Well, first and foremost, Easter weekend was spent road tripping. A few friends and I (Adam, Kasey, Emily, and David) rented a car, and drove to Vienna, Austria, with a few stops along the way.
We started out on Friday morning, the 5 of us squished into a Jetta, and drove about 7 hours to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a really cute German village in the region of Bavaria. We made several stops along the way, at Dutch and German service stations, and marveled at how lucky we were to have such gorgeous weather: warm, sunny, and not a cloud in sight (this is a real treat for Dutch weather!)
We made pretty horrible time to Rothenburg, as we left later than we had planned, and stopped more often than planned. So, by the time we arrived, we only had a few hours to spare before we had to head on to our hostel in Regensburg (about an hour and a half from Rothenburg).
I'm not sure if it was because it was Good Friday, or because we arrived so late, but the only businesses that were open were restaurants. But that hardly put a damper on our time there. Rothenburg is apparently a very popular tourist destination because of its well preserved medieval old town, which is separated by a city wall that was built in the 13th century. I think we were all just as content in walking around because the city really is like something out of a fairy tale:
After dinner, we continued on to our hostel in Regensburg, Germany... my first hostel experience! I'd always been a bit leery about hostels, but we lucked out by getting private rooms for only about 20 euros per person, with breakfast included! The showers were a bit interesting, but if that was the only downfall, I'd say David good a pretty good job at picking the hostel.
After a much needed sleep, we woke up early to continue on to Vienna, which was about another 400km from Regensburg.
By this point, I started realizing how boring Dutch landscape is in comparison to Germany and Austria. I mean, it's a nice landscape with the farms and windmills and canals. But German and Austrian landscape is just breathtaking. It's so hilly, and green, with little clusters of villages set in the valleys of the hills, with the houses seemingly randomly placed with the red slanted roofs. And once in Austria, at our first rest stop, we realized we could see the Alps in the distance.
Once we settled ourselves in Vienna, our first stop was a Spanish tapas bar for some much needed food, and of course beer (another of my favorite things to do in a new country). Personally, I would have preferred a Viennese cafe, but this was the first place we saw that looked decent. And with the great weather holding out in our favor, it was really beautiful to sit on that patio.
After a much needed sleep, we woke up early to continue on to Vienna, which was about another 400km from Regensburg.
By this point, I started realizing how boring Dutch landscape is in comparison to Germany and Austria. I mean, it's a nice landscape with the farms and windmills and canals. But German and Austrian landscape is just breathtaking. It's so hilly, and green, with little clusters of villages set in the valleys of the hills, with the houses seemingly randomly placed with the red slanted roofs. And once in Austria, at our first rest stop, we realized we could see the Alps in the distance.
Once we settled ourselves in Vienna, our first stop was a Spanish tapas bar for some much needed food, and of course beer (another of my favorite things to do in a new country). Personally, I would have preferred a Viennese cafe, but this was the first place we saw that looked decent. And with the great weather holding out in our favor, it was really beautiful to sit on that patio.
We then decided to rent some bikes and bike down to the Nascht Markt, a market that boasted of food, clothing, antiques and the like.
The bike rentals sounded like a really great deal. The guide book said the first hour of the rental is free, then 1 euro for the 2nd hour, 2 euros for the 3rd, and so on. One of the bike rental kiosks happened to be right next to the tapas restaurant. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more time consuming that we thought, since none of us were registered, and you could only rent one bike per card. Then after 3 of us managed to obtain a bike, the kiosk conveniently decided to go out of service, leaving 2 of us without bikes.
We still had to drop by the hostel (which was within short walking distance), so Emily and Kasey walked, while Adam, David and I rode our bikes, hoping to find another bike kiosk along the way. Well, within about 3 minutes of riding, we realized how crappy the bikes were! Unfortunately, we didn't find another kiosk til we got to the Nascht Markt, where we were finally able to get rid of them.
The bike rentals sounded like a really great deal. The guide book said the first hour of the rental is free, then 1 euro for the 2nd hour, 2 euros for the 3rd, and so on. One of the bike rental kiosks happened to be right next to the tapas restaurant. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more time consuming that we thought, since none of us were registered, and you could only rent one bike per card. Then after 3 of us managed to obtain a bike, the kiosk conveniently decided to go out of service, leaving 2 of us without bikes.
We still had to drop by the hostel (which was within short walking distance), so Emily and Kasey walked, while Adam, David and I rode our bikes, hoping to find another bike kiosk along the way. Well, within about 3 minutes of riding, we realized how crappy the bikes were! Unfortunately, we didn't find another kiosk til we got to the Nascht Markt, where we were finally able to get rid of them.
While Adam, Emily, and Kasey dropped off the bikes, David and I got a head start on the market. Let me tell you: what a disappointment! We still can't figure out why this market got such great reviews. Or maybe we just chose a bad day to go.
