Vienna - Holiday Part III

This is the holiday that just wouldn't end. I love vacations like this - when you think back on the early days and it feels like months ago. Visiting three national capitals added even more variety and excitement to the vacation.

Each capital was completely different from the other. Budapest still felt Soviet. Bratislava combined past and future while Vienna was a world onto itself. In a Vienna tour book I read a quote by Bill Bryson that said, "If aliens landed on the planet and found their way to Vienna they would certainly think it is the capital of the world." (not an exact quote.)

After spending so much time with my mom and dad it was interesting to be on my own and to see how I prefer to negotiate a city. I went pretty much map-less at first. The public transit system is so good that I was able to get from my hotel to the city center in about 10 minutes. I figured I would start in the center and work my way around. One note of difference between the three capitals was the size and proximity of the landmarks. Budapest was surprisingly small. Bratislava even smaller. Vienna, however, was ginormous. Wandering in circles for hours I finally pulled out my map and took aim at some destinations.

Image 1: Stadtpark
Image 2: Stephansplatz church
Image 3: the ultimate Chai tea presentation
Image 4: Parlament

Image 5: Self portrait - me standing in front of a film installation at the Secession gallery

Image 6: Amazing art nouveau buildings with a sculpture looking down at me from the top. Is he takinig a photo?

Image 7: a palace at night

Image 8: Upper Belvedere palace

Image 9: Looking out at Lower Belvedere palace and Vienna from Upper Belvedere palace

As you can see from these photos Vienna is amazing!

Bratislava

We didn't know what to expect of Bratislava. You can only tell so much from a map. Arriving at the train station I had a few minutes of panic that maybe this was a bad choice. Unlike the architectural gems in Budapest the Bratislava train station is more like a down-market greyhound station if you catch my drift. But by the time we arrived at our accommodations our opinions had changed.
I found an awesome apartment/hotel called Ma Maison, on www.lastminute.com and it lives up to the description. Totally modern, beautiful, clean and in a fantastic residential neighborhood. Plus, we're just a few minutes from the old town and castle.

The contrast between Budapest and Bratislava is dramatic. I've been trying to articulate what makes the difference and it seems to be many features. Bratislava has a fantastic vibe, it is ancient and modern, at times you feel that you are in an American city but then you are next to Roman ruins. Because it is built on a hill it feels more dynamic. Plus, the sky is so blue and air clean.

Another cool feature is that this city has not yet been hit by high tourist trade. This is sure to change in the next few years. The old town is just that, very old. The Bratislava Castle was rebuilt by the Soviets in the mid-1900s after being hit by bombs in WWII. It will be undergoing renovation over the next few years.

Continuing our Jewish theme we visited the Museum of Jewish Culture and found an orthodox synagogue. We tried to get into the old Jewish cemetery which was barried under rubble during WWII and was dug out in recent years. Unfortunately it is only open by appointment, but it may be possible for us to visit tomorrow. There is a haunting holocaust memorial on the edge of old town which is a ghost image of a destroyed synagogue. The Jewish area of the city was further demolished when a bridge was built across the Danube in the 1970s.

For my birthday dinner we went to Ches David which is a Jewish-themed restaurant. Old world cooking which was interesting although I'm not into chicken livers. However dessert rocked which made my birthday feel like a birthday.

Other good news is that almost everyone speaks some English.

This final image is the highway which runs through the old town and over the Danube. You can see the old Roman wall on the left, St. Martin's Church in the middle distance, a modern office building across the river and the top of the bridge (observation town in the space ship portion) that crosses the Danube.

More Budapest

Images that I was unable to upload earlier.

Mom as professional photographer at the Fisherman's Bastion which is next to Buda Castle.

Parliament from the Fisherman's Bastion

Budapest Day 3 - Stopped by Police

Walking around Budapest with a camera you are prime pickings for weirdos. At first we would listen to these people when they asked if we spoke English. But then we decided it was better to pretend we didn't know what they were saying as they were always asking for money or telling us how Americans don't understand their situation.

Last night walking back from the Buda side to our hotel my father and I were approached by a man who asked if we spoke English. My dad was pretending he didn't speak English, following my suggestion, but I felt soft-hearted and said yes. He then asked us the way to Margarit Island, said he was from Greece and then wondered how he could exchange his cash to Hungarian HUFs. We really weren't suspicious of this man even though it was on a back street and we could have been mugged so easily.

Suddenly another man, in his 50s or 60s dressed in a black coat bursts onto the scene and flashes a black leather passport-type wallet that says Police. He opens it up to show us his photo and credentials and then announces that we are not to exchange money on the street. Huh? This was so sudden and strange. Actually, it was a scene out of the Soviet Regime. He starts interrogating the Greek (is he really Greek?) man about what he is doing and asks for his passport. The man flashes the passport and then the Police officer (is he really a Police officer?) asks for his wallet. Now I know something is strange. He takes the money out and looks at each bill. Next he sticks his nose in the wallet and takes a giant sniff. My dad thinks it is for drugs but I think it is to smell for fresh ink because the officer's next comment is that there is counterfeit money all over the place.

We figure we can get out of this crazy scene and begin to say goodbye and begin to walk away. No says the officer, he has questions for us next. He asks for our passports which are in the hotel. So he then demands to see for our wallets and our money. My money is all crumpled up and my dad has nothing (hum). The officer doesn't sniff our wallets but lets us go. I thought for sure he was going to take our cash.

