ABSINTHE

Started the day well with a ride on the big yellow bus - in line seats, power, in seat entertainment, snacks, tea. Sound familiar? Only thing missing was the runway.  Very comfortable and we got off in Prague to catch the train o our accom. Our larger luggage pieces had their own tickets which was a novelty. We hugged everything to our chests after the dire warning about new arrivals being a favoured target for pickpockets.

We have apartments here which meant washing machine, and anyone who has read about or participated in my bike rides knows how much a machine and a day to wash is appreciated.  Lunched just around the corner and had coffee so good that I went back and bought another. Best since leaving home.

After lunch we set out on an orientation walk about the town. That's when I found my spare camera battery missing, presumed left in the last place. I am happy to report that it later showed up in an unexpected packing spot. Also thank goodness for cameras that make phone calls as I did see things I wanted to record.  Prague is crowded, really crowded, especially in tourist hot spots, which we are not used to after the relative quiet we have enjoyed recently.  And we were reminded about pickpockets again.

Dave knew that we could travel parallel routes along quieter streets, something that never seems to occur to people in tourist towns and we took them to join the throng in the main square, on the Charles Bridge nd the Lennon wall which has a great history . Sadly it has to a great extent been turned into a heavily defaced and less interesting space for quotes no longer calling for peace. #straya little too prominent.

Rob and I stopped on our return journey at an Absintherie to try it out. It is a bit of a ceremony with a sugar cube over the glass on a spoon and water dripped through to dissolve it and dilute the liquor.   We tried two - shared not each, one more natural and one with rosemary. My preference is the latter which I found smoother to drink.  They were both 70% proof so we were both mellowed by the experience.

Dinner together in a restaurant  Dave knew where the generous serves meant no one had dessert tonight.  Bed and an early start planned. 

TRAINS AND BUS

Up early to farewell Prague, off on the tram to the main station, first train of the trip turned into a bus to get past some track works. We could almost be travelling with Vline at home. Loading and unloading our bags is such a treat. The last train ride was only a couple of stops.  The man sitting opposite me kept shaking his head and giving a slight frown.  Not sure if it was me or something else.  I thought perhaps he was a little unhinged when he leaned down and appeared to be listening to something unseen, then he produced his phone and got out his glasses. Pretty normal.

We know we are high up as it is colder than we are used to, but sunny so sitting outside and watching the long queue move slowly forward was a fun lunchtime activity. A leisurely lunch then we join D who is reasonably close now to the ticket office and head into the hills.  The rock formations are every bit as spectacular as we have been led to believe.  Several are named, some small, some large. It began to get a bit silly towards the end of the 6 km loop walk as they seemed to have named some just for the sake of naming them. It wasn't always easy to spot what was being referred to. Or maybe it was the altitude.

I am not surprised to see the occasional walker duck off behind a tree but am amazed to see dogs in the national park, some of them off leash.  Dogs here are often walked off leash but are for the most part pretty well behaved and in the cities people must clean up after them as the paths are clean.

We thought we were following a one way tour direction but kept coming across people going in the opposite direction.  Only once did I receive a good shove as an impatient man pushed his way past. He wasn't very tall so that may have had something to do with his attitude.  Fortunately I was through the snow which lay very thick on the floor of the narrowest gorges. This was not your lovely white powdery fresh snow, but old icy, worn very slippery nasty snow. Also very cold, I overheard a woman say to her friend 'Siberia'.  Not wrong, Narelle.

Nearly had to sit outside for dinner, but after a few minutes we were given a table inside for our barbecue. Pork, chicken or cheese - I selected cheese and enjoyed a couple of small brie like cheeses flavored with onions grilled in foil to gooey delight. Vegetables! Lots of delicious grilled vegetables! Wonderful I cry, and fell on them with gusto.  Good glass of red, nice cup of tea to finish, what more could one ask? Oh, yes, no crowds. Done, as the myriad day trippers had receded into the distance. Good bed, good pillow, nice room, sound sleep, early night - tick all. Good night.

