Culinary
Instructor who taught her own syllabus of cooking classes through all the community centres in
the Victoria area in addition to conducting private gourmet lessons
and classes.
Welcome
Committee VP , busboy and apprentice dishwasher. He hopes one day
to become the maitre d' of the cottage....
Vanessa von Schellwitz and Dean Brandhagen are your welcoming hosts. We both
have a lot of experience in the hospitality business and are well traveled. So
we have some interesting stories haha... actually one year we had so many guests
from the BBC that we thought they were planning another series of the Britcom
"Fawlty Towers" using us as the subject material.
Originally from 'culture city' itself - Salzburg, Austria - Vanessa brings a
great deal of European style and many tasty dishes from Europe to our guests at
the Gingerbread Cottage. Her Viennese Apricot Dumplings and world famous
Austrian Apfel Strudel are worth the price of admission all by themselves, to
say nothing of the delicious 4 course cooked to order breakfasts that she
lovingly prepares daily.
There are usually 4 choices of breakfast entree daily - One sweet, One meat, One
vegetarian, and One seafood. Celiac, Vegan, Vegetarian, Diabetic and all other
diet considerations can also be arranged on request. Vanessa was Victoria's most
popular cooking instructor for over 15 years so she can cook anything and make
it look easy and taste great. She prepares snappy, chestnut flour Crepe Suzettes
for a gluten free treat for people who have difficulty with gluten.
To add to the intimacy, breakfast is served in a quaint Austrian Gasthaus style
breakfast room with elegant silver chargers, hand painted Gmunden Keramic
Austrian porcelain, ornate silver sets, linen tablecloths and napkins, and fancy
silver knife benches. The room itself is a work of art and compliments the
ornate antiques and original art pieces from around the world. English and
German are spoken but Dean always brags he can say "Bon Appetite" in 17
languages.
In addition to being a linguist, Dean does his part in the mornings by,
prepping, making strong coffee and fancy teas, hosting, waiting tables and - of
course - bussing...
For your daily breakfast entertainment, Dean also shows off our 3 crazy
cockatoo's - Casper, Chucky (an endangered pink Malaccan Cockatoo) and Merlin -
with their unique gimmicks, tricks and antic's.
You will enjoy the breakfast show, these birds are truly world famous! In fact,
you can see Merlin taking the "Pepsi Challenge" on Google Video. He is such a
show off. If you prefer to cuddle something without a sharp beak, we have a
gorgeous Flamepoint Siamese cat called Butler. He lives up to his name by
welcoming everyone who arrives by asking for a tummy scratch.
The Gingerbread Cottage, built in 1905, is one of only a few registered heritage
duplexes in Victoria. Along with many gorgeous antiques, a piano and Dean's
Brazilian classical guitar, the Cottage boasts two well zoned deluxe bed and
breakfast suites with private baths and private roof gardens.
The Lavender Room - a favorite anniversary or honeymoon suite with queen size
bed and private bath boasting an antique claw foot tub and unique old turn of
the century water closet - and the Gustav Klimt Room (Vanessa grew up a couple
of villa's from the castle where Klimt and his art nouveau artist buddies
painted, wined and dined their summers away in the early 1900's.) The Gustav
Klimt room has a queen bed and private bath with it's own soaker tub and rain
shower, it also has a 10' x 12' private roof garden where you can watch the
squirrels, sun your buns and plan your day in Victoria!
Both rooms have down feather duvets and crisp ironed sheets which are an
experience in themselves. (hypo allergenic bedding is available if you prefer)
We would love to have you stay with us in scenic downtown Victoria so please
check out our website to see how things look... coincidently - The Gingerbread
Cottage is an extremely pink house! Please contact us soon, so we can be sure to
reserve a cozy bed and a place at the table for you! |
Butler,
a Flame Point Siamese male cat, is also very friendly and loves meeting new
people. He usually likes to drop in and visit guests in their room, so let
us know if you have allergies. (Butler spends a lot of time
out of doors so he does not accumulate too much allergenic dander.)
Casper, our other Umbrella Cockatoo, is quite a
talker. She has about 25 words that she uses regularly. She came to us
from some folks who did not know much about how to handle raptors, but she
is becoming very well adjusted and only responds to love.
Chucky - Our 29
year old Malaccan Cockatoo is on the endangered species list as wild
caught Malaccan's, like her, are trapped almost to extinction
Merlin is 10 years old
Casper is 10 years old
Chucky is 30 years old
Butler
loves wool!
Merlin Takes the
Pepsi Challenge Movie
Our Cockatoos
Umbrella Cockatoos are quite the pets, if you would like a companion they
will be a great companion. They do require a lot of attention and love. Their
needs are simple, some parrot food, loads of attention and lots of cuddles. They
have a long life expectancy of 80 - 100 human years.
The species originated on an Indonesian Island near Australia. We believe
Merlin was bred in Duncan BC., and Casper was wild caught
Merlin
Merlin is a male (we think) and only says one word -
'hello' - Over and over again. His
"Hello" has many inflections though, and many meanings.
Casper is a female ( we are quite sure) and quite a little prancer, she knows
about twenty words and has a memory like an elephant. She has a mind of her own
however and takes her own sweet time doing anything. She has a bit of a handicap
as someone removed a claw from each thumb talon, she cannot hang on to perches or
shoulders as well as Merlin can.
Merlin loves tea!
They are not a breeding pair as cockatoos do not reach sexual maturity until
around 14 years old.
Vanessa von Schellwitz
Coming to Canada from Salzburg Austria,
Gingerbread has been a big part of my life since early childhood.
Gingerbread has a long history, since medieval
times it has been used because of its ability to stay fresh and wholesome for
long periods of time, thus making it possible to take on early voyages and
pilgrimages.
Today, I own and operate the Gingerbread
Cottage, Bed and BreakfastinVictoria British Columbia Canada
and work with my favorite Austrian foods-
Book your stay
today!
We hope to hear from you!
Gingerbread Cottage Bed and Breakfast
Call Toll Free in North America
1-877-767-2121
Text Messages
250-812-5457
Canada Code is 001 if calling or texting from Europe
Take the bus into town from BC
Ferries at Schwartz Bay or Anacortes Ferry in Sidney. The bus terminal is
downtown about 15 minute walk or short cab trip if you have lots of luggage.
Click here for interactive
driving map
6 Blocks to Victoria's
Inner Harbour, Downtown Shopping, Royal BC Museum and IMAX. Parliament
Buildings,
An easy walk Straight up
Oswego Street a few blocks from Downtown, Ferries to Seattle and Port
Angeles. Very easy to find as Oswego street is adjacent to the ferry dock.
4 blocks to Victoria's
Heliport and Cruise Ship docks.
Check rates,
availabilities and reservations using email