The first portion of the market was all food (which is great for locals, but doesn't make much sense for tourists): produce, cheese, etc. Then we finally got to the "antique" part. It was essentially a parking lot filled with junk. Most of the vendors didn't even have tables, so the junk was just in heaps in the ground: dirty baby dolls without eyes, cell phones from 1992, computer chair wheels (yes, just the wheels), portraits of people no one knows, used DVDs, blank CDs without cases, etc. One woman tried to sell me a camera for 70 euros. I might have paid 5.
I felt pretty bad for selling everyone on the market, only to discover that's what it was. Especially because it was already around 5pm at this point, and we'd done practically nothing with the day.
But all was not lost! Kasey had a contact in Vienna, whom we met up with after the market. His name is Harvey, and he was so kind as to give us a little walking tour of Vienna.
He also took us to [in his opinion] the best gelato shop in town (which, I have to admit, I gobbled up in under 5 minutes), then recommended us a couple other nice places to go, one of which was a delicious Vietnamese restaurant we went to that night.
For our stay in Vienna, I contacted a girl on Couch Surfing who was able to host 3 of us. Unfortunately because I couldn't find another couch available for the weekend, we booked a hostel for the two others.
After dinner, we all went to meet our hostess, Tea. She met us near her flat, and took us back, where we all chatted and enjoyed some wine. We all loved her right away. She was so nice and welcoming and hospitable, sharing her own wine, and making us feel right at home in her cute little flat. Unfortunately we were all really wiped from the past couple days, so we went to bed pretty early.
The next day I made a solo venture to Bratislava, Slovakia while the others explored Vienna some more. Bratislava is only about an hour train ride from Vienna, and I knew I probably wouldn't be back in that area before going back to Canada, so I scooped up the opportunity. My first taste of Eastern Europe!
I basically went to Bratislava solely with the intentions of walking around, trying the food, and listening to the language (another of my favorite things to do). The extent of the research I did on Bratislava before I left was looking up the address of the tourist office, and looking into some guided tours.
Once in Bratislava, I made my way to the old town, which is what I was mostly interested in seeing. I lucked out in finding out that there was a deal on this Bratislava City Card, which gave you discounts at several places throughout the city, but also included a guided tour: all for 6 euros! In the end, I totally forgot to use the card for the discounts, but it still beat paying 30 euros for another tour.
Our tour guide was this funny Slovakian girl, who must have memorized the tour word for word because it really sounded recited, taking many pauses to catch her breath. I think I was a little distracted by her awkwardness and accent, but in my opinion, these were the most interesting parts of the tour (mainly because of the story behind them):
For our stay in Vienna, I contacted a girl on Couch Surfing who was able to host 3 of us. Unfortunately because I couldn't find another couch available for the weekend, we booked a hostel for the two others.
After dinner, we all went to meet our hostess, Tea. She met us near her flat, and took us back, where we all chatted and enjoyed some wine. We all loved her right away. She was so nice and welcoming and hospitable, sharing her own wine, and making us feel right at home in her cute little flat. Unfortunately we were all really wiped from the past couple days, so we went to bed pretty early.
The next day I made a solo venture to Bratislava, Slovakia while the others explored Vienna some more. Bratislava is only about an hour train ride from Vienna, and I knew I probably wouldn't be back in that area before going back to Canada, so I scooped up the opportunity. My first taste of Eastern Europe!
It's really amazing how different two countries can be even when they're right next to each other. Especially the difference between an Eastern European country bordering a Western European country. As soon as I entered the country, I knew it was Slovakia, without even checking my phone. Mainly because of the amount of garbage littered everywhere, and the run down houses along the tracks.
I basically went to Bratislava solely with the intentions of walking around, trying the food, and listening to the language (another of my favorite things to do). The extent of the research I did on Bratislava before I left was looking up the address of the tourist office, and looking into some guided tours.
Once in Bratislava, I made my way to the old town, which is what I was mostly interested in seeing. I lucked out in finding out that there was a deal on this Bratislava City Card, which gave you discounts at several places throughout the city, but also included a guided tour: all for 6 euros! In the end, I totally forgot to use the card for the discounts, but it still beat paying 30 euros for another tour.
Our tour guide was this funny Slovakian girl, who must have memorized the tour word for word because it really sounded recited, taking many pauses to catch her breath. I think I was a little distracted by her awkwardness and accent, but in my opinion, these were the most interesting parts of the tour (mainly because of the story behind them):
That is a normal drinking water fountain, but she explained that every year on Coronation Day (in September, to commemorate the coronation of the kings and queens of former Austro-Hungary), the fountain dispenses wine!
That is Bratislava's most famous statue. Apparently the statue has many different interpretations, but I liked hers the best. She said it depicts a typical Slovakian man: sitting around all day, peering up women's skirts.
Some more of Bratislava:
One of the biggest things I've been wanting to see while in Europe is a concentration camp. I never even knew this one existed until David pointed it out in his travel guide, and it happened to be right on the way home.
The camp is up on a hill, with a gorgeous view of Austria. And with the weather still gorgeous, it was really bizarre to think that something so horrible happened in such a beautiful place.
