Day 77 Very Quick Vienna and Breezing Through Bratislava

Hey again, I'm using the wifi on the bus!

Making horsie friends!

We woke up pretty early in order to get to Vienna and see everything. It’s a big city and full of so much history, so we needed as much time as possible. The bus station turned out to be within walking distance,which we discovered in the light of day, and a return ticket (with my under 26 discount) was only $16, so getting to Austria was pretty cheap! I had downloaded at self-walking tour, and was prepared to be the best guide ever. We took the metro right out of the bus and ended up at stop 1, the Vienna Opera House, which is a massive building known for hosting famous works by Mozart and many other musical geniuses. We wound our way around the old centre, seeing the Albertina Museum and the WWII memorial, which stands on the place where hundreds were buried alive by a barrage during the war. There are some beautiful streets in the area, and due to the high volume of trade, the buildings betray the wealth of the area. The monument to the Plague is covered by a see-through net to prevent pigeons from landing or um, voiding, on the statue. It’s a huge marble and gold column commemorating the 1/3 of the Viennese population that was decimated by the disease, and s symbol of thanks from the remaining 2/3 for being spared. We had a Starbucks right nearby, and it was my first since Madrid, so I cheated and had a pumpkin spice latte… mmmm!

The Plague Monument in behind me!

Sphinx outside Schonnbrun Palace.

The St. Stephen’s church in Vienna is HUGE! It’s gorgeous as well, all gothic architecture and crazy statues, and the interior is very decorated. The roof, having been destroyed in the war, is now covered in tiles that form a colourful pattern, as residents donated their spares to refurbish the church. Another gorgeous church is St. Peter’s, which is built in a tiny space, but seems huge when you enter, due to it’s high ceilings and oval shape.The mural on the ceiling is incredible as well, and the opulence is evident. We saw the museum district, and walked around near the stables housing the famous Lipizzaner Stallions. I made some friends of my own among the horse population of the city, and the hard working carriage horses that are so ubiquitous in the area I’m sure appreciated my apple offerings.

Hercules' junk is preeeeetty
close to that dragon... and those boys are NAKED!

We decided in the interest of fitness to walk to Schonnbrun Palace, the place where Marie Antoinette grew up,and where her mother Maria Theresa Augusta ruled Austria with an iron fist, and many many marriage alliances. It turned out to be 7 kilometers away, and we were hurtin’ by the time we arrived. After a break, taking it all in, we decided to hoof it to the bus station, another 5 kilometers. OUCH! My feet, in socks and flats, were not happy campers! We spent very little money in Vienna,getting our food namely from grocery stores, and only buying badges for our bags. I got mine at a discount because they were out, and I had to take the dirty display one which was left over. All in all, Vienna was pretty cool, but I was satisfied with one day. However, If you were more interested in the museums, and actually visiting the palaces (which I hear is great), then it would most certainly take you awhile longer!

Eating a Eurodog.

WWII Memorial in Vienna.

The tiled roof at St. Stephens, Vienna.

We caught the bus back to Bratislava, which of course didn’t run on schedule, and were so wiped from the 20 odd kilometers of walking (or whatever that is in miles… it is HARD travelling with someone whose units of measurement differ from your own! That’s why Canadians and Aussies are a good match!).  I called it a night, and forewent going out at all in Bratislava. WHO AM I? I did have a great sleep though! The place we stayed, Patio Hostel, is not as nice as others I’ve been in, and the mattresses are generally just foam pads, but a bed is a bed, and I was feeling pretty well rested in the morning. The walking tour wasn’t until 2,so we grabbed lunch at a local spot that charged only 4 Euro for a plate of pork and rice. I ate around the starch, as I’m still trying to stay Paleo, and opted for an orange as dessert.

Posing with lions in front of the Palace in Vienna...
turns out its a common theme for me!

The walking tour was pretty good, and I got lots more information on Slovakian history and the former Czechoslovakian state than I had before. It raised a lot of questions on the Austro-Hungarian empire as well, which I’m hoping the walking tours in Budapest will be able to answer. If not, there’s always wikipedia! We kept seeing the same group of Hare Krishna followers with their drums and cymbals walking around chanting, so that was a point of interest! The movement is most certainly global! I noticed quite a few “hippie”tones actually throughout the city, just with little shops selling harem pants,wooden jewelry and aromatherapy.

We had actually arrived late to the tour, as I didn’t know where it was and David pretty much relies on me for any and all direction. He is a much better judge of where to go when we are lost, becauseas my sister can vouch for, I have the world’s worst sense of direction! A half hour after the tour supposedly starts, the group was only just moving on, so we managed to tag along anyways! The guide was born and bred Slovakian, so she kind of had a bit of bias on certain issues, such as Slovakia’s part in the war, and it’s alliance with Nazi Germany. I’m sure that most of it was true even,  but it was pretty apparent. She told us a tale about a Countess who used to bathe in the blood of virgins to prevent losing her beauty, which apparently partially inspired the Count Dracula story! She was however imprisoned for her crimes and died, providing a great moral to the story: don’t get caught!

Commemorating the first witch burned in Bratislava

We passed a few monuments, namely to Slovakian uprisings and protests, which generally didn’t go very well. The coolest spot we passed was just outside the Komenskeho university, where one of the most famous pictures of the 20^th century was taken, of a man yelling at a Soviet tank after they occupied Czechoslovakia due to waning support for communism. Communism is one of the reasons the Slovakian economy is not as strong as other parts of Europe, though it is growing steadily. Minimum wage is only €2.50 still, and some are forced to subsist on less than €300 per month. Another side-effect of the communist state was a lack of foreign foods, leading crowds to wait days inline sometimes for things like bananas or oranges. In fact, mandarins could only be gotten at Christmas, which makes me wonder if maybe their abundance in that season in Canada is related! I know when we were younger we always heard that our parents would receive an orange as a gift.. which we thought was pretty crummy at the time!

St. Elizabeth's, or the Blue Church.

outside the Blue Church.

outside the Canadian Embassy in Bratislava!

cool statue in Bratislava.

The Soviets essentially took full control of the state up until 1989 when the Berlin wall fell and communism, Stalinism and the socialist state were abolished. To celebrate, people in Bratislava and Prague gathered en masse and jangled their keys, signifying the door of democracy being open. This was a result partially of the Velvet Revolution, which I learned about during the Prague walking tour, and one of the resulting leaders of the Czechoslovakian state was actually ethnically Slovak, a fact which they are proud of. Three years later the Velvet Divorce took place, and our guide told us that the Slovaks actually kind of wish they were still part of the Czechoslovakian state, a sentiment which she insists is held on both sides.Kaja however, would not agree. She was quick to tell us earlier in the week that the Czechs essentially financially carried the Slovaks, until an easy and amicable opportunity to split presented itself. Who knows the truth though, and for now, being an independent member of many international agreements, the two cannot regroup.

We stopped on our way back to the hostel at a McDonalds (my second corporate experience in as many days) and used the wifi while I sipped on a good ol’ Americano. Ronald McDonald was actually there, and as terrifying as he is, the kids seemed to love it. Clowns were never my thing, but it was kind of homey to see the familiar character here in Eastern Europe! David keeps saying that the cities we pass through remind him of San Francisco. If this is true, I gotta get myself down there for a visit, because I still think it’s pretty different from Canada, even Montreal which has a definite European vibe.Maybe it’s the homesickness setting in, but there really is no place like the land of the beavers.

amazing statue in front of the Viennese Senate House.

Love you all, I’m headed to Budapest on the bus, and David and I brought whiskey along as a stowaway… true Montreal style!