Vienna and the Unexpected Journey

Three Countries in One Day! 

Only in Europe :)

Day 13: April 6th, 2014

We woke up the next morning and headed out for the 3 hour drive to Vienna. 

Buying our toll pass sticker as we were crossing the boarder for Austria! It was only 8 euros for a week!

We didn't really have any plans other than where we were staying. Just going by the seat of our pants on this one was the plan. We arrived there an hour early and were greeted by an eccentric host who was more than flustered that we were early. She had just woken up, at 5pm mind you, and was not ready for the world. We did the best we could to apologize, but who apologizes for disturbing somebody's morning routine when then it is  5pm on a Sunday and this person does not have a night job?  In order to minimize the awkwardness (this includes the very small amount of loose clothing being worn, and the interesting decorating choices) we headed out to find some food. We wandered around the area where we were staying and found some places that looked good, but either they were filled with smokers or were closed because it was Sunday, naturally. So we eventually settled on a Italian restaurant, Ironic I know, and went inside. This too also had the wonderful perfume of tobacco in the air, but we were quickly running out of choices. It was either eat here or starve, and heaven knows a starving pregnant woman is not what the world needs! We ordered our pizza and pasta, which was good by the way, from a middle eastern man in what looked like it could have easily been a front for a mob, or in my Big Fat Greek Wedding, except all the nationalities were wrong. We sat there as long as we could, and then headed back, not knowing exactly what to expect.

When we got back, about an hour later, she was not home which allowed us to get settled. Amber promptly took a 3 hour nap, in which time the host got home and I got to chat with her. Eccentric is a good classification. She is an industrial designer, makes lamps and housewares stuff, was born in Transylvania in a Hungarian family who moved to Barcelona for school to be a journalist, who then moved to Brazil, and later to Vienna. She speaks 6 languages pretty well, and has an interesting taste in decoration. You can see some of this in the video below.

We tried to not capture any of the scandalous art work, sorry if you catch a glimpse!

After that we went to bed, or as much sleep as you can get with thin walls, music and a little domestic violence next door thrown in for good measure.

Day 14: April 7th, 2014

The first not so good news for the day was that the free parking that she had told us was next to her apartment did not exist. She doesn't have a car so she doesn't know. Basically you can't park anywhere in Vienna without selling your soul to the devil, giving up appendages, or testing the staffing of the parking police. We didn't want to do the later, so we decided to do one of the first options.  We first drove to a park and ride where we could park the car and ride the subway into town, but that was full. After getting that wonderful news, and trying to back out with cars already queing up behind us I decided to add to the adventure and scrape the bumper of our car on the ticket dispensing machine. Nothing very noticeable and no serious damage, but that was just causing this bad situation to get worse! We drove down to the main part of town so that we could go the Belvedere Palace where Gustav Klimt has many of his paintings, including Amber's favorite: "The Kiss".  

We got there and other than the aforementioned painting and a Monet, the rest of the painting were nice, but not really our style, and the fact that it cost some extraneous digits to get in (who needs their pinky toes anyways) we decided that more museums were not on our to-do list. I then headed to retrieve our car from one of the soul eating car parks in Vienna and after losing an arm, or $20 for 3 hours, we headed more to the center of the town to see the sights and old buildings there.

Eventually after many one way streets and traffic we found a parking garage (no thanks to our incompetent GPS) that looked cheap (Spoiler Alert: It's not. Lost a leg at that one.), and started walking around. After getting a Weinerschneitzel, and Amber using the Men's bathroom for free (oh the perks of being pregnant and not speaking the language) we found St. Stephan's church, St. Peter's Church, and some palaces with some pretty gardens. We wandered and relaxed and were even graced with some sights for Jeff, namely 2 Lamborghinis. An Aventedor and a Gallardo. After that we decided that we were through and headed back to our artsy accommodations to rest.

 The Best Preserved Baroque Style Palace

 She seemed really excited to see the car too ;)

 Every where we looked there was another beautiful fountain or building!

 This was a super interesting discovery! There are foundations from the 6th century, the 10th century and the 17th century all in the same place! 

Lamborghini Aventador followed by a Gallardo

While there we decided that we did not want to go back to the hustle and bustle of the big city and instead contacted Michal, our former foreign Exchange student, and changed our plans. He was supposed to come into Vienna to meet us the next day, but instead we decided to meet him in a village in Austria (We couldn't take our rental car into Eastern Europe for some bureaucratic reason), and then drive to Bratislava, Slovakia. It sounds like a long ways, but it is one a 45 minute drive from Vienna to Bratislava.

