Central Europe Day 9: Salzburg

It was 9:00 a.m. when our next shuttle driver arrived in from of our Cesky Krumlov hotel. His name was Andrew. He was a young man working on a Master's Degree at the university in business and economics. He drove for the shuttle service in the summer to make a little money. Andrew was Czech, but he spoke English very well. He invited us to talk to him as much as we wanted so he could practice the language. He also spoke German. He told us that he had studied as an exchange student in Salzburg when he was in high school. When he dropped us off in Salzburg I asked if he would like to stay with us and show us around. He looked me straight in the eye longingly, as if loving the idea, and said he would love to. Then snapped back to reality and declined as he headed back to his employment.

Before we took off from our Czech hotel, I asked Andrew if we were going to travel the scenic route through winding country roads, or if we would be using the expressway to arrive to our destination. He informed me it would be the expressway. Needless to say I was relieved, but I took a Dramamine just in case.

After another 3 hour trip, Andrew dropped us off at the front door of the Hofwirt Hotel and helped us in with our bags. The hotel didn't look like much from the outside, but it was in a perfect location within the city. It was also very clean with a large breakfast room that contained TWO coffee machines! Our room was somewhat modern with ample space. It had no air conditioning, but we really didn't need it. We were only on the first floor with a large window opening to the street. Consequently we dealt with some street noise, but no one really cared.

We once again had to store our luggage and hit the streets until our room was ready. No problem. We were getting really good at this by now. We took a walk around Salzburg trying to orient ourselves. Our hotel was on the northeast side of the Salzach River not too far from St. Sebastian's Church. It took no time at all to reach the bridge that crossed into Old Town (Altstadt). Here we wandered through Mozart's Square, Dom Cathedral Square, the Residenz Square as well as many side streets with shops. In the distance we could see the Hohensalzburg Fortress, so we headed to the spot where the funicular would take us up the steep hill to visit the fortress. No climbing up today.

     

Once in the fortress, we toured and climbed to various levels, snapping great pictures of the city of Salzburg on one side and the beautiful Alps on the other. We found a Marionette Museum that contained displays of marionettes used through the years to entertain. One, in particular, was very entertaining: the coffin of Archbishop Wolf Dietrich that was tucked away in a corner. Pam opened the door to this coffin and his marionette came out with a ghastly laugh. It was too funny. We opted not to go through the fortress apartments, as we had seen plenty in Vienna. Instead, we found a steep footpath out of the fortress and went in search of the Nonnberg Abbey - the very one that was used in the Sound of Music.

     

The Abbey was still in use and was really not very clearly marked. We entered on the side of the abbey and found ourselves in a graveyard. Finally, we came to the front gate and exited. I snapped a picture not realizing it was the gate that Maria was knocking on in the movie. From the abbey, we made our way down a pedestrian walkway that led to the city.

                                   

From there we returned to our hotel to get settled into our room. Since it was Sunday, most of the stores were closed in the city, including grocery stores. We munched on some of our remaining snacks for lunch before heading out again to look for Mirabell Palace.

The Mirabell Palace was actually built in the 1600s by the Prince Archbishop for his concubine. The gardens next to the Palace are actually more well known as one of the locations filmed in the Sound of Music. It contains statues of exotic animals, fountains, well groomed gardens and lattice tunnels. The famous steps where Maria sings Do Re Mi are also found at one end of the garden. It was beautiful!

      

From there, we headed back to Linzer Gasse, the street on which our hotel was located. We had noticed that it contained several reasonably-priced cafes offering a variety of foods. We chose to eat dinner at one called Alter Fuchs. Don't get excited! Fuchs is the word for Fox! I had potato soup, a salad plate that included greens, sauerkraut, pickled cucumbers, and german potato salad. Meagan had a plate of spinach dumplings swimming in garlic butter. Of course it all was accompanied by a dunkel (dark beer). Prost!

Central Europe Day 8: Cesky Krumlov

Hold onto your hats, boys and girls. You are about to embark on a very scenic drive from Vienna to a small town in the Czech Republic called Cesky Krumlov. You will travel through many other small towns on your journey in order to take in the picturesque scenery of winding roads as they twist and turn for about 3 hours through the rolling countryside of these countries.

