Jenn and Scott in Central Europe

"Cocktails While You Wait?"

2009-06-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 21, 2009

I knew our trip to Central Europe was off to an excellent start when we arrived at the United Red Carpet Club at San Francisco Airport. The receptionist at the entrance graciously asked "cocktails while you wait?" and handed us each two free drink tickets to enjoy in the lounge. My Premier Executive frequent flier status comes in handy on international trips. We get free entry to the Red Carpet Club and extra legroom for the long flight in the Economy Plus section of the plane. We toasted our trip with a glass of sparkling wine and before we knew it, we were winging our way from San Francisco to Frankfurt for almost two weeks of vacation bliss. We planned to visit Berlin, Prague, Budapest, and Vienna as part of our latest adventure.

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Layover in Frankfurt

2009-06-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

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Friday May 22, 2009

We arrived in Frankfurt right on time and breezed through Customs. Our passports were stamped and we were out in the Arrivals Hall in less than 10 minutes -- miraculous! We had about a 5 hour layover before our short flight to Berlin so we had the opportunity to catch up with some old friends from graduate school. Our friends met us at the airport and escorted us to downtown Frankfurt (Hauptwache Station) for a quick tour of the City. One of our friends claimed that Frankfurt is the ugliest city in Germany. I actually thought it was quite lovely. We took in panoramic views from the top of a local shopping mall and then strolled the pedestrian-only walkways into the Old Town Square.

En route, we saw a shopping center designed with a hole in the middle.

We also saw this delightful frankfurter vendor with an umbrella and hot dog warmer strapped to him.

How can you have a hot dog without fries? The Kartoffelhaus touted delicious potato treats marketed by cute cartoon spuds.

Right before we crossed the street into the town square, we saw this interesting juxtaposition of old and new. Classic buildings flanked one side of the avenue with modern glass skyscrapers on the other. A gentleman peddles his bicycle in front of the local tram.

The Old Town Square and City Hall were very traditional and beautiful and gleamed on a gorgeous sunny afternoon.

We took a quick walk across the Main River before heading back into town for a quick lunch.

We were very excited to find a store that specialized in gummy candy on the way.

We enjoyed a lunch of sandwiches, a latte macchiato, and a sweet rhubarb cake at a cafe along a pedestrian thoroughfare. We were extremely tired from the long journey so sugar and caffeine were of utmost importance.

We soon returned to the U-bahn to make our way back to the airport and our onward flight to Berlin. This station happened to be in front of the Frankfurt Opera House -- one of three opera houses we saw on this trip. We bid our friends farewell and boarded our Air Berlin flight to Berlin.

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Air Berlin

2009-06-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

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This was our first journey on Air Berlin. Even though it was just a quick flight (about an hour), they served a sweet or savory snack along with free beer. When in Germany... Germany is dubbed "the land of chocolate" in a popular Simpsons episode. Air Berlin did not disappoint. They offered a large, foiled, milk chocolate heart to each of us as we exited the plane. Now that's showing us the love :-) Unfortunately, they didn't show as much love to our baggage. We arrived at the Berlin airport through a jet way oddly lined with barbed wire. We slowly watched our plane-mates depart from baggage claim and soon found ourselves the only ones left. Our bags missed the connection from Frankfurt to Berlin -- not what we wanted to hear after an extremely long journey. Fortunately, we had the sense to pack our toothbrushes and a change of underwear in our carry on bag so we weren't as poorly off as we could have been.

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First Night in Berlin

2009-06-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

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We took a taxi from the Berlin Tegel Airport to Hotel Otto in the Charlottenburg neighborhood. We immediately noticed that there was something unusual in the air. It almost seemed to be snowing, yet it was actually quite warm. I soon realized what it was when my eyes started itching. There was simply a ton of pollen in Berlin at this time of year. Fortunately, I brought some Claritin with me to help ease my allergies. After quickly settling in, we took a walk to the Kurfürstendamm shopping district. We had a few hours before the shops were scheduled to close and thought we would look for some clothing to tide us over until our luggage arrived. We passed block after block of swanky and expensive boutiques. Finally, we stumbled onto C&A. Their clothing was super affordable and casual. Scott and I each picked out a couple t-shirts and some socks for rock bottom prices. Lost luggage? C&A to the rescue!

From here we passed the famous bombed church of Berlin -- Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche. The church was partially destroyed during World War II and the ruins were left in place as a memorial and reminder of that dark time. (Note: I had to borrow a few pictures from the web. As we'll discuss later, my camera was lost (stolen?) in Prague and with it, many pictures from Frankfurt and Berlin. Fortunately, we had a second camera with us so it wasn't a total loss).

We continued down Ku'Damm until we reached KaDaWe, a mega-department store. I picked up a notebook that I could use to jot notes about our trip and inspire this travelogue. The best part about KaDaWe was the rooftop food concession. The seating area had panoramic views of the city and there were numerous food choices. Do you want to know what impressed me the most? Customers could pour themselves a decanter of wine or tap out a liter of beer and pay at the checkout counter. It's too bad that we were tired, jet-lagged, and not at all hungry, so we didn't partake of the selbstbedinung (self-service) culinary delights.

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A New Day, Another Donut

2009-06-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

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Saturday May 23, 2009

We awoke on Saturday morning -- refreshed. We went to breakfast at Hotel Otto's breakfast buffet on the rooftop of the hotel. The service included amazing fresh breads, a variety of fancy jams and Nutella, cured meats and cheeses, and the fixin's for mimosas. What a great way to start the day! Even better...our luggage arrived in the hotel lobby right after breakfast so we were able to change into fresh clothes before hitting the town.

As you'll see, we covered a lot of ground today.

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We walked from our hotel to the Zoologischer Garten S-Bahn station. The first thing I noticed when we walked in was the Dunkin ' Donuts along the concourse. I took a picture, but alas, that one was lost along with my camera in Prague so you'll have to take my word that it was there. It's no surprise that Germans like doughnuts. The city even has one named after it -- the Berliner. I was just surprised that they had wholeheartedly embraced the American franchise.

