Prague, Art Deco, the Golden Lane and tiny homes

March 10 and 11

The drive Vienna, Austria north to Prague, Czech Republic is quite pretty. The drive took me through small towns, villages and vineyards that dotted the otherwise quiet landscape  There were long stretches where I saw no other cars.  I loved that.

As I crossed into Czech Republic, the afternoon was turning to evening. I watched as the sky turned from blue to gorgeous orange and red.

And just as the sun melted down into the horizon, I passed by a gorgeous, still, mirror-surface lake.  I snapped photos as I drove.

I arrived into Prague around 8 pm exhausted. My hotel is the spectacular art deco Hotel Paris.  It's located next to the Municipal House, which was the former site of the Royal Court Palace, the home of the great King Wenceslas IV (from the song!) from 1382 to 1486.  At that time, the Habsburgs took power and weren't interested in using the palace. It fell into disrepair and was later torn down. In its place, the Municipal House was built in 1905.  It is the best example of Prague Art Nouveau architecture standing today.  It's simply gorgeous.

I was super excited to find I'd been given a suite (for no extra cost) simply because I'd asked for a room with a view.  I was on the top floor, corner room with views on two sides. My room was pretty great...and fairly inexpensive!  The benefits of traveling during the off season!

The entrance door was French doors... ALWAYS a good sign.

It had a big, comfortable bed...

 And a massive bathroom...

The next morning, I could truly appreciate the views. From the bathroom, I had stunning views of the top of the Prague Municipal House directly next door.

And from the other windows, I had a view out over Old Town Prague and the Astronomical Clock Tower.

The next morning, I headed to Prague castle. The castle is across the Charles Bridge and up in the hills overlooking the Vitava river. It's the highest building in the below photo.

The Prague castle complex is very large and full of museums. I focused my tour on St. Vitus cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, St. George Basilica, the Golden Lane, and the Powder Bridge.
At the entrance to the castle are armed guards and much like in London, there is a hourly changing of the guards.

It must be so hard to stand perfectly still while tourists like me take selfies with you.  Ha!

Inside the Prague Castle complex, the St. Vitus' cathedral was absolutely stunning.  The below photo is one of my favorites, but the cathedral's massive size makes it difficult to get it all in one shot.

The second shot gives great perspective for the scale of the cathedral. Just look how big those doors are...about 20 feet tall!

My favorite part of the Castle was the Golden Lane. A row of tiny, miniature houses are literally glued to one of the walls of the castle. Legend says that the row of houses was originally inhabited by the castle goldsmiths, hence the name Golden Lane.  Throughout the years, the tiny houses were inhabited by merchants, goldsmiths, alchemists and marksmen who worked at the castle.

The tiny homes are only about 8-10 feet deep, so as not to intrude out into the street.  The entire street feels as though it was built for hobbits instead of real people. You have to stoop to get through the small doorways. I stopped at each house and loved how cozy and charming they were. Some of the houses had just a single bed, a small dresser, a chair, and a wood burning oven for both heat and cooking.  Originally, the homes didn't have running water. In fact, the last house to get indoor plumbing was in the 1970s.  I just loved how charming the houses here were.

After touring the castle, I went back to the hotel to rest and get gussied up.  That evening, I went to a chamber orchestra performance at the Municipal State House next to my hotel.  I absolutely loved listening to the violins, violas, cellos and basses play Vivaldi, Handle, Mozart, Bach and more.  They were truly exceptional.

I had dinner at a steakhouse in Prague called Casa de Argentina. Because what do you want to eat in the Czech Republic but Argentinian food, amiright?   I had an amazing steak there and plenty of red wine.  I was the only woman in the restaurant and that made for great people (men)-watching. The men at a nearby table bought me dessert, which was delicious. My server was gorgeous and we flirted wildly for the 2 hours I was there. There are certainly many benefits to solo travel...flirty waiters is one of them! I blogged while I ate, finished my half-bottle of wine and strolled back to my hotel enjoying the warm evening breeze.  All in all, a great day in Prague.

On Wednesday, I spent the day walking around the Old Town Square of Prague. I went to the top of the clock tower and even tried to make sense of the Astronomical Clock, which is impossible!

Next, I strolled along the Charles Bridge and did some great shopping for friends and family. The bridge is beautiful...second only to the Chain Bridge I saw in Budapest.

I kept wandering the streets and found an old used bookstore with English books. My tradition continued when I bought a book by a Czech writer recommended to me by the owner. Can't wait to read it.

In the afternoon, I toured the Jewish Museum and Cemetery. I'm always drawn to the Jewish History Museums but leave crying, depressed and disgusted by how evil human beings can be. But, in my opinion, travel throughout Europe just isn't complete without trying to understand and learn about the history of each country and the events leading up to the World Wars.

