Today we got the train from Zagreb to Vienna, via the Semmeringbahn, which has a reputation as being very scenic. It was, but was not as impressive as other trips we have taken. Once in Vienna, we found our way to the place we are staying, which turned out to be a private apartment, which is excellent. We dropped our bags and walked through the Museum Quarter to the city centre, had a look around (some shopping for Simone), bought some supplies, and headed back to the apartment. It is good to be able to have meals at ‘home’, something we have not been able to do for a while.

September 10 – Day 58

Today we had a late start, before heading off towards the city centre to explore more. It started pouring with rain on the way, so we ducked into the Museum Quarter. I saw a design exhibition which I thought might be interesting, so we went in for a look. It turned out to be very artsy design (ie not functional), but there were some interesting pieces. Next we went on a city tour, which showed us a lot of Vienna, and gave us an idea of what we wanted to see. I think the bus tours are worth it, even if they are a bit expensive. They are a good way to get a feel for a city, We then found a brewpub that had been recommended to me, The 1516 Brewing Company. We stayed for lunch of schnitzel and a few beers, which were delicious. My favourite was their IPA, which you can’t miss if you are in Vienna and like beer. After a sampling of the beer menu, we continued on to Stephansdom, the church in the centre of Vienna. We looked around inside before going up the belltower, which has great views over the city. We walked through the Hofburg, stopping at the Mozart monument, back to the apartment for some room beers and a rest. Then we found a local restaurant for dinner, which had delicious food (and delicious beer – Villacher Dunkel).

September 11 – Day 59

We started the day at the Hofburg again, this time we looked at the Silberkammer (Imperial Silver Collection) which is massive, the Sisi Museum, and the Kaiserappartements (Imperial Apartments). We are both a little bit surprised by how similar all the palaces are. Someone obviously found a formula that works, as we can fairly accurately guess what the next room will be everywhere we go. Even so, they are still impressive. We headed to another brewpub for lunch – 7 Stern Brau. We both had spinach gnocci, which is apparently an Austrian dish. It was delicious, and the beers were great. I also enjoyed the beer vending machine as we left. We went back to the apartment for more clothes (back in jeans weather now), before walking back to the Haus der Musik, a museum dedicated to music and sound. There were some fun interactive exhibits, I made a lot of noise which was fun. Afterwards, we went to a little cafe for cakes, which is something you do in Vienna. After that, we headed back for room beers and a night in.

September 12 – Day 60

Today we decided to head to Schonbrunn, to see the palace there. The gardens were stunning, it is one of the nicest palaces we have seen so far. We came in at the back of the palace, and walked past the fountain and up the hill to the Gloriette, which gave a great view back at the palace. Afterwards, we headed back to the palace to look inside. When we got there it was swarming with people, so rather than a repeat of our day at the Vatican (ie being pushed through museums and spat out the end), we left the palace, and headed into Vienna again. We went to have a look at the west of the city, starting at Parliament, a greek style building, and the Hofburgtheater. Next we went to City Hall, which is a beautiful Gothic building. Sadly, it had a circus set up on its doorstep, so we couldn’t get a very good look at it. Up close it looked great though. We continued walking to Votivkirche, a church that looked great from afar, but is actually in need of a lot of restoration (which appears to be happening very slowly). We had a few hours before the tour of the Staatsoper (the Opera House) started. Since 1516 is right near Staatsoper, we went there for lunch again, and further sampling of beer. The tour of Staatsoper was great. It was quite quick, but took us backstage, then to the front row, then up higher for a view from above and a look in the intermission rooms. It is a very impressive building, I really enjoyed it. It is expensive to go and see a show, so the tour was a good way to get a look inside. After some room beers (the range of beers necessitates many room beers here) we headed out to Naschmarkt (The Night Market). I hadn’t realised how much focus there was on food (there is nothing else) so we found a place for dinner before heading back to the apartment.