RAINY DAY

It is hard to credit that when we woke up this morning it was cold and wet. What happened? I guess it is spring and you cannot expect summer weather to last. Thanks to Olly we're armed with indoor activities and at the same time the weather forecast isn't quite as heavy and now drizzle is expected. Better than thunderstorms I suppose.

Did the castle tour, as you do when there's a castle in town. George was an amusing guide, though his English was delivered in a monotone that made the jokes a little hard to discern. No pictures allowed inside, and no bright lighting of any sort apparently. The town from up there looked a little subdued too today.

Thanks to Olly for the heads up about where to get the best coffee in town as we did enjoy it, so much so that we went back for lunch (very good asparagus soup) and another coffee. Klein is a bit of a standout in that it has a very modern look to it in amongst the much much older looking shops. Lot of jewellery shops here as garnets and amber are a local speciality.

There are two puppet museums in town, but we only made it to one of them. Worth it though as marionettes are another local focus.  The museum itself was worth seeing as it is housed in an old church and we had to climb the old bell tower stairs to get there to see the puppets housed in what I think would be the former choir loft.

No photographs either inside the church, St Vitus, which had a magnificent altar.

A stroll up, and I mean up, to the castle gardens in the afternoon which I didn't know I was walking towards. There is a most peculiar structure there - a revolving auditorium.  It was facing what might have been an old bathing pavilion or summer house but I could not work out why it revolves or what the audience would see when it does. If, for example, there is some sort of performance on the pavilion terrace why revolve away from it to face the garden wall? The poster photo gave no clue as it only showed the tiered seats brightly lit up. Lot of discussion over dinner.

Few beers and snacks in the hotel bar before dinner and then several of us headed out to a recommended vegetarian restaurant. It wasn't just because it was next to the one we went to the night before.  The food was very good indeed, best so far on the tour and it was good to drop the meat emphasis for a day. There is not a lot of fruit in evidence,  nor do vegetables appear in bulk in meals locally.

Quick breakfast tomorrow then I hear we are riding a big yellow bus to Prague.  Good night.

WOW oh WOW

Mini bus from Vienna with a brief stop along the way, across the  order into the Czech Republic, onto Cesky Krumlov. Cesky Krumlov is a tourist town in the hills close enough for day tripper tourists from Vienna, Salzburg and Prague .. they come in droves.   The town is crowded during the day but quiets down in the evening which is good for we who are staying in town. 

Much of the old town is as it was in the 1500s which includes the cobblestone roads. Fortunately they are regularly maintained and so are in good condition.  One way to ensure this is to ban vehicles over a certain weight, including ours, so we lugged our own cases the short distance to the hotel. No problem, just noisy for the wheeled cases.

Weather still glorious, and as we heard that it was going to change overnight back to wintry conditions we made the most of it fitting in a bike ride into town from nearby hills (got a lift uphill). It was great to be back on two wheels, albeit briefly, rolling downhill with marvellous views coming into the township. Quick beer, freshen up and we had a walk around with Olly,  a local tour guide. Olly won us over immediately as she showed us all sorts of things, recommended eating and shopping places with a couple of gentle warnings about possible ripoff.  On top of all that she was delightful,  with good jokes.

Dinner right by the riverside with local beer and food and jolly good time had by all before heading back to the quirkiest hotel I've seen in a while. Our room is up the top, via a couple of doorways to a staircase all our own. Heavy beams are fortunately not quite head threatening, but we need to be mindful of them anyway.  For a 400 year old place it has enough power points in the room to charge up all our gear. I love it.

There is a castle overlooking the town which is the longest I have ever seen, in life or print. It goes on forever.  I took about a million photos of it while the sun shone, but I won't post them all.  There is a great view of it of course wherever you go. Must go there tomorrow.

