OT Trip Report & Photos > Central Europe Part 1
Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 2:02 pm
Greetings Forumites and fellow travelers
The big trip this year was college graduation gift so first choice went to the graduate who chose this over STJ, primarily because she had been to Germany on study abroad and wanted to go back, plus we had been to the VIs last year. But the brutal winter and lousy spring had us second guessing the choice at times as STJ was close second choice with the Greek isles coming also coming on strong as a consideration.
Using a good map to figure out an itinerary we came up with 12 day Vienna – Salzburg – Munich – Prague loop. Then it was up to me to figure out the logistics.
Best international flights in terms of frequency and price unfortunately are still out of JFK which means negotiating the wild card ride in from NJ and then dealing with the overcrowded international terminals, in this case on Austrian Airlines.
The high number of Sunday evening overseas departures from Terminal 1 apparently overwhelm the security lines because the line was well out of the roped queue and wrapped halfway around the terminal – worst I’ve ever seen. Even allowing 2+ hrs upon arrival was not enough as after an hour I had to plead my case to the officer at the crew line showing our rapidly approaching boarding time and she took mercy and waved us ahead.
That long “overnight” flight to Europe is always a challenge in coach, although the Boeing 777 is a nice plane with much improved air pressurization and good service from the crew. Unfortunately we had a bunch of fairly rowdy college students around us heading for study abroad, making sleep difficult.
Flight arrived in Vienna a little after 8am local time and it was pretty easy to find the subway (S-Bahn), figure out the map, and buy from automated ticket machine using a handful of Euros we had left over from a previous trip, then walk 3 blocks to hotel where I had arranged early check in, hitting an ATM on the way. We wound up using the ATMs a lot on this trip as the restaurants only or much prefer cash over credit.
We were in so early that we decided to take quick naps before heading out to “lunch” and the walk about the city.
http://www.kkhotels.com/en/hotels-in-wi ... a/welcome/
Normally we just try to push through on the first day in a futile attempt to re-set our body clicks. Eating wise we knew this trip would be a challenge for the girls as they don’t eat red meat and 80-90% of the main items on the menus on this trip featured meat.
You also have to be mindful of the different tipping practices, and you find out quickly that often the beer can be cheaper than ordering water (and that asking for tap water at a restaurant in some places shows poor form), plus some other things remind us that we are in Europe - - we will see few ice cubes; we will get skilled at handheld showers; a lot of meats and cheeses at the hotel breakfast; we will need to respect the bike paths that co-mingle with the sidewalks; need to be aware of pickpockets when using public transit; get used to more frequent use of coins (1 and 2 Euro); get used to 24:00 clocks; what’s this really costing us in dollars and what’s that quick Celsius conversion again so I know what to wear? (we had temp ranges from 18 to 31c on this trip = mid 60s to high 80s)
IMG_0191-001 by jmq, on Flickr
Some great architecture and history in Vienna, although long time repeat visitors bemoan the large influx of high end shopping and souvenir shopping into the historic city center. That said, if the opera and certain kinds of art museums appeal to you, then Vienna has even more to offer.
DSC06724-001 by jmq, on Flickr
St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) is located at Stephansplatz, consecrated in 1147 and finished in 1433. The colorful roof tiles depict a royal crest.
IMG_0134-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06672-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06698-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06701-001 by jmq, on Flickr
The Imperial Palace (Hofburg) of the Habsburg empire, which was pretty big deal for 300 years or so in this part of Europe.
DSC06825-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06644-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06612-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06731-001 by jmq, on Flickr
The Schonbrunn Palace, gardens, and a small but surprisingly high quality zoo (world’s oldest but thoroughly modernized) on the property of the palace was fun – the critters were quite active.
DSC06738-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0113-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06748-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0039-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0103-001 by jmq, on Flickr
Of course we had to do the sidewalk café thing and try the Sachertorte (quite good), and I tried the Wiener Schnitzel at a very good restaurant in the old city. I was underwhelmed by it – too plain. Local beer and wine was quite good.