Day 15: April 8th, 2014

We woke up in a rush this morning because at night the parking is free next to where we are staying, but during the day the threat of the parking police is very real. Because of this we wanted to leave before they could get us. We got out of Vienna around 9am and got to the perfectly lovely village where we were to meet Michal just after 10am. After meeting up with him, we proceeded to go to Country #1 that was not on the original itinerary: The Slovak Republic. First we went to meet his mother, and she immediately greeted us with warm hugs and kisses and then took us out to get some treats during her break from work. It was so much fun to meet her and see Michael in his home and in his element.

We then drove to the mall that is right on the Danube (3 hours free parking! Who knew!?) and then walked around the old part of town. We saw multiple churches and the Castle that is on the hill above town, as well as lots of very Slovak handicrafts and sights. It was tons of fun. 

 The Lion, the symbol for Slovakia 

 The US Embassy 

 A beautiful view of the city from the castle up on the hill!

 The Instrument and dress are traditional for Slovakia. 

Their "White House" and the flag on top means that their president is there.

 The "Blue Church" We loved how it looked like a decorated cake! It was just beautiful!

 It was weird to see such a beautiful church with the remains of abandoned Soviet building right across the street. Sights like these could be seen all over the city. 

After that we went out of the city to a little biofarm where they have sheep and other animals and there experienced some traditional Slovak food. 

All made out of potatoes and sheep cheese!

It was so good, except for the "Sour Milk" drink.  That one is definitely an acquired taste that neither Amber or I have yet acquired. I guess we will have to come back for that.

We also had various versions of potato dumplings with sheep cheese, and the Czech version of Coke that was made during the Communist Regime so that they wouldn't have to ship in expensive Coke. It was so good! It was more citrusy and not as carbonated and we loved it. We also went and walked amongst the sheep that they had before heading out for the rest of our adventure.

That included a trip to unexpected country #2 for the day: Hungary. Michal bought an apartment in Hungary, about 30 minutes from Bratislava because it was so much cheaper than getting one in Slovakia. The problem was that it was supposed to be finished in November, and as you can see in the pictures they aren't quite ready for him to move in yet. The newest date they have said is July. He isn't holding his breath. It looks like it will be a nice place when it is finished. Just another reason to come back and visit.

 Our drive between the two countries were filled with beautiful canola flower fields. 

 Crossing the boarder. 

 What they look like done :)

 Michal's building :)

His Loft

 A beautiful view of a Hungarian village. 

We then headed back to Bratislava to have dessert. Michal had heard of this good place that has crepe`s, and he wanted to take us there. It turns out it is in the TV tower that is on the hill overlooking the city. He wasn't just showing us around. He was spoiling us! We rode the elevator to the top of the building and ate some good food while looking at a panoramic view of the city. It was beautiful. There were storms in the area, but it made for a beautiful sight as you could see the light break through the clouds at times. It was also beautiful to see the city begin to light up at night. Overall it was an amazing day.

 Austria is over where the windmills are. Crazy how close it is! And about where the windmills stop to the left is Hungary. There is a spot where you can stand on all three countries. We were going to go but the road was closed. We got close :)

It was interesting to drive through the old border checkpoints without stopping, and seeing the old communist buildings either abandoned or repainted to not be so gray and blocky. The infrastructure also needs some work, roads etc, but it was so fun to see the place that I had heard about years before. Now it's your turn Mom and Dad!

After the dessert Michal took us back to our car and we headed back to sleep, because tomorrow morning we are headed to Salzburg!

Till then!

"Deky" Michal

Germany Part 1

Deutschland

Day 11: April 4th, 2014

After we got our car we plugged Nuremburg into the GPS and headed out for the famed Autobahn. Now, it would be much better if the inaugural drive was in something more powerful than a 4 cylinder diesel sedan, but you take what you can get. Amber wasn't the biggest fan of the other speeding motorists, but Jeff thought it was kinda fun. The drivers here definitely  have driving down pat. If they are not actively passing somebody they are getting over to the farthest right lane. There is no moseying over either. They are deliberate and quick in their lane changes. They also follow much closer than in America and there is no such thing as a 2 or 4 second following distance. You get one if you are lucky. And tailgating must not be a worry because they will just sit on your tail when you are in the right lane. The interesting thing is that we can be cruising along with traffic at 150 km/hr (93 MPH) and any number of BMW, Mercedes, or Audi sedans, and not even the sports versions, will fly past at about 200 km/hr (125 MPH) or faster. It is pretty awesome. Not against popular belief, the Autobahn is just the freeway system here, not some special go super fast road. It just has portions where there is no speed limit, aka between cities and such. But remember, Germany is the size of New Mexico, so towns  aren't that far apart. America needs to adopt this philosophy, because I can think of a few areas that it would be nice to be able to go a little bit faster. Nevada, most of Idaho, Central Washington, and Central Utah are just a few, not to speak of, oh, the ENTIRE middle of the country where it is flat and straight roads with nothing but corn or wheat to run into. But that is just me.

