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A minute with Martin Weiss, Austrian Ambassador to Cyprus, Living

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Austrian ambassador Martin Weiss

 Where do you live?

In Latsia with my wife, our two children and two dogs

Best childhood memory?

Hiking in the Dolomite mountains in the north of Italy with my parents, my sister and my brother 

Most frequented restaurant and absolute favourite dish? What food would you really turn your nose up to? 

Pyxida, I love their grilled octopus and the fresh white fish. My all-time favourite dish is – surpise, surprise – Schnitzel and I do not eat tongue. As my grandfather used to say: why would I eat anything that someone else has already had in their mouth?

What did you have for breakfast?

Fruit, yoghurt, toast – and of course coffee! 

Would you class yourself as a day or night person? What’s your idea of the perfect night/day out? 

Probably more of a day person. Early morning, when everybody else is still asleep, is a wonderful time of the day. A perfect day? Getting up early on a summer morning, riding my bike to the mountains (Kapedes or Stavrovouni), having a relaxed brunch with my family, reading the Patroclos column in the Sunday Mail, spending the afternoon at the seaside, having a drink at a bar while watching the sunset and finally ending the day with an extended mezze-dinner with lots of friends and family.

Best book ever read… 

The last book that made an impression on me was Enders Game by Orson Scott Card, a recommendation by my teenage son. 

Favourite film of all time? 

Revanche by the Austrian director Götz Spielmann is a fantastic film. Beautifully acted, surprising until the very end and all the while depicting the world in different shades than just black and white. Should have won the ´best-foreign-language´ Oscar in 2009, but an Austrian film had already won the year before…

Favourite holiday destination? What’s your dream trip?

The island of Maui in Hawaii is hard to beat. One early morning my wife and I went swimming with a group of local triathletes, and we swam for an hour right next to large green sea turtles, manta-rays, parrot fish etc – just amazing! Watching the Hawaiian surfers is breathtaking too and all in all these islands give you this exotic feeling of being far, far away from everything. In Hawaii, everything feels so soft: the sand, the air, the ocean - I would go back in a heartbeat. 

What music are you listening to in the car at the moment? 

A CD put together for me by my daughter with songs from the Israeli singer Asaf Avidan - he´s got an absolutley unique voice

What is always in your fridge?

Champagne, a glass of bubbly is always a nice treat

Dream house: rural retreat or urban dwelling? Where would it be, what would it be like? 

Hollywood Hills in a house built by American architect John Lautner. I have been in some of the houses designed by him and they are simply breathtaking: the lights of Los Angeles are right at your feet. 

If you could pick anyone at all (alive or dead) to go out for the evening with, who would it be?

My wife, who could be better company? In case she is not available, Albert Einstein would do. He seems to me like a man who offers just the right mix of wisdom and humour. And there are a couple of things about the universe that he might be able to explain to me. 

If the world is ending in 24 hours what would you do?

I would have a good meal, Beluga Caviar and vintage Champagne sound about right, followed by a handmade Cuban cigar. Then I would spend a day at the seaside with my family and sleep a little in the shade – you have to be well rested for such an exciting moment.

Tell us a joke…

A man buys a pack of cigarettes. When he looks at the warning label, it reads: “Smoking causes impotence”. He thinks for a moment, then returns the cigarettes to the shopkeeper and says: could I have the ones with cancer please?