Summer Holiday, Part V: Austria

The final leg of our holiday took us to Austria. A small mountainous country located in central Europe, it is a strikingly beautiful area, made famous by Julie Andrews running through the Alpine meadow in "The Sound of Music".

Our first destination in Austria is Salzburg, located on the Austrian/German border in the Northern Alps. Jo Ann had previously visited Salzburg before we were married, and has told me countless times how beautiful it was there. She used to always tell me how much she enjoyed taking "The Sound of Music" tour, where you visited all of the famous landmarks seen in the film.

So, as we arrive into town, I silently wait for her to suggest we take the "Sound of Music" tour while we are here. But, thankfully, Jo Ann knows me well enough to know that a tour like that would be"cruel and unusual punishment" for me. She knows I can't even sit and watch the movie, much less, go on a tour of the film's shooting locations...

First we stopped at our hotel, The Renaissance Salzburg. After unloading the bags and finding no Executive Lounge at this hotel (horrors!), we freshened up and headed out towards the old town Salzburg. Almost all of the tour books that we have read say to leave your car and take public transportation, because the parking is terrible. And, they are RIGHT!!! We know, because we drove in...

However, we were lucky to find a parking spot right near the river walk. We stopped for a snack at a small cafe overlooking the Salzack river. If you are looking for some breathtaking scenery, Salzburg will not disappoint you.



We strolled through the town centre and shopped along the Getreidegasse, an area dotted with plenty of places to spend money.

It started to get late, so we decided to call it a night and return to the hotel. Because we have been keeping the girls so busy during this vacation, they usually have no problems getting right to sleep. But, it seems that no matter what time they go to bed, they are up early the next morning and anxious to wake up mommy and daddy to see what's on the new day's agenda.

On the following day, we took a drive to nearby Berchtesgaden, which is just over the border in Germany. Kehlsteinhaus, or "Eagles' Nest" as it is known, is located on a high mountain pass, with spectacular views of the Alps. This retreat was Adolph Hitler's 50th birthday present, however he very rarely went to visit it. Unfortunately, the winding road up to Eagle's Nest must have put PS to sleep (just as we were arriving) and we knew better than to wake her up before she got her full nap in. So, we decided to move on to the next item on our agenda and return to Kehlsteinhaus at a later time (which, unfortunately, we never did...)

As PS slept, we drove out to Lake Konigssee, also in Berchtesgaden. This alpine lake, formed by glaciers during the ice age, is also Germany's deepest lake. Germany has never allowed anything other than electrically driven boats, row boats or pedal boats, so it is probably Europe's cleanest lake as well.





After lunch at the lakeside village, we took an hour-long boat cruise to the opposite side of the lake, getting off at Salet. From there, many tourists make the short hike down the trail to Lake Obersee. However, DS and PS were not in the mood to hike all the way to the lake, so the three of us stopped midway at a snack shop, and had ice cream cones while we waited for mommy to complete the hike, take some pictures and return to meet us.

As usual, she came back with some great pictures. (We are not "true" travelers, she tells us...)





Dinner was in a different restaurant at the lakeside village. We watched all of the tour boats come back to the marina as we had a nice dinner together.



Our final day in Salzburg started with a visit to the "Haus of Nature" museum. It was there that we saw a huge crocodile in the reptile exhibit. He was face to face with PS and DS, with only a 1/2 inch thick glass window separating them. I could see the headlines now: "Crocodile goes rampant in Austrian museum!", so I hurriedly grabbed the girls and moved on to the next exhibit.

After buying a "take away" lunch at the local market, we sat on the wall overlooking the river and had a picnic. Soon, PS started to yawn, so we let her nap in the stroller while DS and I hung out and people watched. Jo decided to go on a walking tour of the city and see some of the sites she remembered from her Sound of Music tour. She walked to St Peter's Cathedral and the adjoining cemetery (the inspiration for the famous cemetery scene in SOM), the Salzburg Festival hall (where the Von Trapp Family sang), Mozart's birthplace (was he in SOM too?) and Salzburg Cathedral, all within a few blocks of each other.



