Day 38: Munich

This post is going to be a short one, because yesterday involved a good deal of relaxing...

Yesterday morning, I woke up to a cloudy and drizzly Munich. Given the weather, I decided to do a tour of Munich's three main art museums: the Alte Pinakothek, the Neue Pinakothek, and the Pinakothek der Moderne. My first stop, the Alte museum, focused on painting from the Middle Ages to the end of the Rococo period. The collection of Rubens paintings were well worth the trip to the museum. After a little over an hour of touring the mostly Biblically-focused works, I moved on to the later-periods museum, the Neue Pinakothek. The museum was much smaller in size, but had three important paintings by Van Gogh (my favorite). Finally, I swung by the modern art museum, which was fun, but had some works that left me asking "is that really art? Or a pile of kindle wood?"  The museum had an interesting design section, but since all the descriptions  were in German, I wasn't always certain why objects were featured: for example, and entire display of Adidas sneakers, and another display of IBM laptops from the late 90s.

It was even colder and rainier when I left the museums, so I went back to the hostel to take care of laundry and some trip planning. For dinner, I decided to find a place to watch the USA women's world cup game. Based on the hostel's recommendation, I went to a nearby German restaurant, where the main hall was completely packed, and a side hall with the game projected on a large screen was nearly empty. Clearly, the Munich locals had no interest in the USA versus Japan game, even though it was being played in Frankfurt. I ordered a beer, and after staring at a menu entirely in German, settled on the item that had both "original" and "sauerkraut" in its description. I figured the item probably was some sort of meat dish and...I don't know, original? If it's original and still on the menu it can't be terrible. I considered the choice low risk.

As there were only 3 of us in the room watching the game, the guy at the table across from me asked where I was from. As our conversation continued, I learned that his name was Ben, and he was a Canadian Ph.D student of geology who was spending a week in Munich for a course. He also spoke no German, and when our food arrived we discovered that we had ordered the exact same thing for exactly the same reasons. The restaurant should just put and arrow to the item with a note, "tourists, look here." The meal turned out to be kind of like layered sausage strudel with lots of excellent sauerkraut. I convinced Ben to root for the US, and we spent the evening tensely watching the game while trying out various German beers. As the American team lost in a shootout after overtime, we had a lot of time to make our way through the beer list. After the USA lost, I got back to my hostel where I ran into some other Americans lamenting our loss. I briefly joined their commiserations before heading to bed.

The weather for the next few days doesn't look great, but hopefully I'll get a chance to enjoy at least one outdoor biergarten.

Pictures from the Pinakothek der Moderne:

Day 37: Salzburg and Munich

Miles logged: 19, 653
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The word of the day yesterday was "cranky."

I didn't get a great night's sleep (root causes: bar noise and room temperature) and was feeling cranky when I left my hostel at 8am to start my trip towards Munich, with a stop planned in Salzburg. The 3-hour train ride to Salzburg was fine, but when I arrived in Salzburg, I discovered, along with about 40 other tourists, that all of the train station day lockers were already taken. 

Salzburg, for a city that has been described as "addicted to the tourist dollar," I've got one word to describe your lack of lockers: "sucky."

I stood around, watched the panicked tourists with enormous rollerbags freak out, felt slightly better that I wasn't one of them, and then decided what I should do. All my stuff fits in one large duffle bag, but that duffle bag has increased in weight now to nearly 30 lbs. I had planned on a lot of walking, and I really didn't want to schlep around my bag on rather warm day. After briefly considering getting on the next train to Munich, I decided f$@& it, I'll give it a try (but I was now even crankier than before).

I headed towards the city, pausing occasionally to give my back a break. The old center of Salzburg was pretty, touristy, and crowded. I went through my guidebook's walking tour, which included stops at the birthplace of Mozart and a couple of "Sound of Music" notable movie scene locations. I don't think I've ever seen the Sound of Music, but the filming locations were beautiful and I left thinking that I really need to rent this movie when I get home.