The history, scenery, architecture, art and people of Prague were wonderful. I loved
the city and would visit again in a heartbeat.

Up next, I travel to Munich, Germany!

Vienna...opera, art & opulence

March 8^th and 9^th 

One of the most exhausting aspects of extended travel is that you're constantly researching and booking hotels. Sometimes, I'd have hotels planned in advance, but I wanted to have some flexibility on road trips.  Often, I'd head to my destination and use an app to find a hotel as I came into town.  This can backfire, which is exactly what happened as I drove into Vienna.  I decided to detour to Bratislava, Slovakia and stayed one night at the Danubia Gate. It was clean, comfortable, inexpensive (50€) and had a decent breakfast.  I got in late and left early and was able to book a  hotel for the next 2 nights in Vienna. The next morning, I was so eager to get to Vienna, I didn't even explore Bratislava's historic old town area. 

I got into Vienna early and checked into my hotel - the Austria Trend Parkhotel Schonbrunn Wein. This gorgeous 4-star hotel was the former guesthouse of Emperor Franz Joseph and has it's own private park.  

I managed to get 2 nights here for about what you'd expect to pay for a Holiday Inn, so I was thrilled to find I had a large, gorgeous room, yummy breakfast and a comfortable bed.  I was even more thrilled they let me check in early.

A quick stop by the concierge desk and I had a ticket for an opera performance later that night at the Volksopera house.  I decided to explore the city for a few hours and took the 10-minute subway ride into the center of the city. 

Vienna is beautiful.  It's elegant, manicured and exceptionally clean. The historic area I was exploring is dominated by the stunning, lavish, enormous Hofburg Palace. 

The Palace is the current home of the President of Austria and historically home to the Habsberg dynasty, Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth. The Hofburg area has been the documented seat of government in Vienna since 1279.

The palace is actually a sprawling campus - a series of buildings set on abundant and lavish grounds.  I planned to spend the following day exploring the palace, (now largely museum space), so I spent the afternoon walking the grounds of the palace, the Heldenplatz.  I loved seeing the outdoor sculptures and statues of people like Goethe and Mozart.

I strolled around the area and stumbled onto a Winter Wonderland that was setup in the heart of the city.  It was a beautiful day, so I sat on a park bench and watched parents and kids skate around the ice rink. I even saw a 2 year old in full snow gear and the most adorable little ice skates you've ever seen - flat boots with two little blades on them.  Squeee! Adorable.

The afternoon flew by and I headed back to my hotel to get gussied up for the opera. There are two main opera houses in Vienna, the Vienna State Opera House (Weiner Straatsoper) and the Vienna Peoples Opera (Volksoper Wein), which is where I saw Albert Herring.  

                                          

The performance was excellent.  I enjoyed the comedic opera and despite the opera being in German, I found the synopsis, body language and tone of the performance were enough to have decent comprehension of the overall plot.  There was one standout performer who had me captivated... a woman in her early 40s who was in a supporting role in Albert Herring.  When she hit high notes or projected her voice loudly out into the theater, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.  At intermission, I chatted with the man sitting next to me, who turned out to be friend of the standout performer.  He told me she sings with the Vienna Boys Choir and I understood why she was such a standout - she normally stands in the gorgeous chapel at Hofburg Palace and projects her voice out into the crowd.  It was an amazing performance and a wonderful first live opera experience for me.

For dinner, I had to try weiner schnitzel for the first time. LOVED it!  The thin, crispy veal was delicious and  served with herbed potatoes (a staple in Austria and Germany).  

After dinner, I treated myself to a tiny trio of creme brulee. The first was cinnamon pear, the second blueberry rosemary and I cannot remember the third one.  Even as I stare at the photo, I cannot remember what it was.  It was delicious, though!

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The next day, I was up early and ready to take on the day! I started with the Albertina museum.

The Albertina had a wonderful impressionist exhibit featuring paintings by Monet, Matisse, Sisley, Kandinsky, Chagall and Picasso.  Photos were allowed, so here are some of the notable works of art... and some of my favorites.

This was one of my absolute favorites, by Karel Appel, "Face in a Landscape."  I love the colors and depth.

Henri Matisse, "Parrot Tulips."

Paul Signac, "Venice, the Pink Cloud."

And finally, this stunner by Claude Monet, "House Among the Roses."

My next stop was the Hofburg Palace to tour (1) the Imperial Apartments, (2) the Silver Collection and (3) Elizabeth's Apartments. I took hundreds of photos in these museums, but I'll only post a few here.  I'm not sure I could ever post enough photos to truly capture the wealth, opulence and grandeur.

