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Day #12: Vienna, Austria – At Leisure in Vienna

Jun 27th, 2012 by

When on vacation, I’ve found that some travel days are easier or better than others. For example, despite the rain, I really enjoyed Day #10 between St. Gallen and Salzburg. Today, for no particular or discernible reason, was one of the less enjoyable ones for me on this trip—despite Vienna being one of my favorite cities in Europe. While we spent the entire day exploring Vienna, I just didn’t feel like I was making much progress and/or exploring anything in depth… rather the day seemed to involve us bouncing between sights quickly and moving from one activity to another involving the care and feeding of Emerson (a seemingly endless series of trying to find/consume meals, locating a suitable place to change diapers, making sure an afternoon nap happened, etc.). I actually thought that being based in a city for a couple of days—rather than roaming from hotel to hotel—would be more relaxing. But, today it just hasn’t been so for me… I think I’m also just tired, and I’ve been fighting off some sort of illness for the past few days, getting neither actually sick nor feeling entirely well. Plus, Libby and I had such a wonderful time during our last visit (in 2007), I think it’s sometimes difficult to recapture that sort of magic (unlike Salzburg, which we didn’t really like in 2007 but thoroughly enjoyed on this visit).

Having said all of that, we did manage to take in most of the major sights in central Vienna including the Secession Building, Staatoper, Stephansdom (which is in the process of being cleaned), Peters-kirche, Michaeler-kirche, the Hofburg Palace (which Mom and Libby toured while I sat with Emerson in the Volksgarten during her nap), Burgtheater, Neues Rathaus, Parliament, Museum Quarter, etc. We also stopped along the way for coffees and had dinner in the Augustiner-Keller, which was a favorite from our prior trips (reasonable prices and good food—always a winning combination).

Emerson sleeping in Vienna's Volksgarten

Emerson sleeping in Vienna's Volksgarten

After a long day out, we returned to the hotel around 7pm.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll head for Slovakia (country #67) before returning to Vienna for our last evening in Austria on this trip.

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Day #11: Vienna, Austria – From Salzburg to Wien

Jun 26th, 2012 by

After three busy days of driving, the pace of our trip changed today. We began not by bundling into the care for a three-hour sojourn across hills and valleys. Instead, we started the day by exploring Salzburg on foot. We started at the manicured Mirabell Gardens (opposite our hotel) and then crossed the river into the Old Town. Here we picked up breakfast and coffees… enjoying them al fresco in the morning sunshine. We also visited the Dom, considered by many to be the finest baroque cathedral north of the Alps. But, mostly we wandered the cobblestone lanes exploring the city. We also purchased a set of delightful (if perhaps overpriced at 25 euros) handmade, German finger puppets for Emerson.

Inside Salzburg's Dom

Inside Salzburg's Dom

We departed Salzburg around noon. Timing worked out ideally as Emerson fell asleep immediately, awoke an hour and a half later in time for lunch (more wursts!), and finished her lunch just as we arrived at our afternoon waypoint: Melk. For those that aren’t familiar, Melk is a smallish town located in the Danube Valley approximately two-thirds of the way from Salzburg to Vienna. It contains Austria’s most famous abbey and otherwise is just a pleasant city to stroll, which is precisely what we did.

View of Melk's abbey...

View of Melk's abbey...

After leaving Melk, we quickly arrived in Vienna… on the opposite side of town from our hotel! Much to my chagrin, this meant that I had to navigate through Vienna’s traffic during “rush hour” (assuming they have such a thing). I must confess, I found this to be a bit stressful… a fair amount of traffic, seemingly all of the streets intersecting at odd angles, motorcyclists zipping between and in front of cars (they’re as much of a nuisance as bicyclists can be to pedestrians, who seemingly zip at and between people with little regard for anyone’s safety—which is somewhat ironic because the damn bicyclists are always complaining about aggressive automobile drivers and then act like douche bags to pedestrians… but, I digress…), and of course street signs that make little to no sense to me. Needless to say, I was glad to reach our Marriott in Messe (slightly outside of the center of town, close to the Prater, and very convenient for parking and getting toddler suppliers, such as a variety of fresh fruit).

We actually did something I almost never, ever do: we ate dinner in the hotel’s restaurant tonight. And, it was excellent! Most of the family had traditional Weiner schnitzel with fresh greens and potato salad (though Emerson had French fries). I went a little rouge and ordered the Viennese creamy potato soup (with leeks and bacon) and followed it with a bowl of barley risotto with summer vegetables and fresh “mountain” cheese (perhaps something lost in translation there?).