After the tour, I decided I'd try the climb up the hillside towards the city fort and castle, duffle bag and all. The climb was tiring with the extra weight, but the views were worth the climb. I rewarded my strenuous day with a stop at a biergarten on the walk down. After a couple of biers, I was exhausted and felt like I'd had enough of Salzburg, so I headed back to the train station. I spent less time in Salzburg than I intended, but I was still a little cranky at the city.

I arrived in Munich around 7pm, checked into my hostel, took a brief tour of the nearby area, and then went home to crash. The day had clearly worn me down, and I didn't have much left in me to do any serious activities in Munich.

Fortunately, I am here for 4 nights, so I'm hoping to take Munich at a slightly slower pace and catch a breath. I've got high expectations for this city, so I'm hoping for a great few days.

Photos of Salzburg:

Statue in Mirabelli Park

Sound of Music filming spot

The man, the legend

St. Paul's cemetery, with fort in distance

Views from the climb

Day 36: Vienna

Yesterday, would best be described as "so good."

I hope you'll allow me to indulge you with many photos of yesterday's activities, because I have many favorites from the day and I want to share them all. But I'll try to restrain myself a tad. I should warn you now that this post is going to be a long one.

I started my day at the Hofburg Treasury, which houses the crown jewels of the former Hapsburg empire. The most impressive aspects of the collection were the age and condition of many of the pieces, some of which date back to the Holy Roman Empire. The collection was impressive to see, although all those kings, empires, and strategic marriages started to mush together in my head. I left feeling very out of practice with my European history, particularly surrounding Napoleon. When I got back to the hostel I googled the Wikipedia article on Napoleon, but after 5 paragraphs my head was starting to spin again. Now I remember why history was my least favorite subject in school.

Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, from 960 A.D.

Crown of Rudolf II, from 1602 A.D.

I had planned on renting a bike for the afternoon, but a noon-time downpour made me rethink those plans. I waited out the rain at the hostel, and by 3pm, the skies were looking much better. Vienna has a wine growing area on the northeast edge of the city, which I very much wanted to see and sample. In addition to the vineyards, one of Vienna's highlights is its wine gardens, called "heuriger," which offer traditional, cafeteria-style food and serve the latest releases from the local wineries. These heuriger are primarily clustered around the vineyards at the edge of town, in neighborhoods known (not surprisingly) as "Heurigen."

My guidebook had provided directions on getting to the areas, but the instructions seemed a tad complicated (take tram D from center to last stop, turn left out of station, take bus 38a to Nusseldorf stop, walk up hill...). During my rain-break, I had spent some time on Google maps and discovered that the nearest Heurigen was really only a mile from a subway stop, and that the various areas all listed separately in the guidebooks were actually only a mile or so apart from each other. So I decided I'd make my own gastro-wine walk through the various areas for my last night in Vienna.

I took the subway to the last stop at Heilingstadt, and then walked a mile to the Nussdorf Heurigen. My guidebook promised that the Nussdorf heurigers were far less touristy than those in other neighborhoods. After the quick walk, I reached my first recommended stop. Feeling a bit intimidated, I walked into the first heuriger and got in the cafeteria-style line. I don't think the proprietors would be thrilled to know that my first impression of the setup involved a sudden flashback to standing in line at Juicy's, the hole-in-the-wall barbecue place that was down the street from the Ford truck plant in Kentucky. Of course, this heuriger had a lot more positive ambiance.

Nussdolf Neighborhood

The first stop

Cafeteria-style ordering lines...but this is no BBQ

Anyway, back to the start of my gastro-crawl. I had no idea what I was ordering, but I pointed to what appeared to be kummelbraten (crispy roast pork) and asked for a small portion. After taking my tray and moving to the charming outdoor table area, a waiter came over and took my wine order (a bit standoffishly, I will say, perhaps he's not a fan of English-only-speaking-clueless tourists). I ordered a glass of the house white, which turned out to be more like a large cup of white wine. The pork was absolutely excellent, the wine was enjoyable, and by this point I had decided the evening was going to be brilliant.

