Vienna 2022

June 14 Tuesday

Taxi dropped us at the Prague train station around 11 so lots of time. Also see now that when we arrived went out the wrong way. He dropped us across the street from the station in a parking lot where there is an elevator that takes you down right into the main area of the station. Oh well….next time I’ll know.

Lucky we arrived early as there was some confusion, on our part and of some other travelers, as to which track the train would come in on. The sign seemed to be saying something like track 27?? I did a quick walk around trying to figure out how the track numbers worked but could only see tracks 1- 5 or something like that. Decided to just hang around with all the others waiting for the actual track number to come up. When it did come up, again it said 27 (wth??) people immediately started heading for one of the entrances (#3??) so we all just followed them. Up to the platform but still no sign saying which track, destination or at least one that corresponded to what the board said. Was a bit twisted around so had no idea which direction the train would come from. A lady came up to us and asked if we were going to Vienna, we said yes, or at least that’s where we hoped we were going. We all laughed. Then another lady and our friend from the last train came along….also wondering if we were all going to get on the right train.

When the train arrived, the sign still did not say Vienna/Wien, it showed the next stop, which I don’t remember now. Anyway we all got on the train, found our seats and hoped for the best. Once the train started moving the sign in the car came up and showed that we were in fact on the right train!! Phew. This is truly the only negative I have to say about Prague!

No train pics today. Once outside of the city it was very pretty countryside. Rolling hills, farms, some vineyards and lots of storybook houses and villages.

Arrived in Vienna just before 5. Taxi to the hotel, Mercure Wien Zentrum. Great location. Nice room overlooking the street. A café.

Just dropped our bags and out to explore and eat….had snacks on the train.

Only a couple blocks to St Stephensdom. Was closing for the day so will get inside tomorrow. Gothic/Romanesque (or maybe Baroque?) church from the 12c?? The roof is tile, mosaic of eagles on the side ….did not see them tonight, will look tomorrow. Some damage inside and out during WWII but luckily most was fully restored. Huge and hard to get a good picture of it all. Just beautiful!

Lovely wide pedestrian only streets around the church. Found “The Chattanooga Café” for dinner. Thought it might be kind of touristy but lots of people so gave it a try. Absolutely the best schnitzel and potato salad of the trip!! Reasonably priced too.

Not too much happening in the evening. Very quiet around this area so just worked our way back to the hotel. Many great buildings, small alleys and courtyards to explore tomorrow and the next day.

Schonbrunn Palace tomorrow.

I don’t think 3 nights here will be enough…..ah sigh.

June 15 Wed

Not out and about too early this morning…9ish. Coffee and croissants at a café down the street.

Took the metro out to Schonbrunn Palace. Quick, easy and cheap….day pass 6E, took less than a half hour.

Quite a line up to purchase tickets. A few tour options…opted for the Grand Tour with audio guide. Had over an hour to kill so went to the restaurant for a drink a bit of bite to eat. Very, very hot today.

Tour was excellent…really good audio. Great history of Maria Theresia, Franz Josef and Empress Elizabeth (Sisi), No pics allowed sadly. Some of the rooms were decadent…., great artwork, beautiful tableware and the material for the draperies and furniture was gorgeous. What opulence!! Spent 2 hours in there and could have spent even more!

The gardens are many and varied…and free!! Beautiful roses, trellises, topiary etc. Walked out as far as the fountain. Linds went all the way up to the Gloriette. She’d been before and loved it. The back of the palace was being set up for a concert, Vienna Summer Nights Philharmonic, so parts of the garden and palace were obscured by the equipment and some areas roped off…..found out after we’d left that the concert was FREE!!! Talk about bad timing on our part. Would have been amazing to experience that.

Took the metro back and got off at Karlsplatz. Thought we’d check out the Nachtmarkt but spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around that area. Stopped for a drink at a funky café that didn’t have any of the food that we ordered….ended up with a sort of odd looking but really good pizza!

Such a great city to just wander about. So many things just sort of pop out….murals, some funky architecture, cute cafes and shops. Everything is “orderly” here. You really need a whole day in a city like this to just explore…great to see all the tourist type stuff but I think you can better feel for it just wandering a bit off the tourist path.

Burggarten is a very nice park. Mozart statue with a very pretty flower bed in the shape of a treble clef!!

Maria Theresia Platz is a big square between the Kunsthistorisches and the Natural History Museum. Stopped to check out the opening time for tomorrow.

