LaLaLiving

Vienna Arrival July 31, 2007

July 31, 2007
This is my new buddy, Hank. He’s a total rock star, or will be when he’s older than fourteen. We’ve been talking music. We joined his tour group for the journey to Vienna.

We made a pit stop at the and Gardens, still in the Czech Republic, for a bit of leg stretching and lunch. The whole area had a sort of fascinating run-down beauty, with the gardens being maintained only near the house, becoming more overgrown the further out you went.

The main house was in pretty good shape, but the smaller house had definitely seen better days. Apparently there’s a dispute between the Czech government and the Hapsburg family, who used to own it, over who should pay for the maintenance. It seemed to currently be housing a flea market, a junk shed, a rotating exhibit hall, and a bizarre aquarium. The café had antlers of deer hunted on the grounds dating back generations, like this set from 1673.

The bus first dropped the tour group off at their very charming and quaint Mercure hotel (they were on the smaller side, so had a different choice of accommodation), then drove me and Bodie to the Hilton Danube, where a few other tour groups would be staying. It’s your standard Hilton, nothing special, just with larger rooms than you find in most of Europe.

The best thing the hotel has is its location on the Danube, and I was lucky enough to get a room facing the river with a view. We’re discovering that the hotels used for these tours tend to be on the outskirts, more business-style with air conditioning, etc., to accommodate the tourists. The problem is that if you want to do anything on your own, even finding an Internet café (because the hotel rates are around 30 euro an hour…), you have to make quite a trek into the city. I guess most of these folks just don’t bother going in unless it’s with the group on the bus.Today was some more group sightseeing, with a full evening planned. We ate at a local Grinzing winery, Weingut Reinprecht, which was really quite good. A glass of house white (very young and light) to start us off of course, and then the food. First was a plate of cold cuts and cheese (why can’t we get stuff this good in the States?), then wienershnitzel and potatoes. The schnitzel was incredibly light and tender, and the potatoes tasted as if they’d been boiled in broth – fantastic. Dessert was an awesome apple streudel, not oversweetened and with plenty of fresh whipped cream (mit Schlag! Look how happy I am!). A very entertaining duo on violin and accordion wood the crowd with renditions of everything from Mozart to “Danny Boy.”

The bathrooms cracked me up: cigarette holders in both the stalls and by the sinks. Ah, Europe.

We were then whisked to a very touristy concert at Wiener Börsensäle. Every single person in attendance came off a bus (and, man, there were a lot of busses). The building itself was gorgeous, and apparently Mozart played concerts in the very salon we sat in. The concert was kind of Mozart and Strauss lite, with a few dance numbers thrown in. Everyone else seemed thrilled. I find the whole thing fascinating…

Prague in the Rain July 30, 2007

July 30, 2007
Today we started with a driving and walking tour of Prague, to orient everyone and see some highlights.

Following a few more “a celebrity was here” sightings, we arrived at the palace, which is a sprawling compound of buildings and a cathedral. As it was Sunday, we didn’t actually get to go into the palace (closed) or the cathedral (only open for services), but we got the full rundown on everything else around it (plus, I’m sure taking the time to tour the interiors goes against the tour group motto of ‘move it out’). The cathedral has beautiful exterior mosaics, and I’m sure was equally stunning on the inside. Oh well, next time.

There’s lots of music around Prague. These guys were hanging outside the palace playing some great stuff.We then had about an hour of “free time” (Lordy! What can you do in an hour?), so we considered ditching our group for this guy, ‘cause, you know, he’s the best, but instead grabbed a coffee in this beautiful Art Neuveau café.

For lunch, the group hopped on a river boat for a buffet cruise. We originally boarded a boat called, no joke, the Poseidon, which, true to its name, caused some minor trauma.

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After sitting and eating for thirty minutes waiting for the engine to start (we saw the poor tour directors running back and forth trying to find alternate solutions, but no one seemed to mind because we were all given a lovely shot of cinnamon-y Czech liquor called Becherovka), we were moved to another boat to actually cruise up and down the river. It’s a fantastic way to see the city, I must say, even on a chilly, drizzly afternoon.

