We LOVE Vienna (yes, you're jealous and you should be!) This city is fantastic with so much to offer! We travelled here from Budapest with one slight panic attack on the train. We were reviewing our hostel booking and because we had to switch rooms at the hostel, it seemed like it only booked one person for the 1st 2 nights instead of 2. Could have been disasterous, but the hostel had lots of space so disaster averted....it turns out that we didn't even have to switch rooms. Our first night at the hostel we met a fellow Canadian, a girl from the UK and a bunch of Australian guys. We hung out with them and E and I almost convinced one of the Australian guys that yes, we were in fact from Canadia (why else would we be called Canadians?) and that the plural of moose is meeses. Our fellow Canadian let him in on the truth and probably for the best as he was starting to get quite upset with us. But truth be told, he was believing us!!! We ended off the night at an Australian (surprise, surprise) pub with the crew before calling it a night.
We wanted to start the next day off with a walking tour as we have done in every other place, but the tour didn't start until the afternoon. We wandered down Mariahilfer Strasse, the main street into town from our hostel, and found ourselves in the Museum Quarter. We putzed around there for a bit and found a couple of museums that we could potenitally go to, and took the metro back to the hostel to meet the tour group. There was only the 2 of us, along with 2 American teenager boys (they told us they were 20, but the jig was up when they started yapping about getting drunk off Grand Marnier....seriously). We say all the main sights...back to the Museum Quarter, the Hofberg, parliament buildings, the Spanish Stables, the Opera House and St. Stephen's Cathedral. The tour guide was getting as tired of the teens as we were as she essentially told them to get lost and go climb the tour in the Cathedral while she showed us all the 'cool' places to go out. It was actually pretty hysterical. She also showed us the best place for schnitzel in town, so we decided to head there for dinner. You haven't seen schnitzel until you've been to this place...imagine 250 grams of weiner schnitzel falling off the plate because it was so large. Yes, we took pictures! It was delicious, but neither of us could finish it.
We started off day 2 by going to one of the museums we say the previous day, the Kuntzhalle, to see the 2 featured exhibits. It was really pretty cool, and that's alot coming from a non-museumy person. The 1st exhibit was awesome, a Chinese artist who was really into the melding of Western and Eastern thinking. The 2nd exhibit was a bit different, it was called 'Dream and Trauma'...think the weirdest things you could even imagine being called art. I didn't really care for it, and actually had a hard time calling it art. Our next stop of the day was the Opera House. I can't even put into words the awesome-ness of this building, it's completely indescribable. Both Erin and I gasped as we walked into the main concert hall. We went on a guided tour and it was great...the house puts on 60 operas a season, with a different one playing each night. We would have loved to go to one, but unfortunately the season doesn't open next week. Oh well, we'll just have to come back! We walked through the Cathedral and went off in search of 'Sand in the City.' Think a Hawaii-esqe beach and bar area in the middle of the city with huge sand castles to boot. We didn't pay to get into see the castles up close but we did relax on a lounge chair with a pina colada! We felt very civilized, I'm not going to lie!
Day 3...our last day in Vienna. We went out to the Schonbrunn Palace...we originally thought it was like Paris and Versailles, a day trip out and back. As it turns out, it's only a 15 minute tram ride from the hostel. Absolutely stunning!!! We didn't go in for the tour but got some fantastic pictures from up on the hill. The next item on the itinerary was to go in search of the famous Sachertorte. We took the Metro back into town and found a very popular cafe that had it. Has to be one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted! We then window shopped at all the places we can't and probably will never be able to afford...Gucci, Prada, D&G...why do we torture ourselves?!?
We are off to Salzburg tonight and by tomorrow, the hills will be alive...with the Sound of Music that is! We are already singing and gearing ourselves up for the tour!
Signing off from Vienna,
Megs
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Attack of the Flying Rats
Stop #4...Budapest. Actually, Buda and Pest as they are technically 2 seperate places, seperated by the Danube. I have to say, definitely not my favourite stop on the trip thus far. We arrived safely from Prague to a sweltering 40 degrees in Budapest. AWESOME! We had seen the forecast and knew it would be warm but I'm not going to lie....40 degrees is even warmer then you think! We found our hostel (in Pest) easily and settled in. The hostel was great, very homey and lots of nice people staying there. We found that there's no where in Budapest that exchanges travellers cheques. After panicking, we found an ATM that our Canadian bank cards worked at, so all was well.