September 13 – Day 61

Today we did a day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia. We started from Vienna opera house, from where we were taken to the international bus terminal, and told which bus to get on. At this point we were regretting paying for a ‘tour’. There was no guide, and it wasn’t looking promising. After waiting for 45 minutes or so at the bus terminal, we got on our one to Bratislava. I think one person on the bus was not part of the tour, the rest (~25 of us) were. By 9:15 we were off the bus, and were met by our guide for the city tour. The city tour was very interesting, and took us to a lot of interesting places. I have found that in each city we visit, I am surprised by the importance of that city in world history. It may be partly due to the guides living in (and loving) the cities, but it was still amazing to hear about how important Bratislava was in the past (how it was a thriving city, while Budapest had only 3000 inhabitants). The tour started with St Martins Dom, a church in the old town of Bratislava. From there we walked to a Holocaust memorial, and saw one of the narrowest free standing houses in Europe. The old town is quite beautiful, however there are many houses that have not been restored after communist rule. We were told that the locals are not proud of these houses, but they are interesting for us to see. Next we walked to a square with ‘a very special fountain’. It has three tiers – one for birds to drink from (on top), one for people to drink from, and one for dogs to drink from. One day each year, it runs with white wine. The guide said it was just for people, but I can’t see how they stop the birds (or dogs) from drinking it! After seeing a statue of Andy Warhol (who was proud of his Slovak roots), we walked down the promenade, which was previously a moat. It has a really nice feel, until you get to the American Embassy – you can’t miss the massive fence. I couldn’t spot any other embassies – if they were in the same area, they certainly don’t stand out. We walked past the ‘man at work’ statue – a peeping tom in a manhole – and then the paparazzi statue, who is leaning around the corner of a building. The next stop was a palace, which we didn’t see much of, but had an impressive façade. Next we walked through Turm Gate, an old entrance to the city, where the centre point of the city is. They have a ring showing distances to cities around the world, where we found out that we were 15,914 km from home – Sydney is further away than the South Pole from Bratislava! Through the gate, we saw the square where the witches were burned, after the trial of having a stone tied around their neck and thrown in the water. If they sunk, they were innocent (but drowned). If they struggled on the surface, they were witches, and were burned. If you were accused, you didn’t really have a chance of surviving. Next we saw a cannonball that had been implanted in the wall of a house, in order to claim money from the government. When Napoleon was told he could not stay in the town (after the behaviour of his army the last time), they attacked the city, apparantly doing more damage than World War II did. The government said that anyone whose house was hit by a cannonball would be compensated, so people went and collected the balls that landed in the city, and embedded them in the walls of their houses. Next we had a delicious three course lunch, and I tasted Zlaty Bazant, a delicious Slovak beer. The tour ended here – we were told which buses we could get back to Vienna. After lunch we climbed up to the castle, which is undergoing fairly serious repairs. There were good views over the river (The Danube, which seems to be everywhere) towards the ‘new town’ of Bratislava – typical Eastern European housing blocks. After the castle, we got back on the bus to Vienna. As we crossed the border back into Austria, we were surrounded by wind farms, which must have hundreds, maybe thousands of wind turbines, basically as far as you can see. I wondered why Australia is so far behind in sustainable energy. I’m sure there are reasons, but I can’t think of many better places for solar power farms. We decided to go and see Schatzkammer, the royal jewels, once we got back to Vienna. On the way, we saw a parade, and found a big festival that looked like it was celebrating the produce of all the different regions of Austria. It was like a classy version of our Easter Show. We went and saw Schatzkammer, which included a number of very large jewels, and was pretty impressive. We were both pretty tired, so we headed back to the apartment for room drinks and to pack for the train to Prague. I am happy to be in proper beer country now. I had 15 room beers, as well as a few more in pubs, a few of which were really delicious, and none of which were bad. My favourite styles so far are Dunkles, Pale Bock, Zwickl and Weissbier. The Marzens, as well as the typical lager selection, are not quite as interesting.