Day 15 – Italian Ending to the Trip

Lago Maggiore at Stresa

We arrived in Milano at 9:12 am, took a second train to the airport and picked up our rental car and drove to the hotel which is near the airport. Fortunately I added a GPS as I don’t think I could have ever found the hotel without it. After a shower and some rest, we drove up to Stresa to see the Lago (Lake) Maggiore area. Lago Maggiore is the second biggest lake in Italy and it was about a 40 minute drive from the hotel, not counting getting lost by putting in the wrong address in the GPS. 

Lakeside in Stresa

The other end of the lake is in Switzerland, so we were very close to the border. Stresa is a beautiful lake-side resort at the foot of the mountains where the well-to-do Milan people go for a vacation at the lake. There are a number of island communities with beautiful gardens to visit as well, but we didn't have the time and the weather was getting iffy with some dark clouds in the area.

Arrivederci Italia

After Stresa, we drove back to the hotel and had a wonderful final dinner at a restaurant recommended by the lady at the hotel. I don’t know why but Italian food always tastes better in Italy and the people at the restaurant were very friendly with us. It was a nice ending to a great vacation. Tonight we pack one last time and our flight is at 10:40am tomorrow.

Day 14 – Vienna to Milan on the Overnight Train

Overnight Train in Wien Hauptbahnhof

We had a 7:19pm train tonight, so we spent the morning and afternoon touring using the second day of our Vienna City Pass. It was supposed to be a rainy day but it really didn’t start raining until about 1 pm, so the rain wasn’t much of a problem. It did turn colder and the day started out in the upper 60s but dropped to around 50 by the time the train left.

Habsburg Gold Table Pieces

We mostly toured museums today due to the threat of rain. First stop was the Habsburg Apartments in the Hofburg palace and the Sisi Museum. Sisi is very famous throughout Austria and Hungary, but she lived a very sad and tragic life. She was a beautiful girl who married Austrian Emperor Franz Josef when she was 16 and he was 24, but she couldn’t adjust to the public life of the court and began to escape from it by travelling whenever she could. She was rarely in Vienna in her later life and she was assassinated in Switzerland at age 60 by an anarchist. While she was alive she wasn’t a well-known figure but she grew into cult status after her death and is now the main icon of Austria. After the Sisi museum, we looked in on a Lipizzaner training session (not too interesting) and actually saw them close up as they were being moved from their stalls (still not impressed). We then did a exhibit called Journey Through Time which was fun and took us through a thousand years of history in an entertaining, “Disney” kind of way. After that we went  through the Albertina Museum, which has a decent collection called from Cézanne to Picasso. When we left the museum it had started raining so we took the red tour line around the inner city, had an early dinner at Café Prückle and headed out for the train.

Sleeper Compartment

It seems there is always a problem with the trains in Europe. We had reserved a coach with its own bathroom and shower, but when we got on they said there was a problem and we were downgraded to just a private double sleeper compartment. Supposedly I can get some kind of refund. In any case, the sleeper compartment was really fine and I would probably reserve that the next time as it is significantly cheaper. The bathroom was a few steps away and we can shower at the hotel.

The train itself was interesting. There were ten coaches in all, mostly sleepers, but the last seven were headed to Rome while the first three cars were going to Milan. Sometime in the night, I think at Venice, they decoupled us from the Rome bound cars and we went off with a different train. We both slept reasonably well and the only sounds we heard were the noises from the train. The compartment was a little cramped and we slept in bunks, which the porter set up when we went to bed. In the photo the two chairs on the right fold down into a bed and the second bed folds down just about at the height of where the chairs were. Fortunately we didn’t have to use the top third bunk as that would have required a ladder.

Day 13 – Vienna

Vienna

Of the six cities we have toured on the trip, for some reason Vienna seems like the biggest by far. It is in fact the biggest but 5 of the 6 cities are comparable, all between 1.2M and 1.7M.  Only Bratislava at 400K seems tiny in comparison. Vienna just seems more like a sprawling modern town with a large city center bounded by the Ringstrasse and the Danube (not blue here either). The city center doesn’t even have an “old town” feel, perhaps because a lot of it was rebuilt after WWII in a more modern urban style. There are still a lot of impressive buildings built by Habsburg (or Hapsburg, seen it spelled both ways) dynasty, but they are a more majestic style that seems far from Medieval.