We had a free evening, and since I’ve never been to Prague, Bodie and I set out a’wandering. It was, of course, drizzling and raining the entire time, but no matter in a city as beautiful as Prague. After walking down every street around (including up a big hill to see this awesome restaurant, the Hanavsky Pavilion, and its spectacular view, up close) we had some really good local dark beer at the Blue Note, a hole-in-the-wall bar.

We trekked back to the hotel on the subway to get some sleep before our insanely early departure time tomorrow for Vienna.

Nürnberg to Prague July 29, 2007

Some more catching up… Getting online has been ridiculous, as we’ve been staying at business type hotels outside the city center so nary an internet cafe in sight! And their wireless service typically costs 30 euro an hour. Aargh.

We’re in Venice now, but I haven’t written up that far… Head off to Rome in a few days.

*****

July 29, 2007
Nürnberg: Quick drive by the Nazi stadium (which I really would have liked to see… I’m fascinated by all those enormous concrete Nazi structures, now crumbling and blocked off by fences because no one in Germany quite knows what to do with them). On to the city center for an hour walk-about. Lots of quaint buildings (of course), and excellent Lebkuchen. You just can’t get this stuff in the states.

There was also this woman selling flowers in the local market. Charming, no?

The border between Germany and the Czech Republic had this crazy building. I was completely intrigued.

Our two-second stop in Pilzen was, unfortunately, not much to write about. It started pouring rain as soon as we pulled into the brewery parking lot and, as it was too early in the day for me to even think about sampling their beer, I contented myself with looking in their gift shop. The town itself was beautiful, in that post-communism struggle sort of way. Half buildings that had been restored and half that still sported the grey, unpainted concrete of communism. The people looked like they had lived through a lot, and are still waiting for the easy life that democracy was supposed to bring.

Off we went on our way to Prague, another Czech city that looks rough around the far edges but has been extremely successful in restoring much of its former glory. I’m really mad at myself for not visiting it back in the ‘90s, when it was less touristy. Now, according to our tour guide, it’s the sixth most visited city in Europe. We’re staying at a Holiday Inn, which is insanely overpriced (dishes at the restaurant run around $30+) and a bit of a hike to the center. My hallway also smells like chemicals and rotting fish, and my room smells like the carpeting was installed within the last week. It’s like an odd failed attempt at a Western business hotel. Such a different experience from the usual B&Bs I seek out.

After checking in, we met up with a tour company rep for dinner to catch up while the rest of our group was enjoying their buffet in a separate room. We then hopped back on the bus again for an evening tour of the city and drinks and music at a local restaurant. It’s so very odd to not have any time to linger over the spots you’re interested in, such as a scenic vista from the hilltop monastery or the Charles Bridge, because the group is charging on. I think I have it at least slightly better than Bodie because he inevitably winds up stuck with the video camera, so I can at least take a few moments to appreciate the scenery or take a few photos. Note: the monks at that monastery, in order to make ends meet after they were allowed to reform post-communism, operate restaurants and a bar on the grounds. The bar’s name is “Hell.” What a bunch of jokesters, those monks!

We have a Czech tour guide showing us around Prague for the two days we’ll be here. She has an odd fascination with celebrities, and every hotel we pass she tells us who has stayed there. She said it was because during communism the only celebrities she saw were people like Kruchev and Castro.

***

Catching Up July 28, 2007

(A few back-logged posts)

July 26, 2007
Der Zug war nicht punklicht

After a great few days in Rimpar/Würzburg with Cyndi and her brood (we had a fantastisch send-off dinner last night at a Greek restaurant with a beautiful outdoor beer garden, and Shawn finally smiled more than frowned at me!), I’m off to Munich to begin my official duties as chronicler of all things tour guide.

When I was studying German in high school, we read a short story by Thomas Mann called Der Zug War Punktlich (The Train was on Time). It was a horribly depressing story about WWII, but the name always stuck with me as the perfect summation of the German state—everything is always precise and organized (see last post on recycling). I even overheard someone in the train station telling another tourist that if your train was scheduled for 10:06, your watch said 10:06, the train in front of you was your train. But today, my ICE train to Munich was two minutes late into the station. Scandal!

