Day 59: Vienna

After killing our feet yesterday, we decided to take it a bit easier today. We went back to Hofburg Palace to check out the Treasury. There were lots of jewels, gold, and royal clothing, but the highlight for us might have been the huge eight-foot-tall horn. It's supposedly 500 years old and it was labeled as a "unicorn horn", but it might actually be a narwhal tusk, a whale that lives in the Arctic. Either way, it was pretty cool ^-^ The jewels were ok, too ^_~

Coming out of the palace, we came across the guys dressed in Mozart garb promoting Mozart concerts again. We saw them all over the place yesterday. This seemed like the perfect 'Vienna picture', so we asked the girl chatting with them if she'd take a picture for us. Usually most people we ask just snap a single not-that-well-composed picture. She took a bunch of different shots from different positions with our little point-and-shoot, and afterwards, the Mozart guys were joking about how we picked the right person. She was an amateur newspaper photographer, or something like that ^-^

Naschmarkt. I've been in a 'very few pictures' mood the last few days, so much so, that I took only *one* picture at the Naschmarkt, one of K with a huge round bread much bigger than his head. Not that there weren't many photo ops at the market; there were, lots! We started at the more "expensive" end of the market and once we'd started seeing more and more Turkish stands, the prices of the fruits decreased. It was a bit nostalgic in a way, walking past all the Turkish stands, seeing the foods we'd encountered plenty of in Turkey just a few weeks ago.


We finally ate a sachertorte today, Vienna's famous cake. It was yummy, but I should have known it wouldn't be as perfect as they say, simply because of my tastes -- I like my chocolate and fruit dessert to be separate, not fighting each other for palate space.

Day 58: Vienna

When the Hawaiian-guy-in-Rhine-Valley said there were a lot of bakeries in Vienna, he wasn't joking. There's bakeries all over the place! I started the day with a yummy, bad-but-pretend-good-for-you whole wheat croissant ^-^

We started with the RS tram tour, but at some point the tram started going in an unexpected direction. Once we realized it wasn't heading where we wanted, we got off, and then found another tram to get on to continue the tour at a later point. Either RS messed up, or they changed the tram lines on him =/

We then walked. Everywhere!


It seems like much of Vienna was under construction. Downturn of economy = fewer tourists = time to make things look better? We seem to have hit a lot of construction this trip.


They're quite crazy with the facades while things are getting fixed though!

We went up the elevator to the north tower (the south tower was being worked on, as shown above), but it turns out that Vienna is probably the most disappointing city view we've seen. There just wasn't much to see O_o

Our last sightseeing stop of the day was Hofburg Palace, but only the apartments; we have to go back tomorrow to see the treasury. We could have seen the treasury, too, but we wanted to make sure we'd get tickets for the opera ^-^ Standing room tickets to Die Walkure, four euros per ticket, are only sold a couple of hours before the show starts.

If I lived in Vienna, I'd probably go to the opera quite often. It's very cool! I always thought of opera as one of those things that only the 'privileged' could get to see, cost being a factor. Not here though; even the general public can see the opera quite easily.

The standing room tickets were cheap, but I don't know if many people are actually capable of standing and watching the *whole* opera. They don't let you sit either! There was this one woman who tried to sit on the floor and just listen to the opera, but then the usher came and told her she had to stay standing.

Though the whole opera was in German, you don't have to understand German. In front of each standing spot is a little digital display that shows the current lyrics being sung, and you can change the display to show English, or German!

K and I stayed for a little over an hour, which I thought was pretty impressive, considering we'd just spent the whole day walking! If it weren't for that, we probably could have stood through the whole opera. At least our legs and feet would have been ok, but I don't think K can listen to a whole opera.


After we left the opera house is when we came across the huge screen outside on the opera house building showing the opera *live* and people sitting on the ground in front of it. This is exactly what I'd do if I lived here. Cheap standing-room tickets vs free however-comfy-you-make-it outside seating, decent choices for good opera.

Day 57: Vienna, Bratislava day-trip

4:50am shuttle bus to Vienna. It was a good deal that we couldn't pass up. The only trade-off was the super-early start to the day. Shuttle bus was the best way of getting to Vienna -- direct, cheaper, leaving straight from the main square, and dropping off near Vienna's train station. Aside from us, there was one other couple on the bus. Being so early, we slept most of the way.

After settling into our pension room and taking a short nap, we decided we'd day-trip to Bratislava. It's only an hour by train and this early-started day basically gave us an extra day in Vienna.

Coming off the train, it was immediately a different feeling from Western and maybe even Central Europe. Gloomy might describe it, but in a hopeful, things-are-improving kind of way. The environment became more 'colorful' when we got to the old town.