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Unter den Linden

2009-06-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

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We took the train from Zoologischer Garten to Friedrichstraße station. Scott and I really enjoyed the movie Gotcha!, a spy-fantasy movie starring Anthony Edwards that came out in the 1980s. A young college student is touring Europe with his more worldly friend when he meets an exotic woman from Czechoslovakia at a cafe. An attraction and affair ensues before he learns that she's a spy. The pair soon find their way into Berlin and then East Berlin! Their secret code should anything go wrong was "Meet me at the Cafe Fredrichstraße". We just had to go to Friedrichstraße station as a tribute to our love for a good old fashion camp flick.

On a more serious note, Friedrichstraße station, was the first stop for the subways in East Berlin during the Cold War. The station was utilized by two West Berlin S-Bahn lines and the U-Bahn U6 line. The station served as a lone transfer point for westerners within East Berlin. West Berlin passengers could transfer from one platform to another but could not leave the station without the appropriate papers. All other stations that ran between the East and West sectors of the city were sealed-off and known as ghost stations (Geisterbahnhof). This was our first taste of the World War II and Cold War history that is so rich and ever present in this part of the world.

From the Friedrichstraße station, we walked to the head of Unter den Linden to check out the Brandenburg Gate. Criss-crossing the road for many blocks were a series of big blue pipes.

I was fascinated by this feature of the city and was incredibly curious about what they were for. A quick internet search tells me they are used for transferring thermal energy to nearby homes. Our tour guide from the 3rd Reich walking tour that I'll tell you about shortly says that Berlin has a high water table and as such it is challenging to displace enough earth to allow the water pipes to reside underground.

Germany was celebrating the 60th Birthday (Geburtstag) of its post-World War II federal republic and the area was swarming with people enjoying the festivities. There were concerts and other celebrations planned for the entire weekend.

We strolled along Unter den Linden. We chanced upon a set of churches that seemed to be mirror images of each other (Französischer Dom and Deutscher Dom).

On our walk, we also encountered some fantastic architectural details including this cat and mouse door.

I also felt the love from this giant bear outside a souvenir shop on the Unter den Linden. Bears were prevalent throughout the city and seem to be a kind of local mascot.

Humboldt University, the oldest university in Berlin, was the next stop on our walk. Founded in 1810, the university has matriculated a range of prominent students including Albert Einstein. Vendors set-up shop outside the University along Unter den Linden to sell books. This seems quite symbolic given that Nazis burned almost 20,000 books during World War II in the plaza across the street. Thankfully, times have changed.

We turned up along the Spree River when we chanced upon a craft and flea market near the university. We found some great buys including a necklace made of plexiglas with different colored felt circles that could be swapped into the center. This really appealed to the polymer scientist in me! The chain was actually pretty shoddy and fell off my neck in less than an hour and was lost forever. Thankfully, the plexiglas got caught in my scarf and was saved. I had the perfect chain to hang it on at home. We also found some great art prints including a whimsical portrait of Einstein.

Our next stop was the Rotes Rathaus followed by a stroll through Nikolaiviertel, a pedestrian enclave with quaint shops including a hat seller and a mini-book dealer. We found a great little restaurant, Gaststätte Zum Nußbaum‎ for lunch where we were able to dine outside next to a white picket fence. The sausage with lentils and beer that I had really hit the spot after a morning of walking.

After lunch we continued our walk to Alexanderplatz, the heart of the former East Berlin. The Fernsehturm Berlin (TV Tower) stood out as a beacon to keep us oriented.

Capitalism has definitely infiltrated the old East Berlin. Note the KFC banner on the train bridge.

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3rd Reich Walking Tour

2009-06-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

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We spent the afternoon trekking around the city as part of the 3rd Reich Walking Tour which delves into the cautionary tale of Nazi history. The tour was led by Edo, a history student from the Netherlands who came to Berlin six years ago and never left.

The first interesting fact he told us was that most hills surrounding Berlin were actually built upon debris piles from the war. 70% of Berlin was destroyed during World War II.

We took the train from Zoologischer Garten station to Mohrenstrasse station. The station features extravagant red marble that was purportedly salvaged from Hitler's Reich Chancellery.

The tour pointed out some typical Nazi-era architecture...

...as well as some of the buildings that evolved from there. For example, Hitler's Reich Chancellery in Berlin is now a Chinese restaurant.

The tour discussed the Nazi propaganda machine led by Joseph Goebbels who interestingly was rarely photographed because one of his legs was shorter than the other, an imperfection that would not normally be overlooked by the Nazi war machine. The walk included a stop at the border between the former East and West Berlin where a section of the Berlin Wall still stands. Nearby, the "Topography of Terror" exhibit provides a sobering view into that dark time.

We passed the haunting Anhalter Bahnhof. Once a major train station in the city, it remains a bombed out shell and another reminder of the ravages of war.

This stood in stark contrast to Potsdamer Platz. After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the strip of land where Potsdamer Platz stands today was completely undeveloped. It is a shining example of urban renewal and growth.

The tour ended on the site of the bunker where Hitler ultimately committed suicide (Führerbunker). There is a parking lot there now. It was only recently that a sign was put in place to mark the spot. Edo pointed out how the Germans are still grappling with this difficult part of their past and were reluctant to memorialize the Nazi era in any way. We continued down the street after the tour ended to pay our respects at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

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Lighter Fare

2009-06-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

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Our day also included some (mentally) lighter fare. We stopped for a strudel and espresso at the flea market near Hackescher Markt station. We also stopped at a local grocery store, a favorite pastime when we travel internationally.

We love looking for treats that we can't find at home. Corny Bars and jarred sausage caught our eye. Our favorite snack was a candy bar sized sleeve of chocolate covered nutella balls dipped in hazelnuts. Yum!

For dinner we returned to Charlottenburg for a Turkish meal before retiring for the evening.