The street art in the photo below is a reference to tourists who walk around town with a screen in front of themselves. Most of the "street art" in town are frescoes from the 1500s or 1600s. They are holding up well. There is such an emphasis on authenticity that those in the castle courtyards are left as is, that is they are not touched up or restored but left as they are. This is apparently an ongoing debate.. authenticity versus preservation. An ongoing debate .....

SUNDAY

Sunday in Vienna,  where they still keep the shops closed.  Cafes are for the most part open as people still get out and about.

Meeting up in St Stephans plaza I got there in time to see the first communicants lining up to enter as part of the processional at the start of Mass.  A wonderful carillon of bells, then time to go in. We didn't stay for Mass.

We are now a group and as such had a very pleasant stroll around town which would have been an orientation walk but most of us had already been here for a few days.  It was good to walk with someone leading us who knew a bit about things we came across rather than ambling on our own and wondering why things like the plague memorial were for.

We ended up at the Opera House where we went our separate ways agreeing to meet up for dinner.  Coffee and a cake Rob cannot stop raving about at the Opera cafe (a Hollander cake, coffee cream centre, meringue top, delicious - one between the two of us).  I felt that I could handle another gallery so we went to the Albertina to see the Monet, Picassos, Degas, and so much more. Their permanent display is title From Monet to Picasso and is very well set out. A temporary exhibition of more modern work by Elaine Sturvesant who thought that using only her surname immediately made her level with her male counterparts led to some interesting discussion. Just how creative is it to duplicate other artists' work and call it appropriation? And when some of those artists (incl Warhol, Lichtenstein) have already appropriated images what does it all mean?

A lighter expedition is in order - the Prater fairgrounds to have a look at the giant ferris wheel, not to ride it however. As it was yet another beautiful sunny spring day the Prater was crowded. I imagine that it could be a bit of a crush at the height of summer.  The old ferris wheel looks wonderful, with its big cabins reminiscent of ski lift cabins, but I was unprepared for the size of the park.  It is bigger than the Royal Show! And has a beer garden, or two, or three. We had ice cream., not at the beer garden.

Met our new best friends at the hotel and headed out..only slightly in the wrong direction after getting off the train a stop early.  We all seem to have the same attitude, you are never quite lost just working it out as you go so we got there.  Only one call from team leader to see where we were. He left us to it. Goulash tonight for me,  trout for Rob. Another stroll, cake and coffee en route to the right station and that's the end of the Viennese journey.

It has been very enjoyable getting to know our fellow travellers and I for one am looking forward to seeing the sights with them. Plus there is a bike ride in the next town. YAY.  I have checked my own bicycle's postage journey and it is in Coventry. At least it has made most of its trip, I just hope unscathed.  Soon find out.

CAN'T BEAT THIS WEATHER

I could bore you to sobs with how wonderful the run of warm sunny days has been, but you may be experiencing that for yourself so I won't.  Suffice to say that I have felt the need to carry sunscreen and keep up the water.

There was a tour in English this morning at the Secessions Museum, which was very informative to those amongst us who know virtually nothing about the secessionist art movement. Simply put a collective of artists decided to secede from the conservative mainstream. They were well enough established to get government support to build themselves a gallery. Great motto .. To every time its art, to art its freedom (or German to that effect). Here end etc the lesson.

A visit to the Naschmakt for lunch, a street market with a chaotic and crowded mix of food stalls and cafes. Somehow we didn't go the full length so missed the flea market end where a second hand clothing stall was described by a fellow traveller as dumped on the ground thus resembling her teenage bedroom. Also missed the chandelier stall. Damn.

I ended up on my own for a few hours and after all the indoors just enjoyed fresh air walking around Stadtpark. It isn't a huge park so I did a few lengths along the various paths then went native and just sat for a while watching the world stroll by. Great to see a park so well used. It is interesting to note that almost no one goes about with earphones in nor is everyone walking about with eyes down on the phone screen -that would be the dorky tourist following a screen - based map. I put it away.

Meandering through lesser streets I am delighted by my surroundings.  I don't try and pick the original from the restored buildings,  but am starting to realise the extent of the damage to the city and tend to presume everything pretty well is rebuilt.