At the crack of dawn the next morning , Jo continued her walking tour while the rest of us slept in. Continuing her quest for more Sound of Music locales, she stopped to see the area where the Von Trapp children sang and danced around the Pegasus fountain. After walking by Mozart's childhood home, she returned to the hotel and found us just as she left us - peacefully sleeping!





After breakfast, we left Salzburg and drove to Reutte, Austria, located about 3 hours to the west. We were rushing to get there in time to ride the luge at Biberwier. This is a concrete bobsled track that weaves from the top of the mountain and down to the base. This particular luge was the longest one in Austria, at 4,250 feet (the real reason that thrill-seeker Jo chose it).

Two exciting runs later, it was time we headed into town to find our hotel, Das Beck. A small and intimate hotel in the middle of town, we found the accommodations to be very nice. The family that runs it recommended a nice restaurant about 20 mins away by foot, so we quickly freshened up and headed out into town.

Dinner at Restaurant Ernberg was a perfect place to have our last dinner of our trip! The food was fantastic, the service was great and it was priced very reasonably (at 43 Euros, or $65 including drinks and tip!) We couldn't have asked for a better place.



After dinner, the walk back to the hotel was a great way to work off the meal. We got in just in time, because a thunderstorm had moved in and provided a spectacular lightning display. We woke DS from her sleep to watch, but PS was out like a light. Nothing was going to wake up that girl...

Unfortunately, the rain didn't let up the next morning. It was unfortunate, because this was the day we had planned to visit Neuschwanstein Castle. Easily the most photographed, the most popular and the most beautiful castle in Europe, it is famous for being the inspiration of Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland.

What we were supposed to see...









What we saw...








Summer crowds at Neuschwanstein castle can be daunting. Tour reservations must be made in advance, which means careful planning is necessary to make sure you get there on time. Let's see, 20 mins to get to the castle parking lot, 20 mins to wait for the bus to get to the top of the mountain, and throw in an extra 20 mins just to be safe. An hour should be plenty, right? Wrong! Because of the rains and the extra large crowds of people taking the bus (people who would normally walk up to the castle entrance in fair weather), we made it to castle tour just a few mins late and had to join it in-progress. (which is a lot better than some of the other people we saw...)

The castle was built by King Ludwig II, who spent the last 17 years of his life building it. Just prior to completion, he was declared insane by the State and arrested at the castle. The interesting part is that he was found shortly after, drowned in a nearby lake, along with the psychiatrist who declared him insane.

The castle attracts over 6,000 visitors daily in the summer months and is one of Germany's top tourist attraction. It is located high on a rugged mountain, and it is not only a beautiful structure, but quite an architectural marvel. Visitors are not allowed to take pictures of the interior of the castle, but the finished rooms are as striking as you would imagine. On a clear day, the views are spectacular, but on the day that we visited, it was foggy, rainy and gray. However, it still did not diminish the beauty of the castle.

With all of our planned excursions completed, we had to make one unplanned stop: back to Nuremberg to pick up the DVD player that we forgot in our hotel room. We drove on through the rest of the day, through Munich, back to Nuremberg, and then homeward bound to Brussels. We stopped at a Subway sandwich shop along the way home, which was interesting. Although we are in the middle of Germany and the metric system, they offer foot long and 6 inch sub sandwiches!

Anyways, we pulled into Brussels just after midnight and put the girls to sleep in their own beds - for the first time in two weeks. We hope that they will remember at least some of this trip as they get older, but realistically, we doubt it. However, we have over 1,500 pictures, hours of video and this blog that we hope will remind them of the great time we had on our first summer holiday in Europe.

Summer Holiday, Part IV: Hungary

The next destination of our journey was Budapest, Hungary. A 5-hour drive from Prague (a little longer after our brief stop in Slovakia), we arrived into Budapest at early evening. After checking into our hotel, we headed over to the executive lounge to have a few drinks and hors d'oeuvres. The lounge offered a stunning view of the River Danube and the Royal Palace, so all of us were quickly rejuvenated after the long drive.