IMG_0125-001 by jmq, on Flickr
upload by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06794-001 by jmq, on Flickr
After 2 nights that included taking an Avdil PM tablet to help with sleep, taxi to the beautiful train station for the pre-booked WestBahn 2.5 hr train to Salzburg.
https://westbahn.at/en/
Rode thru some scenic countryside on a modern, clean on-time train with great wi-fi to arrive in the utterly charming Salzburg and their gleaming new train station. Hopped on the bus for short ride to near the hotel just on the other side of the river from their historic old town. View from hotel. http://starinnhotels.com/star-inn-premi ... ablerbraeu
DSC07073-001 by jmq, on Flickr
upload by jmq, on Flickr
upload by jmq, on Flickr
We had decided to do a pretty touristy thing – a bike tour of the Sound of Music sites - the next morning, but decided to move it up to that late afternoon of arrival, under some cool, threatening skies. http://www.mariasbicycletours.com/index ... ign&lng=en
It was fun and a great way to see some of the nearby countryside right outside & parts of the city to return to on foot, but long at 3 hours, covering 8 miles. My daughter is not so good on a bike, not having logged as many hours bike riding as most kids (we live in a small neighborhood full of cul-de-sacs and it got tired quickly, otherwise we had to hump the bike via SUV to a park etc), so we had a few shaky mishaps, plus she threw the chain on the gear sprocket, probably by not listening to me about only changing gears when peddling.
IMG_0235-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0196-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06864-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0212-001 by jmq, on Flickr
upload by jmq, on Flickr
We had a dinner here – it was excellent http://www.zwettlers.com/angebote/speiskortn/
IMG_0294-001 by jmq, on Flickr
This small city has 49 churches and WONDERFUL bakeries and street food. We were glad that this was the only hotel where we didn’t have breakfast included.
DSC06932-001 by jmq, on Flickr
upload by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06889-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0307-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC07101-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0330-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0264-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0315-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0258-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC07056-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06927-001 by jmq, on Flickr
On the last day we got one of these giant chocolate covered pretzels (in the middle of the photo) that had a layer of crushed nut mixture inside. Serious Yum.
DSC07093-001 by jmq, on Flickr
Then off to Munich, the beautiful Bavarian countryside, and Prague in Part 2 if you all are interested in being bombarded with even more photos LOL.
The big trip this year was college graduation gift so first choice went to the graduate who chose this over STJ, primarily because she had been to Germany on study abroad and wanted to go back, plus we had been to the VIs last year. But the brutal winter and lousy spring had us second guessing the choice at times as STJ was close second choice with the Greek isles coming also coming on strong as a consideration.
Using a good map to figure out an itinerary we came up with 12 day Vienna – Salzburg – Munich – Prague loop. Then it was up to me to figure out the logistics.
Best international flights in terms of frequency and price unfortunately are still out of JFK which means negotiating the wild card ride in from NJ and then dealing with the overcrowded international terminals, in this case on Austrian Airlines.
The high number of Sunday evening overseas departures from Terminal 1 apparently overwhelm the security lines because the line was well out of the roped queue and wrapped halfway around the terminal – worst I’ve ever seen. Even allowing 2+ hrs upon arrival was not enough as after an hour I had to plead my case to the officer at the crew line showing our rapidly approaching boarding time and she took mercy and waved us ahead.
That long “overnight” flight to Europe is always a challenge in coach, although the Boeing 777 is a nice plane with much improved air pressurization and good service from the crew. Unfortunately we had a bunch of fairly rowdy college students around us heading for study abroad, making sleep difficult.
Flight arrived in Vienna a little after 8am local time and it was pretty easy to find the subway (S-Bahn), figure out the map, and buy from automated ticket machine using a handful of Euros we had left over from a previous trip, then walk 3 blocks to hotel where I had arranged early check in, hitting an ATM on the way. We wound up using the ATMs a lot on this trip as the restaurants only or much prefer cash over credit.
We were in so early that we decided to take quick naps before heading out to “lunch” and the walk about the city.
http://www.kkhotels.com/en/hotels-in-wi ... a/welcome/
Normally we just try to push through on the first day in a futile attempt to re-set our body clicks. Eating wise we knew this trip would be a challenge for the girls as they don’t eat red meat and 80-90% of the main items on the menus on this trip featured meat.
