The Vienna I thought I knew…

So this is the Vienna I thought I would see replete with Hapsburgs on horses and fantastic buildings.

   

We got a nice tour of the Schönbrunn Palace but as is usual with these places, I was not allowed to photograph the inside.  It was lovely though.  You’ll have to take my word for it.  

Then Evan and I went off to the Belvedere to see Klimt’s The Kiss.  Oh, boy!  That was a thrill!  And the Belvedere, which was once the summer palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, is just beautiful.  After we went through the gallery and saw a few Klimts and other wonderful works of art.  We took a break in the café where I had a slice of Klimt Cake.  They wouldn’t let me take photos of the original but I got a few bites of the reproduction.  

In the Belvedere Gardens.

My Klimt cake.

We took the subway back to Stephansdom and visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral and went on a Catacomb Tour.  The parish of St. Stephen’s dates from the 1100s.  The striking thing about the interior of the building is the solid colored stained glass windows that wash the walls with mottled color.  Just beautiful!  But we found the Catacomb Tour very interesting as we got to see metal containers that held the innards of the old Hapsburgs (their hearts are in silver containers in another location) and bones from many who succumbed to the Plague piled in vaults in the walls.  

Here’s Evan at Schönbrunn Palace doing the royal wave.  I have to give him a lot of credit.  I thought he wasn’t too good with directions but I was wrong.  He can read a map with the best of them and has a way with subway systems that would rival any city dweller.  Had it not been for him, I might have taken a wrong turn somewhere and would be wandering the Russian steppes at this point.  Thanks, Evan!

Floating Down the Danube, Part 2…

Evan and I got on the train in Budapest and about three blissful hours later, we were in Vienna.  You gotta love those European trains!  We checked into our hotel room and cast about for what to do first.  Well, we loved the boat rides in Budapest so much we took the same one twice.  So why not take one in Vienna?

Seems I should have done more homework on Vienna.  Here are a couple of things I didn’t know when we got there that I know now.  Vienna is on the (not so blue) Danube River but it is not oriented to the river like Budapest is.  I’m not sure why, but in Vienna the Danube seems like an afterthought.  Another thing about Vienna that I didn’t know is that it has got to rank up there on the list of the most graffitied cities in the world.  Along the waterfront, the graffiti is nothing short of spectacular.  We learned later that it is not illegal for taggers to tag along the river and so with no holds barred, the river walls are colorful, exciting examples of Street Art.  That is the subject of the blog today.  Later, I will show you the Vienna that I thought I was going to see.

One of the interesting things about travel is meeting people.  On our boat ride in Vienna, we happened upon the delightful Jennifer from near Melbourne, Australia.  Jennifer was taking a seven week trip through Europe at her own pace going where she wanted when she wanted.  Boy, I admire that!  We yakked the whole way up and down the Danube.    Here’s a photo of Jennifer with our waiter who was from South Africa.   Lying in bed this morning, I was thinking that I would like to calculate the number of miles we all had to travel to get to that place at that time, but I’m afraid my math skills are lacking.  But I think it ends up being quite a lot.

By the way, I don't know what's up with  blogger but these white lines seem to be  a permanent fixture on my page.  I am not sure how to turn them black.  And the fonts and spacing seem to have lives of their own all of a sudden.  Oh, well...

Hunting…

Taking a break from my travel pics, I actually got my camera out this week and found some stuff for this week’s Scavenger Hunt.  I had to stretch it a bit but I got stuff.

SHINE:  Well, kind a of dull shine but a shine nonetheless.

FAST:  Our neighbor Doug had his dog Shelby down at the beach this past Friday.  Shelby, being a Golden Retriever, had to go in the water and Doug was hot on her trail trying to make sure she didn’t shake pond water all over everybody.  Doug won and Shelby got a ride home in a golf cart.

LEFT:  We sure have a lot of signs in our town admonishing us to stay left or go left.

PEACE:  I love being down at our beach in the evening with friends.  We get together each Friday in the spring and summer when the weather cooperates.  It feels like peace to me.

PLAIN:  Now, tell me, is there anything plainer than white bread?

Linking to Ashley Sisk's Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

Hungarian Fences…

One city fence...

One country fence...

Linking to Friday Fences!

Buda and Pest and Odds and Ends...

Just a few parting shots of Budapest, a place I really hope to return to one of these days...

Franz Liszt's hand.

Matyas Church

In Buda looking toward Pest and the Parliament Building.

Inside the Central Market.  I would love having a place like this to shop.

Looks to me like the beginnings of a good goulash.

Exterior of the Central Market.

Dazed and confused.

An unforgettable day in the Puszta…

Not being city folks, Evan and I thought a day in the countryside in Hungary might be a nice break.  So, we decided to take an excursion to the Puszta or the Hungarian countryside.

 

Our first stop was in the town of Kecskemét, where we heard the noon bells ringing from the town hall and got to wander through a market on the town square.

City Hall and its bells.  An outstanding example of Hungarian Art Nouveau architecture.

One of the offerings at the market.  If I could have figured out how to get one of these jars home intact, I may have bought one.  They look delicious!
 

Then we took off for the countryside and a horse farm Varga Tanya, where we went to see a traditional Hungarian farm.

Then we went back to Varga Tanya to catch a Hungarian Equestrian Show.

The first demonstration was of three horses pulling a cart.

These are the two lead horses of a "four-in-hand," a vehicle traditionally used by nobles.

Horsemen were easy to see from a long distance in the Puszta so it was vital for the horseman to be able to make the horse lie down quickly.  This way they were able to hide.  This is a demonstration of the horse's ability to lie down and remain quiet.  The men are wearing a traditional Hungarian garment.

Here is the Puszta Ten.  In the 19th century there was an Austrian painter, Ludwigh Koch, who loved the Puszta and horses.  He painted an imaginary picture with a horseman standing on the back of the last two of five horses and driving them.  He said no horseman could do it in reality.  The Hungarian horsemen said they certainly could and did.  They did it so well that they even increased the number of horses to ten.

Our day ended with a feast of traditional Goulash, this fantastic platter of chicken and fried mushrooms, a pancake with apricot sauce and wine.  Great times!

Floating down the Danube…

Evan and I are home from our travels.  Both of us agree that of the three cities we visited, Budapest, Vienna and Prague, we liked Budapest the best.  The others are no slouches, mind you, but there was something very charming about Budapest.  I’m not sure if it was the beautiful (and sometimes stunning) waterfront, the easy subway accessibility or the friendly people that did it for me, but I really enjoyed being there.

We got in around 11 am their time after flying all night.  So after checking in to our hotel and taking a brief nap, we figured the best way to spend what we could manage of our first afternoon was to take a boat ride.  We actually enjoyed the boat ride so much, that we went back on our last evening there and cruised through Budapest in the dark.  So to get started, here are some pics I took as we floated down the Danube admiring the sights in Budapest.

This is the Liberty Bridge built in 1896 for the Millennium World Exhibition.

The Margaret Bridge has an unusual Y construction.  One branch goes to  Margaret Island.

The spectacular Parliament Building glowing in the evening light.

The Chain Bridge at night.

The Liberty Bridge at night.

The Parliament Building at night.

Evan and I are celebrating that we actually managed to negotiate our way down to the boat with two hours of sleep.