Well the military activity has extended so we'll be on the tarmac a while longer. Another half-hour according to the driver.

And since the ground crew gave me a cue, here is a bit of Franco-Austrian trivia for you want to shine with useless knowledge in high society.


Just what the doctor ordered

The croissant originated in Eastern Europe, but not quite as we know it. It was rolled pastry, and didn't really have a defined shape. It was known as "kipferl".

It only got its shape after a fateful morning of 1683 in Vienna, when bakers (early risers) noticed vibrations in the water, indicating that the Ottomans who had laid siege to the city were digging under its walls.

Later that year, once the Habsburgs had won the war, Viennese bakers decided to pick the shape of the crescent which adorned the Ottoman banners to celebrate the victory.

The croissant first made an appearance in France when Marie-Antoinette married Louis XVI and became queen of France. Unfortunately, "l'Autrichienne" wasn't very popular so it didn't really take off, unlike her head which probably jumped after she was guillotined during the revolution.

It was in the late 19th century that the croissant made a reappearance in France, when Austrian pātisseries and bakeries opened in Paris. French bakers liked the pastry and decided to apply the French school to it: yeast to raise the dough, and butter, always more butter!

The French never lost the origin of the croissant though, since croissants, pains au chocolat and other breakfast pastries are collectively known in France as Viennoiseries.

And with that, we get back to our normal programming, where we've been allowed to push back at 1:25, 25 minutes behind schedule but 15 minutes better than the last delay announcement.

I might be the designated driver in Munich, so my next update may be much later.

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