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Black Tie
International Travel
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Black Tie
International Magazine Travel
Gloria Cressler-European Spring Tour
2014
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Gudron Partner Anton Bauer Wines, Retired Navy
Greek General Achilles A, Gloria T. Cressler,
Executive Chef and Hotel & Restaurant owner Toni
Morwald, Toni Bauer 3rd Generation Wine Maker
and Author Kim Solomon
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Fabulous European Spring/Summer Tour 2014
By: Gloria Consolacion T. Cressler
Editor/Host: Black Tie International Magazine & TV
Camera Crews and Photography in Austria:
Photography in Ireland Tina O'Hagan
Wow! Spring is leaving and the arrival of summer starts again. This is such a marvelous feeling of finally leaving those winter days. Now I'm on the road again… I truly enjoy traveling and visiting my favorite places in Europe. My incentive during winter is to look forward to my trips to Europe when winter season is over. But remember that in May some days are still cold in Europe, but there are days when it is a tad warmer.
But it is so nice to smell the rebirth of plants and the fresh growth of saplings in spring.
I left La Guardia for Dulles airport in Washington DC to connect to United Airlines Boeing 777, a jumbo jet that I love flying in, we went through Frankfurt, and then to Vienna Austria to attend the WINE FESTIVAL. I arrived in Vienna the following day, and checked in, at the beautiful Intercontinental Hotel in Vienna. I stayed in my regular room a beautiful luxurious suite which I absolutely adored. As usual all the staff were so nice and friendly and accommodating, they always make you feel welcome and at home, a true get-away from home. Always providing good service, They are polite and friendly and consistently making your stay
a memorable one.
We have the opportunity to meet with the New General Manager of the Intercontinental Hotel in Vienna, a very lovely lady by the name of Ms. Brigitte Trattner. Ms. Trattner, originally from Steiermark, Austria began her career as a waitress to Chef in London Hilton, and left London for the Hilton in Vienna. From there she worked in different positions within Cruise Ships in the Caribbean, then worked in Zurich, Switzerland for the Hotel then named Penta which later became the Intercontinental Hotel. From there she moved to Tunisia, Salzburg, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Hanoi, and Shanghai then finally back to the Intercontinental in Vienna. She is one of the nicest General Managers I have met who runs the Intercontinental Hotels in Vienna. All of the General Managers are true professionals and very accommodating. This shows us the way they trained there staff and shows to there great professionalism. Check out their website: www.intercontinentalhotel.com/vienna
and if you happen to go to Dusseldorf Germany make sure to make a reservation at the Intercontinental Hotel and here is their website: http://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/dusseldorf/dusha/hoteldetail and their General Manager is another nice gentlemen by the name of Mr. Ronald Hoogerbrugge, who is helpful and accommodating also. Mr. Hoogerbrugge had been a Manager and General Managers of several Intercontinental Hotel all over the world. From New York City, to Houston Texas, and he help in New Orleans Intercontinental Hotel after the after matt of the Hurricane Katrina, And then to Prague in the Czech Republic, And to Intercontinental Hotel to Vienna and now Dusseldorf Intercontinental Hotel. Make sure to say hi to him when you get the chance to stay in his hotel.
Earlier in the day we were met by the Executive Chef of the Intercontinental Hotel in Vienna a very nice gentlemen and the Executive Chef Sasha Martin Ferstl. Who gave us a tour of the several restaurants and private banquets and the large kitchen at the hotel and explained to us the day-to-day operations of the restaurants, and the very large kitchen where all the food is cooked for the different restaurants: the Mediterraneo, Café Vienna and the Intermezzo Bar in the hotel. Every morning on the first floor they serve a fabulous breakfast buffet which I enjoy, but it is more like brunch with bulk of good food served. They also have champagne brunch on Sundays. I advise you to join the Priority Club of IHG Group because they also serve great food 3 times a day, plus cocktails in the evenings, and this are all free for Priority members plus the use of the conference room and Internet room. The Service provided of the people that works there are great specially Daniel Petri and his associates, they are very friendly and helpful. They go out of their way to help. Executive Chef Ferstl is originally from Germany, moved to Vienna, where he apprenticed and studied under Grastfoj Post Lech, and Alfaed Ftiedtich. He has worked at Palais Coburg, and now he is with Intercontinental Hotel for several years now.