Anyway, the whole thing is very exciting because I’ve never traveled by train in Europe, other than quick rides between cities and airports or the subways. Lame, right? I’ve always just rented cars, because I like being able to drive to whatever little village I want, and with two or more people traveling together it’s just as cheap, if not cheaper, than a Eurail pass.

I bought my ticket on www.bahn.de (which has a handy English option), and I was happy (and not surprised) to discover that very clear signs are posted on the platform to tell you where your train car (wagon) will be, so you don’t have to do a mad scramble to find your seat when the train pulls in. I’m in second class, which has very comfy seats and big luggage racks for everyone’s bags. And if I didn’t have my carry-on bag at my feet I could use the handy dandy footrest. (My only complaint is that I’m supposed to be on a cellphone free car, but the snitty lady next to me is yapping away…and I swear she gave me a dirty look when I took mine out to send a text message. Jeesh. Maybe she’ll get off at Nürnberg. OK, she’s getting off at Nürnberg and now I feel bad because she smiled at me and said “Choos” (bye) as she left. But now I have an empty seat next to me, so all’s fair in love and train travel.

And I have to say that I am loving my iPod. It’s so lovely to travel through the countryside with a soundtrack, let alone blocking out the craziness in airports and whatnot.

***

The hotel is lovely. We’re staying at the Novotel and it’s one of those hotels I would never spring for for myself. I got a mini suite I think, because I have a sitting area (which Bodie doesn’t have in his room, but he has a better view). There’s also a spa/pool area, which I took advantage of while Bodie was trying to sleep off some of his jetlag, wherin lies a nifty water dispenser that Brian would kill for—three levels of carbonation!

We joined a tour group for requisite drinks at the Hofbräuhaus, and got yelled at for filming without a permit. Apparently we’re guerilla filmmakers now. Thanks to an introduction from Cyndi, I had a giant Radler (half beer, half soda), which, for a non-beer drinker like myself, is actually quite light and nice. (It’s rough for us wine drinkers in beer land…I’m much more of a Frankonian Wein Mädchen than a München Beer Wench, as they say.)

We then ditched the camera for a bit so we could wander around the city a bit and orient ourselves. Everyone rides bicycles here. It’s really great. How cool are these traffic lights?

***

July 27, 2007
The group we were supposed to hang with today didn’t even arrive until the late afternoon, so we had free reign this morning. It was raining though, so we couldn’t take the camera out. Instead we went to a museum: the Lenbachhaus Kunstbau, which had a special exhibit on Kandinsky and the Blue Rider Group. The museum was smaller in scale than some of the other major museums in Munich, which was a nice entry point to a trip, and not exhausting and overwhelming. It’s housed in an old mansion, which is always great because the building itself if just as interesting as the art it houses. One wing was presented just as it had been when the former owners lived there. How did people ever live among this insanely ornate decoration? It’s beautiful but suffocating. Modern and contemporary art filled the reset of the space, some good some really bad, and the curators have an odd habit of painting the walls to “enhance” the exhibits, but all it did was detract from the paintings. This room was particularly dizzying:

We stopped for lunch at a sidewalk café and ordered club sandwiches, which were oddly decorated with perched bacon.

After filming a walking tour with the tour group, we roamed off in search of dinner (since they were eating at the Hofbräuhaus, and we certainly didn’t need to be there again). After three pizzerias, one tapas place, one Chinese, and a “world cuisine” restaurant, we finally found a solid German pub with food and I was able to get some of my beloved spätzle. Specifically, Allgäuer Käsespätzle mit Röstzwiebeln und kleinem Salat (spätzle with cheese and fried onions and a small salad). Bodie got Rinderrahmgeschnetzeltes mit Kartoffelrösti (beef strips in gravy). Try saying that five times fast.

