substantial renovation. Above is the Google Streetview image from 2009 and the Weigh & Save that was in the premises for several years.

This is where the entrance to Weigh & Save was once located. The pub is sizeable, this is some of the downstairs, but the upstairs section is just as large. There are plenty of tables outside the front as well, but also plenty of seagulls so we weren’t tempted to move out into the danger zone.

Stairs to the upstairs toilets, which are as usual for the chain a little bit of a trek. The pub felt generally clean and tidy, with no annoying background music intruding into the general ambience.

Slightly out of date, but interesting to see the beers that were available to request.

The real ale selection wasn’t actually that exciting for the chain, their generic three real ales as well as the Exmoor Gold. The staff member at the bar was very new, but he was polite, engaging and was doing his best, but it was evident that the chain had rather dumped him into the deep end. I won’t complain about the beer selection at the chain, as they make a real effort to have some craft beers available in cans, so there’s always something of interest.

Julian testing the beer temperature and he said that it was spot on, especially in the extreme temperatures that we were facing. He has very high standards.

Here’s my well-kept half pint of Gold from Exmoor Ales, a pleasant beer with a toffee flavour to it, with a lightness and sweetness, as well as being refreshing given the aforementioned low temperature. The price was reasonable, this was just £1.99 for a pint.

Lots of AWPs, these likely make the pub a fair chunk of money and are tucked out of the way in this venue.

The on-line reviews for the pub are around average for the chain, I thought I’d have a little look through them to see if there was anything surprising and delighting.

“NO DOGS ALLOWED apparently . . . but there are signs EVERYWHERE apparently, said this irritable staff person – except there are ZERO signs on the side door – and nothing that jumped out on the front door! I was told to leave with my puppy (who was securely in a bag) by a bar-woman with as much charm as a house brick, and she would have 100% liked to have been even more unpleasant if I hadn’t been so generally affable about it. Low-rent customer service, you see, you can can always say things nicely, unless you don’t actually know how to; upbringing, education, manners . . . that sort of thing. You either have them, or you don’t. Can’t even sit outside with a dog apparently either, in the fresh air, on a nice day. So be aware, NO DOGS ALLOWED OUTSIDE either! Okay, so now that this puppy should be with us for at least a decade, probably longer, I guess the Joseph Conrad will be losing our custom for the next decade plus. Hey ho! Erm, does Wetherspoons even know that the UK is a nation of dog lovers? Has anyone told them? Should we, do you think?”

The comment about the team member’s upbringing tells me all I need to know here. Same old thing, the chain has made a policy not to allow dogs, but by all means comment on the team member’s education as that seems proportionate…. And, no, don’t tell them, they already know.

“Unfortunately due to the overzealous door staff and the alleged manager, laughing and enjoying yourselves is not permitted in this establishment.”

Good, people enjoying themselves can be too decadent.

“My disabled daughter was visiting Lowestoft recently. My daughter cannot walk without crutches and asked staff to help her get a mug of coffee to a table. They refused, citing football as the excuse, and claiming to be short staffed. This event occurred at 9 am on Saturday 17th August 2024. At that precise moment, the restaurant was not at all busy with very few customers at the tables and staff standing around chatting. I am appalled at the policy of Wetherspoons to refuse to help disabled customers”

If that’s true, that does seem to be entirely sub-optimal.

“If you are disabled and require assistance because you are on crutches and cannot carry a cup yourself do not go to this Wetherspoons. Today I was told that despite it being 8.55 in the morning they couldn’t help me with a cup from the coffee machine because it was football today. The restaurant was half empty and the TVs were not switched on and they flatly refused to help a person who walks with two crutches with a cup from the coffee machine. When I asked to speak to the manager, he eventually said they would help me “ This one time”. But I thought don’t put yourself out mate and I asked for a refund. Next time I will do it myself and this will result in me pouring coffee all over the floor which is clearly what they want. Obviously, they have plenty of time to clear up spillages, although I would’ve thought it would be quicker just to help as person than to be so rude and unhelpful as to refuse. But it’s okay I work for Lbc and BBC radio so this will be being broadcasted about In the next few weeks, if I don’t get a satisfactory response to my complaint from their Head Office”

Hmmmm. LBC and BBC Radio, but I can’t find details of either organisation broadcasting this story….