The following day, my friend Achilles Anastasopoulos who is a retired Navy Admiral from Greece and Kim Solomon who lives in Vienna now, was originally from the U.S. The 3 of us went to the wineries to attend the wine festival, just 45 minutes outside Vienna called Feuersbrunn, to visit my long-time friends Toni Bauer a third generation winemaker, and Gudron of the Anton Bauer Wines. It is so nice to see them every year. Both Gudron and Toni are always pleasant and friendly, and very hospitable. It was a pleasure to see Toni's sister Sieglinde Bauer, and her sweet daughter Sonja Bauer, and they have their regular guests from other parts of Austria that we meet there every year, and some guests from Germany. Anton Bauer Wines are high-end delicious wines which are served at high-end restaurants and hotels throughout Europe and the United States. After our wine tasting, Chef Toni Morwald invited us to have dinner in one of his restaurants at one of his hotels by the castle. Of course everything they serve are fresh, well-prepared and delicious, so we all thoroughly enjoyed our food.
To find Anton Bauer Wines in Europe, and in the U.S. go to www.antonbauer.at and make sure to check out the restaurants and hotels of famous Chef Toni Morwald who serves superb gourmet food prepared by Chef Morwald himself, and his line-up of culinary chefs. Because of this, they get a lot of tourists from all over all over Europe, and other parts of the world. It is a place to visit and relax with the beautiful fresh air, while being pampered in their spa, and enjoying fabulous gourmet foods and delicious fine wines. So make sure to add The World of Morwald when you plan your future trips. They are also part of the wine festival and give guided tours. Check out their website for a list of their different restaurants and hotels you can stay at during the wine festival. To make your reservations go to www.moerwald.at
The following day we were picked up by a limousine which brought us to this beautiful Bio Hotel in the Austrian Alps called Stanglwirt in Tyrol, Austria. A 5 Star Hotel which looks more like a castle infact it is a wooded Castle, Founded during the 1600s, and started out as an Inn then Tavern and then became this beautiful Bio Hotel called Stanglwirt (The Wooden Castle). When you arrive you are immediately impressed at how exquisite and how truly large the Hotel is, including the amazing reception area, and the gorgeous restaurant and bar. The place is so immense, that their staff has to pick us from our guest rooms, and take us back to them, because you get lost trying to find your room. We first met with Ramona Reitmaier and she took us our beautiful suites with balcony but it is more of a 2 bedroom apartment. And in the afternoon we met with one of the daughters and son Maria Hauser-Lederer who is the Director of the Hotel and Johannes Hauser who is the F&B Manager in which he handles all the Food and Beverages, the restaurant, and the catering. Both of them are doing a great job. We also met the hotel Executive Chef Thomas Ritzer, who creates delicious recipes which are served in their different restaurants. Chef Ritzer and Magdalena Hauser made a recipe book in which they generously gave me a copy
of their recipe book.
When Maria toured Stanglwirth with us and showed us their uniquely designed pools and beautiful indoor and outside spas – they look are so out of this world. They consist of an Indoor Rock Pool, an Outdoor Rock Pool, a Rock Whirlpool (where you relax in a giant Jacuzzi (36°C) next to the aquarium), a Family Sport Pool (outdoor), a Panorama Relaxation Room, and the Oasis of Silence Relaxation Room, a Salt Grotto (where you enjoy the healing of the warm salt steam on your vocal cords, skin and bronchial system). The Stone Sauna (where warm sandstone rocks and eucalyptus steams provide relief for tired backs and aching bones), the Mountain Crystal Steam Bath (where you are astonished by magical sparkling crystals), the Pinewood Bio Sauna (where you can truly relax in this stylish mountain chalet and smell the scent of organic pinewood), and the Wilder Kaiser Sauna (a large sauna cottage for the whole family with an incredible view of the splendid landscape). Also be sure to visit the Saltwater Pool, the Pro Sport Lap Pool, Relaxation Areas, Marble Steam Bath, the Waterfall Grotto, and the Natural Swimming Lake. They also offer a highly exclusive SPA with treatments for your body, mind and soul. They currently offer 9000 m˛ of wellness& spa (1500 m˛ of that are purely water/wet areas). All of these areas are located in the middle of nature, with direct views to the mountains, smell of clean fresh mountain air and all so very wide and spacious.