Volksgarten a little further along is a big park with impeccably neat and tidy flower beds, perfectly pruned and shaped trees and some historic buildings. Very pleasant to walk thru.

Past the Hofburg Palace and to check out times for the horse shows and training sessions and the Sisi Museum hours. There is a Roman ruin just in front of the palace….great that is has been preserved.

A stroll down Kohlmarkt to admire all the expensive shops. Checked out the Spanish Riding school horse show ($$$) times and morning training sessions (free)….not sure we’ll make them but would be great to see. Saw part of the one in Jerez (Spain) and enjoyed it.

Had tried to get in to Figlmuller for dinner but no reservations until 10PM tonight or tomorrow night. Heard it was good.

Found a horrid Italian restaurant, Dai Fratelli. Snooty waiter and it was absolutely the worst food I’ve had on this trip. Mushy bruschetta to start, under cooked (pre- al dente!!) pasta, no flavour and not hot!

Back to the hotel a bit early tonight.

June 16 Thurs

Up early….8ish and all ready to head out. The café down the street was closed, so found a good old Starbucks for coffee and a croissant. Was good. Sat outside in the shade…..was pretty warm even at 9AM.

Our first stop was going to be St Stephens but couldn’t get in. The area was blocked off…..setting up something in the front….a big platform, tables with flowers, lots of regalia.

Had turned on to Graben and found a ton of people….some wandering, others lining the road. Then heard the music!!! A quick google search and discovered it was Corpus Christi Day…..a holiday!

Within a couple of minutes the procession started coming along on the way to St Stephens. It went on and on and on. Various religious groups carrying their flags, waving incense, military groups, marching bands, people that were perhaps city officials, boy scouts, girl guides. Some people would join in and walk with the groups. The last group must have been the cardinal or ??. He came with 4 people carrying a canopy over him and flanked by security. I am not a religious person but it was really a very moving experience and so glad we got to see it. This also explained why all the stores and lots of other places were closed!!!

Got to the horse training session too late. Tours are 18E and just not enough time and interest so off to our museums. Linds went to the Sisi and I went to the Kunsthistorische.

It has to be one of the best museums I’ve ever been too! Just fantastic. As soon as you walk in the doors and start up the stairs it’s a museum heaven! Klimt paintings and frescos, statues on the first landing. Many different galleries. One easily leads to the next. Some of the galleries are all one artist, others are a mix of artists from the same eras and/or origins. Ruebens, Rembrandts, Vermeers, a Raphael or two and a Titian. The best gallery though was the Bruegels. One could just stand and look at each painting forever…..always one more thing will catch your eye. I’m sure he was the inspiration for the Where’s Waldo and Richard Scary books! The detail, big and small is amazing….spent way too much time in there but I just loved them.

Next to the Egyptian collection. Very well organized, great descriptions and beautiful displays and paintings.

There was also a rather racy, eclectic exhibition for Gay Pride month…..was definitely interesting!

Three hours went by so quickly….still so much more to see but I got to the point where I could no longer appreciate what I was looking at.

Found a great restaurant, Kanzleramt (Chancellery in English), near the Sisi to wait for Linds. Had a couple of glasses of wine and just enjoyed sitting and people watching. She arrived, the Sisi was excellent…more so after our tour at Schonbrunn yesterday. We decided we’d just have lunch…was already after 2! Lunch was excellent! I had their Caesar salad with chicken, which is nothing like the ones at home but was v.v.g. Linds had chicken strips, which were like 4 half size pieces of schnitzel….also v.g.

St Stephens was open! A pretty magnificient cathedral. Parts of it are very ornate, others quite simple really compared to some but very beautiful. Very plain stained glass windows. The size of it is amazing. And you can just tell the acoustics are great. ….no concerts on the calendar but what an experience that would be.

Had clouded over and looked like rain so we headed back to the hotel to get umbrellas. Just as we got in the door it started coming down….along with thunder and lightening. Just crazy!! I had a cappa at the hotel café and just watched the storm. Cleared the streets completely. Was still really warm outside.

Cleared up nicely around 6 so we headed in a different direction to explore. The Anker Clock….goes off at noon each day. The figures that go around represent Austrian history.

There is a Shakespeare & Co bookstore!!! Sadly it was closed.

