July 1 – Do I Dare Say, “Not Impressed” but Still Thankful to Travel

lunch at new york cafeWe went sightseeing on uncovered bus today. We are going to get suntans because it is a real scorcher outside.
There are some beautiful buildings of old and new, sculptures, art work and an excellent selection of humans to watch.
The tour bus guide and driver were not particularly friendly, but we hear it’s because people are cranky due to the hotter than normal weather.

Honestly, this may be one of the least friendly cities I have ever visited. Smiles are in short demand and people in general have a down trodden attitude.
In looking around, I could not help but notice there was were many mentally and physically challenged individuals, homelessness is everywhere, mattresses lay on the open sidewalks, guards stand at doors to keep loiters out, we saw one person laid flat out on the sidewalk sound asleep during the day, vagrants are hanging around restaurant tables hoping to find some food left for them to grab, the smell of pee is worse than San Francisco and trash is thrown down everywhere. No one cares. They just throw it down and walk on.
Some of the amazing buildings are in desperate need of renovation before they crumble to the ground. It is surely disheartening to see.
We did see a few buildings that were getting a facelift, but way too many more that need it. Han said they are not getting enough support from the EU. It definitely does not go unnoticed.

We had a somewhat expensive late lunch at the “New York Cafe” and is said to be the most beautiful cafe in the world, in which I would have to agree. Lunch was lovely, however a but overpriced for what you are served, so you are definitely paying for the atmosphere and privilege of eating there. Taking photos of such elegant, a bit over the top restaurant was fun. We were running (not really running) all over after our lunch snapping great pics.
http://www.newyorkcafe.hu/main-page.html?lang=en

We had a leisurely walk back to the hotel, jumped into a cold shower and relaxed for the evening to ready ourselves for another day in the sun.

June 30, 2016 – Once Mysterious Budapest

100_3003June 30 – Arrive in Budapest Hungary, once a city of power during the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
Train trip was fine, had a table we could use and get some work done.
Arrived right on time, the train station was within walking distance to the hotel Hungaria and we were able to check in immediately.

My first initial impression was why were there McD’s, Burger King and KFC the first things we see when getting off the train and in some of the most beautiful buildings. Just did not seem to make any sense.

We explored only for a short period on arrival. Went to the grocery store and on the way back I ventured into a second hand store called “Cream Outlet.” It was fabulous. I bought five different, very cool skirts (one very hippy style) for Euro 2.00 each. I think the clothes are leftovers from actual stores, they buy them in bulk and resale them.
http://www.creamhasznaltruha.hu

We ate dinner in the hotel, surrounded by large groups of elderly German women, the standard issue Asian groups and families and the music of a greying Jantschi Bahtschi gypsy violonist, who knew his way quite well through a repertoire of pleasing oldies. He played Somewhere over the Rainbow for me and Tulips from Amsterdam  for Han, which earned him a tip. We discussed our plans for tomorrow over dessert and settled on a Hop On – Hop Off kind of a day.
Hotel: http://www.danubiushotels.com/our-hotels-budapest/hotel-hungaria-city-center

June 29 – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Some “Not Worth Repeating”

TJ in Vienna

Today Niki took off from work so we could all go back into Vienna to spend time together.

We were supposed to stop (I thought) before reaching Vienna for some breakfast. I have an issue with low blood sugar, so by the time it hit 11:00am, we were pulling into the parking garage in Vienna and still had not stopped for food.
I was getting dizzy with a headache, so in general feeling icky and cranky.
This was after sitting in the backseat, feeling like I am on a roller coaster ride because Niki who drives a race car for one of his hobbies also treats public driving the same way.
The fast stopping/starting, flying around corners and aggressive driving with the almost constant yelling at other drivers had me on the verge of wanting to get out and catch the public transport. I asked him nicely to please calm down some but…. so I sat back and fiddled with my iPad and hoped not to get even more motion sickness.
There was much back and forth about where to eat, that I thought my head would explode, so I just walked towards McDonalds because I knew it would be fast. I was over “talking” about food, as I NEEDED food. I guess it is difficult for others to understand, if they don’t have the same problem.