To cap off the afternoon we lurked outside the Sacher Hotel with John to get a table so we could finally taste the original, the authentic Sacher torte.  It is very good cake, lighter than I thought it would be. We farewelled John who is off to the Opera and went  to meet our fellow Intrepid tourists - two Australian couples, a Canadian and a South African. Only three of us in for the long haul, ourselves and T, the SA woman. David, our guide, is a Scot who has already warned me that if I think his accent is thick just wait til I get into the north of Scotland. He's from a village outside Inverness.

Must be a day for tradition - schnitzel for dinner. Delicious.

LAST DAY OR FIRST

I could bore you to sobs with how wonderful the run of warm sunny days has been, but you may be experiencing that for yourself so I won't.  Suffice to say that I have felt the need to carry sunscreen and keep up the water.

There was a tour in English this morning at the Secessions Museum, which was very informative to those amongst us who know virtually nothing about the secessionist art movement. Simply put a collective of artists decided to secede from the conservative mainstream. They were well enough established to get government support to build themselves a gallery. Great motto .. To every time its art, to art its freedom (or German to that effect). Here end etc the lesson.

A visit to the Naschmakt for lunch, a street market with a chaotic and crowded mix of food stalls and cafes. Somehow we didn't go the full length so missed the flea market end where a second hand clothing stall was described by a fellow traveller as dumped on the ground thus resembling her teenage bedroom. Also missed the chandelier stall. Damn.

I ended up on my own for a few hours and after all the indoors just enjoyed fresh air walking around Stadtpark. It isn't a huge park so I did a few lengths along the various paths then went native and just sat for a while watching the world stroll by. Great to see a park so well used. It is interesting to note that almost no one goes about with earphones in nor is everyone walking about with eyes down on the phone screen -that would be the dorky tourist following a screen - based map. I put it away.

Meandering through lesser streets I am delighted by my surroundings.  I don't try and pick the original from the restored buildings,  but am starting to realise the extent of the damage to the city and tend to presume everything pretty well is rebuilt.

To cap off the afternoon we lurked outside the Sacher Hotel with John to get a table so we could finally taste the original, the authentic Sacher torte.  It is very good cake, lighter than I thought it would be. We farewelled John who is off to the Opera and went  to meet our fellow Intrepid tourists - two Australian couples, a Canadian and a South African. Only three of us in for the long haul, ourselves and T, the SA woman. David, our guide, is a Scot who has already warned me that if I think his accent is thick just wait til I get into the north of Scotland. He's from a village outside Inverness.

Must be a day for tradition - schnitzel for dinner. Delicious

MAAAATE

What a good day, just one more castle gallery, or 2 in a way.  Upper and Lower Belvedere.

First however there is the special treat of meeting up with our close friend, John, who happens to behere in Vienna at the sametime. A brisk walk along the canal shared path to meet up in the cathedral plaza. Of course a coffee to start,followed by atrip past the Opera so J can get his ticket to Eugene Onegin. Then onto the tram to see the Klimts,and everything else at the Belvedere. Another castle right in town.

By the time we had a late lunch in the fresh air, Saw some more extraordinary rooms and had a look at the medieval icons, it was time to get a tram back to town. Pre dinner drink then over the road to the Cafe Museum for a quick dinner Surrounded by police cars. We found out they were there for an Armenian demonstration related to the genocide 100 years ago. We didn'tsee the demo. No one seemed at all interested.

Vienna differs greatly from Munich although it does have a very Germanic look about it. Transport runs well, which I like very much. There never seems to be more than 10 minutes between services on the same line. The familiarity of tram and train travel makes me feel more confident. Walking around gives one a feel of the city but in three or four days of hitting tourist attractions I certainly shall leave with a feeling that I haven't broken the surface. That said, I like the surface very much.

