2014 Austria (Vienna, Salzburg) Day 5

We stayed in the Sommerhotel last night.  It is a college dorm during school terms and a hotel during the summer, holiday season.  The price was right.  But it was a simple room and only had wifi in lobby areas.  But we did find wifi on our floor so Denise stood there surfing the web while she greeted people coming off the elevator!  Funny....

I ended the previous post by saying that I we found out that the hotel I picked was not by the train station where international trains go. So we asked the young lady at the desk how to get to the right train station.  She whipped a map out and gave me detailed instructions to take the metro or the tram system to get to the station.  So we got up, ate breakfast (the standard faire) then checked out around 9:30 AM.  We headed to the metro.  Once we were ticketed and under ground, we started looking at the signs.  The whole plan that I interpreted was backwards.  I was leaving the location that I thought was my destination.  We asked a man that validated our concerns.  So quickly we reversed our route....and it worked.  So quickly we bought some very expensive train tickets to Salzburg.  But the odd thing was that the tickets did not call out a particular train or loading platform.  So again, the dumb Americans were asking questions.  We eventually found the train that was the next to go through Salzburg and got on it.  It was a 2.5 hour ride to Salzburg from Vienna.  I think our ticket was good for the whole day on any train that went Salzburg's direction.  And, for the first time, this train had wifi the whole trip!  But there was no one to text with in US...all were sleeping.  So I took a nap!

We arrived in Salzburg at 12:50.  This apartment is through airbnb.com....not a hotel.  We were given instructions to walk to the room.  They went like this....go up stairs, turn right, turn left, go straight, cross road, go through park and look for pink house.  I sent the owner a note and asked him to put street names with it.  He did.  Made our 10 minute walk with bags in tow a bit more securing!  The host is on holiday.  So he sent us the lady who cleans the place...her telephone number.  I called her before we left the Vienna train station.  As we came up on the house, she was waiting for us and let us in.  While on the train I researched the Sound of Music tour.  I found out one left at 2:00 PM.  By the time we were free to leave the apartment, it was 1:30.  We grabbed my Ipad with a map loaded and off we went.  We actually found it with 8 minutes to spare.  The hills then became alive with the sounds of music as we toured key sites that were involved in the making of the movie.  It was a great tour as we spent the 1st 1.5 hours going through Salzburg.  We then headed into the mountains for the remaining 2.5 hours.  Oh my goodness....this region of the world is so beautiful.  At one point, we stopped for 55 minutes at the church where their marriage was filmed.  There we had strudel covered in a marvelous cream sauce!  Oh so good.  Once we returned to Salzburg, we walked around the Mirabell Gardens.  We then started our journey home looking for a place for dinner.  We found a cafe that was really, really good....except for the $5 liter of water (no gas).  I say, if it is going to taste that bad, put the gas back in it!  It was gourmet water too!

We finally arrived back to the flat excited to FaceTime everyone....but no internet!  It was working when we left but not when we returned.  I started hunting down the owner...who is on holiday himself.  He eventually called me back.  Turns out that he owns the apartment above this one and that is where the router is.  So, with Martin's permission, I went upstairs and knocked on the door.  A young guy came to the door and between our hand motions and common words, we came to terms...he plugged the router back in.  All is well....maybe I will sleep better tonight!

Our 'hotel' in Wien (Vienna).....

This is what I do when the internet is slow on a train......

Austria....pictures do not do the beauty here....

The hills are alive with the Sound of Music....a famous moment in the movie used this gazebo.

Another Sound of Music location......

A square that had a church where the Captain married Maria....in the movie only.  We ate struddle in the Cafe Braun...to the left.

Before.....

After.....

Austria is beautiful...but not half as beautiful as this woman I found and took to dinner!

Wolfgang Lake.....so much beauty in this area!