These fabulous spas and the hotel are all design by the genius and innovative Mr. Balthasar Hauser I greatly admired his talent. He did not have any formal architecture training in school, so all of his designs came from his dream and what a dream he had. If he hired an architect to build his designs into the works, and they say that it cannot be done he would let them go, and find another to make it happen. He did not stop until he found the architect that could build his designs. The designs are so beautiful of both the hotel and the spas, and this is why this fantastic Hotel is frequented by famous celebrities and top government officials from countries all over the world. Celebrities of the like: Prince Albert of Monaco, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Actress Ashley Judd, Caroline of Monaco, George Harrison, Gloria Gaynor, Heidi Klum, Hillary Clinton, Marcus Schenkenberg, Mark Williams (Mr. Weasley – Harry Potter) Muhammed Ali, Pamela Anderson, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable, Pierre Brice, and many more famous people.
Stanglwirt has single rooms and single suites, and they also have beautiful apartments with a large king size bed with a grandiose fireplace and a living room, plus an additional bedroom, and your own whirlpool Spa and sauna including a balcony over-looking the Austrian Alps which is so refreshing. They have several restaurants which serve fresh organic food grown from their gardens. And they have the largest cows that I have ever seen anywhere in the world. They massage these cows, the same as they massage cows which are made into Kobe Steak in Japan (one of the foods that I enjoyed when I was in Japan) they taste so good and melts in your mouth. When I saw these cows I knew we would be fed good steak and cheeses, because you can see they are so healthy and big. During the day time they are sent out to the fields of the Austrian Alps to eat good healthy fresh grass. They served 7 course dinner plus the fresh salad including assorted cheeses (some from their own cows). All very tasty and good, I tasted a bit of every item but left room so I could eat my steak. I could hardly wait to taste my steak and when I ate it, the morsel was a taste of heaven. I normally don't finish my steak, but this was so delicious that I was able to finish it all.
There are a lot of things to do in Stanglwirt besides the beautiful spas, You can have a wonderful massage in which I personally thoroughly enjoyed. You can have a lesson, or ride the beautiful white Lipizzan Horses, play tennis, or golf, and during winter time you can ski and have a sleigh rides throughout the area. They also have a state of the art Gym that you can exercise in after eating all that scrumptious food from their restaurants. In the evenings they have a person playing the piano at the bar, and you can also dance to the music. The Hauser Family that runs and own Stanglwirt is comprised of the father Balthasar Hauser III, the mother Magdalena Hauser, their children starting with Richard, Elizabeth, Maria, and Johannes. The whole family and their thousands of staff do a fabulous job which makes your stay enjoyable and pleasant. If you have children they also have a children’s camp were they can go, so you can enjoy the different personal spa treatments, among other things.
It is a must, that you include STANGLWIRT in your Bucket List. It started as a Tavern then to an Inn when Gold was discover in the area. Then it became this beautiful bio hotel. You will be happy that you went there! You never could believe that there is such a beautiful place, a slice of heaven on earth, or resort in that particular area of the Austrian Alps. I am definitely going back and bringing my friends. There is a plan to have the exhibition of the famous American Artist called MARCO of MARCOART. Who is dubbed as the next Andy Warhol and Haring in the fall and his clients are famous celebrities, Presidents and CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies. Do make sure to get in touch with the Hotel for the schedule of his reception and show, and go to www.stanglwirt.com for more information and for your own reservation. You will be happy that you made this reservation!
When we got back to the Intercontinental Hotel in Vienna, we met with the famous Folk Singer of Austria: Hansi Hinterseer who is also staying at the intercontinental Hotel in Vienna. who had a concert in Vienna the previous night, who also stays at the STANGLWIRT every summer after he does a pilgrimage with 10,000 fans to the top of the mountain called Kitzbuhel to Hahnenkamm Valley Station. He was very nice and friendly and one of the success stories of Austria. We were also visited by my long-time friend from Vienna Robert Lester, who does business around Europe and a lot of business in Dubai.