We spent a couple hours there, listening to the audio guide, reflecting, and remembering.
After the tour, I asked her where to go for the most typical and traditional Slovakian food. She directed me to a place called 1. Slovak Pub, which ended up being a bit of a walk to a not so nice looking part of town (and since it was Easter Sunday, a pretty dead part of town). But according to the website, it's probably the only pub in the world where you get a free bowl of soup for getting an A on an exam!
After deliberating over an almost entirely meat based menu, I finally decided to get bryndzové halušky, which is one of Slovakia's national meals. It's basically potato dumplings that look kind of like gnocchi, with melted bryndza, which is a traditional Slovakian sheep cheese. I gotta say, it was quite good! Really, really filling, though. I couldn't even finish the plate. Oh, and of course I had to try the beer, Zlatý Bažant.
Then it was time to head back to Vienna to meet up with the rest of the group.
The sun was starting to set by the time I got back, so we took advantage of the rest of the daylight by walking around the center, looking at the art and street performances, and browsing the souvenir shops.
Then, at another suggestion by Harvey, we went to this really chic cocktail lounge called Du&Co. It was situated several stories above the ground with panoramic windows, so we had a great aerial view of Stephansplatz (a main square in Vienna), and a gorgeous view of St. Stephan's cathedral right across the way, it's spires all lit up.
After our fancy cocktails, we started to make our way back to Tea's flat, then decided to stop at a small pub we found on a quiet side street. We grabbed a table in a very back corner of the candle lit bar, and drank wine while playing "never have I ever."
After a couple rounds, we finally met up with Tea and her friends, and they took us to an Irish pub. It was this sort of hole in the wall, underground pub. It seemed really dead from the outside, but once down in the basement, there were actually quite a lot of people. I like that no matter what city I go to, you can always count on having an Irish pub to go to.
By this point, it was getting quite late, and we had to be up early the next day to make our way back to the Netherlands, so we only stayed for a couple hours. We all said our goodbyes, as we knew we wouldn't see Tea again before leaving the next morning.
On our last day, we had one last stop to make before home: Mauthausen concentration camp.
After deliberating over an almost entirely meat based menu, I finally decided to get bryndzové halušky, which is one of Slovakia's national meals. It's basically potato dumplings that look kind of like gnocchi, with melted bryndza, which is a traditional Slovakian sheep cheese. I gotta say, it was quite good! Really, really filling, though. I couldn't even finish the plate. Oh, and of course I had to try the beer, Zlatý Bažant.
Then it was time to head back to Vienna to meet up with the rest of the group.
The sun was starting to set by the time I got back, so we took advantage of the rest of the daylight by walking around the center, looking at the art and street performances, and browsing the souvenir shops.
Then, at another suggestion by Harvey, we went to this really chic cocktail lounge called Du&Co. It was situated several stories above the ground with panoramic windows, so we had a great aerial view of Stephansplatz (a main square in Vienna), and a gorgeous view of St. Stephan's cathedral right across the way, it's spires all lit up.
After our fancy cocktails, we started to make our way back to Tea's flat, then decided to stop at a small pub we found on a quiet side street. We grabbed a table in a very back corner of the candle lit bar, and drank wine while playing "never have I ever."
After a couple rounds, we finally met up with Tea and her friends, and they took us to an Irish pub. It was this sort of hole in the wall, underground pub. It seemed really dead from the outside, but once down in the basement, there were actually quite a lot of people. I like that no matter what city I go to, you can always count on having an Irish pub to go to.
By this point, it was getting quite late, and we had to be up early the next day to make our way back to the Netherlands, so we only stayed for a couple hours. We all said our goodbyes, as we knew we wouldn't see Tea again before leaving the next morning.
On our last day, we had one last stop to make before home: Mauthausen concentration camp.
One of the biggest things I've been wanting to see while in Europe is a concentration camp. I never even knew this one existed until David pointed it out in his travel guide, and it happened to be right on the way home.
The camp is up on a hill, with a gorgeous view of Austria. And with the weather still gorgeous, it was really bizarre to think that something so horrible happened in such a beautiful place.
We spent a couple hours there, listening to the audio guide, reflecting, and remembering.
Then it was finally time to head "home." Several, several hours later (with many stops, some games, and sing alongs), we were finally back in the Netherlands. It was really hard to believe that our trip was only 4 days, because we crammed so much into those days. We definitely didn't waste a single minute!
Well, it looks like I've already written a novel, and I still have quite a bit more to update you all on. So, for now, I'll leave the rest to another entry, and let you sit on this until then.
Well, it looks like I've already written a novel, and I still have quite a bit more to update you all on. So, for now, I'll leave the rest to another entry, and let you sit on this until then.
1 comment:
sounds like you have made the best use of your time! I have only been to vienna once (last summer) but i like it a lot. Bratislava sounds great too. No problems at customs, going from schengen to non schengen?
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