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Berliners Who Brunch

2009-06-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

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Sunday May 24, 2009

One of my colleagues spent a year in Berlin during college. He strongly suggested that we go out for brunch if we happened to be in Berlin on a Sunday. Indeed we were, so off we went. We went to Jules Verne, a cafe that my colleague recommended. It was interesting to have brunch internationally and observe the etiquette. In the US, you basically go up the buffet, pile a plate high and maybe go back for seconds once. In Berlin, people seem to take a small plate of food, starting with breads, jams, and cheeses. They then leisurely go up for some savory salads, quiches, etc. Only at the end of the meal do they tackle the sweets. We had a hard time restraining ourselves because the desserts looked so good! We also noticed that the chefs kept bringing out different dishes during the course of the morning. If we had more time to sit and luxuriate in Sunday brunch, I'm sure we could have sampled a lot more!

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Victory Memorial and Historical Sites

2009-06-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

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We took the train from Charlottenburg to the Tiergarten after brunch and hiked to the top of the Berlin Victory Column. At the top, we enjoyed panoramic views of the City.

We walked along the Spree River to the Reichstag. Because of the 60th Geburtstag celebrations, the lines were too long and we weren't able to go inside. We learned on our 3rd Reich walking tour that Hitler had originally proposed plans for a dome so grand that it would dwarf the Reichstag by an order of magnitude. This proposed dome would be so large that it was expected to generate its own indoor weather! Hitler fell before his narcissistic goal was realized. The Reichstag was a spectacular site from the outside. We also enjoyed seeing the Paul-Löbe -Haus which is one of the government buildings in Berlin and is perched along the river.

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Architectural Delights

2009-06-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

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Highlights of our afternoon included a walk along Oranienburger Straße. I love this sign for Espresso Ambulanz -- when you need coffee, Stat!

We also stopped to admire the Neue Synagoge.

Next up? More architectural delights, this time from the ancient world. We spent some time at the Pergamon Museum which featured an array of breathtaking antiquities reconstructed to capture the imagination.

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Can't Miss Curry Wurst

2009-06-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

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Prior to our trip, a number of people told us that curry wurst is a must in Berlin and that we should make the journey to the Kreuzberg neighborhood to Curry 36.

Bellies full, we enjoyed a brief walk around the neighborhood before making our way back to tourist territory.

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Another Brick in the Wall

2009-06-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

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We took the train to Ostbahnhof to see the East Side Gallery, a 1 km plus section of the Berlin Wall painted by a variety of renowned artists as a memorial to freedom.

Heroic tales of ingenuity in escaping communist oppression were on display at the Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie. From complicated pulley assemblies to hot air balloons to doubling over in specialized luggage, people went to great lengths to escape from the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik). Heart wrenching stories of mothers separated from their children, families torn apart, and casualties of oppression are remembered here.

Checkpoint Charlie was the dividing line between the US and Russian sectors of Berlin during the Cold War era. Now we can walk from side to side with ease.

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Tiergarten at Night

2009-06-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

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After a very full day of sightseeing in Berlin, we decided to make one last stop. We took the train to Tiergarten at dusk and set out to find Cafe am Neuen See, a popular beer garden in the park. We soon learned that Cafe am Neuen See is really secluded, especially if you're on foot. After a couple wrong turns, we made our way along the interior wall of the zoo. We were treated to free views of llamas and birds on display in the park. We soon found Cafe am Neuen See and sat along the lake among the trees and had a well earned beer and soft pretzel. I wish I could say the food was worth the trek into the park -- it wasn't, but the garden setting was a nice way to end the day. The sun had set by the time we were done and we soon realized that we needed to find our way...on foot...back out of the park...in the dark. Tiergarten was reasonably well lit but fairly deserted. The only people we saw were a couple slightly shady guys sitting on a bench and one (very) provocatively dressed woman. Having come full circle, we ended our adventure for the day back at the hotel for some well deserved rest before taking the train to Prague the next day.

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Tourist Mecca

2009-06-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

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We traveled from the Hauptbahnhof in Berlin to Prague Holsevice station in about four hours. In that time, we were whisked from a vibrant city where we could see ourselves living someday to an absolute tourist mecca. The first thing I noticed about Prague was the speed of its escalators. We hopped on and held on tight as we made our way out of the station and onto the tram system. The best part was the accompaniment. A street band was fiddling down below as we made our ascent -- a great soundtrack and introduction to Prague.

We took the tram to the Hotel Élite near hlavní nádraží station. This is a really bustled area near the border between the old (Staré Město) and new (Nové Město) sections of Prague. Our hotel room overlooked a courtyard and featured a hot pink ceiling.

We walked to the Old Town Square where tourists flock to watch the clock performance every hour. "Old Town Hall" is a bit of an understatement. Construction began in the 1300s.

We ascended the Old Town Hall for panoramic views of the City. Too bad the viewing platform was flocking with people so we really had to jockey for position just to get near the edge and even take a picture. I love being a tourist while on vacation. Being surrounded by tourists? -- not so much.

We enjoyed shopping at Havelská Market and found a few trinkets to bring home with us.

From here, we headed to Karlův most (Charles Bridge) that spans the Vltava River. The Charles Bridge is also amazingly old (dating from the 12th century) and features spectacular statues of religious figures along its length.

We went to dinner at Restaurace U Fleků, Prague's oldest brewery. They still brew their own beer and slapped two frosty mugs on the table as soon as we sat down without taking our order. Musicians roamed the dining area and pandered to the tourists in the house. They asked where we were from and played "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "America the Beautiful". They moved on to the next table whose patrons were from Japan and then to the next table full of Italians. No surprise, we were treated to Japanese and Italian favorites. It was all in good fun and an international experience but I must say the last thing I want to do when I'm in Prague's oldest brewery is listen to American songs...or Japanese or Italian songs for that matter. I wish they would play some good old fashioned Czech music. The waiter was pushing shots of a traditional Czech liquor. I resisted the first two times he walked by, but when the group of Japanese tourists decided to down a shot, I couldn't resist and tried it out. It was very herby with hints of clove and nutmeg. I think it was called Becherovka.

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Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

2009-06-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

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Tuesday May 26, 2009

The next day we continued our tour of the city. We visited Wenceslas Square to start and did a little shopping along the way--it was very hot which slowed us down a bit. Scott bought a great pair of shoes from Vagabond -- very hipster.