Tomorrow, we plan to leave the car safely ensconced in the hotel’s garage as we go out to explore Wien!

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Day #10: Salzburg, Austria – Castles and Countries

Jun 26th, 2012 by

We awoke to overcast skies and fairly steady rain. Departing a little after 8am, we headed for our first destination of the day: the tiny country of Liechtenstein (sixth smallest in the world and barely larger than Manhattan). From St. Gallen, we reached our destination in less than an hour and arrived around 9am. While Vaduz (its capital city) isn’t especially soulful, Schloss Vaduz is attractively perched on the side of a mountain (we drove up for a closer look) and found the country to be bountiful in term of natural beauty. After visiting the castle, we refueled the car and ourselves (breakfast) and departed for Bavaria in Germany (our afternoon sightseeing destination).

Schloss Vaduz

Schloss Vaduz

The route to Schloss Linderhoff (one of King Ludwig’s famed castles and the only completed one) was somewhat circuitous. From Liechtenstein, we re-entered Switzerland, crossed briefly into Austria, drove into Germany, re-entered Austria, and finally returned to Germany a few miles before reaching the castle! The route was generally attractive with an especially enthralling section between Routte and Linderhoff, where we found ourselves skirting along the banks of an alpine lake.
Schloss Linderhof—inspired by Louis XIV and the palace at Versailles—was built on a diminutive scale for this rather eccentric king. Both the castle and grounds were fabulous. Unfortunately, the steady rain limited our ability to fully explore the grounds and outer buildings. We were, however, able to take the guided group tour in English (which, thankfully, Emerson handled very well).

Schloss Linderhof

Schloss Linderhof

After the castle, we made a quick side-trip to Oberammergau, best known for its religious theatrical production and skilled woodcarvings. According to Rick Steves, Oberammergau represents a tourist trap that is best avoided. I don’t know. Is it touristy? Sure… if not for travel, the village would clearly be a fragment of what it is today. However, we found Oberammergau to be charming and would have enjoyed a longer visit. Indeed, even though this was our second trip to Bavaria, we think an extended third trip should happen in the future—it’s really that nice. We’re also hopeful that the 3rd time might be the charm: a trip to Bravaria without rain. 😉

In the late afternoon, we drove a couple more hours to Salzburg and arrived at our hotel around 6pm. We would have actually made it 30 minutes sooner, but we hit our only significant traffic snag (thus far) a few kilometers before the Austrian border (for our third and final crossing of the day!). After checking into the Sheraton Salzburg, we walked across the river and then briefly along its banks before ascending a little hill to reach the city’s best beer hall / garden: the Augustiner Braustubl. Dinner consisted of various wursts (mit senf), schnitzels, and pretzels along with “radlers” (beer mixed with lemon-lime soda) for the adults. As the rain had long since stopped, we enjoyed our delightful repast under the shade of the beer garden’s chestnut trees — a perfect ending to a great day!

An evening in Salzburg...

An evening in Salzburg...

Today’s box score: +1 country (Liechtenstein)… +2 for Emerson!

Posted in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Rental Car, Switzerland | No Comments »

Day #9: St. Gallen, Switzerland – In and Out of Germany (Again)

Jun 24th, 2012 by

We had a slightly later than intended departure, as I opted to move Emerson’s car seat from the side to the middle of the rear seat in an effort to avoid issues of motion sickness (my theory: this would reduce movement and improve sightlines). It also took us a little longer than usual to procure her breakfast. So, we really got started at 9am rather than the planned 8am. No matter.

We headed out of Luxembourg bound for St. Gallen, Switzerland via Freiburg, Germany. During our morning drive, we crossed the Mosel and Rhine rivers entering Germany, than France (crossing Alsace), before reentering Germany at Strasbourg. All told, the drive to Freiburg took about 3.5 hours.

Freiburg is an attractive “college town” located in/near the Black Forrest. While it lacks “major” sights and most of the town’s shops and venues were closed (it being Sunday), we passed a few pleasant hours strolling the streets and having a seafood lunch at NORDSEE (a kind of European, upscale “fast casual” concept — think: “if Panera Bread were a seafood place” and you’d be close…). Freiburg is also famous for its miniature canals (“bachle”), which were originally installed in the 1400s to minimize the likelihood of fires spreading.