While in McD’s a table full of punk ass teen-age girls were being so loud, obnoxious, walking on the seats, and any one of them could have easily starred in the “Mean Girls” movie. They were louder than all other teens in the place.
I already had a small headache, there was no where else to sit, as it was very crowded and I just wanted to eat my damn lunch, when a small moth flew by them, which incited them to scream, jump all over the place and acted like a damn snake was attacking them. At this point I had reached the end of my patience and I said, “it’s just a moth, geez.” They did not know exactly what I said but they could hear the displeasure in my voice, so they started calling us “tourist” and speaking Austrian, thinking we would not understand.
Well then Han and Niki began sternly speaking to them, with Niki being the most vocal since he speaks the best Austrian.
They then began calling us idiots in English quite a few times. I guess it was the only rude word in English that they knew how to say.
Niki was trying to explain to them and ask the to settle down but they were not having it. After calling us an idiot for about the 4th time, I freaking lost it.
I looked at her and said, “call me an idiot one more time and I am going to slap you, just do it.” Yeah, I really did and Niki told them what I said. I was so pissed and my face was beet red by that time.
Honestly had there been no witnesses, I would have slapped the words right out of her smart ass mouth.
They calmed down somewhat and shortly left after that.

Then another set of four girls, actually young ladies, sat down and you could instantly tell the difference in their upbringing. We complimented them on their manners. So that restored a smidgen of faith in todays teenagers.
I have learned that teen-agers are the same worldwide and for the most part, it is a sad situation that we have to hand over the world to such a bunch of self-entitled little know-it-alls. Obviously not all teens, but vastly too many and it sure worries me.

After eating, we began a fervent speed walk towards our next destination: Hofburg Luckily we saw a cute cafe and decided to have some coffee. Han accidentally spilled my water all over me, I yelped out of surprise and was then compared to the teenagers in McD’s restaurant by Niki. Thanks for that. Maybe tease the person who spilled the water instead?

We reached Hofburg Palace and it is huge, majestic and a tad overwhelming due to the size. We did not tour the palace due to short time schedule to get rental car back on time, but we did have fun seeing all the intricate clothing, treasures, jewels, some furnishings and religious articles at the Kaiserliche Schatzkammer Wien aka “Imperial Treasury Chamber Vienna.”
They have some truly stunning treasures and it is almost unbelievable that they could create such beauty with limited tools. The hand-sewn tapestry robes were nothing like I have ever seen before.
Flash photography is not allowed and if by mistake the camera does not listen to your command and it flashes anyway, you will be reprimanded over the intercom for all to hear. >insert embarrassed TJ face here<
http://www.kaiserliche-schatzkammer.at

We began our way back to the car, taking photos as we went.  I wanted to go down this one little alley that looked cute, but I went off the “schedule” and got the look.

We got back in the roller coaster to do some fly by of sites, take some photos and keep going.
We arrived at my favorite place of the day on the Danube River. The Donau Insel is a park area with restaurants, bars, beach area, swimming, beautiful swans, activities for families and such a relaxing easy feel to it.
Loved the soft breeze as we sat along the river front in an open air Greek Restaurant. The food was very tasty and the atmosphere was simply perfect.

We finally had to head home, and by accident we drove by a architectural gem Han had wanted to see: “The Hundertwasser Haus”, a gem of innercity architecture. After that Niki dropped us off at the house, before dropping the rental car off, grabbed one of the funniest movies around on the way back home “Deadpool” and that is how we ended the night.

Footnote: I reread this and realized that not every day is meant to be seen through rose-colored glasses.
Even on the off days we learn something about ourselves and others.
These stories are from my point of view. Niki and I discussed this and all is fine.
One wacky day is not going to damage our long standing bond we have for each other.

 

Tiergarten Schonbrunn is the oldest Zoo in the World

hippo

Our taxi driver picked us up and I immediately complimented his driving skills and he told us he had only been driving for four days. He was educated at university and had just found a part-time job in his field, but he said he did not like staying home to be lazy, so he began a part-time with the cab company too.
He was so enjoyable to talk with (perfect English) and his driving did not make me nervous or sick in the least. That made me super happy to start the day. Thank you Michael, if you are reading this, I certainly appreciate the care you put into the comfort of your customers.
Today was one heck of a gorgeous fun-filled day of laughter and excitement.
Went to the zoo, which is the oldest in the world. Just that alone was a reason to visit, but when I found out they had Panda Bears, I was hung-ho to see them. I have never seen any before but have always thought them so cute. Who does not think a Panda Bear is cute?
We were dropped off at the Tirolergarten entrance. It is a fairly long, shady path to the ticket window.
Walking on the suspended bridges, high among the trees was quite enjoyable and also great opportunity for panoramic views of zoo and surrounding area.
Our first stop, that ended up actually being our favorite for the day, was the Polar Bear. He was just so darn happy, almost childlike in his antics even, playing with his ball, jumping, diving, plopping backwards with great splashes, showing off and more. I could not help but clap and laugh out loud. Here is this massive beast, who would not think twice about eating you alive, behaving like a cute five year old child; it just did not seem to match. He looked like the gentlest sweetest bear ever, but I knew better than to attempt his friendship. LOL
My next favorite animal, which I have never seen before, were the Tamarin monkeys. Oh please, can I have one? Their little precious faces will make your heart melt. I know wild animal, but a girl can dream.
They are silly little scamps and race to and fro.
Of course enjoyed the Panda bears but they kept their backs to us most of the time, so was difficult to fully appreciate their cuteness. It was also feeding time and they were tearing through the bamboo limbs like they were shredding paper.
The Koala bears house had “quiet please” signs all through it. I did not know this before, but Koala bears sleep like all day long and need quiet or it disturbs their delicate systems. One kindly woke up for approximately one minute and we were luckily inside at this time for some pictures.
The many great photos here will outline the rest of our time at the zoo. I am not normally a zoo person, due to it makes me somewhat sad to see animals enclosed, but the enclosures were so large and nice, that it made me feel a bit better.
Many of the animals you will see are laying around, but I can attest to the fact that was due to it being very hot outside.
I myself, felt like finding a shady spot and taking a siesta.
After leaving the zoo, we walked around the area a bit before catching a taxi back to the house. Again we enjoyed a most relaxing ride with a lovely man originally from Poland. Han and he had quite the interesting chat and was such a nice man.