Crown of the Holy Roman Emperor

Today and tomorrow we are using our City Passes along with the Hop On Hop Off tour bus. We shuffled the schedule around a little as rain is predicted for tomorrow and we are going to save the museums for then and do outdoor stuff today. We started with a trip to the Imperial Treasury to see the Habsburg "collectibles." They range from truly historical items like the crowns of several countries, kings' robes and the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor to questionable items such as a unicorn horn, the holy grail and a nail from the true cross.

Schönbrunn Palace

After that we rode the Yellow Line tour out to Schönbrunn Palace, which was the summer residence for the Habsburgs and the most popular tourist spot in Vienna. It is truly a magnificent palace with huge gardens behind. It would take all day to tour that stop properly.

We had a demonstration on how to make Apple Strudel, which convinced us that no amateur chef could do it. They spin the dough like pizza dough and work it until it is wafer thin. We finished the Yellow Line tour and Jeanne rested back at the hotel while I started out on the Blue Line tour.

Wiener Riesenrad

I wanted to ride the Wiener Riesenrad (aka Giant Ferris Wheel) which is a prominent feature of the Vienna skyline, but I mainly wanted to do it because it is featured in the movie, “The Third Man” with Orson Well which is set in post WWII in Vienna. We watched the film before we started the trip and we both highly recommend it. It was named best film of the 20th century by one poll. Jeanne had no interest in riding the Ferris Wheel.

Orson Wells, apparently not to happy with me

I also went to the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and the Danube Tower, mainly because they were included on our City Pass. The wax museum was a little creepy as you can pose with the wax figures. You can see I continued the "Third Man" theme by posing with Orson Wells in a sceen from the movie. We topped the evening off with a nice Austrian dinner at the Stadtpark Bräu, a short walking distance from our hotel. I had Tafelspitz, which is a traditional boiled roast beef meal, and Jeanne had a nice chicken and mushroom dish.

Day 12 – Bratislava to Vienna

Austrian Local "City Shuttle" Train

Today was a light travel day. By light, we mean about 10K steps and not the 15K to 18K we have been doing. That is a lot of walking for old people like us who aren't used to it. We took the hotel taxi to the train station, bought two one-way second class tickets to Vienna for 12€ each, and the ride was an uneventful 1 hour and 5 minutes. We had considered taking the boat up, which is only slightly longer but the early sailing was booked and the next sailing wasn’t until afternoon. We were back on the Executive Floor at the Hilton so we were happy to have the Executive Lounge at our disposal again - free drinks and food all day!!!

Sacher and Esterházy Tortes

We took care of a little business (picked up our overnight rail tickets and our Hop On, Hop Off tickets for tomorrow) and then bought 24-hour transit passes and saw the city by metro.  First stop was lunch at the Museum Café. Vienna is famous for their cafés and their pastries and so we sampled a couple of their more famous one – the Sacher Torte (the chocolate cake in the photo) and Esterházy Torte. They were both delicious.

Johann Strauss Statue in the Stadtpark

Then we followed a Rick Steves recommended tour on their tram system around the Ringstrasse and listened to Rick explain what we were seeing along the way. We then went to the Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral) which is at the heart of old town Vienna. Beautiful gothic cathedral but not as ornate as some we have seen. It does contain a painting of Mary and the baby Jesus, which is called “Maria Pötsch” and that many Hungarian pilgrims come to pray to for miracles. We saw about 20 pilgrims praying (or maybe just resting) in front of the painting when we were there.

In the evening, we went to a Strauss and Mozart concert at the Kursalon, which is a famous concert hall here in Vienna. Johann Strauss is of course the waltz king of Vienna and most known for his Blue Danube Waltz. He performed many times at the Kursalon. Mozart was born in Salzburg but reached prominence in Vienna. There was a 12-piece orchestra, two singers and two dancers in the show and it was quite entertaining.

