2015 Home Exchange in Austria
For our last full day in Germany before returning to the USA, we decided to go on an excursion to see Schloss Neuschwanstein (translated literally: “Castle New Swan Stone”), the fairy tale castle of “Mad King Ludwig” (King Ludwig II) of Bavaria. To get to Neuschwanstein we used the last of our 10-day Eurail Pass, … Continue reading
The sun came out in force on Friday, so we made our way to the English Garden (Englischer Garten) on the banks of the Isar River. As we have been wandering around town, we've occasionally seen surfers on bikes riding down the street: I had heard about river surfing in Munich, so we followed one … Continue reading
Before this trip, when someone mentioned Munich, I thought of Oktoberfest, Biergärten and Lederhosen. But I suppose that Americans and Europeans of my parents’ (and their parents’) generation associate the city with something much more sinister than Lager and pretzels: Munich is the birthplace of the Nazi Party and the political career of Adolph Hitler. … Continue reading
The weather has continued to be cool and overcast since our arrival in Munich, not really good for spending time outdoors at the Englischer Garten or a Biergarten, which is what we had hoped to do. But the gloomy and foreboding feel of the day matched the mood and experience of our excursion to nearby … Continue reading
When we arrived in Munich (München) on Sunday afternoon it was in the mid-80s. But, a front moved through southern Germany on Monday and today it was in the 50s. It was odd to be looking for a fan in the apartment one day, then trying to figure out the heating system the next. At … Continue reading
We spent all day Sunday (yesterday) traveling by train from Budapest to Munich. Saturday was a clean and pack day, punctuated by going out to find ways to use up the rest of our Hungarian forints, the local currency. So, our last sightseeing day in Budapest was really Friday, the day after our boat ride … Continue reading
Summer has definately arrived in Budapest. In fact, when I checked the weather reports on my iPhone on Thursday, I saw that it was hotter here (88°F) than in the Keys. When it gets hot in Florida, you can always cool off on the water, so that’s what we decided to do here in Hungary. … Continue reading
The morning after our boat ride, we walked across the Chain Bridge to see Buda Castle (Budavári Palota), the historic castle and palace complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest, first completed in 1265. Even before we got across the bridge, however, we could tell that the palace that currently adorns the top of Castle … Continue reading
We went for an evening river cruise Tuesday aboard the Danube Legend. The boat leaves its dock from the Pest side shortly before the Golden Hour, that time just before sunset when the lighting is softer and shadows are longer. It’s the perfect time to take photos. After making a short loop downriver, the boat … Continue reading
On Monday, we walked over to see Váci Street (Váci utca) which is supposed to be the most beautiful shopping street in Budapest. Not being an expert shopper, I can’t really say one way or the other if that claim holds water, but having handled my share of public works related cases, I can say … Continue reading
We left Prague Thursday afternoon and spent Friday in Vienna cleaning house, doing laundry and repacking. Then on Saturday, we left early by train for Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Budapest is divided by the Danube River (Duna in Hungarian) which runs north-south through the city. The hilly, west bank of the river was formerly … Continue reading
To finish out our time in Prague, we returned to the Old Town Square to see the medieval astronomical clock known as the Prague Orloj (Pražský orloj) located on the lower, southern wall of the tower of the Old Town City Hall. According to Wikipedia, “the clock was first installed in 1410, making it the … Continue reading
The Vltava River runs north through Prague, dividing the city between Staré Město and Nové Město (Old Town and New Town) on the right bank; and Hradčany (the Castle District) and Malá Strana (Little Quarter), on the left bank. Eighteen bridges span the Vltava River in Prague, but the most famous is a pedestrian crossing … Continue reading
We arrived in Prague (Praha in Czech) in the mid-afternoon and once again decided to walk to our accomodations, the approriately named Old Prague Hotel. Prague is to Bohemia what Brno is to Moravia, the capital of its respective, ancient kingdom. The only difference is that Prague continues to be the capital of the Czech … Continue reading
We arrived in Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic by both area and population (pop. 400,000), early Sunday afternoon. Brno is a college town, but it has a reputation as being pretty sedate, which was fine with us. It was certainly quiet when we arrived. From the train station, we walked the … Continue reading
Besides the opera, another excursion that Dale had planned in advance for us was a visit to the Punkva Caves in the Czech Republic which can only be seen as part of a scheduled tour. The Punkva Caves are a popular destination for Czechs and Austrians, so reservations were necessary and ours were for Saturday, … Continue reading
The first new building completed on the Ringstraße was the opera house, built in 1861-1869. It was originally known as the Wiener Hofoper (the Vienna Court Opera), but after the fall of the Habsburgs in WWI, the name was changed to the Wiener Staatsoper (the Vienna State Opera). Bombing during WW II destroyed most of … Continue reading
We returned to Krems from Melk on the other side of the Danube River, the southeast side, which is not as scenic, but the cycling was better because the trail is mostly off the road and right along the river's edge. The morning started out mostly sunny, but we found ourselves riding in the shade … Continue reading
The town of Melk, where we spent the night, is the site of the Stift Melk, a Benedictine abbey that sits 200 feet above the Danube. Originally founded in 1089, a monastic school and scriptorium were added during the next century and the abbey became known for its manuscripts and library long before the invention … Continue reading
A little over five miles upriver from Krems, we came to the medieval walled town of Dürnstein (established 1019 A.D.), just as the tourist riverboats from Vienna docked nearby. The main attraction inside the walls of Dünstein is the Augustiner-Chorherrenstift, a gothic monastery built for the Order of St. Augustine in 1410 and then rebuilt … Continue reading
On Monday, we set out on the train from Wien Spittelau Bahnhof (“Wien” is German for Vienna) to the town of Krems an der Danau for an overnight bike ride along the Danube River to Melk. Across from the train station was another Hundertwasser creation, a garbage incenerator known as the District Heating Plant Spittelau. … Continue reading
Friday was Art Day for us as we set out to see the exhibits of reknowned Austrian painters Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) and Egon Schiele (1890-1918) who, I subsequently learned, were of the Vienna Secessionist movement which turned its back on the realistic historical style of mainstream Austrian artists and worked in a contemporary, impressionistic mode. … Continue reading
It hadn’t occurred to me, though it should have, that Austria is a Catholic country (75% of the population). You know, the Habsburgs were the Holy Roman Emperors, allied with the Roman Catholic Church – that should have been a tip-off. But we were a little surprised to find out that everything was closed Thursday … Continue reading
On our first day in Vienna, we rode trams 1 and 2 around the Ringstraße, hopping on and off as it suited us. We were intrigued by what appeared to be a city gate with a palace of some sort behind it, but the sky looked a little ominous so we decided to save exploring … Continue reading
It was fascinating to learn about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire when we visited Turkey in 2012. Prior to that trip, I knew relatively little about Rome from the early years of Christianity on – and nearly nothing about the Byzantine Empire, that is, the Eastern Roman Empire that continued on until … Continue reading
The Road Less Traveled 