Mmmmmmmm……have to go to sleep now because we have to be on the bus by 7:30, which means breakfast starts at 6:30. Ugh.
***
July 28, 2007
We’re driving to Prague, via Nürnberg and Pilzen. There are 26 people on our tour, which leaves plenty of room on the bus to spread out. It’s a funny mix of ages, from a fourteen year old kid with his parents to a few senior citizens. The passengers basically cover all the current and former British Empire holdings: The U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

***
We almost got left in Nürnberg.

The group was given an hour to wander back, meeting back at the bus at 11:00 am. We set off to get some scenic footage of the almost-too-cute streets (I really wanted to see the old Nazi stadium outside of town, but we just got a drive-by of that…), and got back to the bus as the town clock just finished striking the hour. Well, had it not been for the lovely lady seated behind me on the bus, the group would’ve driven off without us because the tour guide did a count and reached her official number, forgetting her two stowaways.

Ah, the bus.
***
Bodie and I have decided that we’re the same travel person. It’s uncanny how similar our neurosis and habits are. Thank goodness.

***

Next up: Prague!

It’s like a heat wave July 24, 2007

Well, actually, it is a heat wave.  Sweeping through Europe.  Happy, happy, joy, joy.  I’m sure it will be sweeping through the areas I’ll be just as I arrive (though you wouldn’t have known it from the blustery weather we had in Wurzburg today…).

 All the reports of out-of-control fires raging across the Continent makes me feel like I’m at home in California.  Global warming anyone? Anyone?

Lumpy

Today I am a lump.  I got 3 1/2 hours of sleep because the wind from the storm woke me up and I couldn’t get back to sleep.  So I booked my train ticket to Munich instead, took a nap, and tried to figure out why my blog posts are all wonky when done from Cyndi’s computer.  Going to try and get some work done now.

A quick nod to my host country:

The Germans are so on top of the reduce/reuse/recycle thing.  It’s awesome.  Every time I’m here it make me sad and annoyed that we Americans are so behind the eight ball on this one.  They recycle everything, even something as random a potato chip bag, charge for bags at grocery stores to encourage customers to bring their own, and they are fully into the “refillable” supplies (i.e., just refilling the original packaging with a much less wasteful bag).  I remember asking an Aveda salesperson once why such a supposedly uber-eco-friendly company didn’t offer these kind of refills, and she looked at me like I was from Mars.  Doh!

Dogs 1, Loretta 0 July 23, 2007

July 23, 2007

Sleep: 11 hours. Gorgeous.

I took Cyndi’s two dogs, Koko and Vader, for a walk this morning (or should I say, they took me).  I took a dive (literally) into the grass when they dragged me, totally unprepared, toward an oncoming dog, and I was finally able to free myself from the leash (it was around my arm instead of in my hand because I was trying to be a good citizen and pick up their doggie poop).  Here are some photos of the results:

 

After a quick washing-up, I ventured into Wurzburg for a bit of shopping and wandering around. 

Wurzburg is a lovely little city, with a charming pedestrian center and lots of plazas and such.  I love window shopping and browsing in foreign cities.  For instance, I learned that true Harry Potter fans in Germany do not wait for the translated version to come out

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And that David Hasselhoff is as hot as ever.

 

 

I also happily stumbled upon the local H&M, which was having a 70% off sale (woo hoo! Cheap dress!), and then one of the big department stores, where I bought a new press-style spaetzle maker, because the scraper/cheese-grater style one I got last time stank and caused steam burns while holding it over the boiling pot of water. 

After Cyndi got home from work, we went to a wine festival at the local fancy-schmancy winery, where it proceeded to rain about five minutes after our arrival (bothering she and I far more than Shawn, who seemed much happier getting drenched than staying dry under the tent).  We hung out under the tent eating our gourmet pizzas and sipping our lovely white wines (a super sweet Riesling for Cyndi, Weingut Am Stein’s 2005 Escherndorfer Lump – how’s that for a name? – and a much dryer white something-or-other for me.

 

Yet again we got to enjoy the local appreciation for music when a table full of tipsy Germans broke into a somewhat slurred rendition of Bruce Channel’s “Hey Baby (Will You Be My Girl).”  Magic.