Can you say Dramamine? I popped one in my mouth even before we left Vienna! I don't know how Meagan and Pam made the trip without any. We met our driver, Lucas (a young man from the Czech Republic). He picked us up in a van, loaded our bags, and off we went. It was such a pleasure not to have to be herded onto a bus with 25 other tourists. Our shuttles were arranged just for us, which meant we could easily talk with each other and with the driver. In spite of the fact that I was drugged up, it was so interesting to drive through small Austrian and Czech villages to get a sense of how people lived in the countryside. We also passed through an old communist check point, which was a stark reminder that not too long ago, the border between the countries had been closed. Finally, after many tight curves, we arrived at the Hotel Bellevue in Cesky Krumlov. By now we had learned that our resident math major, Pam, was so good at figuring tips. It was best that we let her handle this job  as well as navigating our trip. Thank you so much, Pam!

Why are we visiting Cesky Krumlov? It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose history stems back to the Middle Ages. This Bohemian town was ruled by 3 wealthy families who constructed and enhanced a huge castle within the city. The castle is even surrounded by a moat (now dry) that through the years has been guarded by a bear. The little town is filled with a variety of architectural styles and medieval structures. The Vltava River twists its way through the town, which makes it a great spot for locals and visitors to travel down the river in flatboats or canoes. We watched as many people took advantage of such activities and even walked about the town in wet bathing suits. Ew!

     

When we first arrived, we had a few hours to kill before our hotel room would be ready, so we parked our bags in the lobby (for anyone to take!) and set out to explore the area. I changed only $20 Euros to the local Korunas since we were only going to spend one night in town. Our local guide was to pick us up at the hotel at 5:30. Her name was Teresia (sp?) who was actually a French/Business major studying in Lyons, France. She and I had a lot in common! Her family still resides in Cesky Krumlov on the outskirts of the town, but she related that her grandfather lived in one of the houses close to the castle at one time. These tours are invaluable to help understand the history of the cities that we are visiting. I almost wish we had gone on this tour earlier in the day to better understand what we were seeing. Nevertheless, we enjoyed exploring.

Our room in the Hotel Belvedere was on the fourth floor of the building. The only problem was that the elevator only went up to the third floor. We had to carry all our bags up a set of stairs, but this was Europe. The room also did not have air conditioning, but it had a small set of windows that looked out over part of the city. Fortunately, it was cool enough that we were not bothered by the lack of air conditioning. I didn't even worry about bats coming through the window at night. The hotel served a nice breakfast with access to the all-important coffee machine. With the push of a button, our cups were filled with small cappuccinos or a melange. Yum!

     

I enjoyed this city. Next time I visit, I would like to find the old theater and take a tour of it. It would also be interesting to tour the castle. We did not have time to explore these places in depth this time.

Central Europe Day 7: The Wachau Valley River Cruise

For our last day in Vienna, we boarded a train that would take us west to the small town of Melk, Austria. The journey took about 1 hour and 30 minutes. The plan was to buy tickets for a cruise down the Danube, heading east, to arrive at the town of Krems where we would board a train back to Vienna. We stepped out in faith that the trip would fall together well, armed with instructions from Go Real Europe, Rick Steves, and the rail station app. It was such a relief that everything fell together and that the weather would be partly sunny for visiting the beautiful Wachau Valley.

We arrived in Melk and went straight to the boat docs to buy our tickets. The cruise would stop at a town called Spitz, Dürnstein, and finally Krems. We could get off the boat at any of these stops, visit for a while, then return to be picked up by another boat to continue the tour. In the interest of time, we planned to spend time in  Melk and Dürnstein, then travel to Krems to catch the train back to Vienna.

Once our tickets were purchased, we set out to explore Melk. What a beautiful little town this was! The focal point was the abbey. We didn't take the time to go through the abbey, but rather spent time in the gardens that gave us a great view of the town below and of the abbey itself. We also wandered through the quaint, medieval streets until it was time to board our boat for the river cruise.

          

While waiting, we sat on a wall next to a group of Americans comprised of a group of female family members who were doing a tour similar to ours. We had a great conversation comparing our adventures and sharing places to visit. When it came time to board the boat we parted ways and found 3 seats that were open. Before too long a group of German women made their way to our area and practically forced us out of our seats. Meagan was fuming! In the end, it all worked out, but things were tense for a while. Its too bad that so many people were rude on our trip. We are so losing the values of respect and courtesy in our society these days.

As we traveled down the Danube, we enjoyed seeing small towns, old castles lying in ruin, and miles of vineyards and apricot groves. The Wachau region is known for their good wines and apricot products, such as preserves and liqueurs. We went into a little shop in Dürnstein that allowed us to taste the apricot liqueurs. Of course, I had to purchase a small bottle, which we would later drink in our hotel room in Salzburg. I was planning to get a bottle for Earl at a duty-free store before leaving for the states, but was unable to due to time constraints. Fortunately, Pam special-ordered one for me from one of her liquor stores in PA when we arrived in the USA.