We decided to stop at Tesco, the local grocery/department store and that's when it happened... I went into the store and my camera was safely tucked and zipped in my bag. I left the store, reached for my camera and it was nowhere to be found. Gone! Losing my camera really put a damper on the day. Optimistically, I checked with security at Tesco and stopped in to the Prague lost and found office. The clerk at the hotel even wrote a note for me to show the staff at Tesco -- very few spoke English and we found Czech to be very difficult to master. Even the pronunciation of "thank you", "please", and "excuse me" often eluded us. Of course, my camera was nowhere to be found. I knew it was a long shot to ever find it again -- Prague is supposedly crawling with pickpockets but I couldn't give up hope until I'd exhausted all possibilities. Fortunately, Scott and I brought two inexpensive cameras on the trip with us for just this contingency. Too bad we didn't bring enough memory cards to change them out every day. I lost the pictures I took in Berlin and my camera had all the pictures of our visit with friends in Frankfurt. This was very disheartening and I think it ultimately colored my impression of the city. Prague was beautiful but it was my least favorite destination on this trip.

We took the tram across the river and walked down Nerudova, a street known for its colorful and imaginative house-markers.

Prague is a medieval city and many structures were constructed before buildings were numbered. Crests adorned the entryway of many establishments.

We wound our way up the Hill toward Prague Castle (Pražský hrad). It was fairly steep so we stopped for an espresso and cute gingerbread on the way.

Prague Castle towers high above the city and offers breathtaking views. The admission was fairly complicated. The Castle attractions only take cash and there is an extra charge for the audio tour which requires that you leave either a credit card or ID with the clerk in order to check-out the equipment. We felt like we were having such bad luck that day, that we decided to skip the audio tour rather than leave our credit card in unknown hands.

We toured a number of buildings and St. Vitus on the castle grounds. We exited into a vineyard with sweeping views.

I thought this infinity sign painted on the wall of a local building was a fitting symbol of the region and a reminder of what we'd learned on this trip. A series of tanks and construction vehicles follow each other in an endless loop. War breeds destruction followed by construction and rebuilding followed by more war. What's the point of it all?

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Black Magic: Wow!

2009-06-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

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We enjoyed a beer back in our hotel room before heading out for a truly Czech theatre experience.

A freak storm passed through on our way to the Black Light Theatre, a fitting culmination to a day of ups and downs.

We went to see a performance called "Wow!". We figured it must be good. The storyline was a little fantastical. Actors made use of white clothing and black light to generate some interesting special effects. One in particular was really cool. There were two actors on stage and they were dressed so that exactly one vertical half of their body was in white. They looked like two halves of a whole dancing separately. Very weird. The plot was meant to invoke a childlike dream (nightmare!). Men dressed in spider suits jumped off the stage and into the audience, hanging on the backs of seats. Giant white balls were thrown into the audience and bounced from person to person. I've never seen anything quite like it. Black Light is a Prague signature so I would definitely recommend checking it out...once.

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Random Interlude

2009-06-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

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We saw some awe-inspiring sites on our trip to Prague along with some others that were just plain quirky and interesting. I want to take a moment to capture them here since they don't flow so easily into our travel story.

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Jewish History

2009-06-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

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Wednesday May 27, 2009

We decided to take a Prague Guided Walk through the Jewish Ghetto on our last day in town. Roman Bily led the group from Old Town Square into the former Jewish Quarter. Roman was incredibly knowledgeable and shared a lot of medieval and recent history.

Jews have been persecuted in this region in an ebb and flow for about 1000 years. We learned about Franz Kafka and saw how the Jewish Quarter (Josefov) is demarcated on the street signs in Prague.

We saw King Solomon's Glatt Kosher Restaurant and noted that they proudly boasted Michelle Obama's recent visit. She's quoted on their front window: "It was a wonderful visit but much too short. 'I'll be back'".

The cemetery in the Jewish Ghetto was especially impressive. The residents crammed nearly 100,000 bodies in a 1 km x 1 km space. The bodies are buried up to 12 layers deep!

This statue is rumored to promote fertility by simply touching the lion's stomach.

We learned about how the Jewish population in Prague was decimated in World War II and how it never recovered afterward. Less than 5,000 Jews live in the Czech Republic with a large fraction located in Prague. We visited the Old New Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Europe that is still actively used.

The most haunting site of all was in the Pinkas Synagogue. The names of the 80,000 Jews that were killed in the Holocaust from Moravia and Bohemia are hand-printed onto the wall. Upstairs, the Synagogue featured drawings created by children in the Terezin concentration camp and depicted the realities of life during that time.

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A Higher Calling

2009-06-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

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The Klementinum was founded in the 11th century and is a former monastery. Guided tours of the Mirror Chapel, Astronomical Tower, and Baroque Library are available. The Baroque Library included several antique globes and a collection of books several centuries old and was particularly impressive. Even more impressive was the view from the Tower.

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Museum of Communism

2009-06-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

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We spent our remaining hours in Prague at the Museum of Communism. En route, we saw the cutest local puppy (some kind of wiener dog) who rolled over at my feet when I bid him "Ahoj" and gave him a pat on the belly. The owner informed me that the dog didn't understand English -- too bad I don't know any dog commands in Czech.

The Museum of Communism shared some fascinating history that we don't often hear about in depth in the U.S. We learned about the communist ideology which actually sounds pretty idealistic and Utopian on the surface but seems to require shows of force to maintain. We saw the impact on the environment, people doing without, and the propaganda used to keep citizens in line and hide the fact that capitalist economies were thriving during this time period while they were struggling. We saw a video on the Velvet Revolution when thousands of citizens lined Wenceslas Square to demand change in 1989. It was a peaceful end to the communist era.

Ironically, the Museum of Communism is located next to a casino and upstairs from a McDonalds.

We grabbed a wurst and sat along Wenceslas Square with our quick bite before heading to the train station. It felt a little like Starbucks. There were actually two identical wurst shacks immediately across the street from one another.