Yummmmmmmm.....

I left my first heuriger, and feeling a lot less intimated (wine is a good cure for that), I popped into the heuriger next door. There, I ordered a spinach strudel and a glass of grüner veltliner. The wine lasted far longer than the strudel, which I quickly demolished because it was that good.

More yum...

Moving on, I discovered that the third recommended heuriger in the neighborhood was closed, but feeling both well-fed and wined-up, I started the 1.5 mile walk towards the next neighborhood, Grinzing. My guidebook warned that Grinzing was not much more than a quaint tourist trap, which basically turned out to mean that the waiters were wearing costumes and the outdoor courtyards included wandering accordion players.  After meandering through the streets and checking out the neighborhood, I made one stop in Grinzing for some dessert. The dessert I chose reminded me of cheesecake with raisins soaked in a light syrup. It was a bit disappointing, although that didn't stop me from eating the entire thing, along with a glass of red wine.

Grinzing

Accordion players

Dessert!

The guidebook had promised wonderful vineyards and views of the city, neither of which I had found yet. I decided I was going to need to head further north and uphill, which also seemed like a smart thing to do after polishing off an entire desert. I started to head towards a heuringer mentioned in my guidebook as having wonderful views of the city, but as not easily reached by public transport. I started the two mile uphill walk, and along the way found the vineyards and stunning views that I had been seeking. It was now about 7pm, and the evening was cool, but after a bit of walking, my fleece jacket was unnecessary.

Dessert burning time.

I find my first vines...and they are named after Bill Clinton? Not a bad choice, though...

The vineyards at dusk were wonderful, and as I continued hiking, the city of Vienna came into view over the top of the vineyards. I reached the heuringer and decided to continue the walk uphill, as I was having such a pleasant time, and the views were continuing to become more spectacular. I walked at least another mile and a half before the road began to twist away from beautiful views at the edge of the hill, and I knew that I was going to need to turn back or end up with a very long walk back in the dark.

Heading uphill

Vineyards with Vienna in the distance

Vienna, with the Danube river, in the distance

Me, having a great time.

I turned back down the hill, stopping at the heuringer I had passed earlier for one last glass of wine as the sun was setting. The restaurant courtyard was filled with families, misbehaving dogs, and impish children, which made for fantastic people-watching. As I headed down the hill, the moon was starting to rise, and I snapped a few photos of Vienna at night. The walk back to the subway station was about three downhill miles, and I was grateful for the change in incline.

Last stop of the night.

Vienna at night.

Feeling fairly exhausted, I rode the subway to my hostel and stepped through the front door at nearly midnight, where I discovered a raging party going on at the hostel bar. Some sort of touring party bus of mostly Australians had just gotten into town. After checking my email and locating a pair of earplugs, I headed towards my room to crash.

Sometimes, the consequence of staying in a hostel...is the Australian party bus.

Yesterday was my favorite day in Vienna, and one of my overall trip favorites. Today, I'm off to Salzburg for a daytrip and then Munich for the next four nights.

Day 35: Vienna

Yesterday was far cooler in Vienna, and sightseeing was a much more pleasant experience.

 

I started my day with a trip to one of Vienna's cafes for a leisurely morning of espresso drinking and newspaper reading. The best cafes have well-dressed waiters and international newspapers, and I can understand the cafes' popularity with the locals. My morning cafe, the Cafe Central, is one of the most famous in Vienna and was a favorite of Lenin, Freud, and Trotsky. While I stuck to coffee, the cafes also sell very impressive looking deserts and light food. Also, based on what I've observed, in the afternoon the drink of choice changes from coffee to wine or beer. Sounds like a lovely way to spend an entire day without ever having to leave the building.

 

Lovely. 

 Cafe Central.

 

After the caffeine kicked in, I went to the Imperial Palace Apartments, which were the former residences of the last Hapsburg Emperor until 1918. The apartments were beautiful, although I thought the tour was a bit overrated. The apartments also included a lengthy exhibit on the beautiful but eccentric wife, Sisi, of Emperor Franz Joseph I,. The Sisi portion was the most interesting part of the tour.