2014 Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria (Vienna) Day 4

After a wonderful evening with the Kavan family last night, we woke up to a wonderful breakfast prepared by Ivana and Pavel.  Meats, cheeses, cereals, yogurts, breads, Danish like pasteries and juices .  A buffet.  So good.  After eating and showering, we walked around their beautiful yard.  They had just put a pond/swimming pool in.  It had a couple of fish in it.  So nice.  They live in a forest area.  Wonderful place for hiking, mountain biking, etc.  After leaving their home, Pavel and Michal took us to a famous old church in the village nearby, to a site where some large caves are found and where rock climbers scale rocks.  We followed that up with a trip into downtown Brno walking around the plazas there and admiring the architecture.  At lunch time, we found a sidewalk cafe and had a nice meal.  The food is quite reasonable although Psvel insists on paying for everything...which we do not let him.  After lunch we headed to Pavel's business.  It is a 3-story building with a number of small offices.  He has about 10 people who work for him, including his wife and future daughter-in-law.  When we arrived we met all the employees and then went into a conference room where Ivana had a very yummy Czech sandwich prepared with other treats.  We were so full from lunch but ate a few things to be good guests.  We are so full...so well fed.  After that, we hugged goodbye and headed to Slovakia with Michal.  It was about a 1.5 hour ride to the capital city.  There we went down to the Danub river to just hang out awhile.  It was cool and very nice.  After driving around the city, we headed to Vienna which was only 40 miles away.  We found the train station and our hotel.  So we are good to go for tomorrow.  We will not see much of Vienna.  We plan to have a lazy morning before we grab a train to Salzburg.  I hope the trip starts to mellow in my mind so that I can sleep better.  We shall see.

The visit with the Kavans will be etched in our hearts forever.  Denise and I will be finding a nice gift to send to them to say thank you for their kindness soon.

Denise and I just went for a walk in Vienna.  We decided to walk over to the train station.  Good thing we did.  It turns out that no trains leave from this station to go towards Salzburg.  It sounds like we get to figure the metro or Trams system out quickly to get to another station across Vienna.  Another sleepless night!

Until tomorrow......

Ivanna, Michal, and Pavel

Back of their home...what a beautiful backyard it is.

Front of house....

Church in village...

Inside of the church.  Beautiful art on ceilings....

Cave and rock climbing wall...

Downtown Brno....

Eating lunch near downtown square....

Entering Slovakia.....

Slovakian friend...mother was not pleased that I was taking his picture.

Danub River....

Denise and Michal resting by the river....

2014 Czech Republic, Poland (Auschwitz) Day 3

Today was a day that Denise referred to as 'a bucket list day'...........

I slept in longer today than yesterday, waking up at 5:00 AM.  We needed to be showered, fed and ready to go by 7:30 AM.  I figured out the hot water thing so we were able to have hot showers this morning...which was nice because it was cooler this morning.  Michal and Pavel were prompt.  We loaded into their car and off we went to Poland.  Due to an international motorcycle race in Brno, we had to take a longer route, bypassing Brno.  We arrived at Auswitch around 2:00 PM.  Very long driving day for all of us.  We stopped once at a KFC close to the Poland border.  The KFC here only had chicken strips or wings.  They had some sandwiches but other than that...not much else.  It was good....but had a limited menu.

Auschwitch....wow.  There are two camps here, Auschwitch I and Auschwitz - Birkenau.  We arrived at Auschwitch I.  But the tour lines were really long. So we asked someone what was going on.  The young girl said that tours ended at 3:00 PM and after that everyone got in free.  She also said that we could take the free shuttle bus to Auschwitz 1- Birkenau.  So we did that first.  It was amazing to see the size of this camp.  At its high points it held 90,000 prisoners.  But 1.4 million people were killed here.  Their bodies, as we know, were cremated and their ashes were strewn in the fields.  Many of the wooden barracks are destroyed with just the chimney's standing.  We saw the 'hospitals' where human tests were performed.  We saw the underground chambers where people were led believing that they were going to be cleaned and sanitized, then led to gas chambers where they were killed.  Their bodies were generally cremated and their ashes distributed in the fields around us.  It was a bit overwhelming to imagine what transpired at this place.  I was really amazed by the size of the Birkenaur camp.  I am more amazed at what one human is willing to do to another.

While walking around the camp, I noticed 2 girls and a young man coming at me.  I quickly noticed that the two girls were the same girls that sat by us on the train ride from Plzen to Prague.  What a small world to see them again some 5+ hours away from Prague in Poland.   We had no idea that we were both going to Auschwitch. Crazy....

We are now headed back to Brno, which will be a 2.5 hour drive.  We will be staying at their home tonight.  They have been such gracious hosts!

