WANDERING WITH WILLIAM
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Up, Up and Away

11/6/2018

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We awaken early, take quick showers, dress and haul our bags out of the apartment to the street.  Within a minute or two the friendly taxi driver from last night arrives and we are loaded in his car.

As he drives through the city he provides commentary on some of the places we have seen and many that we missed.  A good excuse to return!  We learn about the many advantages of living in Vienna from his point of view.  He also provides some tips about the airport (don't buy at duty free, there's a grocery store with better prices, etc.) as we approach the departures curbside.

Our flight on Austrian Air is all good.  The flight is not fully booked and we have an empty seat between us.  Yeah!  The flight attendants are warm and helpful, and the food is pretty good by airline coach seat standards.  On top of it arrive home a little earlier than expected.

​We really enjoyed both Budapest and Vienna, and Bratislava was a nice diversion for a couple of days.  We both agree that Budapest is a city we could live in for a longer period of time.... three and a half weeks just whet our appetites.  Vienna has much more to offer than we could see in a few days.  Hopefully we'll return to both in a future year.
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The Hofburg & St. Stephens

11/5/2018

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After a slow, relaxing start to the day we stop by the restaurant we know that serves bacon and eggs.  This time we are fortunate to get a table inside.  After a couple of coffee's and some good food we are ready to tackle the Hofburg.  The original building of the palace dates to the 13th century.  It's baroque architecture is complimented by many interesting statues.  Today it is the official residence and workplace of the president of Austria.  It also houses a number of museums, including the Albertina which we visited on Saturday.
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I have an interest in seeing a palace of earlier times and so we buy tickets to the Sisi Museum and Imperial Apartments.  Viewing the silver collection (essentially the tableware used within the palace over the years) is included.  I enjoy the museums, but William informs me that he considers them slightly less torturous than touring the interior of Versailles.  He should have just had a coffee in the courtyard café.

With coffee on the mind we go across the street to the Klimt Café.  We order coffee and a slice of the ubiquitous Sacher tort to share, then walk back to the apartment to do some online activities.

For dinner we find a Hungarian restaurant named Ilona in the pedestrian area of the Old Town. The restaurant was founded in November, 1957 and is still family-run.  Continuing my fowl trend, I choose the goose special which is only offered two weeks during the year.  William selects a meat plate which is topped with a thick piece of pork belly.  We both smile widely.
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After dinner we return to St. Stephens Cathedral.  The church has been rebuilt a number of times since the first structure was completed 1160.  The last reconstruction was completed in 1952 after a major fire which occurred as Soviet troops entered the city in 1945.  A Mass is underway, but the church is massive and it has been partitioned off so that visitors do not disturb the service.

It's 9:00 pm as we return to the apartment to do our pre-packing and relax in front of the TV before bed.  There is a taxi stand four blocks from the apartment and our plan is to walk there to catch a ride to the airport.  But I am worried - will there be taxi's sitting there at 6:30 am?  So, I stop to talk to the last cabbie in the line.  He says that there will be taxis, but offers to pick us up at the apartment. Sounds good to me - if he doesn't show up, we can still walk to the taxi stand.

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Vienna Hop-On Hop-Off

11/4/2018

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The small café in front of our apartment offers brunch on Sundays, which makes an easy start to our day.  After a leasurely meal we walk toward the Museums stop to catch the Hop-On Hop-Off bus.  Our plan is to complete both the Red Route and the Blue Route, listening to the narration to gain a better overview of the city.

The two routes take a little over three hours to complete, reaching from the Old Danube on the east to the Schönbrunn Palace on the west.  We see the historic buildings in the center including the Gothic Revival Votivkirche and travel just a short distance to the modern architecture of Uno City.  Many Viennese and tourists use motorized scooters to get around, but the Orthodox man riding a manual scooter provides a unique scene.
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Following the Hop-On Hop-Off routes we are ready for a snack.  As we wander the streets of the Old Town we stumble across Flanagan's Irish Pub. William's Guinness and my Grüner Veltliner along with some cod bites hit the spot.  There's a rugby match on the TV which keeps us, and may of the other patrons entertained.
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We wander along the narrow streets of the Old Town, doing window shopping as most of the stores are closed.  We spot Nathan's Bespoke Tailor and wonder if William could pop in, get a suit and join the Kingsmen.  St. Stephen's Cathedral dominates the sky on one end of the pedestrian zone.  They are preparing for a concert so we will return tomorrow.

Although the stores are closed there are still a large number of people walking around and enjoying the carry-out food stands and cafe's.  We sit down at a cafe to share a plate of bratwurst and fries.   As we walk home we pass Hofburg, the palace we plan to tour tomorrow.
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Incredible Art & Food

11/3/2018

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We have breakfast al fresco at one of the few restaurants in the area that serves eggs and bacon.  We arrive just a few minutes too late to snag the last of the 10 small tables inside but it it no issue to get one of the 20 tables outside.  It's about 55F (13C), so we're happy to be seated under the radiant heaters and use the blankets supplied by the restaurant for our laps.

There is a special exhibit of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele at the Leopold Museum.  Since the exhibit closes tomorrow we prioritize this as first on our to-do list.  The Leopold is six blocks from the restaurant.  We spend an enjoyable two hours first seeing the Klimt galleries then going downstairs to see the Schiele's.

We slowly walk back to the apartment to rest up a bit before tackling the Monet exhibit at the Albertina museum.  While there I go online and I'm able to buy tickets I advance.  Lesson learned from the Frida Kahlo exhibit in Budapest.

When we arrive at the Albertina the line to buy tickets circles around the plaza.  We happily skip past the line and show our tickets on my cell phone.  There are 100 Monet's to see.  The first gallery is jammed with people listing to their audio tour devices.  We maneuver around them to view the paintings.  Luckily the following galleries are not so heavily packed with people.

​After the Monet's we move on to the permanent Batliner Collection, which includes work from Cézanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Chagall, Picasso, Gauguin and large collection of Austrian artists.  Of the Austrian artists, Alvin Egger-Leben's 1910 "Elderly Man" is our favorite.
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On to Vienna

11/2/2018

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Friday morning we shower, have a little breakfast, finish packing, tidy and up the apartment and then head off to Kelati station pulling our bags behind us.  Within 30 minutes we are at the station.  The train is scheduled to leave in an hour so we have time for a coffee.

The train is clean and we have a smooth 2 1/2 hour ride to Vienna.  The owner of the apartment provided us with transportation instructions involving two buses.  Instead we taxi to apartment with a driver chatting, pointing out the buildings and providing tips along the way.

We settle into the apartment. It is not as inspiring as our place in Budapest, but still has high ceilings and older wood floors.  It is nice and matches the photos on AirBnB.  It is only five blocks from the western edge of the inner ring road that circles the major museums, cultural centers and government buildings.
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We don't want to tackle the tourist areas this evening.  Using Google maps we look for nearby Austrian restaurants.  We find Gasthaus Josefstädter which is five to six blocks away to the north.  It's a family establishment, with papa tending bar as well as the nearby tables.  He helps translate some of the menu items from German to English for us.  William orders a local beer and a plate of sausages wrapped in bacon.  I choose a glass of Grüner Veltliner and a dinner of roast pork, dumplings and red cabbage.  Mmmmm!

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    Hi.  I'm Anne.  I wander around the world with William.


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