Views of Freiburg -- the size of the bachle is distorted for 'artistic' effect. It's really little more than 18-24" wide and maybe 6-12" deep.

Views of Freiburg -- the size of the Bachle is distorted for 'artistic' effect using a wide angle setting close to the subject. It's really little more than 18-24\

After Freiberg, we headed into the Black Forrest en route to Switzerland driving along the scenic B31 thru Titisee (which, might I add, is an awesome name for a town). :-) Along the way, we stopped at a roadside stand to purchase some fresh cherries and strawberries, which were utterly delectable. Such experiences remind me that it’s sometimes the simple pleasures that most delight us. As with the rest of our drive, the journey through the Black Forrest and across northern Switzerland was rather scenic, often charming and occasionally sublime.

We arrived at the Radisson Blu in St. Gallen a little before 6pm. As usual with Radisson Blu properties, the hotel is fairly swank with a distinctly European feel. After getting settled, we walked a few blocks (through a mostly vacant downtown—still Sunday!) and selected an Italian place for dinner. Like the rest of dining in Switzerland, it was a little pricey (more than London; less than Stockholm), but the quality of our pizzas and pastas was on the mark. I also have to say that the local brew (we literally passed the brewery between our hotel and the restaurant), called Schutzengarten, was darn good: light yet flavorful and highly quaffable.

One final, happy note: Emerson was neither motion (nor otherwise) sick today. We think changing her seating position, along with me trying to consciously reduce body roll on the Chevy (it does not corner like it’s on rails), seems to have fixed the issue. So, we’re fairly certain that we’ll be able to finish the journey via automobile.

All in all, a good day!

Today’s box score: +1 country (Switzerland)… +2 for Emerson!

Posted in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Rental Car, Switzerland | 2 Comments »

Day #8: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg – Via the Scenic Route

Jun 23rd, 2012 by

We departed Allen House at 4:30am for Heathrow and our early morning flight to Dusseldorf, Germany. The flight was uneventful and on-time, arriving in Dusseldorf a little after 9:30am. We proceeded quickly through passport control, though we nearly missed baggage claim, which would have sent all of us out of the secured area. That would have been a total fiasco! But, in the end, only Libby was locked away from us, and I “rescued” her once we had our bags.

The car rental process at Hertz was also fairly painless… though we struggled a bit to find the #1 Club Gold garage and then also fumbled around trying to install Emerson’s car seat. The “good” news is that we ended up with a Chevy Captiva (a quasi-SUV/crossover), which has adequate storage space for us. The “bad” news is that it’s still a Chevy… in Germany… for an American who drives a Porsche at home. How’s that for life’s little ironies?

We departed Dusseldorf heading for the Netherlands. Reaching Holland, we drove down through Maastricht and on into Belgium. We stopped off in Malmedy to take a quick look at the resort town (charming) and picked up some frites (hey, it’s Belgium, right?). After this, we headed for Vianden in Luxembourg, which somehow brought us back into Germany and then onto a series of crazy, winding back roads through Germany and (somewhere along the way) into Luxembourg.

Amidst this bucolic splendor some trouble began. Emerson became increasingly cranky (unusual for her) and then suddenly vomited… uh oh. Fortunately, I found a place to turn off the road, and we managed to get her cleaned up. Based on her “rapid recovery” and lack of obvious other symptoms, we were forced to conclude she became motion sick (heretofore unheard of with her). And, based on the fact that she seemed to get unsettled again during the drive following our visit to Vianden, we’re at least a little concerned that this might be an ongoing issue this trip. So, I’m coming up with Plan B (taking trains) now in case Plan A (driving a car) doesn’t work out over the next day or two. In any case, there’s nothing to do about it now: we’ll just have to wait and see.

If vomit was the lowlight of the day, Vianden was the highlight. The town itself is nestled deep in folds of terrain that make up part of the Our River valley. Above the town looms the imposing structure of Chateau Vianden, which we toured this afternoon. Clearly, the ability to visit this sort of small village is the reason for traveling by car—it provides an efficient means for getting off of the “beaten path” to gems like Vianden.

Chateau de Vianden

Chateau de Vianden

We left Vianden and drove about 45 minutes to our hotel in Luxembourg City. However, by the time we parked, checked-in, got a bit settled, and grabbed a quick dinner – it was getting late, and we all were fairly tired. So, with that, I’ll close for the day and go to bed… :-)

Today’s box score: +1 country for us (Luxembourg)… +4 countries for Emerson.

Posted in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Rental Car | 2 Comments »

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