Since our shoes hadn't dried from yesterday yet, we were walking around in our sandals (with socks). We might have looked a bit silly but it also seemed strangely appropriate considering the old town had quite a few 'whimsical' elements -- humorous statues and cannonballs purposefully wedged into random buildings.



Bratislava's a lot cheaper than its nearby cities in other countries. We had the cheapest gelato we've seen in all our euro-country travels, 50 euro cents per scoop ^o^

There was some sort of fish soup festival near the ice cream place. When we first got there, the festivities seemed to have just started not too long ago. Lots of tents with people preparing soup, a stage with live music, and people just hanging out. The long line to get bowls reminded me of the long lines to get cups at art&wine festivals we have in the Bay Area.



There was even an army-looking vehicle cooking fish soup!

Day 7: Hallstatt => Zurich

I wondered if the nice old landlady understood when I said I'd be leaving early, and I half doubted when she said she'd be up at that time. I paid her yesterday, just in case. She was indeed up though and bid me farewell.

7:08am train. On time, but my other two connections to get back to Zurich were late, though not as late as Salzburg to Hallstatt. Today's were only five and then ten minutes late.

K gave me his cell for my little side-trip so we could stay in touch just in case. So, I used it to text messages to twitter to keep him somewhat informed of my progress ^_~ I guess twitter's useful for something like this. The sms max character limit was 160, and I thought twitter's would be the same. Unfortunately, it turns out it was only 140, so one my messages got a bit cut off...
"M: On my way back to Zurich. Fog makes the day dark, damp, and cold, but watching it layer over the Austrian countryside from the warmth of a train -- magical."
...I was happy to actually be awake this time (vs my train ride out).

Once I was back in Switzerland, the on-board train announcements were in English as well as German (only German in Austria). On my last train, which turned out to be from Salzburg (and very cold in Salzburg, totally opposite of yesterday), I ended up sitting in a compartment with a father and his daughter. A little into the ride, the father starts looking out the windows on both sides of the train and so does his daughter. I ask if he's looking for something in particular or just enjoying the view. It turns out he'd visited a castle a few times as a child (40 years ago!), not a very well-known castle, but he was hoping to take his family to it if he could locate it.

After more than nine hours of travel, I'm back in the Zurich apartment. Traveling by yourself is fun in some ways, but I think it's better to have someone to share all the experiences with. K and I "start" our trip to Munich tomorrow. Actually, if we really thought about it, it might have been better for me to just travel directly to Munich tomorrow from Hallstatt/Salzburg and just meet K there rather than coming back to Zurich. Salzburg-Munich is only 2.5 hours by train.

Coming back to Zurich does have its advantages though. We get to travel to Munich together. And, I can do laundry in the apartment before we leave. Too bad I start the laundry a bit late though. I decide to take a nap after my shower so that I can wake up right after the laundry finishes.

Day 6: Hallstatt

I was already partially awake when I heard the muffled sound of an alarm. I thought "the walls sure are thin, poor roommates of whatever room that's coming from", when I realized it vaguely sounded just like the alarm on K's phone. It was the 5:50am alarm from yesterday that had not been reset, blaring in my bag, in my locker, in my dorm room.

I scrambled off my top bunk. Thankfully, none of my roommates seemed deterred from their sleep.

I really woke at 7:45am. The early-night girl was already up. After cleaning up, looking presentable, and checking out, I walked to the elevator in the old town to the great view (opens 8:30am). It turns out I probably could have visited last night... apparently the elevator ran until 21:00 (RS said 17:00!!). It would have been better lighting, too! Morning, shooting into the sun is not happy (neither is trying not to blind yourself even without the camera). I did enjoy the view, but thinking about the evening view from up there... sigh.

Mozart's Residence. So actually, I think I could have completed my visit here just fine yesterday. I could have spent the 1 hr to 1 hr 30 minutes the ticket people recommended if I listened to *all* the audio-guide material, but needing to hold an audio-guide to your ear while listening to scrumptious music takes away from the music. About 2/3 of the guide was listening to various Mozart pieces, which is something I'd enjoy more while using headphones in a pretty garden setting, or something like that. So, the museum only took me 30 minutes. Maybe I should have stayed longer to pretend to get more of my 6 euros worth? Actually, I thought the museum was pretty cool anyways. There were several Mozart originals on display ^-^ A picture for D...


Leaving the residence, I decided I would stop by the garden for one last quick look, and also, make a quick stop at the produce market for some cheap quality bananas, then, rush back to the hostel for my things and to the train station. I had an 11:08 train to catch.

I got to the station, bought my ticket, and boarded the train just in time, with four minutes to spare ^o^

There was one connection at Attnang-Puchheim, which ended up being late. It caught me off guard -- I was still expecting the exact timeliness of German or Swiss trains.