“Was in this afternoon with my dog outside and was told to leave as weatherspoons don’t allow dogs in there pubs. That is fine not all pubs do. BUT I was outside on public land owned by the council not weatherspoons. They might have a street licence that means the council give them permission to put tables and chairs out there but the land is still owned by the council”

I Googled this and it seems that a pavement licence does indeed give the venue the right to enforce its policies within the licensed area, as long as public access is maintained next to it. This has annoyed several people though, likely those hoping that they can get themselves an exemption to the dog policy.

“Wetherspoons dog policy is pathetic. I can understand not allowing dogs inside but to not allow dogs outside is ridiculous. Are people with dogs not supposed to eat? If this is not discrimination, I don’t know what is.”

I think I can come with some other definitions of what discrimination is. I suspect that there is always the option of taking your dog to a venue that does want them, there are no shortage of such places.

“why did this place refuse to let me drink MY dr pepper that I payed for. I brought the drink into the restaurant with under a quarter of It left and I got told by one of the staff members that I was NOT allowed to finish my drink as I hadn’t purchased it in the building despite having ordered a full 3 course meal. do better.”

It doesn’t seem unreasonable to ask people to buy drinks from the venue rather than bring them in from outside….

“Typical Weatherspoons. Clients need to get jobs instead of boozing from 8 in the morning”

Or someone could mind their own business.

“In Joseph Conrad upstairs ordered drinks £16.00 odd Rhys kindly went downstairs for 2 pints of Coors light to go with Bootle of wine.. come to order meal with free drinks another£20 was then told too busy to go downstairs for Coors will have to order from upstairs only Rhys wrong answer as a holiday person been coming here for well over 10 years will not be coming back from table 138”

Order on the app, problem solved.

“In wethersproofn in lowestoft no Southern comfort and only got got 4 bottle of vodka for Christmas eve that is very bad really upset about this.”

The reviewer sounds like that they were very brave dealing with such a crisis.

“On the 16th of December, i came for a what i expected was going to be a nice chilled dinner with my husband m, when a young boy not sure the age but i believed his name was to be alfie, said to me “how much f***ing food do you have left to come out” all because me and my husband had a long day and we was very hungry. We are both in our early 50’s so we was very appalled to be spoken down to by a young lad. I will not be tolerating this because i was not looking to come for a meal and be sworn at for being hungry. Like i am supplying your wages and don’t want to be spoke to again like this. I think he should be given a disciplinary for his actions because that is not how you treat members of the public”

I don’t know, maybe I’m a bit rustic, but Alfie does seem to be a character and pubs can do with more of that.

“Came in at 16:30, by 17:15 nobody as much as asked me if I wanted something to drink yet. Looked at me and ignored me. Hmm…
Will be the first negative review I will write on the travel blog about my experience in Lowe…EVER!”

I’m guessing that the customer didn’t notice that table service wasn’t happening….

Anyway, I’ve digressed once again by reading the reviews. I personally thought that the venue was well run, the real ale selection was reasonable although smaller than usual for the chain, the team members were polite, the surroundings were comfortable and the beer was well kept. A suitably positive start to the day in an historic and interesting building, with the usual value for money drinks.

July 11, 2025
Vienna – Kunsthistorisches Museum (Head of a Sleeping Child from 1589)

This is a sixteenth century wax head of a sleeping child, mounted like a holy relic in a carved wooden tondo. I’m really more showing off there that I have learned a tondo is a circular work of art…. This is another piece of Habsburg-era oddness, a 1589 Austrian creation and I more wonder whether this child is at rest or quietly plotting something. Made of wax and wood, this disembodied cherub seems to me to be more of a masterpiece of serene discomfort. The inscription around the frame, “Hodie mihi, cras tibi”, translates loosely as “Today me, tomorrow you” which is not exactly comforting, especially when delivered via a child’s severed (albeit sleeping) head. It was likely designed as a memento mori, a not-so-subtle reminder of the fleeting nature of life, which I’m not sure people living at this time needed additional reminders of. The museum notes that these are fragile and rarely survive, although I suspect someone shoved it in a cupboard as I think it’s more unsettling than beautiful. But each to their own…..

