Birthday Weekend: Vienna and Bratislava
For my birthday I decided on a short weekend trip to Vienna and Bratislava. I flew Austrian Airlines into Vienna (95E) and EasyJet back out to Lyon (70E) and stayed at the Best Location Hostel (Lindengasse 4) in Vienna, Austria for two nights in a 4-bed female only dorm (34E). Flixbus took me from Vienna to Bratislava for 7E each way and after learning the hard way in Sweden, I only scheduled 6 hours in Bratislava. I figured since it's a city 6 would be enough time to get around and see the various castles and such without having hours of waiting time and still get me back into Vienna in time for the concert.
I must admit, Slovakia is my favorite place now. Bratislava is a beautiful city with lovely people. An hour walking around gave me my bearings before heading up to the castle and museum. Three hours was enough o go through the museum. It was beautiful and I highly recommend it. If nothing else, then for the selfies. :) I found an artist I really like: Martin Benka. He did a lot of agriculture and everyday life art that looks like a photo from a few feet away. I definitely need to find a print or two for my room.
Sitting in the museum shop, I feel like Slovakia would be an easy place to live. The people have all been very friendly and they are proud of their country without being nationalistic. Perhaps it is their past with Czech Republic, perhaps it is the disastrous time under the Nazis and Communists, but they are genuinely warm and open and so far it has been a joy to wander around the city. I would love the chance to explore the countryside more- perhaps a long weekend up in the mountains in a smaller village. Someplace I could curl-up in front of a fire with a cafe or hike up into the mountains. Both would be lovely.
I picked up a warm green shawl to counter the cold temperature and while better packing on my part would have saved me the expense, it's nice to have a useful, non-touristy item as a reminder of the trip. I did buy the obligatory postcards, magnet, and patches, but I also forgot a bag, so I picked one of those up as well. :)
More than one wedding party has passed by, the stark black and white made soft in the mid-winter fog. It's a perfectly 'Novembery' day- the sky presses down on us, not in threat, but as if a worn and faded blanket had been pulled across the sky. The light is muted, faint and wanting for a candle or fire, something soft and natural, something warm and cozy. I understand now the sparkling white interiors of the palaces- of the need for gilding and dazzling chandeliers- their lightness brightness up the dark winter days and nights, and yet it is all the bronzed statues and slate-green roofing tiles I love the most. A feeling of age and history clings to them. If I touch them it is almost as if I was there, hearing the clopping hoofs of horses, the dinging trolley bells, the wafting sounds of opera and harpsichord through open windows. I will have a difficult time getting back on the bus tonight. I've been a visitor in another time and I truly enjoyed every minute of it. I ended the evening with church bells, a choir, and a procession of lights held by children throughout the city. A magical evening to be sure.
Austria has a different feel to it from Slovakia. It's more formal, a bit austere and less friendly. People don't smile at strangers and the rush is tangible. You can taste it, like stale coffee and cigarettes, because everyone in Europe smokes & coffee is the only thing keeping the homicide rate down. In Vienna I booked a Strauss and Mozart Concert at the Kursalon (69E for seating in A) through Vienna Concert. The Salonorchester Alt Wien, one of the best-known interpreters of classical Viennese music, presents an evening full of Viennese charm with the lilting sound of waltzes, polkas, arias and duets, as well as operetta and piano concerto melodies. Accompanied by excellent opera vocalists and our enchanting ballet soloists, Vienna's classical music reveals itself as a living firework display for all the senses.
I also booked a Trip to the Vienna Woods Region (71E) which was a half-day excursion through the southern part of the Vienna Woods. Passing the Roman City of Baden which is famous for its thermal springs, we drive through the romantic valley Helenental to the former Mayerling hunting lodge, (visit of memorial chapel), where Crown Prince Rudolph together with Baronesse Vetsera died tragically in 1889. In the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz (1133) you visit the medieval cloister which houses the remains of the last Babenberger. We then pass the Höldrichsmühle and arrive at the Seegrotte. After a boat ride on the largest subterranean lake in Europe you leave the Vienna Woods and return to Vienna.
I must admit, Slovakia is my favorite place now. Bratislava is a beautiful city with lovely people. An hour walking around gave me my bearings before heading up to the castle and museum. Three hours was enough o go through the museum. It was beautiful and I highly recommend it. If nothing else, then for the selfies. :) I found an artist I really like: Martin Benka. He did a lot of agriculture and everyday life art that looks like a photo from a few feet away. I definitely need to find a print or two for my room.