Bon Voyage July 22, 2007

July 21, 2007 

Well, I managed to get 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night.  I am usually not that disorganized before a trip, but this week was a bit nuts trying to take care of HDIST stuff, and wrapping up my internship, etc. 

Fatima, Ian, and Safiya came over to watch backlogged Man vs. Wild episodes (who knew the Scottish Highlands could be so brutal?!) and eat Indian take-out.  They left me to my packing around 10pm, which continued until 4am.  I am sure I am taking too many clothes, but I was totally seduced by the idea of having someone handle all of my baggage transfers while on the tour.  I’m usually such a good, light packer.  Oh well.  It’s three weeks, in several very hot cities, so those extra t-shirts will come in handy.

 

I am now at the airport awaiting my flight.  There is a torturous announcement for Lufthansa’s direct flight to Frankfurt, which I was supposed to be on before the tour organizers up and switched me to the lame British Airways flight, with a layover in London. Aargh.  As some of you know from my India trip experience, BA is my arch nemesis (a long story which is part of the giant backlog of India postings, involving lost baggage and the worst customer service on the planet).  And a layover in Heathrow, with the most pain-in-the-neck airport security ever, is not sounding fun.  Plus I checked their baggage regulations, and they’re still enforcing a one-carry-on-bag-per-person rule, which means I won’t be able to take the camera equipment back with me as carry-on.  Oh well, “The Company” will have to figure it out, ‘cause I’m not giving up my personals on a twenty-hour trip back home (which is what it will be with my six-hour Heathrow layover), that’s for sure. 

***

July 22, 2007 

Wow.  That was a doozy.  The plane to London was totally full…not a spare seat in the house.  And I was surrounded by a pack of Spanish teenagers with giant novelty hats from Disneyland and an abundant amount of energy.  I didn’t think anyone could go that long without sleeping.  Or shutting-up.

 

It took all my remaining willpower not to buy the new Harry Potter book at Heathrow.  Must…not…lug…extra…ten…pounds…for…three…weeks…that’s for the return flight. 

 

A quick, and fairly painless flight to Frankfurt later, I’m in Germany for my visit with Cyndi and her son Shawn.  It’s gorgeous here – in the 70s, sunny and breezy.

 

We headed to downtown Wurzburg for the last night of the local beer fest, where we passed on the ever-present “fish-on-a-stick” option and instead ate awesome bratwurst mit saurkraut and listened to the stylings of the live band, which played such German favorites as John Denver’s Rocky Mountain High and the Benny Hill theme. 

 

And now I must sleeeeeeep.  Sooooooo tired.

Best Page Ever? July 19, 2007

This may be my new favorite site:

www.the bestpageintheuniverse.net

His analysis of the iPhone is frackin’ hilarious (even though I’m one of the suckers who wants one desperately…).

If only he’d post more than twice a year.

America’s Cherry Finally Popped

Virgin America finally started selling tickets today, and there was much rejoicing! You may recall the giant song-and-dance the U.S. government gave them before clearing the airline for operations in America. Well, happily Virgin persevered and us travelers now have an additional choice when flying.

I really like their website. It has one of the better flight navigation functions I’ve seen, displaying prices and date options clearly (as opposed to having to click multiple times to see price availability on days different from your initial choice), and directs you to the seat selection page as part of the booking process (not an optional, extra step like most other sites). My only peeve so far is that it doesn’t display the total price (including taxes) until you get to the very end of the booking process and have filled in all your personal information.

The amenities look glorious. They have the now-mandatory seat-back screens and leather seats (which JetBlue widely introduced to coach back in 2001) of course, but most exciting to me is the electric plug at every seat, not just business and first classes (or random every fourth row placement in some coach sections). Hooray for being able to use a laptop beyond the first few hours of a flight! I’m not sure how exciting the “mood lighting” is, and I’m trying to discern if the video entertainment system is pay-per-view only, but Virgin America certainly looks like it’s worth a trial run.