Copyright (C) 2003 Adam Boggs
My last report left off in Italy, and was really long, so I'm going to try to keep this one short. If you haven't made it through Italy yet, you can always skip ahead and read this and forget about Italy and I'll never know!
Venice was nice, but I was ready to get out of town and in fact out of Italy altogether after spending over 2 weeks there. It was a nice time, but I somehow felt the draw to the more northern countries. It seemed like going from Italy to Austria also brought winter overnight, as the temperature in Innsbruck Austria, my first stop, was pretty chilly. I finally got to use the long pants, shirt, and fleece that I had been hauling around with me everywhere in the ridiculous heat. Innsbruck is a nice little town with the Austrian alps rising up on all sides. There is a good view around every corner. I took a nice stroll on a bike/walking path near the river, and it reminded me of being at home in Boulder again. The contrast to Italy was so noticible. Everything seemed so green, fresh, and clean. And while the colorful buildings in Venice were nice, the Venetians have nothing on the Austrians who like to paint their buildings in rich colors and patterns, or at the least a colorful mix of pastels.
The Austrian food is pretty good (there is still lots of pizza and Italian food about). I went to a typical Austrian restaurant recommended by the hostel I was staying in and got some grilled pork with mushrooms and a cream sauce, a pile of rice, and a salad with Apfel Streudel and ice cream for dessert. I have to admit that by now I'm pretty tired of weiner scnizel, and that almost all Austrian food, after a while, tastes like saurkraut, but that first meal was pretty tasty, and about half of the price, including beer and dessert, from Italy. Innsbruck is a college town and a big ski town in the winter. While I was only there for a day, it seemed like it would be a cool place to hang out and study abroad. Indeed, I have talked to many people on my travels who have been there to study.
After Innsbruck was Salzburg. It was home to Mozart for many years, but all that remains of him now are his balls -- chocolate marzipan balls with his picture on the wrapper. Greatly overpriced but you gotta try one right? I visited his residence where he composed many of his famous works (When he was like 10 years old). I also checked out a nice castle on the hill, and rented a bike from the hostel for a couple of hours of riding down by the river before catching my train to Vienna.
Vienna was interesting. Of first note, it's a huge city, and a little overwhelming for a 2 day whirlwind tour. After a jump on the subway, a local bus, a local train, and a short walk I found a nice hostel called "believe it or not". Nice family atmosphere, and Goscha, the owner, sat down with a city map and explained where everything was: grocery store, internet cafe, major sights, how to use the public transport (which I had already figured out), etc. That alone was worth the 13 euros, since the tourist information at the train stations can be downright mean if you're not planning on booking an expensive hotel through them. However, I still felt lost in Vienna, and while the city is packed to the gills with all sorts of museums, I really didn't feel like going to any museums. I decided early in the morning that it was perfectly ok and that I would be content just walking around town and looking at the museums on the outside.
In the end, I did get to experience a little bit of the city. The ice cream in vienna is thick and rich, almost custard with lots of flavor that they are famous for. Also the coffee is famous, and I found a dark little back corner coffee shop that I later found out (while I was there) was often a place where Freud and his contemporaries would come to argue the nature of the human psyche, where mozart, beethoven, and other composers would scribble out their latest hit concertos and operas, and where intellectuals of all sorts would congregate to criticize each other in healthy conversation. With the dark wood, interesting wall hangings, and amazing coffee I could almost hear those characters sitting next to me.
There are ticket salespeople all over Vienna trying to get you to spend lots of money on their classical music concerts. I enjoyed listening to Vivaldi's Four Seasons so much in Venice (for only 16 euros) that I thought it would be fun, but all of the tickets were 35 euros at the cheapest. I found one guy who eventually told me that they had student tickets for 19 euros on the side balcony second row up. But he let me in on a little secret: since they don't check the tickets after you go in, sit there and wait through the first couple of acts and look for a free seat. Then during the applause or intermission go sit down. I ended up sitting next to people who paid 54 euros for their ticket in a nice front row balcony seat. I felt a little bad, but it's their fault for not being as clever as I. :)
After Vienna I headed north to Prague. Prague, as everyone I have met who has been here, is a great city. It reminds me a bit of Barcelona with the tall buildings for blocks and blocks, but there is almost no traffic here, and the buildings are all very ornate and colorful. Prague is cheap too! A beer is about 20 Kc (Crowns), and the current exchange rate is about 30 Kc to the dollar. Lunch for under $4, and $8 max for dinner with beer and dessert. It definitely encourages gluttony! I've been sick of staying in hostels for the last week and finally have my own room for the same price as a hostel in Austria (about 15 euros a night). Internet is 1Kc per minute, which is so cheap I could almost spend all day in the internet cafe! I found a park with some live music and a bunch of French guys hanging out juggling, and pulled out my balls (juggling) and joined them. Juggling is a great international passtime if you can find other jugglers. Prague isn't famous for it's museums, and my guidebook just recommends walking around and experiencing the city. That's just what I'm in the mood for now!
After Prague I will go north to Berlin to stay with the German couple I met in Spain (Viola and Steffen) for a few days. Then I will work my way back south to Munich to hopefully catch a bit of Oktoberfest before I have to head on to Amsterdam. I'm thinking about trying to rent a bike somewhere and spending several days biking the "Romantic Road", which is supposed to be very nice and full of old castles and other interesting sights. We'll see how that works out.
Darn, it wasn't as short as I hoped. Oh well! Enjoy...
-Adam
