Blogs from Austria, Europe - page 15

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Europe » Austria » Vienna May 29th 2019

Arriving into Emmersdorf was so very welcomed when the general distance measure had exceeded 100 kilometres. ‘Are you tired’ said our Hungarian host, Henriette. Affirmative. Those laden saddle bags saved us from a dry and simple dinner. Out came the tea, miniature wine, beer, nibbles, and vegetables we’d stocked up on, knowing now that the smaller spots were minimally serviced and usually very quiet. Someone somewhere over the river however was having a blindingly good night by the sounds of it, changing this backwater to that with a thumping background bass. To 5am. We were too tired to notice and with sun up early it roused us to appreciate a gorgeous and warm morning. Heat of the high 20s was ahead. That good advice of the Persenbeug café owner stuck with me, that I went off ... read more
Wachau Valley
Cooling off

Europe » Austria May 26th 2019

The Bohinj community captivated us. Seeking somewhere away from the crowds of popular Bled led us there, and it fulfilled in spades the chance to be outdoors, as Úrsula put it, “if the weather’s good!” A generous offer to leave our gear there until the afternoon meant we’d be freely able to get to Bled. A decade or so before, I explored the area on the shoestring budget restrictions every twenty-something from NZ usually does. Those travellers still sat in the park, eating a picnic lunch from Mercator. Bled was misty grey, much like Bohinj, which I’d done a muddy circuit on foot of that morning. The young campers were again spotted, Slovenian cubs and brownies, gathering for perhaps the next physical challenge at an outdoors camp. We say Dobra dan, and they say ‘helloo, I’m ... read more
Ljubliana

Europe » Austria » Vienna May 21st 2019

Was Vienna just as I remembered it? No it was not and I don't really know why. I have this vision in my brain of a busy city full of buses, trams and horses. They were all there in abundance. It was a dice with death trying to cross the roads sometimes. Crossing the tram lines, missing the oncoming trams and avoiding the horses and carriages and cyclists. That was the same as 20 years ago although I imagine there are more cars there today than there were last time I was here. 1998 or 1999 I cannot remember accurately. It was cold . The fountains were cloaked in wooden overcoats to keep out the cold and prevent them freezing. They were uncloaked today. It was still cold though and raining. I remember the impressive white ... read more
Outside the UBahn
Something Vienna does well
The madonna and Christ Child at the Dom

Europe » Austria » Styria » Graz May 20th 2019

Good day - that's how the conversation in the small washroom began. We have not seen many Brits during our travels so it was strange hearing English spoken so naturally. The accent though was from someone from a land down under. I turned round to see a man and his wife carrying a huge bag of washing. My Australian friends told me that they had flown in to Holland three weeks ago, picked up their hired van and had meandered thi had called into Amsterdam and Koblenz , followed the river , entered Austria and had spent yesterday in Saltzburg. They needed a washing machine as the hire van only had one set of bedding. This needed to last another three weeks. I had washed my clothes, taken them out of the washer and struggling to ... read more
Look for this if you are looking for the Armoury
I just love these signs
One of the painted houses

Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg April 28th 2019

Today we left our hotel after breakfast. It was the first day since joining this tour that we didn't have to pack up our suitcases and leave them outside our door to be packed on the bus. This is the first two-night stay at the same hotel. We have about three others during this trip. Our usual agenda each morning is to get ready, pack our suitcases and put them outside our door by 7:00, then head to breakfast and board the bus by 8:00 am. It was a 1 1/2 hour ride to Salzburg. Our first stop was just outside Salzburg at the Schloss Hellbrunn Palace. This palace was built in 1613-1619 by the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg and named for the "clear spring" that supplied it. It is filled with secret water that can ... read more
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Europe » Austria » Tyrol April 27th 2019

Today was a travel day to get us to Austria where we will be staying two nights. We are in a quaint ski town in the Alps called Kitzbuhel. Along the way here we stopped at a former palace near Munich, Germany called Nymphenburg. It was the summer home of many rulers of Bavaria. It was started in 1664 but was constantly being added on to through the late 1800's. It was very beautiful there in spite of the bad weather. After a bus tour around Munich, we walked to the old part of the city. We arrived just in time to hear the glockenspiel show. It is a large glockenspiel in the town hall which has a show three times a day and attracts a very large audience. Once the show was over we headed ... read more
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Europe » Austria » Vienna April 25th 2019

Time really does fly . Our 2 /2 days in Vienna were good . Although it was raining it wasn't particularly cold and I was dressed for it . I really enjoyed the walking tour we did . To fuel up we stopped at the market for lunch first. . I had a great falafel plate with hummus olives and pita. Very tasty . The falafel was moist and had a lot of parsley mixed in . I think k it was even better than Afghan falafel which has potatoes mixed in to kèep them moist ..Our tour lasted close to 3 hours and the guide had many stories to tell . The old town has palaces horses, galleries , museums all housed in incredible buildings ranging in age from the 1300,s Of them all I ... read more

Europe » Austria » Vienna April 4th 2019

This morning was definitely a slow one. We were still jet-lagged and weary from travel, and were not in a hurry to get up and get moving. We slept it longer than we should have, and spent some time relaxing. We walked down the street for some breakfast at Cafe Standard, another fine Viennese establishment. Breakfast was simply pastries and coffee. We took a short walk just for the heck of it, and returned to the room. We had to check out of the hotel and move to the Airbnb which would be our home for the next two weeks. This move really took up most of the afternoon. There was some miscommunication with the Airbnb host. I did not have anyway to get a hold of him unless I had wifi, so when he was ... read more
Prater
Prater
Prater

Europe » Austria » Vienna April 3rd 2019

Ah, we finally arrived! Vienna's airport seemed way smaller than O'Hare, and wasn't at all busy. We made our way to baggage claim, and easily found the taxi stands. We took a pretty expensive taxi ride to our hotel. That's the thing when travelling with Mom; she is almost 79 and is over the skimping in life. I probably would've taken the 16 dollar train, but the taxi was quite nice after such a long, sleepless flight. Our driver was nice enough, but we did hit some traffic and it took us about an hour. I didn't have much of an impression of Vienna yet. My mind was so tired, it could barely form thoughts. We finally made it to Holiday Inn Vienna City, and checked our bags. We weren't able to check in for three ... read more
Naschmarkt
Naschmarkt
Cafe Savoy

Europe » Austria » Upper Austria » Linz January 11th 2019

Let's be honest now, the Austrian city of Linz hardly springs to mind when you begin to list out all of the places and cultural facets for which Austria is best known. That said, Linz is the nation's third-largest metropolis, so on that level alone, it would appear that there should be something of interest to capture the tourist's attention, at least for just one full day, as was the quota of time set aside within which to unravel the various threads of Linz and see how the whole package fared. Landmarks here are fairly plentiful, and the key area from which all other orientation can be measured is the main square, with its detailed monument and colourful, stylish buildings flanking it. The variety of churches and cathedrals within the city's confines is impressive enough, and ... read more
The main square, Linz
The old town, Linz
Prominent church, Linz




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