Sitting in the museum shop, I feel like Slovakia would be an easy place to live. The people have all been very friendly and they are proud of their country without being nationalistic. Perhaps it is their past with Czech Republic, perhaps it is the disastrous time under the Nazis and Communists, but they are genuinely warm and open and so far it has been a joy to wander around the city. I would love the chance to explore the countryside more- perhaps a long weekend up in the mountains in a smaller village. Someplace I could curl-up in front of a fire with a cafe or hike up into the mountains. Both would be lovely.
I picked up a warm green shawl to counter the cold temperature and while better packing on my part would have saved me the expense, it's nice to have a useful, non-touristy item as a reminder of the trip. I did buy the obligatory postcards, magnet, and patches, but I also forgot a bag, so I picked one of those up as well. :)
My stop for dinner was probably my favorite part of the trip. Half of it is probably the atmosphere- the restaurant is practically empty- a feeling of being the only one being waited on- of a private chef and waitstaff. The glass atrium overlooks a plaza in the beginning of Christmas decorations and lined with black barked beech trees- the golden-green leaves rain down on bundled up passerby and children playing on the teeter-totters. The stately philharmonic flows into the surrounding buildings- beige, cornflower blue, straw yellow...all between six and eight stories tall, walling you in the past. An imagined by-gone era, a time of horse-drawn carriages, corsets, and powdered wigs.
More than one wedding party has passed by, the stark black and white made soft in the mid-winter fog. It's a perfectly 'Novembery' day- the sky presses down on us, not in threat, but as if a worn and faded blanket had been pulled across the sky. The light is muted, faint and wanting for a candle or fire, something soft and natural, something warm and cozy. I understand now the sparkling white interiors of the palaces- of the need for gilding and dazzling chandeliers- their lightness brightness up the dark winter days and nights, and yet it is all the bronzed statues and slate-green roofing tiles I love the most. A feeling of age and history clings to them. If I touch them it is almost as if I was there, hearing the clopping hoofs of horses, the dinging trolley bells, the wafting sounds of opera and harpsichord through open windows. I will have a difficult time getting back on the bus tonight. I've been a visitor in another time and I truly enjoyed every minute of it. I ended the evening with church bells, a choir, and a procession of lights held by children throughout the city. A magical evening to be sure.
Restaurant CarneValle:
The duck melts in your mouth, the crème brûlée is buttery and the cafe has a nice bitter bite to counter the sugary dessert. Bratislava then, is my version of Hemingway's Paris, for I've never felt the driving need to capture the setting in prose while staring at my camera.
Procession of Lights:
Falling leaves clatter like heavy rain on the glass ceilings of the cafe's arboretums. children bundled up like mini-snowmen clutch their parents' with one mittened hand, while lanterns of every color and design bob and weave in the amber glow of the street lamps. They call out to each other - happy, giggling children out on an adventure- the lanterns weaving through the city street in the organized chaos of the procession.
Austria has a different feel to it from Slovakia. It's more formal, a bit austere and less friendly. People don't smile at strangers and the rush is tangible. You can taste it, like stale coffee and cigarettes, because everyone in Europe smokes & coffee is the only thing keeping the homicide rate down. In Vienna I booked a Strauss and Mozart Concert at the Kursalon (69E for seating in A) through Vienna Concert. The Salonorchester Alt Wien, one of the best-known interpreters of classical Viennese music, presents an evening full of Viennese charm with the lilting sound of waltzes, polkas, arias and duets, as well as operetta and piano concerto melodies. Accompanied by excellent opera vocalists and our enchanting ballet soloists, Vienna's classical music reveals itself as a living firework display for all the senses.
I also booked a Trip to the Vienna Woods Region (71E) which was a half-day excursion through the southern part of the Vienna Woods. Passing the Roman City of Baden which is famous for its thermal springs, we drive through the romantic valley Helenental to the former Mayerling hunting lodge, (visit of memorial chapel), where Crown Prince Rudolph together with Baronesse Vetsera died tragically in 1889. In the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz (1133) you visit the medieval cloister which houses the remains of the last Babenberger. We then pass the Höldrichsmühle and arrive at the Seegrotte. After a boat ride on the largest subterranean lake in Europe you leave the Vienna Woods and return to Vienna.
Comments
Post a Comment