photograph courtesy of clairevet

Cheapos, pay attention! Printemps du Cinema, organised by the National Federation of Cinema, is a not-to-be-missed event in France. From March 18-20, 2007, all cinemas in France will be selling tickets for €3.50 instead of the usual €9.50. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see new releases or catch up on films you haven’t yet found the time to check out.

For nationwide listings, go to allocine.fr. Amongst the current mainstream releases are Breaking and Entering, Letters from Iwo Jima, Dreamgirls, Blood Diamond, and The Last King of Scotland. Make sure you are going to a V.O. (version originale) showing—which means the movie will be screened in its original language with French subtitles—as opposed to V.F. (version francaise) film.

Paris has a welter of unique and charming independent cinemas worth seeking out for the aesthetic experience of a visit alone. La Pagode, for example, is an authentic Japanese pagoda built in 1895 as a gift from a French businessman to his wife. Today it is a delightful art house cinema complete with a garden and tea room, located at 57 bis, rue de Babylone 75007. Metro: Saint François Xavier.

Popularity: 3% [?]

photograph courtesy of borya

Austria is entering the end of Carnival and, beginning today, will be in fasting mode. In Austria, Carnival is called Fasching.

Vienna has survived this year’s Fasching more or less intact. The Vienna Opera Ball, the extensive media coverage courtesy of Paris Hilton (construction magnate Richard Lugner’s special guest this year), and the numerous balls leading up to the start of the Lenten season have all come and gone.

As far as we’re concerned, the most important element of Fasching is Krapfen.

Krapfen is the equivalent of the American doughnut or the British/Australian pancake traditionally eaten during Shrove Tuesday. It is called Berliner Pfannkuchen in Germany. In Italy, it’s called Krafen.

Krapfen is a pastry of yeast dough fried in either fat or oil. Krapfen are dusted with sugar or iced. They are usually injected with a jam filling after being cooked. They are so tasty they’ll make even staid adults want to scarf a dozen in one sitting.

Krapfen are good and cheap, too. They cost between €.70 and €.90 apiece.

Popularity: 3% [?]