Blogs from Austria, Europe - page 12

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Europe » Austria » Vienna September 13th 2019

Train to Vienna Prague Station is big but not to hard to navigate. Was standing comfortably waiting for my platform number to come up and along come a ‘transport gypsy’. First met one at Krakow Station. They spot the bewildered looking travellers(solo or groups) and advise you were to go, take you to your platform and tell you the exact spot your carriage will be. Not aggressive and very helpful. At the end they rub their fingers together for a little payment. Train pulls in and he was spot on. The usual push and shove to board which is unnecessary as we all have allocated seats. Then chaos reigned as people got on wrong carriages or simply the wrong end of their carriage - which is no one’s error as you wouldn’t know. At least there ... read more

Europe » Austria September 12th 2019

Berge, Seen, freundliche Leute und vieles mehr. Österreich hat in der Tat so einiges zu bieten. Ganz egal ob im Winter, Frühling, Sommer oder Herbst. Doch immer nur mit dem Auto unterwegs zu sein, kann mit der Zeit auch etwas eintönig werden. Warum also nicht einmal mit dem Rad die Reise antreten? Bevor man sich auf den Sattel schwingt und losfährt, sollte allerdings einiges überprüft werden. Vor allem das Rad selbst sollte einem ordentlichen Check unterzogen werden. Die Kette muss im Vorhinein mit einem passenden Öl geschmiert oder im Notfall ausgetauscht werden. Bei den Pedalen sollte man darauf achten, dass die PTFE-Gleitlager geölt sind, sodass alles einwegfrei funktioniert. Auch die Bremsen dürfen auf keinen Fall außer Acht gelassen werden. Am besten ist es, die Bremsen abzumontieren, Schrauben und Lager überprüfen,... read more
entlang den Feldern
kurze Pause
atemberaubende Landschaft

Europe » Austria » Vienna September 6th 2019

Last day in Vienna, and pretty much the last day of our holiday, tomorrow we head back, via Frankfurt and Brussels back to Wilmslow on Sunday. Leisurely start, not much for breakfast because our first stop is going to be the Sacher cafe - home to the original sacher torte ! small queue outside to get in at 11, not that there wasn’t enough tables inside - think they were waiting for the daily delivery of cake - the lorry was being unloaded right on the street in front of us - there goes the illusion, it’s being made on an industrial scale in a warehouse (no doubt) somewhere on the outskirts of Vienna! Anyway, we were in ! - cafe und kuchen - it was yummy but rich. Took the Ubahn to see the gardens ... read more
Lindt bunny?
Schönbrunn
Sacher cafe

Europe » Austria » Vienna September 5th 2019

Early start with a train at 8-15 to Melk from Vienna for our boat trip down and up the Danube. Arrived in Melk in good time - smashing little town with the most enormous Abbey, which is also a school. Would be worth a visit another time but we really only had an hour for a coffee before the boat trip. Gorgeous day and great scenery. The area is called the Wachau and is famous for its fine Austrian wines - esp Riesling grape and also apricots - they make a lot of apricot pastries as well as a liquor. Vines and fruit trees were manicured - neat terracing and row after row up the hill. The Danube, just like the Rhine had a steady stream of barges carrying who knows what up and down the ... read more
Castle - jump or starve!
Melk
One of many castles

Europe » Austria » Vienna September 4th 2019

Just to say we did have one eye on the goings on in Westminster - each time we checked it seemed something momentous had happened. Maybe we should go away more often ! We made a plan for the day, before going out - and broadly stuck to it ! First stop was back to St. Peter’s church - a website had suggested they had a organ/soprano concert later - they did, so back there for 7-30! Next we walked to the Hofburg Palace. We didn’t know much (anything) about the Austrian / Central European empire / Hapsburg family. So it was a real education - my goodness they were wealthy ! The Hofburg was their main palace and now it’s the place where they display a lot of their stuff - they ruled for 650 ... read more
napkins folded for the emperor
Table decoration!
More table decorations

Europe » Austria » Vienna September 3rd 2019

Woke up to sunshine - phew! Not too early a start - train to Vienna at 11 and only a short walk to the station. Train ride through hills, farms - lovely countryside. Arrived in Vienna - Airbnb this time, in the area of Nestroyplatz - fairly close to the old town. We had messages from owner, keys were with a local cafe - but only mention his name, not the flat ( sounds as though he shouldn’t be letting out the flat !!) Anyway, we got a set of keys - shame they were the wrong ones! So Pete hot-footed it back to the cafe and returned with the right ones. It was good to stretch out in a flat - and we popped into the local supermarket to stock up on some essentials (Wine ... read more
cathedral
Inside cathedral
Memorial to plague victims

Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg September 2nd 2019

Today was the first day of my retirement and it felt pretty good ? We woke up to rain ? and the forecast was for it to rain all day - luckily it was just drizzle and stayed dry whilst we visited the massive castle overlooking Salzburg - the Fortress Hohensalzburg. Quick ride up the funicular, (via the oldest bakery in town for a snack! - couldn’t resist the amazing smell - their flour ground by a waterwheel! ) to the fortress - and what a fortress! Various Archbishops had added extensions to the original basic castle over the years - each outdoing the previous it seems, until the fortress you see today dominating the city from a great height. The audio guide was helpful to understand how the castle developed with each Archbishop - seemed ... read more
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Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg September 1st 2019

We decided to go for a walking tour this morning - 10 o’clock at Mirabell Palace, main entrance - easy? should have been, but tourist maps are tricky to read and we arrived too late !? To be honest we weren’t sorry as we later saw so many ‘walking tours / groups’ and they looked super dull. Anyway, having missed out on the organised tour, we reset with a coffee and strudel and set to organising our own tour. Using the tourist map and internet site Bigboytravel.com (?) we were off! Firstly the Mirabelle Palace gardens ( SofM Doh-Ray-me film site) - lovely flowers but probably we were expecting a more manicured set of gardens - too many weeds for our liking!! Then to Mozarts house ( and closeby where physicist Doppler lived), and across the ... read more
on the steps - doh ray me - looking a bit irritated that’s there’s so many people in my way!
same steps !
Mozart’s birth place

Europe » Austria » Tyrol » Seefeld August 30th 2019

Today will be a short blog as we are having a day of rest and relaxation in the Tirol. We have been invited for lunch at Anne’s in Seefeld. Seefeld is approximately 30 minutes from Axams and I love the drive there as we drive down into the Inn Valley and up Zirler Berg on the other side. It is dramatic scenery all the way. Anne has been another close friend since the early 1980s when I spent three years living and working in Seefeld. I have spent many weeks over the past years at her home - either using one of her apartments for a skiing holiday or dog-sitting for the lovely Rory occasionally when she went on one of her exotic and exciting trips. Needless to say I am really excited about returning to ... read more
Views of the Rosshütte behind Seefeld Church
View from behind the Church
Seefeld Town Centre

Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg August 28th 2019

I enjoy a fabulous breakfast in this lovely, calm and luxurious B&B. The owners provide excellent service whilst being very laid back. I explain that I am here to explore Salzburg in just a few hours and they offer to lend me a bike. Although I enjoy cycling, I politely decline as I want to bob in and out of lots of places and having a bike would be a complication. I actually do know my way around Salzburg reasonably well unlike the other cities that I have visited on this trip. However I have never stayed here. I used to come here each week from Seefeld during the summer months, and always with a group of 30-50 people. So I am looking forward to a few hours here alone to do some exploring. Salzburg is ... read more
Mirabell Gardens
Residenzplatz
Hohensalzburg Fortress




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