The Imperial Apartments are grand and gorgeous. I strolled through room after room admiring the lavish decorations.

But what stole the show was the Silver Collection. The Silver Collection is full of all of the silver, porcelain and serving pieces used by the Emperor and Empress for everything from daily meals, traveling and even official state dinners for visiting heads of state.  It took hours just to see it all.

There was a massive cabinet just for the dozens of silver tea pots.

For example, dozens of solid gold cheese and pastry servers...

Dozens and dozens of solid gold or gilded bronze candelabras.

And the personal cutlery sets for the Empress, Maria Theresa... obviously she can't just use the regular cutlery, duh.

When the Emperor and Emperess travelled, they'd take with them full table service of china, cutlery, crystal stemware and the like. These are a few of cases that would be loaded (by the dozen) into the trains and coaches for transport.

And they'd have to have tea on the road, so they also had a personal traveling tea service of silver and porcelain.

My favorite part of the museums was the Sissy museum, dedicated to the life of Empress Elizabeth.  She was a fascinating woman!  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed there, but I learned so much about her.  She married Franz Joseph in her teens, became an Empress, became overwhelmed by the fame and notoriety of the aristocratic life, became a recluse and was assassinated at the age of 60.  I plan to read more about her life, as well as the life of Franz Joseph. 

Vienna is an amazing city with a wonderfully long history to discover.  I could spend another week in this grand dame of a city, but instead, it's time to move on...

Up next....I visit Prague, Czech Republic.

Budapest: Goulash, the Rubik's Cube and Katy Perry

March 6 and 7

Szia from Budapest, Hungary!  This just might be my new favorite city in the world!

I liked Hungary immediately. The drive from neighboring Croatia to Hungary was gorgeous. I stayed at The Hotel President in Budapest on Hold street. I was tickled pink checking in to see that the "President" part is true... heads of state from all of the world have stayed here (no U.S. Presidents).  In the lobby, there is a display of the bulletproof glass in the Presidential Suite (complete with a bullet non-hole for proof!) and a map directing you to the helicopter pad, should you need it. I shan't be using my helicopter on this trip, nor my yacht.

I wasn't all that excited until I saw that Olivia Newton-John and Fat Joe have stayed in this hotel.  Any hotel good enough for ONJ is good enough for me!

As I unpacked, I noticed there were mirrors on the ceiling and rope lighting around the bed. Okay, so I'm in "sexy-fun-time" room...!  I bet they didn't put Olivia Newton-John in the porn star suite! ONJ wouldn't stand for this type of tomfoolery!

A quick stop at the ATM and I felt rich. Hungarian currency is called the Forint and 223 Forint= $1. So this 25,000 Forint is only about $112. Ha!

For dinner, I had to try goulash!  This was my first time trying it and I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought it was a soup, so I ordered goulash and a sandwich. Rookie move. Goulash is more like a hearty stew than a soup.  It was delicious...chunks of very tender meat, a thick base and no vegetables to speak of (there may have been onions).  I was so full after my meal I almost rolled up to my room.

The next morning, I was ready for a busy day of sightseeing!

Quick side note... if you're going to travel the world, be prepared for some strange meals. It's part of the fun. I found most places in Europe cannot cook an egg properly. The scrambled eggs are completely liquid.  A few had hard boiled eggs, which got me through!  But in Hungary and Austria, there were some very strange items served at breakfast. So I started my day with a donut, cucumbers, red peppers and black olives.  And coffee, obviously!

Travel without a plan!  I was on my way to buy a Big Red Bus pass when I noticed big groups of people gathered in front of St. Stephen's Bascilica. It turns out it was a free 3-hour walking tour of Budapest in English.  Hooray! I snapped a quick photo of myself as the gorgeous sunrise lit up St. Stephen's Basilica behind me.

First a bit of a history lesson.  Quick, I promise!   Budapest is incredibly old.  The Celts were here first, then the Romans settled here and called it Aquinicum in 106 A.D.  (That's 2,000 years ago, folks! Mind. Blown) Then (like most countries in Europe) there is a long, complicated history of the area being ruled by various peoples and in 1541, the area was actually split into 3 parts, the Hungarian area, the Turkish area and the Hapsburg area.  After 150 years, the Hungarians drove the Turks out.  At one point during the Austria-Hungarian empire, Hungary was 3 times as big as it is today!  In 1873, the 3 cities Buda, Pest and Obuda were combined into one to make Budapest.  After World War I and the breakup of the Austria-Hungarian empire, Hungary was reduced to it's present size.