Now I am headed back to Ireland… and was met by my friend Tina O'Hagan Once again we stayed at Castle Leslie, for those who do not know, this is the same castle were Paul McCarthy stayed with his guests and married his second wife. The Hotel Leslie is the only castle in Ireland that is own by the same family since the 1600. It has a mixture of the Irish and American families. The late Prime Minister Winston Churchill is related to the Leslie family. Winston Churchill’s mother Jennie Jerome and her 2 sisters were Americans (the daughters of Leonard Jerome a flamboyant New York Broker called the King of Wall Street). So when you are in the castle you will find a picture of the young Winston with his brother and their mother in the living room. The castle is full of other family portraits and original paintings dating all the way back to the 1600s, many of them are hanging in the Victorian breakfast room
over- looking the garden and lake.
That night we got the chance to have dinner again at the Lodge on the grounds of Castle Leslie with Father Sean Nolan, the Parish Priest of Parish of Errigal Truagh at St. Joseph's Emyvale, Co. in Monaghan Ireland. We all had a great conversations, and from there we all went back to Castle Leslie and sat on one of the living rooms with a fireplace and ordered a night cap and continued our amazing conversations. The following day we dropped by Father Nolan Parish’s Office, this is the same Parish of Archibishop John Hughes who was the fourth Bishop and first Archibishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York, Who laid the cornerstone of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on August 15, 1858, and he also founded Fordham University, formerly St. John College. Father Nolan took us to the mission in N. Ireland the parish church is from the American Folk Park and Museum in Omagh, which is the original house where Archibishop John Hughes grew up in where they teach several elementary classes, and also feed children, and the older ones join their sports program.
Before we went on our way to visit with Tina's family, we stopped by to see the Memorial of the Titanic. They built a beautiful glass building to immortalize the Titanic, a very memorable experience. Afterwards Tina took me on a beautiful drive on the Coast of Ireland. When we stopped we arrived at Magherabouy House Hotel, a hotel on top of the hill overlooking the ocean where we were met by the owner Sandra Giffen. She gave us a tour of her hotel which has beautiful spacious bedrooms. After the tour she provided us with a nice afternoon tea in her Café where they bake pastries, all very delicious. The Hotel has a long historical history dating from the late 1850's with the first owner resident owner Dr. Richard Hamilton of Liverpool. It changed several hands until the Mullan Family bought it in 1976 and invested 2.8 million Euro for renovations, and now owned by Sandra Giffen. The Hotel looks good. Make sure to check out their website: www.magherabouy.co.uk
Afterwards we checked in at City Hotel in Derry which is very close to Tina's family. This is the Hotel where President Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama, and other celebrities stay in when they come to this area. This hotel is right in front of the Friendship Bridge which is dedicated to the peaceful settlements between the different groups in Ireland who had been fighting for many years. We had a good dinner of one of their famous restaurants in Derry right across from the hotel.
When we arrived at Tina's home, I met Tina's mother and father, a very lovely couple, and her friendly sisters, one was Patsy O'Hagan and Rosie, all of the sisters are as nice as their parents. They served me champagne right away, which they know that I like, and very good snacks. Afterwards they took me to Apparo Hotel and Restaurant a boutique hotel owned by a long-time friend of Tina, for a much needed rest and to change for dinner (at that time I still had the flu and had been nursing it, since I left New York). So, I had a hard time getting out of my bed.
Everyone was already waiting for me at the restaurant to arrive for dinner including the Duke, who is a friend of Peter Heagherty the owner of Apparo. The Duke of Abercombe James Hamilton is related to Princess Diana's father, the 8th Earl Spencer who owns two estates or castles, the first one called Barronscourt in Co. Tyrone N. Ireland, and the second is Belle Isle Estate and Castle in Fermanagh N. Ireland. We were mentioning that next time I come back to Ireland that I should stay at one of his castles. I just might do that, because I enjoy staying in different castles. All the food that was served at the Apparo Restaurant was delicious and discovered that the Chef is the sister of Peter, the owner, and the service was very good. Check out their website, www.apparohotel.com.
Then it was time to leave for London, where it nice was to see Catharina Eden again who is a Fashion Designer in London. She used to put on a fashion show at one of my fashion shows in New York City, and also it was also lovely to visit with Svietlana Lavrentidi again. The last time I saw her was in Chicago a year ago, when we both were at the Conferences and Barbecue Party at the Estate of Bill Walsh CEO/Founder of Power Team International. Svietlana had a networking event that evening, so both Patsy O'Hagan, and I attended Svietlana's Networking event where we both had an amazing time.