Well, the drive was a bit longer than planned.  There was something on the freeway that brought cars to a halt.  At the same time, Pavel and Michal saw that we were almost out of gas and began to sweat a little bit.  At the first exit that we crawled to, we got off the highway.  But finding a gas station was a different story.  We saw parts of the Czech Republic that were definitely unplanned.  But eventually we found the station before we ran out.  Whoo.....

We arrived at their home at 8:45 PM and met Michal's Mother and Brother for the first time.  We also met his brother's girlfriend too.  Such wonderful,people.  What a beautiful home they have.  Ivanna (Michal's mother) had worked for days to prepare a marvelous meal.  It was so good...Pork Scnitzel, a flattened chicken that was breaded and fried, breaded carp, a chicken in a bath(sauce), potatoes, soup, salad (both potatoe and green).  I think it is safe to say that it was fit for a king.  We were and have been treated as royalty.  I hope they would come to Utah and let us return the favor someday.  I will get pictures tomorrow of their home and post them at that time. Another nice, but long day here.

Auschwitz pictures:

Entrance sign to parking by Auschwitz 1...

Auschwitz 1 Barracks.....

Auschwitz1- Birkenau Entrance.  The trains rolled through here with prisoners.....

Remaining wooden barracks....

Most of the wooden barracks were destroyed and only the brick chimneys still stand....

After they unloaded, they were evaluated to see if they were strong enough to work.  If they were not, they were sent down this road to be 'sanitized' (gassed).  

Toilets....

Part of the crematorium.  When the Nazis realized that their work was being discovered, they tried to destroy as much of this camp as possible.  They dynamited these structures.

Entrance to under ground gassing chambers....

Location where ashes were sprinkled....

New born babies were tested and killed here.....

Many guard shacks lined the fence line...I was amazed how big this Birkenau camp was.  It was huge. Amazing part of history that we should never forget!

2014 Czech Republic (Prague) Day 2

Well, day 2 is in the books.  It will be our only day to tour Prague and what a day it has been.  I woke up at 3:00 AM and could not go back to sleep.  So I laid there listening to Denise howl at the moon for a number of hours.  I finally dozed off and woke up to Denise's alarm clock going off.  Michal and his Dad were coming to get us at 9 AM.  it was almost 8 AM.  So we scrambled to get ready.  Moving quickly was a good thing as both our showers ended up being cold.  We ended up having breakfast just before Pavel and Michal arrived.  Breakfast was simple but good.  Breads, meats, cheeses, creaks, yogurt, and juices.  

We immediately headed into the downtown area..  We stopped short to take the metro into the city as parking is tough to find in downtown Prague..  Good thing, there was zero parking there and very crowded.  Lots of tourists.  We first went to the Prague Castle.  This set of buildings sits on a hill looking over Prague.  It consisted of many shops, museums, art collections, churches and the home where the President of the country lives.  There was a ton to take in.  We walked around this place for over two hours.  As we were getting ready to leave, Denise told me that she had already filled up her 4gb SD card in her camera and she forgot to bring back ups.  I couldn't believe it.  We eventually found a store and bought another one at a premium price.  We toned down the image sizes on her camera.

After touring the many buildings on the castle site, we headed down towards the river.  But dark clouds were looming around.  So rather than get wet, we stepped into a liittle eatery to get some lunch.  It was interesting because we were taken to a room that looked like a waiting room.  Denise and Michal sat on a couch and Pavel and I on sofa chairs.  These were around a coffee table.  I tell you this because that was actually our serving table.  It was different.  The food was quite good.  And while we ate, it rained outside.  So that was good.  I have to say that the whole day was cool and nice.  We only had to wait for rain to stop once (other than at lunch).  

We next went over to St. Charles bridge.  I think all of Prague was there.  Very crowded.  This bridge is the most famous bridge that spans the river.  It is for walking only.  But boy, you could get some nice views of the castle and old Prague.  We then walked through old Prague looking at the old buildings mixed with the new shopping stores that have come in.  We eventually ended up at St. Wincelas Square.  This is where protests, parades and such take place.  After taking a few pictures there, we headed back to our car via the metro.  Once we arrived at the car, we got in and Pavel took us towards the 'oldest' part of Prague.  In doing so, he made a wrong turn and ended up on a square where only Trams and people could go.  People just stared and laughed at us.  He was worried that the Police were going to ticket him.  We just quickly followed the trams out as fast as we could.