July 10, 2025
Vienna – Kunsthistorisches Museum (Stirrup Cup from c.1580)

A stirrup cup, for those unfamiliar with such decadent pre-departure rituals (to be fair, I had to Google it), was a parting drink offered to guests as they mounted their horses, one foot in the stirrup and the other edging towards a long and bumpy journey. It was meant to be fortifying, a little swig of something boozy (I doubt craft beer, but you never know) before you trotted off into the mud and misery of early modern travel. Most surviving stirrup cups take the form of animal heads such as foxes, hounds and stags, all very hunting-lodge chic. But every so often, someone went for something a touch more eccentric, and that brings me to this rather stern-looking Tyrolean lady. The museum say it’s a girl, which is possible, but I prefer the idea that it’s a grumpy middle aged woman. I’m really not sure that I would want to be given this, but perhaps that’s ungrateful.

Dating from around 1580 and carved with exquisite skill, she was almost certainly never meant to be exactly cuddly. Made of alabaster and gilded for effect, she looks like she’s about to lecture the owner on their choice of footwear or inform them that they’ve scandalously forgotten their gloves. I imagine that it was somewhat unnerving to drink from her, which might explain why guests were encouraged to down the contents quickly before she could judge them further. If I ever get a horse, which is unlikely if I’m being honest, I might get myself a stirrup cup, but not one looking like this….

July 10, 2025
Vienna – Kunsthistorisches Museum (Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg)

This is a portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg and although the artist is unknown, I suspect that whoever it was had quite a lot of fun with the fur millinery. Let’s face it, there are hats, and then there is this hat which is a magnificent, if slightly ridiculous, statement piece. I like that the museum makes an effort to show the provenance of their artworks, which is also useful given they’ve inevitably got issues trying to resolve Nazi thefts, but this has been located in the gallery since at least 1772.

Sigismund (1368–1437) had one of those lengthy, overly complicated careers as he was King of Hungary, King of the Romans, King of Bohemia and finally Holy Roman Emperor. He’s perhaps best remembered for his role in organising the Council of Constance (1414–1418), which resolved the Western Schism by convincing three rival Popes to step down so a new one could be elected, which seems like the ecclesiastical equivalent of herding cats through treacle.

July 10, 2025
Vienna – Kunsthistorisches Museum (Painting of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor)

This formidable profile belongs to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, as depicted in a late sixteenth-century copy after Bernhard Strigel. It now lives in the ever-rewarding Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where the galleries are so stuffed with imperial grandeur that this little gem is easy to overlook. Although my two loyal blog readers will be surprised and delighted to discover that I took several hundred photos in this museum, so there will be plenty more of this riveting series about the artworks that they hold.

Strigel’s original work dates to the early 1500s, but this later copy, which was made by an unknown artist with a steady hand and a healthy respect for the Habsburg nose, carries on the visual tradition of showing Maximilian in all his stately glory. It’s got everything, the velvet backdrop, the finely detailed clothing, the meditative stare into the middle distance, and of course, that profile.

Now, it would be terribly unfair to criticise a man’s face 500 years after the fact, but even his contemporaries might have quietly agreed that Maximilian’s features were distinctive. But this portrait doesn’t try to soften anything and nor should it. It’s an honest portrayal of dynastic power and in an age before soft-focus filters and PR advisers, that sort of thing was all the rage. He’s not smiling, of course, Habsburgs rarely did, but he had a lot to think about, perhaps he’s just remembered the size of his empire and the fact that half of it was currently at war. There’s a charming little manor in the background, complete with gables and a decent bit of shrubbery. Whether this was symbolic of imperial reach or just the painter filling in the space with some pleasant countryside I have no idea, but I like the idea of him (and it was probably a male) doing the latter.