Dinner was at Kaffee Alt Wien that was recommended by friends. An eclectic place….fun, funky atmosphere with art and posters all over the walls. Food was good, service great. I had borscht, Linds had goulash and we were told they had the best sausages so we shared an order. They were good but not sure about the best….really just European wieners.

Such a fantastic city!! So much more to have seen here….the Belevedere, Mozart museum, the bookstore etc. etc…..

Packed up and to bed. Munich tomorrow!

Prague 2022

June 11 Sat

Up and to the train station. Grabbed some breakfast and train snacks.

Our seats are in a second class compartment with a door! First part was good….only Linds and me and a guy from London that is doing the same route as us! After the first hour 2 guys got on. Didn’t have window seats so no good pictures which is too bad as there was great scenery once outside of Berlin. Lots of forest and farm land. Once we got to the Czech border there were more villages, houses with red roofs, vineyards. Tracks ran along a river (Vltava?) for quite a while almost right into Prague.

As the train was arriving I could tell already that I was going to really enjoy Prague!

Arrived just after 3. Out the door to look for a taxi but appeared to be a park/pedestrian area?? Walked down and thru the park to the road and found one there. I loved Prague even before we’d gotten out of the taxi!! Such a pretty city.

Only a few minute drive to our “hotel” the Tyn Yard Residence. The driver had to stop on the street, he got and walked around the corner and came back a minute later with a thumbs up! Unloaded our bags and pointed us in the right direction saying even numbers on the left and odd on the right. Off we went thru the arch and into the square…made perfect sense. A weird numbering system here. We had to let the hotel know what time we would be arriving as it is not a “hotel” hotel, it’s like a “diffuso” that I’ve stayed at in Italy, so the guy would be there when we arrived. There is no lobby, they are simply rooms in a building. If issues you have to phone them. The breakfast is at a restaurant called Tunel in our little square.

All was good, other than our room being up 3 flights of rather narrow and steep stairs….he carried our bags up for us. Very nice big bright room with gable type windows on each side, huge bathroom. I think we’re in the attic. Great view of Tyn Church spires. Was very hot outside but the room was actually quite pleasant with the drapes closed, so we’ll have to remember to do that before we leave each day.

Got organized and I went down to the bar/restaurant in the square to have a glass of wine, update my journal and read about Prague. Linds was having a rest.

We are in an absolutely perfect location. It’s a small square a couple blocks from Old Town Square. There’s a couple restaurants, an Irish Pub and a few shops. So lots nearby but not too busy.

I’d had a couple glasses of wine by the time Linds came down around 5:30. Hadn’t had lunch so decided to just have an early dinner right there before exploring. Really good ribs for me, Linds had the goulash in a bread bowl…..total bill including 4 glasses of wine and one coke (which costs more than a glass of wine) was 26E or 600Koruna.

Off to explore. A few minute walk along side the Tyn Church and we were out into Old Town Square. Just beautiful, very big and open with lots of restaurants around it, a park and the Church of St Nicholas. You can see the Tyn Church gothic towers but that is about it, the clock tower of the old town hall with the astronomical clock just around the side. I’m not sure of the style of all the buildings but they are just lovely…some have very ornate fronts others are plain but bright and have the best rooflines. The Jan Hus monument is in the centre and great place to sit and take it all in. Busy but not crowded…or it’s just such a big space you don’t notice.

*This is pretty well the best picture you can get of the Tyn Church…..*it’s totally surrounded by other buildings.

Managed to be there just as the astronomical clock was going off. Fun to watch….stood there for a bit trying to figure out how it all worked…must look that up after. Anyway….it is the oldest clock in the world. It’s been tweeked of course over the years but is at least 600 years old…amazing! Chimes every hour. This is where there were lots of people waiting and watching.

It smells good here….maybe it’s the funnel cakes or whatever they’re called. There are lots of different places selling them….can have ice cream, whipped cream, fruit, chocolate etc. will definitely have to try one.

A fantastic place….a mix of touristy Venice, a bit of Disneyland (whimsical stuff and people selling tours etc.) tons of history. So many interesting streets off the square….lots to explore tomorrow.

Lively at night…..June is gay pride month so a lot of large groups in town for the weekend celebrating.

Ended the night at the Dubliner Pub! Really lively, fun people watching. Nice and warm!

Great day.

June 12 Sun

Beautiful morning. Had breakfast at the Tunel Restaurant/Bar. Sat outside. Good variety of meats and cheeses, pastries etc….my kind of breakfast!