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Overnight Train to Budapest

2009-06-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

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Prague's central train station is under construction and looks like it is past it's glory days.

The platforms were pretty high tech and featured digital monitors that showed the schedule and layout of each train.
Our private cabin was comfortable and allowed us to efficiently make our way between destinations without losing precious waking hours.

Budapest's Keleti station was much more impressive and ornate.

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In Search of Pastries

2009-06-14T04:30:00.000-07:00

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Our arrival in Hungary marked the beginning of a new phase of our vacation -- the dessert phase. Both Budapest and Vienna are known for their cakes and pastries and we were excited to start sampling. We took the subway from Budapest Keleti Station to Opera station and K+K Hotel. After dropping off our bags, we walked down Andrássy út and after a few wrong turns found our way to Cafe Gerbeaud.

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River Walk

2009-06-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

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Sweet tooth sated, we walked along the river to the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. The bridge was destroyed in World War II but was rebuilt in the 1950s to it's former glory. The Chain Bridge connects Buda and Pest.

We continued along the waterfront and passed 50 pairs of bronze shoes -- the local holocaust memorial. During the Nazi retreat as the war was ending, soldiers would line up Jews along the water's edge, tether several people together and then shoot just one person to conserve bullets. The rest were unthinkably destined to drown. This was definitely a sobering memorial to those who faced such an horrific demise.

There was a rather busy highway running between the waterfront and the main part of the city. We were faced with either running for our lives through traffic across the street or to backtrack about a mile to some steps near the Chain Bridge. Against my better judgment, we ran for our lives...

The Hungarian Parliament building features prominently along the waterfront. It is an amazingly impressive piece of architecture and reminder of a bygone era of greatness. Now, only about 1/8 of the building is currently used for government business.

We passed a memorial to Imre Nagy. He considered himself a communist but was ultimately memorialized as a symbol of the anticommunist movement when he was arrested and executed along with thousands of others when Soviet troops invaded Hungary.

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Opera Tour

2009-06-14T03:30:00.000-07:00

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We had the opportunity to tour the opulent Budapest Opera House. It was here that we were introduced to Sisi, the beloved wife of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria. Franz Josef commissioned the Budapest Opera House and Sisi often attended performances here. The Opera House is a spectacular setting for Hungary's rich musical tradition.

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House of Terror

2009-06-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

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The House of Terror was the single most sobering and moving museum that we saw on our trip. The House of Terror is located on the premises of a building that was actually used to torture and kill political dissidents throughout the 20th Century.

Visitors are immediately faced with a giant tank upon paying their admission and entering the museum.

Photography was not allowed within the museum itself. The exhibits simply overwhelmed the senses. The first room was particularly memorable. On one side, videos of World War II and the advance of the Nazis played. On the other side, the Iron Curtain descended on the region as Stalin, the Soviet army, and communism advanced. It is believed that Hitler and the war and genocide that he waged destabilized the region and make it susceptible to communist influences in the post war era. While the videos cycled, hard, thumping, industrial-style music played in the background -- very moving. The House of Terror featured many videos of individuals telling their stories of suffering in the Gulag. Hangings did not occur on the premises, but it was haunting to see actual gallows used in executions and hear children's voices read the names of the condemned. A room full of communist propaganda lightened the mood (slightly) before descending into a block of torture chambers. I highly recommend this museum despite the grave subject matter. We learned so much about both World War II and Communist Era history in the region.

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Dessert First

2009-06-14T02:30:00.000-07:00

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A few hours had passed since our last sweet morsel at Cafe Gerbeaud. We decided to try a local chain coffee and dessert place for a quick jolt of caffeine and treat before dinner.

Delicious!

We considered several choices for dinner but ultimately decided to dine outdoors on this lovely evening at Menza on Liszt Ferenc Square. The restaurant was completely modern and chic but was meant to invoke memories of communist era cafeterias. We enjoyed a bottle of Hungarian wine with dinner. I started my meal with cold sour cherry soup and had goulash with homemade spinach dumplings. Double yum! Spicing up the evening, a troop of Brazilian dancers sashayed on by to the beat of a drum to promote a performance.

On our way back to the hotel we detoured down a side street and saw these aluminum doors. The House of Terror had an exhibit on display that spoke of Aluminum as "Hungary's Silver".

After that sober reminder, we were delighted by the sight of a St. Bernard running around in fear as the tiniest little lap dog crossed his path. The giant dog kept running around in circles not sure what to do. It was absolutely hilarious. Some animals just don't know their own size.

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Great Market Hall

2009-06-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

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Friday May 29, 2009

We started out bright and early the next morning and took the subway to the Great Market Hall (Nagycsarnok). The escalators in Budapest are just as fast as those in Prague -- whee!

Purveyors of paprika -- both hot and sweet were everywhere you looked.

The entire second floor was a craft and souvenir market.

Stalls were simply overflowing with produce. I can just imagine what a stark contrast this is from the days of communism.

There were meat vendors aplenty as well. This sign caught my eye -- a pig hugging sausage links. I'm not sure I would react that positively if I was in his shoes!

We indulged in a quick snack at the market. We couldn't resist when we saw a vendor selling about 15 different kinds of strudel-goodness. We opted for the cherry-plum.

We decided to wash down the strudel with a little sweet wine. Tokaj is a Hungarian specialty and is numbered according to it's level of sweetness. We tried Tokaj 6 before continuing on our way.

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Namesakes

2009-06-14T01:30:00.000-07:00

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We felt a special connection to Petőfi Sándor, a Hungarian poet and revolutionary, because of our similar names. There was a Petofi radio station in our hotel room.

A major street was named after him. After leaving the Great Market Hall and browsing our way along Váci utca, we crossed onto Petőfi Sándor utca.

Some of the sights that we saw nearby included an old ornate shopping arcade and a group of motorcyclists advertising for Microsoft.