The warm weather was perfect for a night-time stroll along the promenade where we stopped at Restaurant Dubarry for dinner. We were lucky and got the best seat in the house -- an outdoor table right on the promenade overlooking the river and Royal Palace. It was just simply, perfect. Our meals of traditional Hungarian dishes were wonderful, the service was excellent and it was nice not to feel "taken advantage of" after receiving our bill. We were all starting to fall in love with Budapest. After a leisurely (and late) dinner, we enjoyed the short stroll back to our hotel.

The next day we walked and crossed over the Szechenyi Chain Bridge, which was the first permanent link to connect the cities of Buda and Pest. Completed in 1849, this bridge is the oldest, and arguably, the most beautiful and most photographed of Budapests' bridges (especially when floodlit at night). On it, were a variety of vendors selling food, snacks and hand-made crafts. On the Pest side of the bridge, we stopped to try a Hungarian-style chicken kabob (delish!), which was hard to resist from the wonderful smells eminating from its' shack. By the time we reached the Buda side of the bridge, we stopped for a Kurtoskalac. This pastry is baked on a round spike, wrapped around in "rings". Topped off with cocoa, cinnamon, nuts or coconut and sugar, it's similar to the Trdelnik that we tried in Prague, but was bigger, better and a deal at 1,000 Forints, or 4Euros! (I think that Uncle Kor would be proud of all the sugar the girls have been consuming!) We opted for the recommended cinnamon snack which brought smiles to all of our faces.

Next stop was the funicular (siklo) which took us to the top of Castle Hill, a 1-kilometer long limestone plateau towering 170 meters above the Danube. While PS napped in her stroller (and Ray volunteering to stay with her), DS and I went off to explore the area. We saw such sights as the Royal Palace, Mathias Church, and Fisherman's Bastion, which offered spectacular views of the city. Interestingly, Castle Hill sits on a 28-kilometer network of caves, formed by thermal springs and used as air-raid shelters during WWII and as a secret military installation during the Cold War. We then walked back down from the Castle District, via a graded slope through the old castle grounds, which turned out to be quite lovely, as we got to see parts of the original castle and beautiful views of the city.

After a late lunch on the Chain Bridge, we went back to our hotel to rest up for yet another evening in the executive lounge! Before dinner, we took the tram to the Hungarian Parliament Building, which is one of Europe's oldest and most beautiful legislative buildings overlooking the banks of the Danube River. It is also currently the largest building in Hungary, the seat of the National Assembly, and the third largest Parliament building in the world. We finished up the evening with another enjoyable dinner at Restaurant Dubarry (as per DS' request).

The following day, we headed to Szentendre, a small riverside art colony located 19 kilometers north of Budapest, where we took the girls to an open-air ethnographical museum. It was on this day that we found how hospitable and friendly that the people of Hungary can be. After getting a little lost, we stopped at a gas station where I asked a young man to point me in the right direction. Instead, he abruptly ended his conversation with his friend, hopped in his car and had us follow him all the way to the museum! How's that for hospitality?!

The museum (still in the making) introduces traditional Magyar culture by bringing together bits and pieces of villages, farms and towns to one site. Although Ray and I were not too impressed with it, the girls loved it here, which made the visit worthwhile. I much preferred the town of Szentendre itself, which consisted of several blocks of quaint shops, churches, cafes and museums to browse through.

That evening, we headed over to my friend Eva's house for dinner. Eva and her family (originally from Vienna) had just moved to Budapest from Belgium two weeks earlier, so it was nice to hook up with her again. We enjoyed the wonderful company, while the children had fun playing with Eva's children. It's a good thing we had extra clothes with us because both girls fell into the pool *after* pool-time was over.

Before retiring to our hotel, we stopped at Hero's Square, located in the Pest side of the city. The central site of the square is the Millenium Memorial. As well as being one of the most famous landmarks in Budapest, it features statues of leaders from the seven tribes that founded Hungary in the 9th century, as well as other historical figures from Hungarian history. At its center is the Angel Gabriel, who is holding the Hungarian crown and a cross. Seeing this monument at night was truly breathtaking and well worth keeping the girls up for.

Prior to coming to Budapest, we had heard mixed reviews of the city from the many people we talked to. However, we found Budapest to be one of our all-time favorites -- a place we will always remember with fond memories.