     

Our boat briefly stopped at a town called Spitz, but we did not get off here. Someday it would be nice to return and follow the bicycle trails in this region going from town to town. Instead, we continued on to Dürnstein and disembarked there. This also was an amazing medieval town with quaint houses, a large gold-colored abbey and a beautiful blue church. We wandered around several vineyards along the old walls of the city. Once again, we did not have time to visit the abbey or the church, but enjoyed coffee on the banks of the Danube while waiting for our boat to Krems.

          

From Krems we returned to Vienna and thought it best to stop at another ATM before leaving Vienna. We returned to the opera district and were surprised to find that they were broadcasting the live performance of one of Wagner's operas on a large screen in the street. How great would it be to sit in a cafe and watch what was being performed in the opera house! Next time I come, I would like to take in some of the musical events that are offered throughout the city. The culture of Vienna is so rich in the arts. Maybe someday...

Central Europe Day 6: Vienna

It was another chilly day. The temperatures were in the 60s. It looked like it wanted to rain, but was just overcast and windy most of the day. We wore jackets and sweaters. The plan was to set out for Schönbrunn and Belvedere Palace on our last day in Vienna.

Schönbrunn was primarily constructed to be used as a summer retreat for the imperial family. There is a natural spring on the property (for which the palace gets it name), a beautiful garden, woods and even a maze for the children to play in. The Empress Maria Theresia lived at this residence with her 16 children (although 6 of them died). We toured the living quarters listening to explanations on headsets, dodging other large tour groups that always seemed to move when we did.

We next explored the gardens and headed to the Neptune fountain at the far end. Climbing up to the back of the fountain enabled us to take photos of the back of the Palace from a distance. Behind the fountain, further up a small hill was the Gloriette. This structure was originally built to commemorate a victory over the Prussians in 1757. A large pond was in front of it and the Gloriette offered spectacular views of the Palace.

From the Schönbrunn Palace we took the metro to Karlsplatz where we viewed, but did not enter, St. Charles' church. This church was built in honor of St. Charles Borromeo, who cared for so many plague victims.

Nearby was another palace built on the outskirts of the city called Belvedere Palace. This was the residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy who was a notable military commander, originally from France, that came to Austria to be employed by the imperial family after he was rejected by the French. He led many decisive military operations against the Turks and the French. It is understandable why this palace and gardens were designed in French style. The palace is now an art museum. We did not enter the museum, but we did climb the tree levels of the gardens and found many interesting statues and fountains. One fountain was adorned with statues of young children that appeared to be fighting with each other.

Luckily, we came to a cafe on this complex where we could rest and have our traditional coffee with cake lunch. It's a good thing we were walking so much on this trip to burn those calories! We then headed for our hotel, stopping a the grocery store for some healthy smoothies and probiotic drinks.  While resting, we spent some time trying to figure out how to buy tickets for our boat trip down the Danube the next day. Then we took to the streets again for more exploration.

We took the tram to the outskirts of the city to find the Hundertwasserhaus. This was a modern apartment building, actually inhabited, that was build in the 1980s. It is known for its architectural form that includes undulating sidewalks and facades with brightly colored walls. The building was covered with plant life and supposedly even had trees growing in the apartments. It was very cool and worth the stop.

          

Next, we took the tram to the Prater, an amusement part that housed a ferris wheel from which you could see the entire city at the top. We did not ride the ferris wheel in Budapest because we hoped to ride this one in Vienna. Little did we know that the Prater amusement park looked like Geauga Lake and was filled with lower class carnival people. (Are we snobs, or what?) We walked from one end of the park to the other, hoping it would get better, but it didn't. We came to the ferris wheel, which was hardly moving. We weren't even sure it was running! Consequently we decided to forgo the ferris wheel ride, especially since it was getting late and we needed to find our way home.

We ended our day back in the Spittleberg district and had dinner in an Indian restaurant. I had the chicken masala with naan. It was delicious!

Central Europe Day 5: Vienna

The breakfast tables at the Hotel Savoy were so small! Each of us had a carafe for 2 cups of coffee (probably instant coffee) and our own personal creamer. There was also a huge basket of bread on each table. Unfortunately, I saw some of the patrons handle several pieces of the bread assortment in the basket before finding the perfect choice. I wondered if they would recycle the unused breads the next day, and who might have handled the piece I chose. It was better not to think about such things.