Our favorite experience was at the head of Petőfi Sándor utca. We stopped for a treat at a communist era stand-up cafe. They were designed this way to discourage loitering or dissent. It was an adventure for us to figure out the process for ordering and paying -- especially since we don't speak Hungarian. After observing for a few minutes, we realized that we needed to specify what we wanted, pay the cashier, and then go back to the bakery counter to pick up our items. Each item was named but Hungarian is super difficult to pronounce. We ultimately found a scrap of paper in our bag, wrote down the names and showed them to the cashier. Triumph!

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A Local Soak

2009-06-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

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We ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe in view of the Chain Bridge.

There were some ominous clouds on the horizon and we feared that we were in for a good soak. We decided to take a chance on the weather and head to the Szenyi baths. Public bathhouses are very popular in Hungary and we were in for a true local treat. The Szenyi baths are located in the City Park, not far from the zoo.

Guests pay for 3 hours of access to pools of varying temperatures including both "relaxing" and "fun" pools. We rented a private changing room, donned our suits and jumped right in.

What do I remember most about the experience? I remember portly older gentlemen strutting around in Speedos. Many were huddled in the water next to a chess board contemplating their next move. We particularly enjoyed the "fun" pool. We discovered that the center spiral featured a strong current that whisked bathers around in a circle. Round and round we went, giggling all the way. The current was pretty rough and Scott and I actually got slightly banged up during the fun. When we moved to calmer waters, we realized that my earlobe was scratched and had started to bleed. It's all fun until someone gets hurt! I quickly left the pool to tend to my ear. We spent the rest of our time in the warmer, calmer relaxation pool.

If you leave before your three hours are up, you are notified at the exit and they direct you to the cashier for a refund on the unused portion of your admission. This seems to be another artifact from the communist era.

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Views from Buda

2009-06-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

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The day was simply jam packed with activities. We still had not visited the Buda side of the river. We walked across the Chain Bridge...

...and then took the funicular to the top of the hill.

We spent just a moment admiring the palace (rumored to be a mere shell of its former glory).

We then strolled over to the Fisherman's Bastion for the most breathtaking views of the City.

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Dinner and a Show

2009-06-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

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We took the public tram from the cobbled streets of Buda back across the Danube to Pest.

We ate a quick reverse dinner at Cafe Kafka. That is, we had dessert and coffee first before our entree.

We bought tickets to see a Hungarian folk music performance. We barely had enough time to wolf down our meal and literally run to the theatre a few blocks away. We arrived just moments before the curtain was drawn and the performance began. We did have a minute before the lights dimmed to admire the beautiful concert hall.

The musicians and dancers were simply amazing. I love violin music and the fiddlers simply tore it up! I especially enjoyed the performance where the women danced with bottles on their head (they looked like Erlenmeyer flasks from my chemistry days). Imagine if we had tried this in lab! Safety first, people :-)

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Danube Cruise

2009-06-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

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Determined not to waste a single moment of our time in Budapest, we ran to the Legenda dock and caught their last cruise of the evening on the Danube. The tour included two glasses of wine and an audio commentary. The twinkling lights of the city were magical and offered a different perspective from what we saw during the day.

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One Last Stop

2009-06-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

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We were scheduled to depart for Vienna the next morning bright and early. On our way from the dock to our hotel, we noticed a "non-stop" grocery store. We ran in to pick up a few things Supermarket Sweep style. We had yet to buy any Hungarian wine and hunted for a couple bottles to take home with us. However, we were denied at the checkout when the cashier sourly pointed to a sign that included an English translation. You can't purchase alcohol between the hours of 11 pm and 6 am. It was approaching midnight... So much for non-stop... At least we were able to pick up a few Hungarian treats for our train ride to Vienna.

The day finally came to a close. We slept really well that night!

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Some Things are Universal (But Not All)

2009-06-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

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Saturday May 30, 2009

We learned a costly language lesson when we checked out of our hotel in Budapest. We decided to have the hotel launder one pair of pants for each of us so that we could fly home in a clean set of clothing. We had packed rather light on this trip to save space in our luggage for souvenirs. We checked the box on the laundry form for "pants". The price seemed really reasonable--about $5 US or so per garment. We were surprised when we checked out and found a charge that translated to about $30 US. It turns out that pants = underwear in this part of the world. We were charged for dry cleaning on two pairs of trousers. We'll definitely be more careful next time!

On the train, we staked out 2nd class seats in a six person cabin. Two couples eventually joined us. We got to chatting--they began by addressing us in German and then we soon switched to English. We learned that they were from the Netherlands near the German border and that they had just completed a cycling tour from Vienna to Budapest. Scott had nabbed a banana off the breakfast buffet at our hotel before we departed. He pulled it out about halfway through the train ride. Our Dutch friends seemed to be inspired and did the same -- bananas for all! Some things are universal... It turns out they had nabbed bananas from their hotel as well.

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Emergency Shopping

2009-06-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

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It was drizzling and freezing cold in Vienna when we arrived. We definitely needed to do some emergency shopping. We had gambled on the weather being reasonably warm on this trip and did not have clothes suitable for the cold and damp. To complicate matters, it was Saturday and shops in Vienna are typically closed on Sundays. Monday was a religious holiday too so it was now or never to find a jacket.

First, we needed to find some sustenance. We stopped at Cafe Sperl to experience the Vienna cafe culture. I tried schnitzel adorned with breading and four kinds of seeds. Yum! We selected a pastry from the cart. It turned out to be poppy flavored which would not normally be our first choice, but it was a pretty tasty treat.

After lunch, we continued on to the Naschmarkt. On Saturdays, the regular vendors spill over into a large flea market. Because of the weather, the number of vendors was more sparse than usual. Thankfully, I found a reasonably priced scarf to keep me warm. We also found the best dried fruit that we'd ever had. The market is surrounded by some spectacular architecture.

We perused Mariahilfer Straße looking for warm clothes. We didn't find anything of interest but did see models in bikinis in a department store window. I did a double-take and realized they were using live models instead of mannequins!

We ducked into a shopping arcade underground near the Opera. We didn't find any purveyors of warm clothing, but we did discover that it is possible to get a healthy snack in Vienna. This juice bar looked delicious but we were still stuffed from lunch and passed on by.