Summer Holiday, Part III: The Czech Republic

Prague has always been a mysterious and exotic location to me, even though I was never quite sure where it was (I am terrible at geography). Prague has a certain allure as one of the "must-see" destinations in Europe.

So, it was no surprise that everyone we talked to recommended that we must visit Prague. More than a few people have told us that Prague is THE most beautiful city in Europe. And apparently, alot of people in Europe must agree with this, because of the huge crowds of people we encountered there.

When Czechoslovakia split up after the fall of Communism in the early 1990's, two separate countries emerged: The Czech Republic and Slovakia. Beautifully intact historical sites, an "Iron Curtain" past and the openness of her people all contribute to Prague's becoming one of the most popular tourist cities in all of Europe.

We arrived in Prague during the late afternoon and immediately headed into the city to get our "feet wet". And we soon found out what the big deal about Prague is. It is absolutely a stunning city! Although we are no students of architecture, we do know there is definitely something different and beautiful about the city's appearance that grabs your attention.

First, we stopped by at the crowd waiting to see the changing of the Astronomical Clock. This interesting clock tower houses the oddest clock you will find anywhere. This clock has hands and dials that not only tells the date and time, but also can track the position of the earth, sun, moon, and indicates the current sign of the zodiac. If all this isn't enough, at every hour the "walk of the apostiles" occurs where two sliding doors above the clock opens and the apostiles appear to "walk by" and peer down at the crowd... cool. All this in a clock that dates back to the 1400's!

Later, we walked just a little further out to see the Charles Bridge, which crosses over the Vtalva River and leads up to the Prague Castle (the largest ancient castle, according to Guinness). This bridge is perhaps one of the most popular and photographed site in Prague. Popular, for sure, judging by the huge crowd of people and vendors on this bridge. We crossed the bridge, and walked back again, saving the hike up to the castle for another day.

By this time, it was getting close to dinner time and so we stopped off at the Restaurant Klementinum and had dinner, while watching the endless tourists parade past our outdoor table. The meal was very good, but it was here where we encountered the "not-so-subtle" Czech custom of padding the bill. We found that we were charged extra for the bread basket that we didn't ask for, as well as for the generous tip that we may forget to leave...

Returning to our hotel, we got the girls bathed and changed and put them down for the night. Jo wanted to go out and get some nighttime sightseeing in, so she headed out again. I was just as happy to lay in bed and watch Czech TV... (However, she did return with some spectacular night shots of the city)



The next morning, we headed back out after breakfast and this time, crossed over the Charles Bridge, walked through the city and up the hill to Prague Castle (do all castles HAVE to be on the highest hill overlooking the city???). Prior to our hill climb, we stopped and had a Czech pastry called a Trdelnik. It's a flat, doughy pastry, wrapped around a steel drum and turned over hot coals. Sprinkled with sugar and cinammon, and served hot, it gave us the energy to head up that castle hill!



The view from the summit is what you would expect. Spectacular! And even though I was loaded down with my backpack full of diapers, snacks and water, and pushing our stroller with 1 broken wheel ready to give out any time, it was well worth it!


The rest of the day was spent looking for some gifts and walking around Wenceslas Square. It was here where I had my best meal of the trip. Grilled (and expertly seasoned) chicken breast, wrapped around a warm, lightly-toasted flat pita bread - in essence, a Czech Chicken Burrito. Plus it was only 89 Czech crowns (about $6)...



Below is the Fred and Ginger Building (or the Dancing House)...



The next day, we headed out of the city toward Cesky Krumlov, a small city about 175KM south of Prague. We didn't know what to expect here, but it was recommended as a nice town to visit by a Czech colleague of mine at Toyota. When we arrived, what we found was a quaint town on the Vtalva River, known for its art colony and fine architecture. The Cesky Krumlov Castle is quite large for such a small town and the girls did take a look to see inside.



We had a late lunch in a small outdoor restaurant, overlooking the river, and did some more sightseeing afterwards. Since the weather here was so warm (about 88F), we treated the girls to some ice cream as we walked along through the town.

Our stay in Prague was a wonderful introduction to this beautiful city, but if we were to do it again, we'd probably choose to come during off-season. It's no accident that this is one of the most popular sites in Europe. Just try to visit when everyone else is working...