 

 

The New Palace, near the Imperial Apartments. 

 Near the Hofburg Palace

 

After the imperial apartments, I went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which houses the former art collection of the Hapsburg monarchy. These monarchs certainly knew how to collect art. The art museum did not disappoint, particularly the special exhibit on Durer and Holbein. I stayed longer than expected at the art museum, which is open late on Thursdays. I spent my evening at the hostel, and had the chance to meet some of my roommates.

 

 Kunsthistorisches Museum.

 

 

Front Stairway of the Art Museum. 

 

Overall, I'm really enjoying Vienna. The cafes are wonderful, and the city architecture reminds me a bit of Brussels, but much cleaner. The public transportation system is wonderful. So far, I've only found a couple of faults with the city. First, there are tour groups everywhere, and for every tour group there is an equal number of aggressive solicitors in Mozart costumes pursuing tourists on the streets to sell tickets to concerts where all the performers are likewise wearing silly Mozart-era costumes. The city is also overrun by horse-drawn carriages, but their presence is much more pleasant. Vienna's other fault is how terrible its street performers are: both today and yesterday I passed by a Mozart impersonator with gold face paint whose only street talent seems to be his very poor whistling skills. From what I can tell, he's not even whistling Mozart tunes. And he's not the worst I've seen.

 

 

Definitely no Mozart.

 

I've been enjoying Vienna so much that I've decided to stay an extra night. Back to Germany next. 

 

Day 34: Vienna

I'm fairly certain that the hostel receptionist was not just being nice when she asked if I'd like to use the guest shower as I checked in at 8am...I think her offering was more of a recommendation. 

My night train arrived in Vienna at 7.30am, and I grabbed my increasingly heavy duffle bag and caught the subway to my hostel. After arriving at my hostel's u-bahn stop and climbing the stairs,  I was a bit amazed by how hot and humid the city was so early in the morning. I should have known then that I was in for a very hot day. By the time I found my hostel, I was feeling more than just a little flushed. After checking in and dropping my bags in the luggage storage room, I took the receptionist's suggestion and grabbed a shower. By 9am, I was still feeling pretty warm, but I ventured towards Vienna's main sights.

I started the morning on Rick Steves' self-guided tour, stopping first at the Vienna Opera House. I was hoping to see an opera while I was in Vienna, but unfortunately the opera is in recess during July and August. So I opted for the one-hour guided tour so I could see the inside of the building. The actual auditorium itself wasn't overwhelmingly spectacular, excluding the grand chandelier, but the side halls and reception rooms were stunning. The most amazing fact about the Vienna opera is that they don't run one show each night for several weeks, as most houses do, but instead the house changes the show each night. Operas are repeated a few times per season, but never on consecutive nights and the number of performances per season of any one opera are capped. Incredible! The amount of extra work (and cost) required to change the set each night is unfathomable, but encouraging an appreciation of traditional culture in its citizens is of high importance to the Austrian government. My MBA-operations-major-now-warped-brain can't help but think that there might be a more cost effective way to achieve similar results, but business school also teaches us that certain elements of every enterprise are "sacred" to its core principles. Clearly, the Viennese find variety sacred.

One other clear sacred principle of the opera house that I did unquestionably admire was its strong belief that the opera should be accessible to everyone. This tenet was achieved in two ways: first, by providing standing room only tickets at prices costing less than a Vienna cafe cappuccino, and second, by offering self-selecting language translation screens at all seats and standing sites. I greatly respected this egalitarian balance between the desire to perform unaltered masterpieces in their original languages with a willingness to use modern technology to enhance the viewers' understanding and appreciation of the performances. 