We ultimately found a jacket for Scott in a shopping center near the Opera. The store was run by a Russian woman who emigrated to Austria about 15 years ago. She was very friendly and helpful in finding the right jacket. Coincidentally, the jacket was a Fred Perry which was the same brand of jacket that Scott picked out in Chicago when we faced a similar cold weather shopping emergency. In the basement of the shopping complex, there was a Billa supermarket. As usual, we couldn't resist popping in for some local treats. We were finally able to pick out some wine to bring home as well as a couple single serving bottles of local varietals for less than a euro to try back at our hotel room. My favorite part about this supermarket was the Hunderparkplatz -- doggie parking spot. We saw the absolute cutest dog patiently waiting for his owner.

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Sacher Torte -- The Original

2009-06-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

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We stopped in to the Hotel Sacher, the creator of the original Sacher Torte. We bought one single serving "cube" to eat later that day and a small torte to eat later on in the trip. The cafe was positively mobbed. We decided that it would be more enjoyable to take our treats to go.

We headed to Stephansplatz via Kärntner Straße to have a look around and enjoy our sweets. Along the way, we discovered a vendor selling handmade puppets. We couldn't resist and took one home.
We also saw some poetry penned on a construction wall.

I did a quick translation online and learned the following:

machen alles das.

das alle machen.

bleibt niemand.

Der sie davor warnt

do all that
the all.
no one remains.

It warns

I think something has been lost in translation.

We sat on a bench and ate our Sacher cube as we admired the architecture around Stephansplatz. The cube was just outstanding: a layer of moist spice cake and apricot jam covered in thick dark chocolate. Heaven!

There are many ticket vendors dressed in period costume that roam Stephansplatz. We spoke to one gentleman in a red velvet coat and he sold us tickets to a Mozart/Strauss concert the following night. He asked "Are you students?". We answered honestly and said "no". He said "Let me ask you again...are you students?". "Yes?", we replied. Great! He was able to give us a significant discount on the seats. The same thing happened in Hungary when we bought the tickets to the Hungarian folk concert. The street vendor gave us the student discount to seal the deal. As we were finishing up the transaction, suddenly a police officer came up to us. I thought he was going to bust us somehow for buying tickets on the street -- or for posing as students... It turns out that a huge processional was on its way into the church for weekend services. About 500 people including several priests and nuns walked by holding candles and made their way into the cathedral.

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Opulent Hotel

2009-06-13T19:30:00.001-07:00

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We returned to our hotel to freshen up before dinner. We took a few pictures in the hotel lobby (very opulent!) and of the view outside our room. The Hotel Kummer was conveniently located along Mariahilfer Straße and featured views of the bustling shopping street.

We had an issue with the safe in our room. It seemed to be only sporadically working. Staff in Austria have a reputation for being friendly but a little put-upon at the same time. We approached the front desk clerk about the safe and he proceeded to write out the same directions that were on the instruction card in the room. We humored him, went back upstairs and tried it again -- no luck. This next time, he accompanied us upstairs. He had to try several times but was finally able to get the safe to lock properly. After he left, we ultimately figured out through trial and error that the safe handle needed to be exactly vertical when inputting the code with no slant either left or right. Once we figured that out, the safe worked like a charm every time.

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Evening Stroll

2009-06-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

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We decided to walk to the pedestrian friendly Spittelberg neighborhood for dinner. Most shops were closed by this time but we passed some fun window displays.

At this point, we were tiring of meat and potatoes for dinner. We passed a creperie and decided to give it a try. We're so glad we did! The food and ambiance was outstanding. I enjoyed a cheese crepe and a bowl of spicy goulash. They had an extensive wine list at very affordable prices. Wines by the glass were between 2-3 euros for 1/8 of a liter -- This was such a good deal that we could indulge in a second glass!

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I'm Lovin' It

2009-06-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

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Sunday May 31, 2009

Free Wi-Fi was challenging to find in Vienna. Scott had brought his smartphone with us on our vacation to check e-mail periodically. We wandered down Mariahilfer Straße holding the phone out like a compass to look for a signal. We finally hit gold. Where? McDonald's! The McCafe offers free Wi-Fi. I ordered a latte to give us license to sit and we took care of business before heading on our way.

We wandered around the Museum Quarter admiring the architecture once more.

We strolled the grounds of the Hofburg Palace.

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Misguided Tour

2009-06-13T16:00:00.001-07:00

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We read in one of our guidebooks that the #2 tram does a scenic loop of the city and is a great, affordable way to see the sights. We hopped on near the Opera House.

We soon realized that this tram was going one way and wasn't really doing a loop. Apparently, they changed the route since our guidebook was written. We followed along on our map, rode to the end of the line and then turned around to head back to the city center.

We stopped at a cafe near the Rathaus for a slice of apple strudel and coffee. Once again, the service was attentive yet slightly put-upon. The best part about cafes in Vienna aside from the delicious pastries is reading a newspaper on a stick.

If we hadn't taken our misguided tour on the tram, we never would have discovered some lovely areas near the Rathaus.

We chanced upon a spectacular rose garden within the Volksgarten. I was simply amazed at all the colors. I also appreciated that they even put flower boxes on a temporary structure that was erected during a construction project.

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Globe-Trotting

2009-06-13T15:30:00.001-07:00

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We walked from the rose garden to Vienna's unique Globe Museum. En route, we saw this wonderful frog prince. Scott also decided to knock on an opulent door to see if anyone was home.

The Globe Museum featured some amazing specimens from across the centuries. It was interesting to see how the perception of the world changed with time. Both geographical and celestial globes were featured.

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Opera House -- The Big Leagues

2009-06-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

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We really enjoyed the Opera tour in Budapest. Drawing a baseball analogy, the Budapest Opera is like the AA farm team whereas the Vienna Opera is the Big League. The Vienna Opera puts on 150 performances a year. Every day, up to 30 truckloads of sets, props, and costumes arrive from the warehouse nearby. The 2008/2009 season features about 60 different shows. Each show is performed once so the sets are changed out daily. The amount of sweat and effort required to keep the Opera up and running was simply amazing. As in Budapest, we were able to tour the Vienna Opera House.