Summer Holiday, Part II: Germany

First stop on our road trip was Trier, Germany, the oldest city in Germany (dating back to 16 B.C.!!!)

Trier is a 2-hour drive from Brussels and lies near the Luxembourg border. I had never heard of this place and was pleasantly surprised at how many beautiful sights there were within the city. We stopped by to see such sights as the Porta Nigra (Black Gate), the adjoining marketplace and the Trier Dom (Cathedral). One interesting fact about the Dom is that it houses the Holy Tunic, the actual robe that Jesus Christ was wearing when he was crucified. Jo was quite moved to see the beautiful chamber where the robe was protected and stored in. We also walked through the beautiful Electoral Palace gardens and spent some time checking out Kaiserthermen, the extensive ruins of a 4th century Roman-style bath.

Jo Ann had booked for us the Hotel Karlsmuhle, which was this cozy little "bed and breakfast"property, just outside of town, complete with its own horse stables and a winery.

Our room had just enough room for two twin beds (pushed together), a small bathroom (think RV-size) and a 13-inch TV. And that's about it. The girls loved the cozy room and the thought of sharing the same sleeping area with mommy and daddy. I, on the other hand, couldn't believe there was no room for an extra crib and a rollaway bed.

Dinner was traditional German faire, served at the hotel's restaurant. We sat outside in the patio, next to the mountain stream and a real live water wheel. After dinner, a short walk along the hotel grounds was just the ticket to relax and get into "vacation" mode...

We all slept together in the same bed, mommy on the end, D and P in the middle (snug as "bugs in a rug") and daddy hanging off the other end with no blanket. And, if I am not mistaken, I even think I heard a rooster crowing at dawn!

However, it was probably one of the nicest experiences that we have had as a family. I don't get enough of watching the girls sleeping peacefully, quietly and still, so that was a treat for me. (Usually they are running around like wild animals...)

The next day, we drove another couple of hours along Germany's "Castle route" to Heidelberg, Germany. We made sure to stop and climb the 330 steps up to where Heidelberg Castle was built. We were rewarded with a spectacular view of the River Neckar, the Alte Brucke (old bridge) and the Altstadt (old town). We stopped for a few moments to take some pictures and have lunch before checking out the inside of the castle.

When I see some of these beautiful and historical sites, I am saddened to think how many others were destroyed during the wars fought in Europe. Luckily, Heidelberg was spared destruction during World War II because it was not considered an industrial or military target.

Our hotel in Heidelberg was a traditional "Western-style" Marriott hotel, complete with an executive lounge. The girls have become somewhat spoiled by our visits to executive lounges and sometimes I think they expect to relax, have some drinks and Hors d'oeuvres before dinner!

We retired early that night, with just a light dinner in our room. The following day, we checked out and headed off towards Nuremberg, Germany.

Nuremberg was another city where we really didn't know what to expect. We chose to stop here because logistically, it made sense. It was just the right distance between Heidelberg and the Czech Republic, so we decided to overnight it here.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover another beautiful city with plenty of sights to see. After a quick lunch of Chicken durums (kinda like a burrito) and pitas, we headed off to explore the old town of Nuremberg. What is charming about this old town is that it is still surrounded by most of the medieval town wall and gates (the fat round towers), which were originally 5 kilometers (3 miles) long. Today, only about 4 kilometers of the wall and 4 of the original 5 gates are still standing.

We stopped by such sights as St. Lorenz Church, the Hauptmarkt (marketplace) and the Fleischbrucke bridge (see picture below). Nuremberg also had its own castle, which we later drove by.


There was plenty of shopping to do here, from small trinkets, gingerbread cookies and handmade toys to big ticket items like Louis Vuitton and Hermes. In fact, Jo said she saw something she wanted for Christmas. (it must have been those gingerbread cookies!)

Dinner was at Nordsee, a casual restaurant featuring some very good seafood at reasonable prices. The funny thing about Nordsee is that you might see several in the same shopping area, sometimes right across from each other. And, we have noticed that they always don't offer the same dishes. Still trying to figure that one out...

We left Germany with many great memories of some new discoveries. The next day, it was on towards Prague, Czech Republic...