Every morning I ate pieces of ham, slices of cheese, scrambled eggs, cucumbers, and tomatoes. I passed up the pickled salads that were also offered on the buffet table. I topped off my first selection with a bowl of unsweetened yogurt that had fruit and granola on top of it. Finally, I consumed a croissant (If I could find one!) or brown bread with butter and jam on it. Needless to say I drank both cups of coffee afforded me in the carafe. No wonder we were all having trouble regulating our digestive systems!

Since the weather was going to be rainy again today, we decided to take in some of the indoor tours of the Hofburg Palace. We went through the Sisi museum to see the royal silver and china collections, and toured the imperial apartments of Sisi and Franz Josef in the palace. Amazing! It contained beautiful china collections, silver and gold table service, cooking pans and utensils, ornate serving pieces, royal table linens, and golden table decorations in elaborate styles. We also toured the palace treasury, which housed vestments worn by the royal guards, kings, and priests. We also viewed many ornate religious items owned by the church. Such opulence!

We also spent more time in the gardens in the Hofburg complex and traveled on the Ringstrasse tram around the complex. Many of the lovely buildings that surrounded the palace complex were the homes of wealthy businessmen and statesmen. The Ringstrasse encircles the inner city where the original walls were built.

     

Next we went back to St. Stephen's Cathedral. We did not go in the cathedral, but probably should have. It was in this cathedral that Mozart got married. It was also the place where his funeral was held. Instead we wandered through the streets of high-end shops, most of which had guards who monitored worthy patrons to enter their stores.

Wandering through the shopping area we came to the Sacher Hotel, famous for the Sacher torte. Since we had the custom of consuming coffee and cake for lunch, we took a seat at the outdoor cafe and ordered 3 coffees, one slice of torte and one cube of torte. Our bill came to 30 Euros (about $35) but none of us cared. That was the thing to do in Vienna.

We ended our day by wandering through the Spittleberg Quarter. It was in this area that many artisans and craftsmen came from other countries to serve the Emperors or work in the silk factories. Consequently you can see quaint little homes on cobblestone streets. The area is loaded with interesting shops and unique restaurants. We chose to eat at a restaurant called Die Burgermacher, which offered organic burgers with healthy trimmings. For example, Meagan's burger was trimmed with greens and white asparagus. Very unique and very good!

We then continued our wanderings and found a cafe that served us glasses of wine. By then it was very chilly outside. The waiter offered us blankets but we were bundled in our coats. He was counting the hours until his shift in the outdoor cafe ended so he could get out of the cold. Not many people were sitting outside that night. Only crazy Americans, I guess.

Central Europe Day 4: Vienna

We checked out of our Budapest hotel relatively early, grabbed a taxi and headed to the train station for a three hour rail trip to Vienna. We had second class seats and found the trip to be fairly comfortable. Upon our arrival in Vienna, we took a taxi to the Hotel Savoy on Lindengasse street. Out of all the hotels booked on our trip, this proved to be the oldest. We took an old lift to the 4th floor one-at-a-time since it was so small. Upon entering the room, we noticed 2 small closets on the left; one contained the toilet, the other was a washroom with sink and shower. Both were very narrow and the light switch was outside of the door. This room had no sitting area, just 3 beds and an old upholstered chair. I soon discovered that my bed felt like a mayan alter and the pillow was as flat as a pancake. It was a good thing that I was too tired to care each night. The dingy. patterned carpet tied and gold light fixtures tied the room together and made it feel like Mozart himself might have stayed there. This is Europe. We tried to tell Meagan that this was typical of older European hotels. She was spoiled by our more modern Budapest hotel. There were 3 large windows that opened up to the street below, without screen, of course. Again, we were so tired at night that we were hardly bothered by street lights and noise.

              

Our guided walking tour of the inner city was scheduled for 2:30. We explored a little on our own prior to the tour and found an ATM to fill our pockets with Euros. The weather was much cooler, but rainy. We welcomed the change to wear a jacket after sweltering in Budapest.

The guide showed us around the Hofburg Palace complex and St. Stephen's square. We also learned about the wealthy apartments and dwellings around the Ringstrasse where the city walls used to exist. By the time the tour was over, I felt so confused about which ruler reigned at what time. That night I tried to take notes on the history of the area from Pam's Rick Steve's guidebook to untangle my mind. I'm not sure it helped.

After our private tour, we went to a pub that served traditional Austrian dishes. Pam had smoked pork (ham) with sauerkraut and a dumpling. I had roast pork with sauerkraut and a dumpling, and Meagan had sausage with sauerkraut and a potato dumpling. We were so stuffed!