I have been surprised to observe that obesity doesn't appear prevalent the way it does at home. Perhaps, particularly in Munich, it is because so many walk and ride or perhaps the beer really is low-carb.  Whatever the reason it is a good thing. With all the beer drinking everywhere, and I mean everywhere, we haven't seen many very drunk people. That might be because we didn't stay until the end of the soccer game at the beer garden the other day. There is less so far in Austria, and I do have to bear in mind that we were in Munich, home of the beer garden.  BYO food in the beer gardens is a great idea, especially in the middle of a market. Missing it already.

Back at our own hotel there is a problem with the wifi, the problem is that it isn't working. When one's access is limited a breakdown is somehow more frustrating than knowinh it is not available in the hotel to start with. I want news from home. Damn their eyes. I know I won't achieve anything by asking about it again, nor by complaining, but I'd quite like to stamp my feet and have something happen. Oh well, maybe a trip to MacDs around the corner for a peppermint tea is in order.  (Just came down the stairs to see the attendant clipping his toe nails... what has it come to? Don't think the wifi is coming back tonight.)

So it is now morning, still no WiFi so McDonald's here we come. Nay, here I am.......

GOODNIGHT VIENNA

Last day in Munich.  What shall we do?  Oh I know,  let's see another castle.  I found out today that the Wittelbach royals had 5 times the wealth of Louis xiv which would account for the plethora of elaborate and ornate residences over the years.

The Residenz, where they lived in Munich, is enormous.  It is a fabulous museum,  but a lot of it is not the original building. The audio guide explained over and over again my friend that we are past the eve of destruction. So much of the palace was destroyed in WWII that an extraordinary effort has been made to restore what was left and to recreate what wasn't. Good job.

Munich is fascinating from that perspective.  There is so much of the city that has been rebuilt since the war in the old style that as you start to look closely one feels a sense of shame that one country could so completely destroy another.

It is so well ordered, and I once again came to appreciate German public transport.  I have Dinah to thank for introducing me to it. Our hotel was almost in the Hauptbahnhof which was very convenient indeed.

No trouble to cross the road,  one final coffee and onto the train to Vienna.  Sunset in the Alps looked great but on the other side of the train so I missed most of it.  Didn't miss the snow capped mountains however or the hills which looked as though they should be alive with the sound of music.

No wifi in the hotel room here so could be spending a bit of time in the foyer,  or finding another Starbucks or equiv. Good thing they sell tea.

SCHLOSS NYMPHENBURG

One mission today, get the tram to Schloss Nymphenburg and have a look around.  We did it. 

It was amazing to get off the tram, turn the corner and there it is in all its glory. 

We spent pretty well all day here there was so much to see. The castle apartments were just the beginning. The grounds went on forever full of woods, groves, water - two lakes - and beautiful outlying buildings. You'll just have to see the pictures as I would get too long winded and repetitive, e.g. "Oh my goodness that's beautiful", "what an amazing.....". 

Rob and I did eventually leave, tram to the Viktualienmarket, a 200 year old open air market. It is a mix of food and goods, with a beer garden at the centre. What a surprise! Better have a beer then. We wandered around town not quite aimlessly and happened to go into a church which surprised us with its origami. More wandering to come across another street market, which was all Italian foods. 

Ever have the feeling that it's not quite time for dinner, not quite enough time for a sleep and too late to go anywhere. What does one do? Get on a tram of course and take it to its destination, past a huge industrial area cleverly masked by trees, past an enormous sculpture titled 'Mae West', back along an different route to the trendiest burger grill in town. Picked as tourists,  given the menu in English and served by an lively English speaking waitress who hopes to run into us again. Good fun. Tram home.

I miss my bike, seeing everyone on theirs. The streets have bike paths on the footpath, they are all one way and cyclists move pretty fast along them. Almost no one walks on them. I have seen 2 men in lycra, and a handful of helmets. Everyone just gets on and rides off. Lots of children carried in trailers, cargo-like front carts and yesterday riding pillion on the luggage rack behind her mother. And no rubbish, people just don't drop any. Great attitude. 