The Vienna Zoo is the oldest in the world, which may not sound like a recommendation, but IT IS.

June 26 – This Peter Pan Found Never, Never Land, Down Under

The Salzburg CastleHan and I had the greatest night’s sleep. We blasted the airco and snuggled down under the blanket.
We had some coffee, packed up, met up with Niki and Mia and got on our way.
We decided to be simple and cheap today, which led us to McDonalds for breakfast. Now if anyone knows Han, they know he abhors fast food but besides the prices and name, the EU and American fast food places have NOTHING in common. The food taste so much better here and I can only figure it is better quality, it does not make my stomach queasy either. The interior is ultra fancy compared to state side joints.
After breakfast we began our short trip to the Salt Mines. I had no idea what to expect but surely could have never imagined what was to come.
Today was a little cooler and drizzly. Great day for an indoor activity.
When you arrive the first thing you get a set of warmer clothes, with a padded type material on the butt and legs area, and you put these on over your clothes. I was wearing a skirt, so was a little awkward. Brown pants, white jacket, ready to cook up a meal in the kitchen.  Looked like chef’s clothing.
We walked out onto a deck, went down two flights of stairs and then were instructed to straddle long metal planks to sit on while the train engine takes you into the salt mine. Everyone gets cozy real quick on this 5 minute trip through darkness.
You do not want to reach out or lean over because you might lose a body part on the side of the tunnel. Once the train stops, you step off and begin walking even further into the mine. By that time, I was becoming slightly claustrophobic but shook it off fairly well. We watched a film that was informative and also humorous.
As you proceed through the tunnels, you gain more knowledge via the short movies and tour guide, and it kept young and old very entertained. We actually passed the border with Germany twice in those tunnels.
saltmine slideWe came upon a wood slide, but not like any slide you have ever seen or would imagine. I was very unsure of it because I thought I might tumble to the side, but it works perfectly and safely. It was quite exciting and funny. The picture they took of me at the very beginning, I looked terrified, and I probably was, but by the time I got to the bottom I was laughing to tears and wanted to go again. The pants they gave us to wear has extra fabric on the back to make you slide easier and reduce the heat friction.And then of course Han’s weight gave us the extra push.
It’s shaped kinda like a bowling ball return. You lean slightly back and zip on down.
Then we stepped onto a boat in a huge cave that would take us across one of the natural salt ponds inside the cave, but also had soft music and lights, which added nice atmosphere.
We luckily were able to slide down once again and this time it was even longer and more exhilarating. I think some of the other guest thought I might be a loon. Hey, I am Peter Pan at heart.
The end of our tour came too quickly. We climbed back on the train to make our trip back to the surface.
We also received a teeny tiny container of salt. I love miniature items.
Thanked the guide, took off our unusual outfit and headed to the gift shop.
I have always wanted a salt lamp since seeing them at the Ritz Carlton Spa on Amelia Island, but the price was too psychologically burdensome. I purchased one here in the exact same size for just Euro 15.00. Now to get it home safely will be the next task.
I know our group ranged from five to at least 79 (a nice French couple Han was talking to) and everyone was able to participate, so it makes an outstanding activity for the entire family. And very informative of the importance of salt for the wealth that the city of Salzburg portrays.
and
Back on the highway we had a late lunch and crazy enough, we just decided, partly because of Mia’s desire, McDonalds would do fine again. Weird for us but it was good.
The car ride home seemed a little longer because we were all tired. Niki dropped us off at the house, Mia went back to her mommy, car got returned and we ended up in the downstairs home theater watching “The Martian”.
I thought it was pretty darn good, check it out some time.

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