The 'oldest' part of Prague was beautiful, sitting above the river.  An old church was in the center with a cemetery where only the famous people were buried.  You had to be invited to be buried there.  The headstones were amazing.  After walking through this area, we came back to our hotel to rest before going to dinner.  And rest we did.  Denise and I both could not keep our eyes open and crashed quickly for a quick cat nap.  We were at the hotel for only 1.5 hours.  Michal and Pavel came and retrieved us again at 7:30 PM..  We went to the apartment that Pavel owns and Michal lives in.  It is really nice.  It is in a new building on the 4th floor and you can see the Prague castle in the distance.  We then headed to Michal's favorite place to eat...The Golden Piglet.  It was real close to where he lives.  It was a small, very clean, pub.  The food was excellent.  Denise and I both had different cream based pastas. They also made us a lemonade with ginger leaves in it.  That was very good too.

Well, we are both really tired but thrilled with the great tour that Michal and Pavel gave us.  We will be forever grateful..  Prague is a beautiful city.

Oh, Happy Birthday Mom!  We did think about you a few times today.  We will try to FaceTime with you later.

Prague Castle and views.....

Heading to St. Charles Bridge...

Old, old Prague.....the cemetery.

Honey Cake....

Our 'hotel'....which was quite a distance from downtown.  When we arrived back here, after our city tour, a wedding reception was going on.  Lots of music, people laughing and the host of the hotel was catering the event using his backyard BBQ.

Great day.....

2014 Germany, Czech Republic, Day 1

OThe trip has begun and I am full of anxiety.  It started last night.  I could not sleep.  In the end, I think I dozed off here and there for about 3 hours.  The rest, I stared at the ceiling.  I finally got up at 4AM and got going.  As usual, the plane that once looked wide open to Houston closed quickly.  The good news was that we received seats pretty early.  The bad news was that while boarding someone did something to the masks that fall down.  Mechanical was called.  In the end, they decided to leave the row without passengers.  It caused the gate agent to start pulling standby's tickets back.  They got to the couple that received tickets just after us.  So we sat there for a half hour wondering if they would call us back.  But they didn't. Nonetheless, I was stressed.  I write this has we head to Houston.  When we land, I need to immediately find a place to stay in Prague.  We will get to Munich, hopefully in business class.  There are a ton of seats on the Munich flight.

I am now writing this from a train that just left the Munich train station headed to Nuremberg and then to Prague.  This will be a 6 hour train ride.  Let me tell you this...flying Businrss Class is quite the experience.  Constant flow of food and drink.  Comfortable chairs that go into the prone position.  Great sleep!  It was nice to feel how the other half lives when travelling.

The Munich airport is very large and pretty.  In between the two large terninals is this cool outside court of stores and stuff.  It was pretty unique.  Finding the train station was pretty easy.  And getting the Bayern day train ticket was pretty easy.  It is going to cost us only 30 euros to get into the Czech Republic (about $45).  And once we cross the border, it is another 200 Kronas ($10) for the rest of the journey.  Not too bad for a 6 hour trip.  It would be a ton more if we used standard tickets.  But this Bavarian day pass makes it pretty cheap for multiple riders.

I have been amazed by how green it is here.  It is cool (about 60 degrees).  It is fairly flat.  And all the homes...get this....look German!  Pretty fun.  I am amazed how much alcohol is drank in public places.  Young adults packing German beer every where with bottles opened at midday.  

We arrived at the exact time we told Michal.  And there he was, standing at the train platform waiting for us.  He has not changed.  The 6 hour train ride was a killer...seemed to last forever.  We are both really tired.  We jumped into Michal's Ford station wagon and headed out to find our 'hotel'.  It was a good 20 minute drive winding through the streets of Prague getting to the outskirts of town.  This place is on old farm house that they converted into a little inn.  It is nice.  We ate at the restaurant here on site with Michal and his father, who drove over from Brno to be with us.  The food was really yummy and quite inexpensive (less than $10).  

Well, it is lights out time.  We are dead.  Tomorrow we tour Prague.

Plane food.....

In between terminals at Munich....

Happy travelers.....

With Michal in front of train station....

Our room....