We decided to go on a walking tour the next day so we set off in search of the main square where the tour was to start. It was another boiling hot day and the humidity was killing us. The walking tour took us past all the main sights....Heroes Square, the Thermal Baths, the Opera House, St Stephen's Basillica, the Jewish Ghetto and then across the Danube to Buda to see the castle and the Fisherman`s Bastion. We had a bite of lunch and headed back to the hostel as the heat was killing us and we were just drained.
The next day, we headed back to Buda to take some pics and do some souvineer shopping....again, it was freakin hot!!!! We took a trip to the Thermal Baths in the afternoon and it was fantastic! There were 4 different pools with each having a different temperature....the 18 degree pool felt so cold but awesome at the same time....it was the first time in 3 days that we weren't hot and sweaty! We met a nice Austrailian couple at the hostel that evening and just spent some time chatting with them.
We were going to catch a later train the next day to Vienna, but given the heat, we decided to leave earlier in hopes of finding a somewhat more temperate climate. All in all, a good stop, but the heat definitely impeded our ability to wander around and explore.
Vienna's the next stop and I'm so looking forward to it, heard so many great things about that city.
Later!
Megs
We decided to go on a walking tour the next day so we set off in search of the main square where the tour was to start. It was another boiling hot day and the humidity was killing us. The walking tour took us past all the main sights....Heroes Square, the Thermal Baths, the Opera House, St Stephen's Basillica, the Jewish Ghetto and then across the Danube to Buda to see the castle and the Fisherman`s Bastion. We had a bite of lunch and headed back to the hostel as the heat was killing us and we were just drained.
The next day, we headed back to Buda to take some pics and do some souvineer shopping....again, it was freakin hot!!!! We took a trip to the Thermal Baths in the afternoon and it was fantastic! There were 4 different pools with each having a different temperature....the 18 degree pool felt so cold but awesome at the same time....it was the first time in 3 days that we weren't hot and sweaty! We met a nice Austrailian couple at the hostel that evening and just spent some time chatting with them.
We were going to catch a later train the next day to Vienna, but given the heat, we decided to leave earlier in hopes of finding a somewhat more temperate climate. All in all, a good stop, but the heat definitely impeded our ability to wander around and explore.
Vienna's the next stop and I'm so looking forward to it, heard so many great things about that city.
Later!
Megs
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Canadia, eh?
Hellloooo from Prague! We've been here for 3 days and had a fantastic time! Before I start on the doings in Prague, we had some fun on our last night in Munich. As with the Berlin tour, E and I decided that we would go on the pub crawl...just for a couple of pubs and not staying out late because we were both tired. It may come as a huge shock to you all when that's not the way things panned out!!! We met some great people, Tom and Tom from Boston who were on the tour with us were there, and with them came their roomates, Dawn from San Diego, Olga from Spain, Irish Tim and Owen and Brian and British James. We all got on really well and had a great time. E and I decided that it was a good thing that we were only travelling the next day as we were both still tired!
Now Prague...we arrived safely after a long and hot and uncomfortable train ride. We finally found our way out of the train station and found that the directions to our hostel made absolutely no sense! We asked a couple of police officers who, as it turs out, sent us in the wrong direction, and after wandering aimlessly for about an hour in the hot weather found where we needed to be. As this isn't a real 'hostel' and there's no reception desk, we had to collect our key from across the street at the pub and let ourselves in. Like I said, it's not a real hostel so much as an apartment with 3 rooms, but we have our own spacious room and free internet, so really, how bad can it be?!?
After a good long sleep, we were ready to look at Prague with fresh eyes. We found out how to get to the main square where the Astronomical Clock is and decided to take a walking tour, as we've done in the previous cities. We found Omar, our guide, and off we went. As it turns out, the 4 other people on the tour were going on a river cruise, so we essentially had a 4 hour private tour, which was awesome! We saw all the main sights, the Charles Bridge, the Prague Castle and St Vitus' Cathedral (beautiful!!) and the Jewish Ghetto. We got on really well with the tour guide, so we made a dinner date for the next evening. E and I stopped at an Irish pub on the way back to the hostel after the tour and alonng came Irish Johnny. He had been travelling to see some friends and was killing time before his train, so we started chatting and hung out for a bit. The random people you meet wandering the streets of Prague! We even got him saying Canadia instead of Canada! We ventured out for our first Czech meal, and really, not so bad....some kind of potato dumpling thing stuffed with some kind of pork and sourkraut. Not my fav, but not terrible.