We had a rare opportunity to go backstage where the staff was setting up for the evening's performance of Romeo and Juliet.

We also were able to take a seat in front of the stage and relish our surroundings.

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Down to Earth

2009-06-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

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After imbibing all the high culture and opulence of the Opera, we opted for a more down to earth snack. We enjoyed a wurst and beer at a local kiosk.

We also discovered a rare shop open on Sunday. They sold all sorts of chocolate. We were leisurely browsing the merchandise when a tour bus descended on the place. About 50 Italians packed themselves into the small space grabbing for bags of Mozartkuchen. It was like a clown car with more and more people cramming into the small space. We pushed our way out as quickly as possible and returned later in the day to make our selections after the crowds cleared.

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Holocaust Memorial

2009-06-13T13:30:00.001-07:00

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We took a moment to reflect and admire the sculptures at the nearby Monument Against War and Fascism.

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Let Them Eat Cake

2009-06-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

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We stopped for another decadent treat at Demel Cafe. Our timing was perfect in that another couple was getting up just as we arrived so we were able to stake our an outdoor table.

Demel Cafe is a working bakery. They had some interesting special order creations on display in the back, including what I'll call Butt Cake.

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Random Fun

2009-06-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

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We continued our walk toward the Stadtpark. We saw some fun and interesting sights along the way including:

a law book store...

a pretzel door handle...don't break a tooth trying to sample this!

marzipan minis...

a gaudy nail-salon-mobile...

and another rose garden tucked away on Doktor Karl Lueger Platz.

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City Bikes

2009-06-13T12:00:00.001-07:00

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We discovered City Bike in the Stadtpark. The system is really cool. You sign up for an account at the kiosk. You can then check out a bike for a small fee and drop it off at one of the convenient bike stations around the city. The first hour is free. On a whim, we decided to try it out. We soon discovered a small limitation to the system -- it appears that you can only check out one bike per account per credit card. Since we only had one credit card with us, we were only able to rent one bike. We ended up taking turns riding up and down the tree-lined path and into the park.

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Karlsplatz and Politics

2009-06-13T11:30:00.001-07:00

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We walked through Karlsplatz on our way back to our hotel. There was a musical performance in the park that afternoon.

We also passed the gilded Secession building.

European Union elections were approaching when we were in Vienna so there were plenty of campaign signs and slogans around town. We particularly enjoyed this one from "Das A Team" which made us think of one of my favorite TV Shows from the 80s -- The A Team!

There also seems to be some issues around poultry in Vienna. We saw this sign near the Museum Quarter.
Viennese seem to like their newspapers and devised an honor system for distribution.

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Dinner and a Show

2009-06-13T10:30:00.001-07:00

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Once again we found ourselves pressed for time before our evening concert. We grabbed a quick pizza dinner with wine in Spittelberg (our favorite creperie was closed...). I really had to chuckle when I saw a picture of Niagara Falls on the wall. I traveled nearly 5000 miles to be reminded of Buffalo, my hometown.

We made it to the concert hall with a few minutes to spare. The space was beautiful but reminded me a bit of a school auditorium. The Gothic architecture contrasted with the basketball hoop in the courtyard. The performance featured members of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra plus two opera singers, and two ballet dancers. It was a beautiful performance. Bravo!

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Early Train to Bratislava

2009-06-13T09:30:00.001-07:00

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We were disappointed to learn that Monday was a religious holiday in Vienna and that many things in the city would be closed as a result. We learned on this trip that there is a significant contrast between countries that were once behind the Iron Curtain and those that were not. The former do not seem to celebrate as many religious holidays. We learned that it was not a holiday in Slovakia. Bratislava is a mere hour from Vienna so we hopped on the early train to check it out.

We walked from the bustling train station down a busy road to the pedestrian-only Old Town. We passed a number of interesting sights and the Imperial Palace while en route.

We strolled around the Old Town and spotted a number of quirky statues that are well known throughout the city.

Performers lined the Old Town Square for our enjoyment.

Of course, we had to sample some Slovakian pastry and compare notes with Austria and Hungary. We tried Kaffee Mayer on the Square.

We opted for a "Chestnut Nest", a slice of chessboard cake, and a "punch donut". This is how we felt after eating so much sweet goodness.

We walked out onto the UFO bridge that spans the Danube. This communist era relic is known to be controversial among the locals. For us, it was another quirky and enjoyable sight.

We at lunch at Presburg, a cafe that serves traditional Slovak cuisine.

We tried some Slovak wine (not super memorable). We realized our mistake and then tried some Slovak beer (Šariš) -- much better!

We save the tiniest amount of room for dessert and decided to try the germknodel which were touted on the menu as steamed dumplings covered in sauce and filled with jam.

The germknodel was a monster! The description on the menu couldn't prepare us for the giant sweet laid before us. It was absolutely delicious but definitely slowed down our pace on the way back to the train station.

We finished lunch about 15 minutes before our train was scheduled to leave. It's about a 15 minute walk from the Old Town to the station. We somehow managed to sprint to the station (full bellies and all) and jump on just as it was about to depart -- we had less than 2 minutes to spare! Whew! At least we burned off some calories on the way.

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Imagining Royalty

2009-06-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

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Despite the holiday, some popular attractions were open in Vienna. We took the local S and U-Bahn lines out to Schloss Schönbrunn, home to centuries of Austrian royalty including Emperor Franz Josef and Sisi plus Maria Theresa, the family matriarch. What a woman! She bore sixteen children including Marie Antoinette. Sadly, we learned the unfortunate end to Sisi's story. You'll recall that we "met" her at the Budapest Opera House and that she was a patron of the arts much beloved by the Hungarian people. She came to her end later in life, assassinated at the hands of an Italian anarchist.

We toured the interior of the palace and the gorgeous grounds. We climbed the hill to the Gloriette to enjoy panoramic views of the City.

We also tried out the hedge maze on the premises. This one was definitely not as challenging as the one at Puzzling World in Wanaka New Zealand!

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