It was strange because there was a currency exchange across the street. Plus, the man said his wife and kids are in the hotel waiting. Why didn't he ask the hotel for directions to the island or to help him get his currency exchanged?

The experience helped me understand why people look so sour faced here. Imagine the feeling of being watched all the time and then the repercussions of actually talking to someone. The experience gave me a new lens through which to see Budapest.

Budapest Day 2

Mom and I started our day at Great Market Hall in search of Paprika. Thursday must be a good day to visit since it was nice and quiet and the vendors had tolerance for our photography, lack of Hungarian and many questions. The produce, meets and strudel were amazing as well as the handcrafts. Here's mom purchasing some handpainted pins to bring home as gifts.

Next we crossed a bridge over the Danube and visited Gellert Hotel which was clearly a destination in the soviet era. The architecture was over the top. It is best known for the thermal baths. However, we instead climbed the adjacent Gellert Hill and had this view of the Gellert hotel, Danube river and this sculpture.

From here we hiked up to the Minerva Statue of Liberty that stands triumphant over the city and commemorates the Soviet liberation of Hungary from Nazi occupation. It is strategically placed in front of the Citadel. Our climb was rewarded with great views of the city. Our Marriott is the one building that stands out as too modern looking, sitting between the two bridges. The glass facade gives it away.

Every upward climb has an equal decent and when we made it to the bottom our legs were shaking like jelly. However, being fearless tourists we trekked on to the Royal Palace of Budapest (following a break for lunch).

Dad needs to use the computer so I'll add more photos tomorrow.

A Date with the Kitchen

Our Marriott has a really cool feature - a TV channel in your room that shows action in the hotel's recently-opened restaurant Peppers. The camera moves between the "show" kitchen located out on restaurant floor and the pastry kitchen behind the scenes.


Last night we visited the restaurant for tea and dessert and mom, being her social self, asked the manager if we could go into the kitchen because we had seen the pastry chef making something yummy on TV. Viktor didn't think twice - he gave us a spontaneous tour of the entire kitchen. There are kitchens for the restaurant, banquets, making chocolate, preparing meats, prepping vegetables, and assembling room service orders. All were very clean and the staff very friendly, as with everyone we've met here in Budapest.


At the end my mom wanted to write a recommendation for the manager so she asked him for his card. He had just given us roses from the room service kitchen and probably thought she was looking for a hot date, so, he also made sure to write his mobile phone number on the card. We're really going to have to watch mom tonight and make sure she gets back to the room at a decent hour.

Budapest Day 1 - more photos added

My journey started with an interesting exchange at Gatwick airport. When checking in at the gate the airport representative read my passport and asked if Kweskin was from Poland or the Ukraine. "These are my people" was my first thought. How cool to be going to Eastern Europe.

Cool it is indeed. Cold that is. But the day started with a warm bit of humor when we saw a dismantled communist-era statue being pulled up the Danube River. You may be able to make it out in this photo. Even locals were pulling out their mobile phones to document this moment.

But mid-day the sun did come out so the afternoon was wonderful. My mom and I started our adventure by visiting Parliament - from the outside. Tickets to tour go on sale at 8am each day. You miss it, you have to try again the next day. That's okay because we went across the street to the Museum of Ethnography. Today the museum was open free to the public and was filled with kids on a fieldtrip. What fun! We had a wonderful time and were impressed by the modern exhibitions - one on the history of blue jeans and another on the origins of musical instruments. Plus, the kids were great fun.

We walked along to the Nyugati train station and found probably the world's most elegant McDonalds called McCafe which was in a four star setting. This entire space is the McCafe.

From there we made our way to the Hungarian State Opera House and took a tour of the facility. I was suprirsed by how small it was and that almost every seat was superb. The size of the stage is actually twice the size of the auditorium. Plus, ticket prices are fantastic - as low as 2 Euros to see a performance.

Next was St. Stephen's Basilica and then back to the hotel for a brief rest. Now we're heading out to dinner.

Having a hard time uploading images as the internet connection in hotel room - or my dad's laptop, perhaps the combination of both - are not moving very quickly.

I had brought a whole lot of Euros since being part of the EU I figured Budapest was on the Euro. Well, they aren't really. The HUF is very much the currency of choice. A pack of gum costs 250 HUF and I have a 10,000 note in my pocket. All day mom and I were converting prices to Euros then GBP and then into dollars. How often do you get to spend 10,000 on anything in one day?

Eastern Europe Holiday

I'm on holiday March 4-12 in Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna with my folks. Hoping to be able to do posts. Stay tuned.

Bratislava the next big holiday destination

Bratislava - that's the capital of Slovakia. Why am I telling you this? Because my folks and I are going to visit there in March for my birthday (and my Dad's too). Yes, it is an unexpected destination and I'll tell you how we settled on it.

Our holiday starts in Budapest, Hungary and we were thinking of going to Krakow, Poland for a few days to close out the trip. Unfortunately, we couldn't figure out an affordable and speedy means of transportation between the two cities.

Thanks to Google Maps set on the satellite feature I was able to pull up Budapest and then take a virtual trip up the Danube River. From the bird's eye view I could see that there was a big city north west of Budapest and turns out it was Bratislava at just 200 kilometers away. It may be possible for us to take a hydrofoil on the Danube between the two cities if the weather is good.

After Bratislava I'm heading out on my own to Vienna since it is only 60 kilometers. That takes me to three capitals in three countries I've not yet visited. Actually, I've only been to Spain and France so there are many places on my list to visit. Honestly, Slovakia wasn't on there. That's what I'm liking most about this adventure.