Blogging on train, take 2

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>
>
> This morning we saw the museums, parliament, St. Stephans cathedral,
> the Demel chocolatier, and had lunch at the Oberlaa cafe, where we
> sat outside and enjoyed some Austrian fare.
>
> On the advice of Mercedes, the not so helpful concierge at the
> Hilton Vienna Executive lounge, we ran halfway across the city with
> luggage in tow only to discover that the ticket counter at that
> particular train station would be closed until June. This caused us
> to miss the only direct train to Budapest. Oh joy.
>
> And so began the adventure of dragging our luggage back across the
> city, while plotting the tortuous acts that we would like to subject
> Ms. Mercedes to. 3 subways and 1 tram later, we made it to the
> other train station and purchased our tickets to Hungary. The only
> concern is that we
> Will need to switch trains in Gyor, which is God knows where.
>
> Now that we're on the train, the stress level is going down & I have
> a feeling that the fresh macaroons will be just what we need to
> offset the turbulent chain of events that occurred today. Good
> thing we each bought a box of 6 at Oberlee. That should be just
> enough to have us smiling again.

Happy earth day from Vienna

After touring the city all morning, we are on the the train about to
depart Vienna en route to Budapest.

Springtime in Vienna

Today was a beautiful day! We started our day at the Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens, the former summer home of the Hapsburgs, the royal family of Austria. We toured the palace and gardens, climbed up to the Gloriette to take in the wonderful views of Vienna, and then I decided to tackle the maze in the Inngarten. It was a challenge, but I was up for it. I am pleased to report I conquered the maze and found my way to the observation tower!

After a beautiful afternoon in the gardens, we went to the Hundertwasser house and the KunstHausWien museum. Awesome modern art with an environmentalist bent! The exteriors and windows so vibrant and colorful. It was way cool! After a traditional Austrian dinner at a lovely cafe, I purchased some Austrian bio and free trade chocolate bars. I look forward to trying the exotic flavors :)

Off to Budapest tomorrow...

I am blogging

I am simulaneously typing while Amy is typing, but I'm using a crazy
German keyboard and I hate it. We've been sitting in the hospitalitz suite for a few hours now enjoying the free champagne. We've yet to see any of Vienna, but the Champagne sure is good!

Other Direction. I told you before.

For those concerned for our safety, that may or may not be many of you, we arrived in Vienna around 15:30 pm after a 4.5 hours train ride from Prague. Let me say I was impressed with the Super City train - finest European train I have been on thus far. Move over Thalys, here's to Super City.
Upon arrival, we hit the bankomat to get some euros and boarded the D tram to the Opera. We disembarked at the Opera in an effort to find the next transport to Stradtpark. The older gentlemen at the information station told us to take the 2 to Stradtpark. I don't know about you but to me that means ride the number to tram and get off at Stradtpark. So, we board the number 2 in route to Stradtpark, or so we thought...We must have been on this streetcar built during the Hapsburg empire for 30 minutes before asking for help. At that point, Stacie goes up to the tram conductor and says, "Excuse me, does this tram go to Stradtpark? The conductor replies, "other direction!" Alright, then... We sit for awhile and then Stacie goes back for more... "Excuse me, does this tram go to the Stradtpark?" To which the conductor replies, "Other direction, I told you before!" While Stac is in the back being subjected to this, I am thanking the conductor in German. What seemed like an hour goes by, before we get up and hop off the number 2. At this point, I'm forced to resort to asking the Vienna police for directions, only to find out that we are a 5 minute walk from our hotel.
Needless to say, we have arrived! And, we have been in the Executive Lounge having cocktails and appetizers ever since...

On the train to Vienna!

It's a beautiful day and everything's alright...

Today was a perfect lazy Sunday.  After our 14 hour walking tour of the city yesterday, I slept in today.  I think Amy was amazed by my sleeping abilities.  I was a little embarrassed to have slept through breakfast.  Oh well, that's what vacation is for, right?