The next day we went off to see some of the sights from the previous day in more detail. We went to the Museums and Synagogues in the Jewish Quarter....very interesting even though we don't know alot about Judiasm, and went back to the Charles Bridge for some photo ops. We met up with our tour guide for a pint and then dinner....it's fabulous to have a local show you around, you really get off the beaten path and see things you wouldn't as a regualr tourist. A great evening, all in all...Omar had even heard of Tim Hortons!
Today, our last day here, was spent doing some shopping and just getting ourselves lost in this beautiful city. We went back to the Castle, walked up this time instead of taking the tram, so we've definitely had our exercise for the day, which was a good thing because..... yep, today was the day to try out the deepfried cheese on a bun with mayo! Frank said we HAVE to try this while in Prague, so we did. Not the best thing I've ever eaten, but pretty good. Our Prague experience was now complete!!!
We loved this city: the people, the architecture, the culture...we are sad to leave, but we have Budapest to look forward to tomorrow...stop #4 on the tour! I will write again soon.
Ciao from Prague,
Megs
Now Prague...we arrived safely after a long and hot and uncomfortable train ride. We finally found our way out of the train station and found that the directions to our hostel made absolutely no sense! We asked a couple of police officers who, as it turs out, sent us in the wrong direction, and after wandering aimlessly for about an hour in the hot weather found where we needed to be. As this isn't a real 'hostel' and there's no reception desk, we had to collect our key from across the street at the pub and let ourselves in. Like I said, it's not a real hostel so much as an apartment with 3 rooms, but we have our own spacious room and free internet, so really, how bad can it be?!?
After a good long sleep, we were ready to look at Prague with fresh eyes. We found out how to get to the main square where the Astronomical Clock is and decided to take a walking tour, as we've done in the previous cities. We found Omar, our guide, and off we went. As it turns out, the 4 other people on the tour were going on a river cruise, so we essentially had a 4 hour private tour, which was awesome! We saw all the main sights, the Charles Bridge, the Prague Castle and St Vitus' Cathedral (beautiful!!) and the Jewish Ghetto. We got on really well with the tour guide, so we made a dinner date for the next evening. E and I stopped at an Irish pub on the way back to the hostel after the tour and alonng came Irish Johnny. He had been travelling to see some friends and was killing time before his train, so we started chatting and hung out for a bit. The random people you meet wandering the streets of Prague! We even got him saying Canadia instead of Canada! We ventured out for our first Czech meal, and really, not so bad....some kind of potato dumpling thing stuffed with some kind of pork and sourkraut. Not my fav, but not terrible.
The next day we went off to see some of the sights from the previous day in more detail. We went to the Museums and Synagogues in the Jewish Quarter....very interesting even though we don't know alot about Judiasm, and went back to the Charles Bridge for some photo ops. We met up with our tour guide for a pint and then dinner....it's fabulous to have a local show you around, you really get off the beaten path and see things you wouldn't as a regualr tourist. A great evening, all in all...Omar had even heard of Tim Hortons!
Today, our last day here, was spent doing some shopping and just getting ourselves lost in this beautiful city. We went back to the Castle, walked up this time instead of taking the tram, so we've definitely had our exercise for the day, which was a good thing because..... yep, today was the day to try out the deepfried cheese on a bun with mayo! Frank said we HAVE to try this while in Prague, so we did. Not the best thing I've ever eaten, but pretty good. Our Prague experience was now complete!!!
We loved this city: the people, the architecture, the culture...we are sad to leave, but we have Budapest to look forward to tomorrow...stop #4 on the tour! I will write again soon.
Ciao from Prague,
Megs
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Syrup on my sausage?!
Greetings from Germany! Here we are, almost ready to leave Munich...1 country down, 4 to go! Berlin was fantastic, so much to see and tons of history. We did a exceptional walking tour the first day and saw all the main sights...Brandenburg Gate, Berliner Dome, Berlin Wall (well, what's left of it), Checkpoint Charlie and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, among other things. Erin and I ventured out to make a reservation for our train to Munich, and to our great surprise, there was not a single person that spoke any English! Let's just say that with a lot of hand gestures, we eventually got what we needed. A minor panic attack ensued, with us not remembering if we pointed at a date or not....as it turns out, we did, and panic attack was over! We finished the day off with a pub crawl organized by the walking tour company. 5 pubs, met lots of people including some Canadians (we did burst into the national anthem at one point!) and good fun was had by all. We ended up having to take a taxi back to the hostel because the trains had stopped running by the time we left our last destination!
