We've left Budapest behind and are currently on our way to Ljubljana via train and should be there in about 9 hours. It's the perfect time to try to catch up on my updates.
Wednesday, April 27th: We were a bit sad to leave Cesky Krumlov that morning and felt it had much more to offer, but we had a busy schedule to keep to and the shuttle to Vienna was already booked. After having breakfast at a restaurant on the main square we packed our stuff again and locked all the doors on our way out before dropping our key off and saying goodbye to the nice lady at the front desk. When we mentioned we'd be going to Bratislava, Slovakia, at some point she was excited to hear it because it was her home town.
Our shuttle was supposed to pick us up directly from the hotel, but the streets were so narrow and cramped I didn't really see how that would be possible so I had Kat camp out in the main square where I could see her while I kept an eye on the alley near the hotel door. Soon Kat caught sight of a blue van with the CK Shuttle logo and flagged down the driver and gave me the signal. I confirmed our reservation with the driver and we loaded up our gear and grabbed a seat. He had a couple more people to pick up and the van was fully loaded with 7 people before we headed out. It was a comfortable enough ride and I chatted briefly with our driver, Alex, who said he grew up in Cesky Krumlov. Kat and I had just been wondering if it was weird to grow up in such a time-warp of a place so I asked and he said it was pretty normal although he'd been able to travel a bit and see how different other places could be. Unfortunately there was no internet on this trip, which lasted about 4 hours, but we were able to survive it.
We arrived in Vienna in the early afternoon at the Westbahnhof station which was at the end of a long pedestrian boulevard lined with shopping centers that ran toward the center ring of town where all the major sites are located. Our rooms were situated somewhere at about the halfway point along this boulevard. After getting only a little bit turned around on a side street we found the nearly hidden entrance to the K&T Boardinghouse where we were staying. I pressed the button on the callbox and we were buzzed in. Off the street was a grand entry hall with a few short flights of stairs. Katriana, we assume the K of K&T, was waiting for us at the boardinghouse entrance at the side of the hall where she got us checked-in. We were handed a bundle of keys: one for the outer door, one for the inner door, and another for our room #5. Rick Steves had described the rooms as "spacious" and I would have to agree. It consisted of one large square room with high vaulted ceilings, tall windows facing the alleyway along one wall, and wood floors. One corner of the room had a little bathroom built into it. There was a low profile bed, complete with complementary slippers nearby, a tiny round table and chairs in one corner, a divan along one wall, and large armoire in the other corner. This left a massive amount of empty space in the center of the room. We could have invited most of the people at Czocha over for a party and still not have felt too cramped.
Katriana and her partner we very friendly and helpful during our stay and seemed especially eager to clean our room, even while we were still in it. Even when I had the door locked they would often knock once and then come on in only to be surprised to see us there in bed. This happened several times while we were there and frequently we would come back to our room to find the door wide open while they were quickly cleaning it. It was slightly disturbing because it felt like we weren't getting a private room and if they had had a "Do Not Disturb" sign we would have used it, although I don't know if it would have done any good.
There was still plenty of time left in the day so we decided to get started on our walking tour of the town center and grab a bite to eat along the way. The weather had turned a bit gloomy and rainy, although not quite as windy as Berlin or as cold as Prague. This was no deterrent however and we got out our lightweight rain jackets and carried on. It was a brisk walk to the end of the boulevard and the outer ring road. This area was very commercial and had lots of recognizable stores and brands. Along the way we made note of the local Starbucks, McDonalds, and The Body Shop which seemed to be everywhere. We also caught our first glimpse of the video billboards running continuous repetitive loops with the same smug-looking models. We were already getting a sense that Vienna had a more urban and modern city feel.
When we reached the city center we started our Rick Steves guided walking tour which took us on a serpentine path through the streets surrounding the opera house, through several sculpture filled squares, past grand churches, and wrapping around the massive, sprawling, many armed, and courtyard riddled Hofburg Palace. Vienna is an especially grand and imperial feeling city. Everything is done on a large scale and at great expense. Yet it also has an almost sterile feel to it, lacking a bit of the old world charm of Prague or Krakow.
About halfway through our walk we stopped at Trzesniewski as recommended for some tiny open faced egg sandwiches and small beers and then still feeling a bit peckish crossed the street to get a coffee, hot chocolate, and a slice of slightly dry chocolate cake from Cafe Hawelka. We continued along until Neuer Markt where we found the Kurkonditorie Oberlaa where we nibbled on delicious macarons and I picked up an apple-strudel for later.
By the time we got back around to the palace and nearing the end of our walking tour we were both getting fatigued from our travels and looking forward to resting back at the room. Thankfully my stomach troubles seemed to be clearing up and I wasn't running to the bathroom quite as urgently, but the Czocha crud was still with me making my nose and throat a bit sore. We hurried through the last couple sites and hiked up the long boulevard to our semi-private room.
Back at the K&T Boardinghouse we both got into bed and fell fast asleep for several hours. When we finally woke up it was about 21:00 and we figured we better eat some dinner before returning to bed. The rain had stopped and I took the opportunity to dress up slightly for dinner with my fancy jacket and my new scarf from Prague. We decided to explore a couple of neighborhoods outside of the center ring and closer to our room. First we wandered up to the trendy neighborhood of Spittleberg where we decided on eating at Amerlingbeisl. The covered courtyard was shrouded in cigarette smoke, but we found an indoor area that was relatively smoke free. Kat had a pasta dish with cream sauce and I had a steak and egg wrap with potatoes which was fine, but not amazing.
After dinner we decided to do a little bit more exploring and continued over to the Naschmarkt (Nibble Market), a long line of permanent market stalls that reminded us both a little bit of Pike's Place in Seattle. At night one whole side of stalls was closed up, but the other side was open late with many interesting looking eateries and bars. We enjoyed a long looping stroll and decided it would be worth coming back in the daytime to see it when the rest of the market would be open.
We returned to our room late that evening and went straight back to bed. I may have stayed up for a little while longer to upload pics and blog before passing out myself.
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