This is Gloria T. Cressler Signing Off! I will see you in our next events and trips, for any questions and contacts for everything that you read here, or to join our trips, email me at queenglori@aol.com
or gloria@blacktiemagazine.com
or call 1-718-803-0022 any time from 9:00am to 9:00pm.
Ask for INVITATIONS and/or to SPONSOR our events,
and to ADVERTISE in Black Tie International Magazine.
Our last event was at the Trump Tower World Bar last July 15th, our last event of the summer. Then when we will be back in the fall: our next venues will be Oct. 07th and Nov. 04th. For those who reside in the tri-state area we will see you on these dates! Then I will be off again to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Stanglwirt hotel and Country Club in the Austrian Alps and Germany with celebrity Artist MARCO.
I am the Art Curator of MARCO'S Art Exhibitions.
I want to thank those people who helped me with these projects starting with
Mr. Ronald Hoogerbrugge the General Manager of Dusseldorf Intercontinental Hotel, Ms. Brigitte Trattner General Manager of Vienna Intercontinental Hotel & Executive Chef Ferstl, Ms Babbie Dereen of New York City, The Hauser Family, Gerard McKeon Publisher of Black Tie International Magazine, Robert Lester of Vienna and Dubai, Tina O'Hagan and Patsy O'Hagan from Ireland, Retired Navy Admiral Achilles Anastasopoulos, Kim Solomon , Joan Parker, additional to thank from Intercontinental hotel Vienna. Daniel Petri and Anna Schdlich Managers at the Priority Lounge, Isabella Dietrich Resrvations Manager, Clara Prijapratama and all the member of the staff of Intercontinental Hotel Vienna and Stanglwirt Bio Hotel in the Austrian Alps
and all the other people whom we met for all their hospitality that made my trip memorable, pleasant, delectable and so thoroughly enjoyable!
Gloria T. Cressler
Editor/Host
Black Tie International Magazine
President & CEO, Elite Professional Networking Group
P.R., Business Consulting, Branding & Event Producer Company
Member: United Nations Associations & UN Foundations
Ambassador: Power Team International
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Dinner at Hotel & Restaurant with
Tina
O'Hagan plus other friends, Patsy Ohagan, Peter Heagherty & his wife, owner of Apparo Derry, N. Ireland |
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Gloria T. Cressler inside of Castle
Leslie in Northern Ireland
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Father Nolan and Gloria T. Cressler at the Center |
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Dining
outside
the
garden
of
STANGLWIRT
BIO
HOTEL in
the
AUSTRIAN
ALPS.
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SPA in STANGLWIRT BIO HOTEL |
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Front of STANGLWIRT BIO HOTEL during
winter time.
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Some of the guests of
Anton Bauer Winery at the Wine Festival in
Austria. Monica Erber, Pepi Obermoser, Barbara
Obermoser, Inna Hofner, Kim Solomon, Gloria T.
Cressler and other friends of the winery |
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One of the wing of the hotel back side
with Maria Hauser-Lauderer, Balthasar Hauser
III,
Gloria T. Cressler and
Johannes Hauser.
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Chef Ritzer, Johannes Hauser & Gloria T.
Cressler
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At one of the café at Stanglwirt Johannes Hauser,
Gloria T. Cressler, Achilles A, at the back Chef
Ritzi and Kim Solomon |
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Maria Hauser-Lederer and Gloria T. Cressler on the
background is the picture of
Arnold
Schwarzenegger
who is a
regular at Stanglwirt Hotel |
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Taken at the Priority Lounge of
Intercontinental Hotel in Vienna Austria.
Achilles Anastasopoulos,
Executive Chef Sasha Martin Ferstl, Gloria T.
Cressler and Kim Solomon
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Mr. Ronald Hoogerbrugge General Manager (Director)
Dusseldorf Intercontinental Hotel in Germany |
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Ms. Gloria T. Cressler Editor/Host and Ms. Brigitte
Trattner General Manager
Austria's Vienna Intercontinental Hotel |
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Gloria T. Cressler Editor/Host Black Tie
International Magazine & TV infront of the
Intercontinental Hotel in Vienna Austria
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