OK So I’m Just back from the above. Here are some thoughts, The Hotel I stayed in at Prague, The Waldstein, was great. It is very central, (Near Charles Bridge, which is a very important attraction), very close to everything in Prague. The accommodation was in the form of an apartment. My flight was arriving at 10.00 pm at night and I splashed out on a taxi direct to the hotel from the airport for security reasons. Cost : Estimated at euro 50. I was asked for 560 Crowns. I gave him 600. ‘twas worth it at that hour.. The distance is about 15kms and the logistics of doing it the ‘Public’ way don’t really stack up. I did use the trams and the bus on the way back and saved money, but the time spent getting there, while interesting, was maybe better spent looking at the astromical clock or suchlike. Prague is full of tourists and the sort of people who make money from them. having said that, it is a beautiful city. There is a fantastic museum full of all sorts of interesting exhibits, including a mammoth. I shouldnt have bothered with the audio guide at 100 crowns extra. You can find your way around easily enough. Don’t forget to look at the old black and white news reel footage of events that have taken place at the museum, going back to 1918. Amazing stuff! there are boat trips up and down the river which include jazz, dinner and all that sort of stuff. I opted for a two hour trip at the end of a hard day’s walking around. To be honest, an hour trip would cover cover the same ground,From There I went to Vienna by train, the next day. Here’s the rub. I booked 1st class tickets (Open til 30th Sept) Return at a cost of 4,900 crowns and duly deposited myself and herself in the train. However….. All of the 1st class seats were marked Reserved. We sat into two of them and were charged 20 euro extra!! However, 1st class is well worth it, as we discovered on the way back. I and she shared a 6 seater compartment in splendid airconditioned comfort while the 2nd class guys had to fight it out for seats. Vienna was brill. There’s a Festival on there at present which includes a Big Screen and food from all over the world. The beer’s great and the city centre is truly worth a look. I had a meal in Figmullers restaurant, Schnitzel, largest in the world but you need to book an hour or so before. Well worth it though, when you are ensconced and the masses are queued up outside slavering over your every mouthful. The Crypt of St Stephen’s church contains a great guided tour of the catacombs including the remains of thousands of victims of the Black Death plague and the organs of members the Hapsburg dynasty all contained in copper urns and preserved in alcohol. (I always knew that stuff was good for something!). Cost Euro 4.90. There was another astronomical clock in Vienna which I witnessed ringing at five past twelve.. Twas great.. all these figurines going in and out. However, it was spoiled by all the traffic., Every bus and refuse lorry in Vienna seemed to want to pass that spot at the same vital time. St Peter’s Church is well worth a visit. There was a concert of Bach etc. on at 3.00 and the interior of the church is absulutely beautiful to behold. All in all a great trip. I’ll probably remember a few more details tomorrow….If so I’ll pass them on.
What is there all to do in Vienna? I will be there in a months time but have no idea what to do! I will check out The Crypt of St Stephen’s church, anything else you recommend? Prague too I will be at, a few days earlier.
Ok, Here goes.. Vienna is basically a fairly compact city from the point of view of the main tourist drag. theres a main street which I approached from the metro stop at Karlsplein and seems to run down to St Stephen’s church and beyond. It is interesting to note that the main concentration of people on foot are around this part of town. If you turn off to the left or right and travel 100 metres or so, the streets become much quieter. Up near the start is the main concert hall and you will see lots of people selling concert tickets on the side of the street. they will be dressed in Mozart outfits, powdered wigs.. The whole thing. the tickets aren’t cheap. Don’t waste too nuch time with them. Off to the left is the clock with all the moving figurines. I can’t remamber the name of it now. I handed back the Lonely Planet guide to the library, but I think it’s called the Anchor clock. You need to be there at noon to see all of the show. The Crypt at St Stephen’s church does the tours at around 2.00pm at a cost of 4Euro 90. Very interesting, but not for the squeamish! I think I mentioned St Peter’s church. Well worth a look and there was a free concert on the organ at 3.00pm when we were there. The interior of the building is stunningly done out in the most amazing baroque style. Figlmuller’s restaurant is off to the right from the square where St Stephen’s is situated and you will get the largest weiner Schnitzel in the world there at a fairly reasonable price. You need to call by and book a table in advance to avoid having to queue for your dinner. I can’t tell you much about accommodation in Vienna as I was staying in a hotel as a guest a few miles out of town. It was very comfortable but I suspect a bit on the expensive side. I was lucky enough to be in a family room. There is one place which is well worth a visit but it’s a few metro stops out from town and thats the Schonbonn Palace. you will be offered a number of differnt tour options and an audio guide. We went for the mid range package and it was fantastic, we saw the inside of the palace and all of the various state rooms with very good info. via a hand held radio thingy. There was a demonstration of Apple Strudle making at the end. You wouldn’t believe how thinly they can spread the dough. (Nearly as thinly as a backpacker at the end of his holiday!) It is possible to buy a 48 hour combined bus and metro ticket for Euro30 and this is great value as you have the whole place at your finger tips. The other two things are the out of town on the hills wine and sausage taverns. We had a great night in one of them. Beware the guys with the accordions and violins. They will offer to play tunes for you but will be looking for 10 euro tips after. Not great value. The other ‘Must See’ is the Film Festival. that is over to the left of St Stephen’s Church about a mile or so in the Museum Quarter. There’s a Giant Screen and loads of public seating. They were doing Leonard Bernstein show while we were there. There’s a load of food outlets from all over the wotrld. Curries, and all of that sort of thing, great beers. You kniw the sort of stuff. I can’t say that we saw all that was to be seen but we had a great time in Vienna. Prague is a different but equally enjoyable kettle of fish. I’ll give you a bit on that tomorrow.