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519, was born in 1459 the son of Frederick III and Eleanor of Portugal, and to be frank, he didn’t waste much time on hobbies when there were marriages to arrange and bits of Europe to hoover up. His marriage to Mary of Burgundy in 1477 gave him a claim to the vast Burgundian lands, and he spent a good part of his life either defending them, diplomatically squinting at maps, or enthusiastically marrying off his descendants to unsuspecting European royalty. The man essentially arguably invented Habsburg real estate strategy which was don’t fight too many wars, just marry aggressively and wait. While he never made it to Rome to be crowned by the Pope, largely because the Papal calendar was apparently a bit sub-optimal when it came to welcoming awkwardly ambitious emperors, he went ahead and started calling himself Elected Roman Emperor anyway. Fair play. Maximilian was a reformer in a rather haphazard way, dabbling in early postal systems, legal centralisation and he was a cultured guy.

Anyway, I have digressed a little, but this is certainly a memorable painting…..

July 10, 2025
Vienna – Beaver Brewing

I wouldn’t say that it’s easy to get craft beer in Vienna, but it is out there and hopefully it will grow in availability in future years. This is Beaver Brewing’s taproom, which was highly reviewed on-line, and it’s not too far from the city centre.

It was hot outside and that’s where most people were sitting whilst embracing the sun, but I wanted to sit inside in the cold and near a fan with all of its rotating excitement. There was a friendly welcome from the team member behind the bar and this felt like my sort of venue. I had just eaten at another bar, but the American food options looked tempting and interesting.

They had nine beers available and I asked if they did flights. I was surprised and delighted that they not only did flights, but I could have one with all nine beers. This saves me choosing (I don’t need all that sort of stress in my life), I thought that this was a good idea and it cost around £10 for the flight which I thought was very reasonable.

And here we are, all of these are from Beaver Brewing Company. The numbering is 1 to 9 with 1 to 4 on the back row, 5 to 8 on the front row and then number 9 on the far right.

(i) Happy Trails – this didn’t taste its ABV, it was light, hoppy with a touch of citrus and maybe some tree sap.

(ii) Sunny Day – a rounded hop flavour, light, clean and smooth.

(iii) Globetrottin’ – I’m not sure that I’ve actually had a proper Vienna lager before, I try and avoid anything lager related, but this is an innovative spin on this beer style using some global hops. Slight toffee, malt and sweetness to it, but my lager friends such as Ross would probably hate it.

(iv) Bharbara – for just 3.2% this is very good, with a suitable level of sourness and tartness, lots of rhubarb and refreshing.

(v) Forbidden Pils – the forbidden here refers to the use of rice, it’s sweet and I’d rather more pils used this as an ingredient.

(vi) Pomona NEIPA – there’s strawberry punching through here with the beer being creamy, fluffy, fruity and very smooth. A rather lovely NEIPA.

(vii) Fireside – malty, roasty, liquorice. Delightful even though it was a very hot day (I might have mentioned that it was too hot in Vienna).

(viii) Witches Brew – I was surprised that this had a low Untappd score, it’s herbal, floral and admittedly tastes of pot pourri, but innovation is of the key… This harks back to the historic of brewing before hops and I rather liked the innovation going on here.

(ix) Big Lake Lager – clean, crisp and inoffensive.

I very much liked this bar, I had a rather lovely 90 minutes or so here. The welcome was friendly, the surroundings were clean and informal, with an excellent beer selection. The standard of their craft beers was towards the higher end of the scale, with some real innovation and experimentation going on here.

July 10, 2025
Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (Mercedes-Benz 170 – W15)

Tucked away in a corner of the quite marvellous Transport Museum in Bratislava is this rather proud-looking Mercedes-Benz 170 (W15), a model first introduced to the world in 1931, although this one is from 1933. Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 1931, it’s the sort of car that looks like it should be waiting outside a respectable interwar law firm, engine ticking gently, while its owner discusses tax efficiency and the virtues of punctuality or something similar (not that I want to fall into lazy stereotypes). Wikipedia mentions that nearly all of the production run was sold within Germany and they made a total of 13,775 of them.

This was Mercedes-Benz’s first real stab at mass production with a modern design, aimed more at the professional driver than the boy racer of the time. There isn’t much subtlety to the colour as it’s bright blue, but it does look suitably dignified and it was deliberately smaller and slightly less decadent than previous models as the 1920s depression had cut disposable incomes somewhat.

July 9, 2025