One last note about Salzburg -- I saw Asians! After a few days of maybe a handful of them, the overflowing number in Salzburg felt a bit odd. I mention the Asians because I saw them in Hallstatt, too! Whereas Salzburg had several Asian tour groups as well as independent travelers, I was happy to only see independent travelers in Hallstatt.

Hallstatt, a little town in the lakes district, which is reached from its train station via a small boat that runs only until 18:30 every day. (Don't take a train arriving later than that!) Looking back at the train station...


It might surprise a few people... (it even surprised me a bit)... I arrived in Hallstatt without any pre-booked lodging. So, coming off the boat, I made my way to the only hostel in town, only to find it closed for...? The afternoon? I don't know. It was closed, and it didn't have any hours posted. So, I walked to the TI, where the nice person called the hostel (where no one answered) and then found me a room elsewhere for 25 euros a night. It's this nice old couple renting out a few rooms in the second/third story of their house. The room is roomy with 3 beds, all for me! There's breakfast included, too, but I'll be leaving earlier than that. I tried to tell the landlady I'd be leaving at 6:30am tomorrow to catch a train... I hope she understood!

On my way in to the house, I encounter the same Korean triple I'd previously seen at the TI just a bit earlier. Apparently they're staying in these rooms as well. They were on their way out and asked "Korean?", to which I shook my head and replied "chungook saram imnida". I don't know what happened; it just automatically came out. I think the Korean response surprised them a bit. Of course, right at this moment, there's only a few phrases I can say. It's amazing how quickly you forget stuff if you don't use it!

There isn't really much to actually DO in Hallstatt. I was going to go to the ice caves, but was reminded that they open starting May 1st. So, I just walked all throughout the characteristic town, first following the RS walk, and then exploring more random streets here and there. It's a sleepy town, beautiful, and relaxing, just like I'd expected.


I can imagine all the small lake town peacefulness being destroyed during high tourist season; thankfully I'm here during one of the quiet months.


My feet were already dead from all day walking yesterday, but at least they had last night to rest up some. Still, they died again by the end of the day. Early (7:08am) train back to Zurich tomorrow.

Day 5: Salzburg

After going to sleep at nearly 3am last night, I wondered if I'd really wake up to my 5:50am alarm this morning (7:40am train). But all worries for naught ^-^ I woke up just fine. It was barely light out, but the sun rises quickly, and we had plenty of light by the time we got out.

"We" because sweetie K insisted on going with me to the hauptbahnhof (train station). Because he came with me though, we had to walk to the further Sihlcity Nord station to be able to buy a 24-hr transit pass for him; I only needed a one-use ticket.

Thankfully, my arm is much better today, with just a brief stab of pain when I move it in certain ways. Box of cereal, yogurt, banana, and a coffee stirrer (spoon substitute) in hand, I boarded my train at gate 3 to Salzburg and waved "bye" to K from the window.

The train ride out was an Alp wonderland! At my first sight of them, I was reminded of SB's "it's an Alp!" comment. She cracks me up. I knew the tiredness would get to me at some point, and it did -- I slept for most of the ride, despite pretty Alp after pretty Alp.

I was a bit nervous going off on my own. It sounds silly coming from the girl who booked accommodations and borrowed books from the library to plan all the rides and sights for her family's trip to Disneyworld in sixth grade. My nervousness was not for lack of planning. I had my chopped up RS Salzburg info, I had my lodging (booked over the phone yesterday), and I had a brain. Maybe it's in part due to K being nervous, which rubs off on me. He's nervous because he's afraid I'll get lost, and I assured him that inevitably I would. Not be "lost" though. "Lost" is when you don't know where you are and can't find your way. No, I'd just somehow get to some place other than the one intended. But, I'd manage to eventually find my way to my intended destination.

So, it *did* take me a bit longer than expected to find the TI, and after I left the TI, it *did* take me a while to find my way to the hostel. It would have helped if I didn't think my starting location on the map was somewhere other than where it really was ^-^'

Train arrived in Salzburg at 13:30. I left my dorm, ready to start exploring, at 14:40. Incidentally, the TI-provided map of Salzburg is quite good.

My original itinerary for the day --
- go to Makartsteg (bridge) and start RS' new town walk, visiting Mozart's Residence along the way
- do RS' old town walk, visiting the fortress at the end if there's a concert that day, thus leaving the funicular open until later, otherwise, take the elevator up to the other great viewpoint

It almost worked out that way. I dropped into a sandwich place along the way and picked up something to go. Still on the way, I saw a pretty garden with benches, so I decided to sit on a shaded bench and eat my sandwich first. Eating, taking pictures, and people watching... well, I sat for a while.