After or blast down the Autobahn we arrived in Nuremburg, and after figuring out the parking and where everything was, we had a fun time exploring the area. It was once the city where the emperor would stay during the middle ages so it has a large fortress on the hill above the town. It also has the most quaint Bavarian houses with iconic red roofs. The main square has a cool church with an interesting Glockenspiel in the tower, and a beautiful gold gilded fountain in it. Usually the main square is where they have a large market going on, and that is what was happening when we were there. Amber loved the different clothes, especially the baby clothes, and wares that were being sold. So to make it official we had a Bratwurst, which was fantastic, and then we couldn't do without another strawberry and Nutella crepe when the opportunity arose.

 Interesting :) We were not up for trying it

 Amber wanted these baby genie pants so bad but they were too expensive! Sewing project when we get back home!

 Many of the houses had these alters added on so they could worship at home. They were beautiful! This is the oldest one in town. 

 Pretty architecture 

 Relaxing at the base of the castle. Taking a breather before hiking up for the view of the city.

Her first German Wienerschneitzel!!! Amber is in LOVE :)

 Easter in Europe is beautiful!! Everyone decorates eggs. We bought Amber's mom one :) 

A curious entry way. 

The history of the town is pretty obvious to anybody with a good sense of WWII. The significance of the former inhabitants is what made Hitler turn the city in to the Nazi Party Rally grounds, and where the Nuremburg laws originated which started the labeling, segregation, and eventually extermination of millions of people including the Jews, Romas, homosexuals, and disabled persons, to name a few groups. The Nazi rallies were massive with millions of people coming to the city every year to celebrate the Nazi Party. The iconic pictures of the soldiers in perfect formation and marching in front of Hitler on a grandstand were taken during the rallies that were held in Nurmeburg. It was one of the cities that Hitler planned many monumental building projects. Of the many that he planned he only completed the Zeplin filed where the parades and rallies took place, and the great road that was marched down. Construction began on a massive congress hall, but it was not finished before the war broke out. The Museum of the Nazi Rallies was built into part of the existing building. Here are some pictures that shows a bit of this.

 Now they have fair grounds on top of the marching grounds.

 Entrance to the museum

Nuremburg was bombed quite heavily during WWII for obvious reasons, but the amazing thing is that the town, including the heavily damaged churches have been rebuilt to the same specifications as the originals that were destroyed. There was one street of original half timber houses that was not destroyed and we have a picture of them.

The most interesting thing was how the Germans deal with their history. It seems that they have some social guilt because of their Nazi history, but it seems that because of that they are driven to almost be the protector and leader of Europe. It is an interesting mentality.

After that we went to our next Airbnb with Sebastian. He lived outside the city and was a very gracious host.

 

Day 12: April 5th 2014

The next morning we woke up and drove down to Regensburg which is another very interesting place to visit. It is at the northern end of the Danube, and has been a site of perpetual habitation since before the time of Christ. There have been many different settlements there, with various kings and emperors staying and visiting. It had its heyday back in the middle ages when the medieval bridge was built that connected the road to and from Venice to Europe by spanning the Danube. Since then  it has had many uses, but most recently during WWII it was used as an airplane factory and oil storage area. Because of that it was bombed quite heavily and most of the town was destroyed. Most of the churches were spared or restored, but a Romanesque church was completely destroyed so it was not rebuilt.

Here is a video of us, mostly successfully trying to drive and park in Regensburg. Let's just say this town was not made for cars, but that should be evident by the date in which it was founded. 

 Another big, beautiful, old church ;)

That night we stayed in the cutest apartment with a couple who is from France, but living in Germany. The apartment was right next to a bunch of fields and it was beautiful. When we got there earlier in the day we were invited to eat dinner with them and some friends. We were excited about this because then we would be able to meet some more people and get to know them and not just the sights. The one problem that we ran into was that when they invited us they told us to bring some sausages. We planned on picking them up after our aforementioned trip into Regensburg, but being city dwelling Americans, we expected that at 8 PM the stores would be open. We were wrong. Everything closes at 8 PM. We drove around trying to find an open anything, but we were only met with locked doors. We shamefully drove to the flat not knowing what to say, but they had plenty of food so it turned out not to be a problem at all, just a lesson learned. We had a great time talking with them and their friends who were from Germany. It was interesting because we had 2 people each from France, Germany and America, and we all talked in English. I wish that we would have been able to talk more in one of their native tongues, but we can't. We're just grateful everybody here knows English because it makes things so much easier.

 The pretty green view from the back of their apartment. 

Our next adventure is Austria! So until next time!