Our second day we revisted a couple of the places from the walking tour. We went to the Museum associated with the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and saw the Brandenburg Gate lit up at night, as well as the Reichstag. Our last Berlin day was spent wandering around. We found an exhibition started by the UN promoting tolerance...it was called Buddy Bears. Most UN countries commissioned artists to decorate bears representing the country....Canada's bear sucked! We think it had all the provincial flowers on it, but we're still not sure. What the international community will think of us! :) At the end of the day, Erin and I said goodbye to Pio and ventured to the train station to catch our train to Munich.
We arrived safely in Munich yesterday morning and found that our hostel was only a block from the train station, which is nice when you are hauling big backpacks. The weather was really not very nice, cold and rainy, but we set out on the walking tour...the same company that did the one in Berlin. Again, we saw all the main sights including the world famous glockenspiel, the old and new town halls and lots of different chruches. At the end of the tour, we traced Hitler's steps when he marched through the town of Munich.
We were up and at 'em fairly early this morning as we set out to the Dachau Concentration Camp. The experience was amazing and really emotional...I know it's something Erin and I will remember for a long time to come. The most 'real' part came when we walked through the gas chambers and crematorium. Just thinking about what happened within those walls was scary and gave us both goosebumps. We arrived back in Munich and strolled to an open air market, had a beer in the Beer Gardens and picked up our dinner. We took the train up to the Olympic Stadium...great architecture, but not a ton else to see without paying the 11 Euro admission!
Tomorrow it's off to Prague for 4 days, then on to Budapest. So far, our European Adventure is turning out to be everything we thought it would be! My time on the computer is running out so it's time to sign off for now. We will update again soon!
Megan out
Our second day we revisted a couple of the places from the walking tour. We went to the Museum associated with the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and saw the Brandenburg Gate lit up at night, as well as the Reichstag. Our last Berlin day was spent wandering around. We found an exhibition started by the UN promoting tolerance...it was called Buddy Bears. Most UN countries commissioned artists to decorate bears representing the country....Canada's bear sucked! We think it had all the provincial flowers on it, but we're still not sure. What the international community will think of us! :) At the end of the day, Erin and I said goodbye to Pio and ventured to the train station to catch our train to Munich.
We arrived safely in Munich yesterday morning and found that our hostel was only a block from the train station, which is nice when you are hauling big backpacks. The weather was really not very nice, cold and rainy, but we set out on the walking tour...the same company that did the one in Berlin. Again, we saw all the main sights including the world famous glockenspiel, the old and new town halls and lots of different chruches. At the end of the tour, we traced Hitler's steps when he marched through the town of Munich.
We were up and at 'em fairly early this morning as we set out to the Dachau Concentration Camp. The experience was amazing and really emotional...I know it's something Erin and I will remember for a long time to come. The most 'real' part came when we walked through the gas chambers and crematorium. Just thinking about what happened within those walls was scary and gave us both goosebumps. We arrived back in Munich and strolled to an open air market, had a beer in the Beer Gardens and picked up our dinner. We took the train up to the Olympic Stadium...great architecture, but not a ton else to see without paying the 11 Euro admission!
Tomorrow it's off to Prague for 4 days, then on to Budapest. So far, our European Adventure is turning out to be everything we thought it would be! My time on the computer is running out so it's time to sign off for now. We will update again soon!
Megan out
Saturday, August 4, 2007
One week and counting!
Hey folks....well here we are, only 1 week away from the beginning of what is going to be an amazing trip! I leave Calgary next Sunday the 12th and will meet up with Erin and Pio in Berlin on the 13th. I can't even believe it's now this close...it feels like only yesterday that we started planning. I still have lots to do before the departure date, I have a feeling that the one day that I'm back in Calgary from the Island will be a busy one.
We're gone for about 5.5 weeks, starting in Germany and meandering our way through the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Italy and will end with a few relaxing days in Ireland.
7 days and counting to our big adventure...stay tuned for updates!
~M~
We're gone for about 5.5 weeks, starting in Germany and meandering our way through the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Italy and will end with a few relaxing days in Ireland.
7 days and counting to our big adventure...stay tuned for updates!
~M~
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