Day 11 – Bratislava and the “Let It Be” tour

The Blue Church

On the surface, Bratislava doesn’t seem to be too well set up for handling tourists or maybe it is still early in the season for them. I had made a reservation for one tour but they never responded. I had the hotel call and they got no answer. No money was exchanged, so no problem. We looked at some other tours in the lobby but nothing appealed to us. So then we took our fall-back tour which was a “Free Walking Tour” where they work only for tips. That worked well. The girl running the tour was Andrea, a university student, and she spoke decent English. She had some interesting stories to tell about Slovakian culture and the lifestyle, so it was entertaining. The walking tour was only 2 hours 15 minutes so not too bad for us and Old Town Bratislava is pretty small. The Blue Church, aka the Smurf Church, built in Gaudi style, was the highlight of the tour.

Easter Tuesday?

One of the stories Andrea told was about the Slovakian custom where on Easter Monday, the men of the town can throw buckets of cold water on the younf women and whip them with homemade willow whips. This is to give the young women health and beauty and the women have to respond by giving the men a gift, usually money or alcohol. She said the men are usually drunk by noon. It is even worse in the villages where the men throw the women into the river and sometimes they are wearing big peasant skirts so it is difficult for them. She said it happened to her when a friend called her and asked where she was. She said she was shopping and told him the store and he came in with a bucket of cold water and threw it on her in the store. Women supposedly can return the favor on Tuesday but she tried it and it didn't work so well. I know this story sounds made up but I checked in on the Internet and it is true, but also a dying custom.

View From The Castle (Our Hotel, The Danube and the UFO Bridge)

She also talked about Slovakia's close history and on-going rivalry with the Czechs. It was always things like the Czechs get credit for starting the Velvet Revolution but we started it one day earlier, the photo of the man in front of the Soviet tank, it was taken in Bratislava, we can beat them in ice hockey, etc. By the way, she said George W. Bush came here and gave a speech and mixed up Slovakia and Slovenia, which happens with tourists all the time.

We had lunch at a hole in the wall restaurant that Andrea recommended and it was pretty good. I tried the garlic soup that she raved about but that must be an acquired taste. I couldn’t finish it. I did get to try the “Česká Trilógia” (i.e., the Czech Trilogy of pork, braised cabbage and bread dumplings) one more time and it was still excellent.

Spire of St. Martin with Gold Crown on Top

After recovering from the walking tour, we walked by St. Martin's Cathedral on our way up to the castle, which is straight uphill from our hotel. Supposedly the gold crown on the top is the size of a VW Beetle. The cathedral, which was closed for a wedding, was where the Kings and Queens of Hungary were crowned for almost 300 years. There were some good panoramic shots from the castle but still a tough climb just for some photos.

Finally walking the streets of Bratislava on a pleasant Saturday evening is like being in the middle of one huge party. All the outside tables at the restaurants and cafes are filled and everyone seems to be out and enjoying themselves and there is live music everywhere. Very enjoyable.

I forgot to explain the “Let It Be” tour comment. That is what we are now unofficially calling this circle tour as we have heard that song performed by street musicians in 4 of the 5 cities we have been to. We didn’t hear it in Budapest only because we chose to go to the traditional music dinner show. I’m sure we would have heard it somewhere if we had gone into town that evening instead.

Day 10 – Budapest to Bratislava by Train

Our Train in Keleti Station, Waiting for the Engine

Today we did a partial repeat of the trip two days ago in that we are taking the same basic Czech train, this time back towards Prague and we are getting off in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. As it is a partial repeat, I can be a little more descriptive of the train itself. First, we were planning on catching the 11:25 train and so we left the hotel at 10 am because the taxi ride can be slow and I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get tickets. As it turned out, the taxi was quick and the tickets were a breeze as everyone spoke English. So we had an hour wait at the station but we were able to spend most of the time on the train. The taxi cost 3600 HUF from the Hilton on the Buda side to the Keleti station in east Pest. That is about $13 for a 20-minute ride. The train tickets were 10,670 HUF so about $39 for the two of us in second class. Bratislava is about 2 hours and 40 minutes away by train.

Train alongside the Danube in Hungary

The train consists of 6 second class cars one of which is a handicapped equipped, one restaurant car and two first class cars. From what I could tell from the outside, all the second class cars are the 6-passenger compartment type. We shared our compartment with a girl named Misha (short for Mikelle) from Romania who is going to university in Slovakia. She spoke excellent English and she is studying tourism along with English and Russian languages. One funny note. When I asked if I could help put her luggage up, she said, "No thanks. I’m carrying eggs and I don’t want to break them." She can get fresh eggs at home but apparently not at school. She gave us lots of advice on local foods to try in Slovakia.