Into Old Town Square to start and decided we’d do the HOHO bus!! 28E for 24 hours including a ferry down the Vltava river. Did the full loop on the east side (old town/new town). Got off at the Dancing House for pictures and to explore that area a little. Back on the bus to finish the loop. Many big plazas and boulevards. Very different architecture….Gothic-ish? Black rooftops and towers, some with onion domes. Not sure how to describe the city….very pretty buildings mixed with very utilitarian type ones (communist block/boring).

Many beautiful churches. Unfortunately the audio on the HOHO bus seemed to be a block or two behind where we were so missed what a number of key sites were. Saw Wenceslas Square, which is pedestrian only and up from there is the Wenceslas Statue also the Narodni (National) Museum, which is a very impressive building and supposed to be a great museum but not sure we’ll have time to see it. So much too see! The HOHO, not something we usually do, is good for here if you’ve only got two days because there is just not enough time to cover it all on foot.

Caught the ferry for the ride down the river to and under the Charles Bridge. Nice ride….they serve drinks!! Had an aperol. Sat outside for most of it but very hot so we ended up inside at the back, sort of half inside and half outside. Great overview of both sides of the river. Saw the Prague Metronome monument commemorating their composers, it replaced a Stalin statue in 1991 Great view of Mala Strana and the Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral…..very hilly but looks lovely. Passed the very pretty Cech bridge with a very odd snake looking statues. Tour lasted about an hour and back to where we started.

Walked back thru the Jewish Quarter. Great buildings and synagogues but many signs in Czech only so not sure what they were. Ran into a couple of deadends and had to back track. Some nice little shops and cafes…..a few jewelry stores. More old historic buildings in that area, very few were damaged during the war as Hitler was quite taken with it an wanted it preserved so he could build a “monument to an extinguished race”!!! Just unbelievable and so glad that never came to be.

Language could be an issue here….can’t make heads nor tails of most of the signs so lucky for us that many people speak English.

Had a later lunch at the café right across from the clock. Delicious goulash soup. Saw the clock go off again but will have to google later exactly how all those rings works. Such a fun thing to watch….even a third time!

Headed up to Wenceslas Plaza/Square which is pedestrian only for the first few blocks. Nice with big trees, flowers, cafes, places to sit etc. Thought we’d walk up to the museum but it was closed so went in search of the “Kafka Head”.

Very interesting. It’s a giant head by David Cerny made out of a bunch of stainless steel layers that rotate, eventually all lining up to clearly see the head. We watched and waited until it was just about lined up….which is does once or twice and hour. It’s pretty amazing and definitely unique. He has a number of other sculptures/pieces of art around the city….would have been fun to have a look at them all.

Just about sunset so decided to walk to/across the Charles Bridge. Beautiful towers at either end and the many statues depicting saints and biblical scenes. So nice at this time of the night with the sunset colours! Beautiful bridge. Quite a few buskers and artisans and lots of people this time of evening. Hoping to get a better look tomorrow.

Nothing in the area is as far away as you think it is. It’s all very walkable and if you zigzag your way along some the side streets where there are less crowds is really lovely.

Very slowly made our way back to Old Town Square, which was just packed!! Surprising for a Sunday night. All the cafes and restaurants were busy. A bit of a party atmosphere, which was fun.

Back in our Tyn square around 10…..so a night cap and snack at the Dubliner Pub again. Crazy busy tonight so lucky we got a seat! Recapped what we’d done today and planned for tomorrow.

An amazing day in an amazing city!

June 13 Mon

Up early for another long day. Good breakfast again….also had hot plate stuff this morning (scrambled eggs, bacon) along with the continental goodies. Had to sit inside though as it was not terribly warm and a bit cloudy.

Popped back to pick up our umbrellas just in case.

Caught the HOHO bus to do the Lesser Town (Mala Strana) tour. That side of the river is stunning! I think it has a lot of character and is to me the “lived” in side of the city. Again the audio thing was not in sync with our location. But taking the bus saved us a lot of up hill walking! (There is a funicular down near the river that will also take you up the hill to the park) Took it to pretty well the end of the loop so up near the Petrin Tower (the Eiffel Tower of Prague!). Very nice walk up thru the park along the wall. The tower is their version of a mini-ish Eiffel Tower…..built after some officials saw the Eiffel Tower and thought they should have their own! It’s free to walk up the steps to the viewing area but we paid to take the elevator. You have to get a ticket and wait for one of the ladies to take you up….it’s small, only holds a few people. Fantastic views in every direction from the top!! There are at least three different gardens around it, the Seminary, Petrin and Lobkowicz. Picked up a map hoping to wend our way thru and back up towards the castle but promptly took a wrong turn somewhere. There is a vineyard, a rose garden and lovely forested area with benches. Some of the gardens date back to the 1600’s! So glad we went up there.

