This is part of a series called Pan European Sojourn 2023
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- The start of our Pan European Sojourn
- And we’re off — first stop Palma de Mallorca!
- Alicante, Spain
- Sète and Aigues Mortes, France
- St. Tropez and Gassin, France
- Portofino and Camogli, Italy
- Paris and Angers, France
- Bucharest, Romania
- Into the Carpathian Mountains — Peles Castle
- Brasov and Sighisoara, Romania
- Bran Castle and the legend of Dracula!
- Vidin, Bulgaria
- Valiko Tarnavo and Arbanasi, Bulgaria
- Rolling down the (Danube) river and Golubac Fortress, Serbia
- Belgrade, Serbia
- Novi Sad, Serbia and Vukovar, Croatia
- Pécs, Hungary
- Budapest, Vienna, and end of trip
At the conclusion of the cruise, we extended for 1.5 days in Vienna. Since we disembarked the ship in Budapest, we spent about 3 hours zooming around in both the Buda and Pest sides of the Danube. We had been to both Budapest and Vienna before, so we focused on “what’s new” or interesting that we hadn’t done on previous trips. In Budapest, the big news was all the construction that is going on on the Buda side. Apparently, they are building a big new government complex that doesn’t blend in with the historical structures in the area and the locals are not happy about it. On the Pest side, we went back to the Great Market Hall. Sadly, a number of market stalls are closed due to high prices and lack of availability of product. The good news is they still have caviar and foie gras, but at higher prices than the last time we were there.
The Buda-side of Budapest was engulfed in construction. Sadly, much of the construction is for more government buildings that threaten to spoil the view within the fortress area.
As a consequence, we went off the beaten path and took a lovely walk overlooking the Buda neighborhood below…
… as well as the backstreets and alleyways that were more peaceful and quiet.
On the Pest-side, we returned to the Central Market, one of our favorite places.
We were looking for caviar and foie gras, but the prices weren’t nearly as good as the last time we were there.
While we did a walking tour through the historic district of Vienna, we were really focused on other things — not the least of which was food, whether eating pork schnitzel (huge!) at Figlmuller’s and Wurst at Bitzinger Wurstelstand by the Albertina Museum. And, speaking of museums, we visited the Belvedere Palace Museum (itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site) to see their extensive Gustav Klimt collection. That evening, we went to the Auersperg Palace to attend a concert of Mozart and Strauss by the Vienna Residence Orchestra. The concert was wonderful, but wearing a sport jacket in a tight space with no air conditioning made for some discomfort. We got back to the hotel about 11:00 pm and left again at 3:30 am to catch our flight back home. Now it’s just getting back into the time zone. While I didn’t have any real expectations about this nearly monthlong trip, it really turned out great — lots of fun, learning, and friends! I have to say, though, that it was shocking to travel to some of the more well known tourist destinations of Western Europe with their opulence and contrast it to Eastern Europe with many countries just recently emerging from Communism and/or rebuilding after war. That’s a lot diversity in such a small geographic region!
We arrived in Vienna in time for dinner. We had to make a stop at Figlmuller’s for schnitzel. We almost ordered one per person; luckily the waiter explained things. That is one big schnitzel!
Then we had time to walk around the neighborhood to do a little window shopping…
… and look what we found! While only medical marijuana is technically legal in Austria, enforcement is lax. I wonder if Escobar is getting royalties for this.
Visiting Empress Sisi in her garden.
This is the first time that I learned that the Romans used brick in construction. I had no idea!
Stopping for lunch at the Bitzinger Würstelstand Albertina, one of the iconic wurst houses in Vienna. Satisfied customers!
Strolling through the historic center, admiring the statuary, …
… the upscale stores, …
…. and, of course, St. Stephen’s Cathedral…
… with its gorgeous Romanesque and Gothic features
Later in the day we visited Belvedere Palace.
They had a temporary exhibit of 50 great works of art by Grand Masters. This is “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt. There were lots of other masters there as well.
Getting ready for the concert. In addition to the orchestral music, there was opera and ballet.
We started with our jackets on; after intermission they came off! It was so hot!
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