At some point, this nice, old German lady joins me on the bench. How I wished I'd decided to learn German before starting our trip! She'd say something to me every now and then, but it was right at this moment when I needed to know most that I blanked on how to say "I don't understand"... all I could muster was "speak German, no/not", which gave her a laugh. She seemed to indicate she understood me but then continued to talk to me again later. (Telling K about it later, I realized that I had said "you speak German, no/not" (!) Hmmm.) Nope, she didn't speak English. I tried that. If only I could even say something like "it's gorgeous out" or "this is so pretty, isn't it" and understand her a bit. Even a level like my cursory knowledge of Korean would be great >_<

I finished half my sandwich and eventually left the garden, making it to the start of my RS new town walk. It's very warm today, even warmer than it was in Zurich, low 70s I think. I actually packed for colder weather; rolling up the sleeves of my long sleeve worked fine though.

The RS new town walk actually took me *back* to the gardens I had just been at not too long ago, so I spent even more time at the garden ^o^

I spent so much time there that I didn't make it to Mozart's Residence in time. RS said it closes at 6pm, but when I got there at 5pm, it turns out closing time is really 5:30pm. I guess I'll have to go back tomorrow morning.

Old town walk. I like RS walks. He gives you little interesting details about the history of what you're seeing and takes you to both the touristy spots and the backroads of no tourists. Sometimes his tone is a little too... arrogant? But I can deal with that.

The cathedral here is crazily ornamented! Baroque? I forget the style name. Not quite rivaling the Spanish (e.g. the one in Toledo), but sometimes, you'd almost think you were in a palace, not a place of worship. The ceiling...


Getridegasse has modern stores and is quite touristy, but I liked the old-style iron signs. Even the Chinese restaurant and McDonalds had them...


I ate the other half of my sandwich while watching these guys play chess on a big board (D -- something you'll have to do next time you're in Europe!)


I don't really know much about chess aside from how the pieces move, but the spot looked good for sitting, eating, and watching. It was at this point that I noticed my sandwich had strawberries! (matched with prosciutto)

18:30. Perfect time for the fortress. When I asked the TI, they told me there would be a concert tonight. So, after fortress closing time (18:00) until 30 minutes after the start of the concert (21:30), you only have to pay the funicular fare (and not the extra 10 euros for admission to the fortress grounds and museum). RS is good for telling you these types of things.

Watching the sun set from atop the fortress was ^o^


Since I had only finished my sandwich not long ago, I wasn't really that hungry. I stopped by a place to eat, only to find it closed (since 6pm for today!). I ended up just picking up a weisswurst at a sausage stand to be the rest of my "dinner".

When I got back to the dorm, it was not even 10pm yet, but one of the girls was already asleep! Actually, 'girl' is probably the wrong word... she looked like she was in her late 30s / early 40s.

Day 4: Zurich

K's working early and late today. Early, just because I'm probably still sleeping, and late, so he can match Cali-time a bit. He comes back in late late afternoon and we make a trip to the COOP supermarket across the street.

They close at 6:30pm! We're not used to seeing supermarkets (maybe small groceries, but not supermarkets) close so early. I saw a whole aisle of choco yesterday at Migros... today, I bought some and decided to go with COOP brand. It says something about Swiss chocolates when even the supermarket brand is yummy. I picked a 60% cocoa with almond creme that even K could enjoy.

After seeing all the locals carrying their own reusable bags or buying and reusing one of the semi-well-constructed paper COOP bags, I felt compelled to also pay 30 cent euros for one, and I did.

K stayed home until after dinner. He rested (keeping some jetlag alive) while I researched Salzburg and Hallstatt more, trips I would be making on my own this week. Actually, I was going to leave for Salzburg today, but decided to postpone for a day because I started getting tons of pain in my upper left arm late last night. By pushing the trip out a day, I also pushed my black forest day trip to July.

Originally, Salzburg and Hallstatt were on our itinerary, but K said he wasn't all that interested in Salzburg, and we thought it would be close enough for me to travel to/from Zurich by myself. Turns out it's a bit further than we thought. Oops!

Others who know how I am (myself included) might be quite surprised that, no, I didn't already have lodging booked for tomorrow night. On reflection, it's not entirely out of character. It's Salzburg, not Paris, and it's April, so decent places to sleep should be ok to find. Plus, I'm traveling by myself, for only a short period of time, which means slightly lower standards. All in all, I also have maximum flexibility. Anyways, I called the place I planned on staying at and booked a bed in a 4-bed female dorm... 19 euros a night. There still is a possibility I might not do Salzburg & Hallstatt this week, but I figured it's better to make the reservation first anyways and cancel in a bit if I have to.

I looked up train times and noted details (train #'s, transfers, gate #'s, etc) for -
- Zurich to Salzburg
- Salzburg to Hallstatt
- Hallstatt to Zurich

K worked late into the night and then I got the laptop again. Sometimes, I think it would have been nice to buy something lightweight prior to the trip like a Netbook so that we wouldn't need to share one laptop, but oh well.

Somehow I didn't get to sleep until almost 3am.