You also have to be mindful of the different tipping practices, and you find out quickly that often the beer can be cheaper than ordering water (and that asking for tap water at a restaurant in some places shows poor form), plus some other things remind us that we are in Europe - - we will see few ice cubes; we will get skilled at handheld showers; a lot of meats and cheeses at the hotel breakfast; we will need to respect the bike paths that co-mingle with the sidewalks; need to be aware of pickpockets when using public transit; get used to more frequent use of coins (1 and 2 Euro); get used to 24:00 clocks; what’s this really costing us in dollars and what’s that quick Celsius conversion again so I know what to wear? (we had temp ranges from 18 to 31c on this trip = mid 60s to high 80s)
IMG_0191-001 by jmq, on Flickr
Some great architecture and history in Vienna, although long time repeat visitors bemoan the large influx of high end shopping and souvenir shopping into the historic city center. That said, if the opera and certain kinds of art museums appeal to you, then Vienna has even more to offer.
DSC06724-001 by jmq, on Flickr
St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) is located at Stephansplatz, consecrated in 1147 and finished in 1433. The colorful roof tiles depict a royal crest.
IMG_0134-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06672-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06698-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06701-001 by jmq, on Flickr
The Imperial Palace (Hofburg) of the Habsburg empire, which was pretty big deal for 300 years or so in this part of Europe.
DSC06825-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06644-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06612-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06731-001 by jmq, on Flickr
The Schonbrunn Palace, gardens, and a small but surprisingly high quality zoo (world’s oldest but thoroughly modernized) on the property of the palace was fun – the critters were quite active.
DSC06738-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0113-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06748-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0039-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0103-001 by jmq, on Flickr
Of course we had to do the sidewalk café thing and try the Sachertorte (quite good), and I tried the Wiener Schnitzel at a very good restaurant in the old city. I was underwhelmed by it – too plain. Local beer and wine was quite good.
IMG_0125-001 by jmq, on Flickr
upload by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06794-001 by jmq, on Flickr
After 2 nights that included taking an Avdil PM tablet to help with sleep, taxi to the beautiful train station for the pre-booked WestBahn 2.5 hr train to Salzburg.
https://westbahn.at/en/
Rode thru some scenic countryside on a modern, clean on-time train with great wi-fi to arrive in the utterly charming Salzburg and their gleaming new train station. Hopped on the bus for short ride to near the hotel just on the other side of the river from their historic old town. View from hotel. http://starinnhotels.com/star-inn-premi ... ablerbraeu
DSC07073-001 by jmq, on Flickr
upload by jmq, on Flickr
upload by jmq, on Flickr
We had decided to do a pretty touristy thing – a bike tour of the Sound of Music sites - the next morning, but decided to move it up to that late afternoon of arrival, under some cool, threatening skies. http://www.mariasbicycletours.com/index ... ign&lng=en
It was fun and a great way to see some of the nearby countryside right outside & parts of the city to return to on foot, but long at 3 hours, covering 8 miles. My daughter is not so good on a bike, not having logged as many hours bike riding as most kids (we live in a small neighborhood full of cul-de-sacs and it got tired quickly, otherwise we had to hump the bike via SUV to a park etc), so we had a few shaky mishaps, plus she threw the chain on the gear sprocket, probably by not listening to me about only changing gears when peddling.
IMG_0235-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0196-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06864-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0212-001 by jmq, on Flickr
upload by jmq, on Flickr
We had a dinner here – it was excellent http://www.zwettlers.com/angebote/speiskortn/
IMG_0294-001 by jmq, on Flickr
This small city has 49 churches and WONDERFUL bakeries and street food. We were glad that this was the only hotel where we didn’t have breakfast included.
DSC06932-001 by jmq, on Flickr
upload by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06889-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0307-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC07101-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0330-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0264-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0315-001 by jmq, on Flickr
IMG_0258-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC07056-001 by jmq, on Flickr
DSC06927-001 by jmq, on Flickr
On the last day we got one of these giant chocolate covered pretzels (in the middle of the photo) that had a layer of crushed nut mixture inside. Serious Yum.
DSC07093-001 by jmq, on Flickr
Then off to Munich, the beautiful Bavarian countryside, and Prague in Part 2 if you all are interested in being bombarded with even more photos LOL.