Today, there are almost 2 million people living in Budapest. It's a gorgeous city full of amazing architecture, fascinating history and wonderful people.  Much like the Seine runs through the heart of Paris creating the Left and Right banks, the Danube runs through the heart of Budapest, with the old Buda on one side and the more modern Pest on the other.

My tour started out on the Pest side at the gorgeous St. Stephen's Basilica.
It's the biggest Catholic church in Hungary...96 meters high, to be exact.  That height was selected as a reminder of the date of the Hungarian conquest of 896. The Basilica was built by 3 different architects, all of whom died during their work on the church.  Over the door is written in Latin: "ego sum via veritas et vita", or the bible passage "I am the way, the truth and life."

Next, we passed by the "Uncle Charles" statue. Uncle Charles was a Hungarian police officer in the early 1900s.  Children loved him and would run up to him and rub his belly. When a pretty girl walked by, he would twist the ends of his mustache in compliment. People still come here and rub his belly or twist his mustache for good luck. Our guide also told us that in Hungary, a woman who walks on a mans left side is a prostitute, while a woman on his right is a respectable woman. You'll notice I'm on his right, thank you very much!

Our guide took us to Elizabeth Square next, named after Empress Elizabeth of Austria, wife of Franz Josef.  Nowadays, it's where Budapest's youth comes to hang out and drink beer and enjoy lazy afternoons in the sun. They also come to leave locks on every available surface as a declaration of their love.

I learned that there are 132 thermal baths and 70 spas in Budapest... that's an incredibly number! Spas are a big deal in Hungary. I wish I'd had time to visit one on my trip, but I didn't get around to it. It's supposed to be good for the skin, the immune system and a host of other things.

It turns out, Hungarians have invented a whole bunch of things that I wasn't aware of. Some of them, the country would like to forget, like the hydrogen and atomic bombs. Apparently, there were a lot of Hungarians working on the Manhattan project.    But they also invented awesome things... like the helicopter, binoculars and the Rubik's cube!

Did you know the current world record for solving a Rubik's cube is just 5.5 SECONDS? Ready to have your mind melted?

Watch the video here.  

I apologize in advance if you get sucked into a You Tube vortex watching Rubik's cube videos.

Next we saw the chain bridge... a Budapest institution! Selfie required!

Next, we walked across the bridge and explored the more historic Buda side of the city.

I loved getting to the top of the Buda side and looking down at the Chain bridge we just crossed and seeing St. Stephen's Basilica in the background. Just gorgeous!

Budapest Chain Bridge with St. Stephen's Basilica in the background

And a bit further down the Danube, the gorgeous Hungarian Parliament Building.  Interestingly, it is also 96 meters high...the same height as St. Peter's Basilica, symbolically showing that religion and politics are always equal.  There's also a law in Budapest that no other buildings can be taller than 96 meters. 

The Hungarian Parliament Building, Budapest

We continued our walking tour on Buda Castle hill (the castle has now been turned into an art gallery and library), but our guide was talking about what was under our feet.  There are over 6 miles of caves below our feet.  The prison there once held a very famous prisoner...Count Dracula!  Plus, there was a hospital used to treat patients during WWII.  I later toured the hospital and found it fascinating. You can read more about it here:  Hospital In The Rock.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in Budapest shopping for some travel items for my nieces and nephews, where I ran into a Packers fan. Isn't that amazing... a fellow Pack Backer, half a world away. NOTE: This IS his "excited" face.

And finally, I checked off a delicious item from my 1,000 Places To See Before You Die checklist...with a delicious dessert at Gerbaud. It was delicious!

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I honestly think I could spend a week or two in Budapest, exploring her charms, history and mystery. But, alas, I only had 2 days here and it was enough to make a very lasting impression on me!

Hands down, my favorite thing about Budapest was the architecture.  Parts of the city look like Prague, parts look like Vienna, others distinctly Parisian.  It's for that reason that many movies and music videos have been filmed there. Films like Evita, The Debt, Max, Munich, Transporter 3.  It's a gorgeous city in it's own right, but it's also easy to disguise Budapest as another city.

I don't watch music videos, but our guide told us that Katy Perry's "Firework" was filmed in Budapest, so I checked it out.  From the very first opening scene of the Chain Bridge, to the sequence at St. Stephen's Basilica to the ending sequence shot at the Budapest Castle on Buda hill, it's a gorgeous display of the city.

Take another YouTube break and watch it here. 

I started this blog by saying "Szia," pronounced like "see-ya", which is how Hungarians say hello. Ironically, the way they say goodbye is "Hello!"

So, dear readers...hello from Budapest!