               

After dinner, we re-visited some of the sites we saw at the Hofburg Palace area so we could walk off dinner, then returned to our hotel to plan our next day.

Central Europe Day 3: Budapest

The rains were over. It was another hot day in Budapest. This was going to be our shopping day, which included a trip to the Central Market and the high-end shops on Váci Street. The market was a bit disappointing as it was similar to Cleveland's West Side Market. It was in a large covered building and included 3 floors of shops for foods, spices, and tons of souvenirs. I couldn't go into the fish market in the basement. I could tell it was a stinky place which wouldn't mix with my overheated body temperature. I found the Hard Rock cafe so naturally I had to buy a couplet T-shirts. Meagan tracked down a Starbucks and bought a city mug. I didn't know that existed. Maybe that will have to be my new collection when I travel.

The highlight of my day though was a visit to the Jewish Quarter. We had coffee and cake in a small cafe across from the synagogue. Pam and I paid to enter the synagogue, but poor Meagan was improperly dressed and refused to buy a covering for 1 Euro. She waited for us outside and called her boys.

We entered the memorial gardens first. Here were the graves of some 3000 Hungarian Jews who were assassinated in the Budapest neighborhood. Most Jews were taken to death camps, but for some reason, the Budapest Jews were killed on the spot. Family members buried them next to the synagogue, which in itself was an unusual practice. At a later date, the gardens were improved to create a memorial and the graves were given new headstones. You could see the original grave markers on the side of the synagogue in the Lapidarium. As it is the tradition to lay stones around a grave in remembrance of a loved one, many stones were visible throughout the memorial. All was very impressive and touching.

The memorial park also showcased the Emmanuel Tree. This sculpture, envisioned by Tony Curtis no less, was in the shape of a tree. The leaves of the tree contained the names of Jewish martyrs from the area as well as some of the non-Jewish friends who helped them during the Holocaust. It was breathtaking. It made me wonder how anyone could actually deny that the Holocaust took place. After we viewed the inside of the synagogue, we retrieved Meagan so she could also see the Emmanuel Tree. It was really quite emotional.

   

Following our experience at the synagogue, Pam led us to the food truck alley for lunch. It was called Karaván and it did contain an alley of food trucks featuring beer, wine, and a variety of quick foods. We all tried a lángos, which was a fried bread topped with sour cream and cheese. Some varieties contained burgers or other vegetables, but we just tried the plain one. It was good, but very rich. 

Hot, dusty, and tired, we returned to our hotel for a rest and cool down. We then went out in the city again, this time taking a tram to Gellért Hill on the Buda side. On this hill was a statue of St. Gellért who helped bring Christianity to the Hungarians in the 11th century. Unfortunately, they opposed his message, put him in a barrel with spikes in it, and rolled him down the hill. Needless to say, he did not survive the trip, but the hill was later named after him. The girls also wanted to go clear to the top of the hill where there is a statue of liberty and excellent views of Budapest. We started the climb, which consisted of steps and paved pathways. I thought I could keep up (after all, I was only 65 yrs. old and trained in a gym for the past 3 years!), but I had to quit about 3/4 of the way up. It was so hot and my heart was pounding! I waited on a bench for the girls while they finished the climb. I was hoping not to see any wild animals or creepy men. Eventually the girls came down and said it was worth it. We got some great pictures as we ventured down the mountain and even saw the entrance to a church that had been carved into the mountain. I quickly learned that we really needed to spend more time in Budapest to take it all in. There are so many things I would like to explore in detail that we didn't have time for. 

I think this was the evening we ate dinner from the grocery store near the park with the ferris wheel. We opted not to go up in the ferris wheel, but we should have. Instead, Meagan wanted to take an evening boat ride again to see the city at dusk. So we headed for the docks to purchase tickets, then set out to find the bronze shoes that were displayed on the bank of the Danube to commemorate the spot where 3,500 Hungarians, 800of them Jews, were told to remove their shoes before being shot by the Nazi Arrow Cross militiamen during WW2. Once shot, these people fell into the Danube and were carried downstream. The artist recreated period shoes out of iron and attached them to the bank of the Danube to memorialize this atrocity. Again, it was very emotional and humbling. 

Our final boat ride was a great way to end our stay in Budapest. All of the main attractions were lit up and the wine was good. I was sorry to leave Budapest. I have so much more to explore and am running out of time to do so. We had to get some sleep so we could get up early to catch a train for Vienna. Hope to see you again, Budapest!