DEAR MARLO

You would have liked today, I think.  It was a beautiful sunny day and we did a lot of tram riding.

Before we got on our first tram we went across to the railway station for breakfast.  I somehow managed to order 2 cups of tea, so I drank both with my food. There were lots of people everywhere going in all directions.

We went in the wrong direction on the first tram but liked looking around so we just didn't care. After a while we got off and took another tram to a museum on an island in the middle of the river. There was tons of things there for us, and for children to turn on, light up. I don't know that you would have liked to stay as long as we did.

Our tram took so long coming to go back to town that we took two and went a long way round to get there. We went into the Frauenkirche Dom, the cathedral church, and liked the high high roof and the beautiful stained glass window colours. We had to be very quiet in there. I could hear a choir singing but couldn't see them.

We saw a beer garden restaurant from the tram that we wanted to go to for dinner. We got on the right tram and looked for it again. We hadn't realised how close it was .. 2 tram stops! I had to wake Grandpa up to go to dinner and in the morning he told me he wasn't really awake when we went. When we came home he took his shoes off and found he had put them on the wrong feet! We laughed very hard about that.

Hundreds of people were there. They had chips too, but we had sausages and meatballs and kraut.  See the photo for the pretzel. We stayed to watch soccer on the TV and the crowd cheered all 5 goals for the local team. We walked home afierce that and went to bed.  Love from Granny and Grandpa sends his love too

MUNICH and getting here

Plane trips from Australia always seem interminable, probably because they are.  Anyway,  suffice to say we didn't have to bad a time.  Seen pretty well all the films, but in the longer leg i watched a load of romcom rubbish called That Means War.  My word Rhys Witherspoon is good in Wild, but this did no one any favours
Adding a 4 hour train trip might seem a bad idea but we were able to check in straight away into the hotel over the road from the station and head out into the cloudless blue day in search of beer and bagel. Found a seat in the sun.. bonus.
Following a few pieces of advice we walked to the English Gardens, passing through the Hof Garden where we could hear beautiful cello music.  We came across the busker in the wonderfully acoustic rotunda. Haven't seen many buskers around, and the ones we do see are not amplified which I take as a good sign. My favourite was the gold "statue" sitting on his pedestal taking a smoking break.  Missed the photo op.
English Gardens are extraordinary - and not just because of the nude sunbathers in the middle of everyone at a city park.  The scale is enormous,  we didn't get all the way around. We got as far as the Chinese Tower and contrary to expectations had a cup of peppermint tea in the beer garden around it before heading back to town.
Fatigue setting in and we just went to bed early and had a looooong good night's sleep.

Some more photos here

On the road again (I'm sure I've used that before)

On Sunday morning we are out of here once more.  Flying to Germany, getting off a plane, onto a train and settling into living out of a small suitcase for a while.  Rob and I will spend a bit over a month traipsing round Europe, a week in London to see "Book of Mormon" and a few other sights, then I'm off on the bike for a while and Rob will head over to Ireland.  We'll meet up to come home eventually.
I posted my bicycle off to the UK yesterday - I put if off of course until the last minute, but it has gone air express and so I am confident it will arrive in time for my ride which starts early June.  I owe a great debt of thanks to LaurenE who will receive it on my behalf, and to her father, James, who has offered to put it together for me.  What's the worst that could happen?  I'd have to buy a new bike over there - ah well, never mind
I feel unnervingly calm as I packed everything I am taking (note I haven't said everything I want to take, or need) about a week ago and haven't repacked.  I have thought about it a good deal but can't think of much to add that is worth the hassle of additional weight. I am keeping as low as possible to enable bringing the bicycle back in my luggage after the ride.
This is a long trip, indeed the longest I have been away at any time. I shall miss everyone and will come to thank goodness for some sort of visual connection with the rest of the world. I don't ask for daily updates about the best granddaughter a Granny could have, but if that's what happens so be it.




A good night's sleep tonight, a hearty breakfast, a dreadful airport lunch and then up, up and away....... into the sunset