Arrived essentially on-time in Bratislava and took a 10-minute taxi ride to the hotel for 23€. That is about double what we had been paying elsewhere but there is no other option with luggage. Hotel is the Radisson Park Inn and we have a nice view of the Danube but the room is pretty basic, especially after staying at a couple of Hiltons on the Executive Floor.

Old Opera House in Bratislava

Of the three national capitals we have been in, Bratislava is the smallest, has by far the fewest tourists and seems like the one recovering from communist rule the slowest. That said, Bratislava has it charms. Everything is less crowded and at a slower pace. Almost everywhere we went everyone spoke English to us. You don’t get that in the bigger countries like Germany and Italy who expect you to speak their language. We heard English music on the street and in the restaurant tonight. It is actually amazing how pervasive it has become. We have heard “Let It Be” in three different countries so far.

Bryndzové Halušky

In the evening we went to the hip-hop ballet “Julio a Romea” at the old Opera House. It is a retelling of “Romeo and Juliet” through modern dance interspersed with what I would call unrelated European TV Variety Show acts. That is as close as I can come to explaining it. You kind of had to see it to believe it. Bizarre at times, funny at times, crude at times but always with excellent dancing, and in particular some pretty amazing break-dancing. We both really enjoyed it. After the show, we went to the Zylinder Restaurant for some authentic Slovakian cuisine. We split two local dishes, the very popular Bryndzové Halušky (sheep cheese gnocchi), and Szeged Guláš, their take on Goulash with sauerkraut and spätzle.

Day 9 – Budapest

Danube River and the Chain Bridge

We woke to bright sunshine in Budapest (note: this is roughly pronounced Budya-peescht, although not everyone puts in the “y”). The temperature climbed into the low 70s, so it was very pleasant today. Hungary is south from the Czech Republic so the climate is a little milder here and they claim to be blocked from bad Russian weather by the Carpathian Mountains. Not sure about that but maybe. 

Today was a really full day of touring and we did two separate tours. We had a city tour in the morning and an evening tour of Budapest by night followed by folk dancing and traditional Hungarian music which is heavily influenced by the gypsies. The three hour city tour was very comprehensive and we learned another ton of facts about the city. Of course everything is beginning to blur together a little.

Central Market Hall With One Whole Aisle of Spices

After the city tour, we started riding the public transportation of the town. We took a tram ride down to the Central Market Hall (Hungarian "Nagycsarnok") dating back to 1896. They sold lace products and clothing on the top floor and food products on the ground floor. We had Lángos for lunch, a type of fried dough with sour cream and cheese on top which all the Hungarians rave about, but honestly neither one of us cared for it. After lunch we took a Danube River cruise which was the second part of our city tour. The views were nice but the cruise itself was a little long.

Folk Dancers with Wine Flasks on Their Heads

In the evening we went into the hills of Buda for a dinner with traditional folk dancing complete with costumes, a lot of knee slapping and girls dancing with flasks of wine on their heads. Jeanne even got into the act as you can see in the picture. It was really a blast and the food was great. Several tour groups were there but our particular tour group was just us and two other women from the US. That left us with a half empty table and a lot of extra wine on the table and it was flowing. This was after we started with a round of Pálinka, a very strong fruit brandy, and so one of the US women was really feeling no pain when we left. All in all it was a pretty entertaining evening.    

Jeanne Getting into the Act

Some things you might not know about Budapest. One, the Danube isn’t really blue. It’s the same green as any other river. Two, the tour guides like to point our similarities between Prague and Budapest – cities divided by a river with a castle district on the hills to the west of the river and a larger portion of the city to the east of the river. To us, the comparison ends there. They are cities distinctly different with their own characteristics. Three, the most popular US president in Budapest is Ronald Reagan. They have a statue of him in downtown Pest. The reason is that they credit him with the policies that caused the collapse of the Soviet Union and the eventual full independence of the country in 1991. You have to remember that the country was occupied for centuries – Ottomans, Hapsburgs, Germans and Soviets – and they have only really been free for the past 24 years.