Not that exciting of a walk to the castle and cathedral. Nice buildings, some with very unusual designs. The street widens as you get closer to the castle. Some very ornate lamp posts!

The castle was free today but we didn’t go in….just can’t spend enough time. Did manage to catch the last of the changing of the guard. Only part of the cathedral is free…..luckily we got in just before it got very crowded with tour groups. And people ducking in from the rain!! Thunder, lightening and a downpour. The inside is quite simple but grand with a really high ceiling and some gorgeous stained glass windows. The outside is just exceptional!! Very gothic. They are in the process of cleaning and repairing parts of it but I kind of like the dark ominous look it has.

The rain had stopped-ish…..still very dark clouds with a few spits. Off to explore more of the Mala Strana.

Very hilly and lots of stairs. But great views of all the spires across the river and picture perfect rooftops of this area. Sort of in search of the John Lennon Wall. He was never in Prague but I’d seen the one in Puebla, Mexico so thought it would be fun to see the one here. Never did find it. Another torrential downpour had started so we found a fun place called The Beer House (I think!) for a glass of wine or two. More thunder and lightening and even more rain!! Decided to just have lunch. Delicious schnitzel….huge portion.

We did eventually have to leave so grabbed an opportunity between downpours. Our hopes of exploring more were dashed by the weather though….it started raining again and just didn’t let up. We did wander a bit, trying to mostly stay under the porticoed walkways. Many nice shops, great buildings and cafes. This area is a bit more quaint I think….or maybe more “lived” in. I’d definitely think about staying if (when?) I come back. So much more to see.

Just got to the Charles Bridge when the heavens opened yet again, more thunder, lightening. Sent all the vendors scattering and/or trying to cover themselves and their wares. We turned back and waited under the Mala tower until it wasn’t raining quite as hard. Not many people at least! Halfway across the bridge, the sky cleared, the sun was peaking thru….and in a matter of minutes it had warmed up!! Bizarre weather.

The towers at both ends of the bridge are very dark, but beautiful. The bridge was built in 1357, July 19 at 5:31AM….so perhaps all the astrological/numerology beliefs were true considering it is still standing strong today. Supposedly eggs and milk (and wine!) were used in the foundation…..like the Kalyan Minaret in Bukhara!! So lucky to have been able to walk across it.

Walked a lot….mostly just wandering and enjoying the streets. Unfortunately many museums were only open til 5 or 6 and with our rain detour/interruption earlier it was a little late in the day to visit any. Another time!! Two and a half days is just not enough here.

*Pretty treelined Parizska St…..Pragues answer to Rodeo Drive!*

Took a walk down Parizska St. Very pretty treelined street with all the big name designer stores.

The Powder Tower is another beautiful gothic structure that was a real gunpowder tower and the gate or entrance to the old town. Around the corner and down Na Prikope street, nice big trees and benches on one side, eventually turns into a pedestrian only area with cafes. Took us back to Wencesles Square.

More aimless wandering…..found a nice little shop where I found a great sepia painting of Old Town Square. Also stopped in a woodworking/carving store….very pretty Christmas ornaments.

Dinner was at the Fat Cat Beerhouse…..very good and very huge portions again. I had the deluxe hotdog and Linds had a club sandwich…reg fries and yam fries both v.g.

Found our chimney cakes….many choices for what you want in them. Very good and VERY messy.

After all the crazy weather it was a beautiful evening. Stopped for a nightcap at a bar in Old Town Square to savour our last night here.

Such a great city!!!

June 14 Tuesday

Up early. Nice day so breakfast outside.

A quick last tour around Old Town Square and an attempt at getting a picture of the Tyn Churh….impossible unfortunately. Stopped in a Koh-I-Noor for pencils for the kids….even that place has history!!

No issues checking out. He called a taxi for us that came right into the little square, which was great.

And we were off to Vienna!

Prague is definitely on my list of places to go back to! It’s a fantastic city. Great food, beautiful buildings and architecture, museums, incredible history…..so much more to see. I think at least 5 days here would have been good….