Today is the first day I've had without rain and it was wonderful to see the sun again.  We first took the metro down to Wenceslaus square for some shopping and photos.  The boulevard was full of people out for a Sunday stroll and it was great for people watching.  We stopped in a tucked away tea house for a relaxing, Zen like experience.  I had the "Mucho Rancho" a Maté drink served in a cup so crazy I had to buy one to bring back to the states.  We each ordered a delicious couscous snack with currants, mandarin oranges, cinnamon and sweet cream.  We spent quite a while just relaxing on the patio, soaking up the environment.

Then we went back through Old Town looking for a botanical shop that we never actually found.  We wandered for a while and took several pictures before making our way back to the vegetarian restaurant "Clear Head" that we had found the day before.  You know a place is great when you go twice in one weekend!  This time we skipped the main course and just had appetizers and dessert.  

After dinner we walked back across the Charles Bridge and found the John Lennon wall.  It's an entire wall covered in graffiti dedicated to John Lennon, so yes, I was in my element.  We stopped at the "John and George Cafe" and had a few Gambrinus (local Czech beers) that went down very easily tonight.  By the time we finished our drinks it was time to walk back across the bridge and take in the city at night.  The city is even more enchanting all lit up.  I think that it has been a bit too cold and rainy the last two nights to actually enjoy the night scenery, so I was glad I got to see the city tonight in all it's glory.

Tomorrow we are checking out of the Lida and heading to the train station on our way to Vienna.  It's supposed to be in the 70's there, so hopefully we can put the raincoats away for good.

Clear Head and Mystic Pizza... It was meant to be!

Saturday found us on the go... literally from 10:30am - midnight. While enjoying my breakfast at the Lida, our B&B, I met Ron and Ryan, B&B owners from Budapest. I was grateful to get some tips for our last destination from two locals and amazed to find out that Ryan writes for Fodor's Budapest.

After breakfast, we set out for the Strahov Monastery. I always think of my dear friend Fr. Anthony when visiting monasteries. He would have loved it! I enjoyed touring the grounds and the peaceful sound of the bells, as well as some of the best views of Prague from "the hill."

Mid-day it was time to head across the river for lunch. I had read about a vegetarian restaurant called Lehka Hlava ("Clear Head") in my Rick Steve's guide. I was unable to dine there without a reservation on Thursday, so our innkeeper, Jan, made us a reservation for us for lunch Saturday. All I can say is YUM! I had fresh mint tea, hummus for an appetizer, couscous patties for an entree, carrot cake for desert, and finished it all off with an aztec hot chocolate. The carrot cake was shaved carrots, coconut, and ginger (no sugar, flour, eggs), covered in chocolate sauce! And, the hot chocolate, served in a demi cup, was so thick I needed a spoon to eat it. Can you say delish?

We loved Clear Head so much we are going back there for dinner on Sunday night, our last evening in Prague. After lunch we went back up the hill to see Prague Castle and tour St. Vitus Cathedral. On our way back down the hill in search of a WC, we walked down some steps and spotted the Mystic Pizzera. Had to be fate, right? I mean here we are two Sigma Kappas in Prague and we stumble upon the Mystic Pizza...We simply had to go in and have a pilsner.

As we walked back down the hill, we came to an absinthe shop. Curious as we are, we went in for a tasting. The absinthe tasting was quite an experience... I can now say I've tried the "forbidden in the states" drink. I wouldn't say I liked the taste, but I thought it was potent stuff!

Saturday evening while wondering through an alley near Old Town, a guy walking near us asks, "are you all Americans?" We responded yes and that began our evening with our new friend, Josh, from Florida. Josh is in Prague, along with his mum, visiting his ailing Czech grandma. We walked to Wenceslas Square, where he is staying, and had a beer, before settling on a restaurant for dinner. We enjoyed some good Italian and finished the meal with shots of Czech liquor. We then headed to an English pub where we said goodbye to Josh for the night and hopped the metro back to our B&B completely exhausted after an adventure-filled day.

So looking forward to returning to Clear Head for dinner Sunday night... Will try to post some photos, including Helmut's Saturday adventures, sometime Sunday. Cheers!