Photos of the opera house:

The grand chandelier

Backstage the opera house

Formerly the Emperor's private reception, now used by the Austrian government or rented to the public

An intermission room with art from the post-WW II rebuilding in 1955


After the un-airconditioned opera house (modern AC is thought to be bad for the singers' voices), I continued the rest of the walking tour...and by the time it was done I needed yet another shower. The forecast for the day had been a high of 88 degrees, but when I checked my iPhone, the temperature was already at 93, and the city was sweltering. By 3pm, I went back to my hostel...it was just too hot to be on the streets any longer. The temperature was now 95 degrees, and although I was enjoying Vienna, there was no way I was going back out there. I spent the evening hanging out in the hostel common room, which was also unairconditioned, but at least I didn't have to move. I watched the USA women's soccer team's victory over France with a group of very enthusiastic Canadians. When the Canadians were asked why they were cheering for the USA, their response was that they were "rooting for North America." Interesting rationale...but I appreciated that I wasn't the only one clapping for the USA and not the French underdogs. After watching part of the Sweden versus Japan semi-final, I retired to a very hot 6-bed dorm. 

The forecast for the next couple days is far cooler...so more of Vienna is to come.

Day 33: Bern and off to Vienna

Miles logged: 19,412
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By yesterday morning, I was starting to feel a tad restless. Switzerland was absolutely beautiful, but not very exciting: I've decided the place is too expensive to be of much fun. When a McDonald's meal costs $13 (yes, I'm sorry that I know that, but the place happened to be the only convenient restaurant open after 8pm, and I had planned poorly), the nightlife is pretty sad and even the cafes close early. I had a craving for something more exciting than admiring Switzerland's lakes and mountains. At this point, I'd spent maybe a little too much time immersed in the view from train windows.

So I rented a bicycle for 4 hours yesterday morning. Trying to maneuver a bike through city traffic, around flying cars, and beside weaving scooters turned out to be more than exciting, it verged on occasionally terrifying. Sill, the rental allowed me do something a bit different and get out of the city. My first stop was to the Berne bears. The legend of the Berne bears goes something along the lines that the first animal killed on the site of the city's founding was a bear, so the city folk captured a few more to keep as mascots within the city, and hence forth the city's icon has been the bear. Until a few years ago, these bears were kept in something not much better than a large pit in the ground...and, of course, some animal rights activists had an issue with this. So now the bears have a very nice and large habitat along the canal on the edge of town, and their new home is most likely Bern's top sight (did I mention that Switzerland's cities weren't the most exciting?). I rode over to see the bears, who turned out to be very endearing. Two of the bears seemed to be acting up for the crowd, and were quite cute to watch playfighting.

I continued the bike ride onto the suburbs and outskirts of the city, where I finally got the picture I was craving: a cow with a real cowbell! A reoccurring theme of this trip seems to be about cows, but I don't mind because cows are freaking fun. A picture, and a video of cows with cowbells, are below:

After a good deal of biking, including a trip around the University-area of the city, I headed back to the center square, where I came across an open-air market. I snapped a few photos, my favorite of which is of a Swiss cheese stand. Before turning in the bike, I made a quick trip by the Einstein house, where the boy/man genius lived during the 1920s with his later estranged wife and developed his first inroads on the theory of relativity. I will say, Einstein had a pretty prime address during his time in Bern.

By early evening I had to pack up my day and head towards Zurich, where I had an overnight train to Vienna. Before this trip started, I felt like my European tour would not be complete without taking one overnight train. After my experiences last night, I am glad that the trip went as well as it did. I had booked a bed in a 6-bed female-only cochette, which turned out to be insanely tiny. Once the beds were assembled, it was uncomfortable to sit up high enough to take a sip from a bottle of water. Fortunately, the room was only half-full, and the other two Korean young women that were in the coach with me were very nice, and we were able to make the most of the situation.

I arrived in Vienna this morning, where it is incredibly hot today. The forecast was for 88 degrees. but it's already hit over 90. The hostel is great, but without AC...I may have to throw myself in one of these European fountains before the day is through. I hear it's hot on the East Coast, too. Mom may need to get here a little earlier so we can cool down in Helsinki and Tallinn!

Bern city view from the bike ride:

Busy Zurich Hautbanhof: