(the events June 21st thru 24rd - Vienna, Austria)
We left C. Krumlov early on Sunday morning aboard a shuttle mini-van to Linz, Austria. On the way we were passengers with a talkative Australian couple who had just completed a three week cruise through Europe via the Rhein-Main-Danube and we exchanged stories with them about our travels. When we arrived in Linz we caught the train to Vienna and were there in short time.

Vienna made a good first impression upon us. The U-bahn (subway) system was very easy to navigate and it was very well planned making it possible for us to get very near to all of the top sites easily. This was a real blessing for us because my Achilles was still extremely sore and limited my ability to walk at a normal pace. With little difficulty we found our apartment and were greeted by a very kind landlord. Vienna was shaping up to be a great visit thus far!

We were hungry and so we decided to head into the city center to see what we could find to eat. Our apartment was a bit further out of the center than it had been in Prague so it took us a good twenty minutes including a line change to reach it via the U-bahn. When we arrived at Swedenplatz we went to work reading the menus to try to find a place that suited our hunger. One nice thing about restaurants in Europe is that it is very common for them to post menus outside the front door for you to look at before entering. We quickly realized that we had made an error in not bringing our German "cheat sheet" with us - the menus were entirely in German! After checking several more and striking out finding English menus we settled on a very comfortable meal at McDonald's.

After the meal Laney wanted to grab some gelato from one of several vendors selling it. We chose a fancy looking joint that had specials on their menu ranging well into the $20 range -- for ice cream!!! Laney chose a very yummy double scoop of tirumasu/coconut and pineapple on a cone to go. It turned out to be too huge to walk around with so we grabbed a seat in the covered area that seemed to be used by other customers of the establishment. We had just taken our seat when a waiter approached us and said something to us in German. Laney assumed that he was offering us a menu and proceeded to answer "Nien!" to him -- now I must diverge a moment to give you a little back history here -- Laney took German for three years in high school, but she hasn't had a chance to use it since so most of it is gone. One thing that she definitely didn't forget is that No = Nien. The trouble is that she says it very forcibly so that it comes out less like "no" and more like the kind of "NO!!!" you would scream at your dog as you saw it chewing on the TV remote. So we now return to the restaurant and the waiter who approached us -- Laney's nein death scream nearly turned the poor man sheet white. He crumbled into pleading "Bitte? Please? You must leave thiz place. Iz only for customerz who order frum da menu." I quickly figured out what he was saying, but Laney was still confused. We found a street bench to sit on and I explained to her the waiter was trying to tell us that we could only sit there if we had ordered from the "stay-in" menu. He was nicely asking us to leave and in response she crushed the poor fellow with her firm NO! She was terribly embarrassed and pledged to work on softening her "nein" in the future and to make sure she understood what was being said before answering.

After dinner and the gelato we returned to our apartment for the night and worked on planning what we would do the next day. We decided that we would visit the city palace and royal museums and then also visit the Kuntzmuseum to see it's amazing collection of art work. It sounded like a good plan...

...but it was Monday. On Monday the museum quarter is all but shut down. Lucky for us the palace and it's specific museum was still open... but then the rain started. This wasn't a summer shower it was the Oregon spring rains that soak you to the bone while the wind freezes you and it didn't stop for hours at a time. How lucky for us that we were experiencing the beginning of one of the wettest summer storms to hit central Europe in the past ten years and it definitely put a damper on our visit to Vienna.

I'm not going to try to candy coat this blog entry any longer. Other than our apartment and a very well planned transit system most of Vienna was a big let down for us. Laney and I are very much the type of people that enjoy walking around outdoors and seeing architecture and gardens with a museum or two throw in for good measure. Due to the rain we forced to only visit indoor venues so that limited us to museums. Make no mistake about it - Vienna has some awesome museums! ...but we didn't come to Europe to be stuck indoors at museums so it was of little importance to us. We were really looking forward to visiting the gardens of the royal palaces and the oldest zoo in Europe, and the amazing for it's time atrium. We got none of that. In addition the architecture in Vienna was a real let-down after visiting Prague. The streets of Prague were all cobblestone and even the lamest of the buildings was nice on the eyes. Vienna was your standard metro center with some nice building here and there and some cobblestones here and there, but nothing at all compared to Prague. We did get into a nice concert at the palace that had the bonus of opera singers accompanying the orchestra and that was a very nice evening for us.

We were pretty excited when we were able to hop the train to Salzburg and were really looking to get away from the disappointment of Vienna. One of the best things about our visit to Vienna was that our landlord ended up giving us a 30% break on our rent due to noisy construction taking place on the street outside the windows. We gladly accepted her offer and headed for Salzburg.

(the events of Sat. June 20, 2009 - Cesky Krumlov)
By morning the rain had thankfully passed us by and we headed out to grab some food before the festival activities began. We ended up at the local bakery and each selected a couple of goodies from behind the glass using a mix of pointing fingers and attempted use of the words in Czech. The bakery, while not as good as those in Prague, satisfied our hunger for the time being and we headed back to the main square in town for the beginning of the day's activities.

When we arrived at the square we found it much more full of people than it had been the day before. When you're in a Czech crowd you realize very quickly that American's and Czech's don't share the same views on personal space. You will find people almost leaning up against you as things become crowded and they're perfectly comfortable with it that way. We however were less comforted by the close proximity of our neighbors and decided to continue on up to the Hotel Ruze to check out the scheduled Croatian folk dancers.

When we arrived at the Hotel courtyard we saw a group of people dressed in distinctive clothing, but were unsure if they were the Croatian dancers or just people dressing up for the renaissance festival. My father John has full Croatian heritage and fact he and my step-mom Jan were just over there visiting for the entire month of May. These dancers were a group hailing from the medieval walled city of Dubrovnik and it crossed my mind that perhaps my parents had seen the same group perform during their visit to Dubrovnik the previous month. I was just about to go up to them and ask when we heard some commotion and into the courtyard entered about 60-75 men and women in Croatian folk garb. Laney and I staked out a place that we thought would be a good one to watch the show and waited for it all to begin. We had no idea what a show we were in for. The dancing and singing lasted for well over an hour. During that time we got to see a septet sing Croatian folk songs, men and women dancing traditional dances, and a completely unexpected and elaborate military themed dance centered upon swords used for both dancing and fighting. It blew us both away and very nearly cost Laney an eye as it turns out our perfect place to stand was a bit too close to the action. We left very satisfied with what we had seen and excited to show the pictures to my dad.

After the folk dancers we headed back down to the main square and again the crowds were a bit too obnoxious for us so we decided to do a little souvenir shopping and grab some lunch. We didn't find anything that knocked our socks off souvenir-wise, but we were again impressed with the little hole-in-the-wall pub that we found the day before. Laney ordered another spicy potato pancake and I had pork "neck" in the potato pancake that Laney had ordered the day before. I washed mine down with more of the tasty local brew while Laney opted for some lemon soda that was very much like Sprite. The soda she ordered came in a very thick and interesting glass bottle that looked as though it had been used and reused since the Soviet-block era. When our meal was finished we checked the schedule and concluded that there was no way to avoid going back to the main square since the parade was about to begin and it offered the best option for seeing the procession. We made the short walk there in short time having learned how to shove our way through the crowds like the locals do.

The parade was actually very familiar to us. It was very much like a parade would be in the USA except that the participants were all dressed in period clothing, there were many more horses, and the floats were replaced by carriages carrying "nobles" as it wound it's way to the festival parade grounds. I'm not a huge fan of parades, but it was really quite a show to see streams of kids and adults pass by dressed in fancy and colorful clothing or wearing armor and carrying weapons. One thing that was notably missing was the "pooper-scooper" and with all of the horses taking part you better believe that it was needed. We were standing back a few rows from the parade route and I was trying to figure out why the whole procession seemed to be bogging down in our particular spot on the route. I pushed my way through the crowd to take a look and discovered that several feet of the road had been totally saturated in horse droppings. It was actually quite amusing to watch the lords and ladies tip-toe their way through the muck. After the last member of the parade had passed from the square the mass exodus of people began worming it's way down the narrow streets toward the festival parade grounds where a knight's tournament was to be held.

After a lot of crafty pushing and shoving Laney and I managed to work our way to spot very near the front of the crowd as we entered the parade grounds. We may have earned a few nasty looks, but as long as we didn't open our mouths we were just a pair of Czech's and pretty much blended right in. Our hard work earned us a place in the gallery of the red knight and we were led in cheers of "Viva la Rouge!" by the jester in charge of leading cheers for our section. We both took part with much enthusiasm and were having a great time with it all. The knights were in reality actors from the Knight's Academy in Cesky Krumlov and they put on a great show. In the end an actor playing a commoner won the tournament to the wild cheers from the audience and was rewarded by being granted a knighthood of his own. The whole show was very well done with a lot of comic relief between the knightly competitions and even a trio of belly dancers with snakes were thrown in for good measure. We had already enjoyed a very full day at the festival and there was still more to come including more live music in the main town square and a torchlight parade followed by fireworks. When we finally went to bed that night I slept so hard I might as well have been dead. We definitely had gotten all that we could of this visit to C. Krumlov!

Click the image below to see more pictures from this day:

Europe Day 08 - C Krumlov

Events of Friday, June 19, 2009 (Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic)

This morning we did our version of the Amazing Race! We ran down our hill to catch our bus when Dave partially tore his Achilles tendon. When we reached the bus station we had less than five minutes until our bus was scheduled to leave and Dave continued to have trouble walking. Then we were not able to determine easily which terminal we needed. No one else seemed to know either. (Now close your eyes and picture Dave and I jumping off a city bus and briskly hobbling down five blocks. I didn't even know if we were going the right direction. Then as we approach the station I run ahead of Dave and start asking anyone who I think may speak some English if they know where our terminals is. Some look the other way as if I am begging for money, others have a clueless look on their face, or if they do try to help they know less than we do. Our heads were on a swivel looking for our terminal, all the while trying to make any sense out of their numbering system. It truly was as scene out of Amazing Race, but I really hope there are no re-runs.) It seemed like an eternity until we found our bus which was thankfully boarding the last of the passengers. We had made it on the bus!

We soon found out that the bus company not only books the seats, but also the aisle. Although we knew that we had seats 39 & 40, we couldn't see the seat numbers anywhere. Two girls realized why I had a look of confusion on my face and explained in gestures that the seat numbers are on the back of the seats, about nine inches down. We slowly made our way past those standing in the aisle and as we approached the area of our assigned seats the two men who were in them purposefully covered up the numbers. The 6'6" 22 year old was not about to move for me to see the number so Dave came behind me and gently helped the guy sit forward to expose the seat number. We showed him our tickets and the two perturbed men moved out of our seats after scolding us for not arriving 15 minutes before departure. He had a point, but we held the tickets. We were happy so long as were seated and didn't have to stand for 2.5 hours.

In about 30 minutes we were in the countryside which looks similar to the western side of the Oregon coastal range except for more deciduous trees and the addition of birch trees.

It was raining when we arrived in Cesky Krumlov (C.K.). We decided not to let this dampen our spirits as we had lots to investigate in this lovely quaint town. We checked into the hostel where we had rented a small apartment down the hill. It was very rustic and had lots of personality. We decided to eat some traditional Bohemian food with the locals. Our new find was the "smoked pork neck in potato omelet" that I ordered. It was not nearly as scary as it sounds and was so good we went back the next day to have more. Down every cobblestone street was something different to explore and begging for its pictures to be taken.

Our itinerary put us in C.K. during their annual "Festival of the Five Petaled Rose". That meant that we would be able to attend the many activities of the renissance festival, but miss out on some of the quaintness of the town since tourist were swarming all over. We enjoyed the singing of folk poetry. We didn't have a clue what was being sung, but it was very cool and included lots of interesting instruments. The rain resumed around 8pm, so we headed back to the apartment to watch Gilmore Girls on the computer.

* It is amazing how well they have preserved the beautiful, old buildings.
* The sidewalks and many roads are still "paved" in coblestones. Even today, when they finish a construction project they will individually pound back in the coblestones as they have been for centuries. It is wonderful to see that this is not a lost art.
* They park on the sidewalks.
* They are stingy with their napkins and the ones they do have are extremely thin.
* The drinking water issue in restaurants!
* When the trolley and subway doors close, you had better not be in the way. They SHUT tight and fast!
* Dogs are everywhere! They are mostly smaller breed dogs, but are some of the most behaved ones I have ever seen. They go with their owners everywhere, often off leash. They are allowed in restaurants, on the subway and buses, and even in the theater. The only place that I saw they were forbidden were the grocery stores and the mall.
* They have an issue of owners not picking up after their pets on the sidewalks.
* We loved our stay and wish it could have lasted even longer!

Events of Thursday, June 18, 2009 (Prague)
We spent most of the day today at the Vyshrad, another castle complex. This one is more park-like and was espically beautiful today. We enjoyed the views of both modern and old buildings of town from the top of the castle walls. We toured an old cemetery containing graves from the mid-1800's through the present. We were curious as to the procedure they use to add additional bodies as it appeared this was the practice in some of the family plots. I once again voiced my opinion to be cremated upon death, but made Dave take a picture of the grave marker I liked in case that I go first and he decides to bury me against my wishes. (We have differing points of view on this so it made for an interesting conversation and some good laughs.)

We quickly visited the original medieval watchtower which today contains the small Vysehrad Gallery (modern art). Unbeknown to us, we made it to the Brick Gate in time for the last tour of the day into the case mates. To get to the Gorlice (a vault about six stories tall & the size of a football field) you walk down a long tunnel that was carved out of the rock under the fortress in 1742. The Gorlice contains numerous statues including some of those originally found on the Charles Bridge. The original purpose or this room was to house soldiers (6,000?) used to protect the fortress and later was used to store potatoes and carrots.

The evening consisted of an odd dinner in the apartment meant to use whatever food we had left. We took in a theater production called 'Cabinet' at the Image Theater consisting of comedy and imaginative dance using black lights. Dave was even pulled from the audience to participate! Thankfully it was for the comedy portion...

Events of Wednesday, June 17, 2009 (Prague)
On the first stop of the day we visited the Loreto. This one is a replica of the one in Loreto, Italy. The Loreto is said to be the house of Mary that floated from Jerulsalem to Loreto, Italy. A more accepted theory is thetat it was taken apart in pieces by Christian crusaders/pilgrims. It was first rebuilt on the Dalmation coast in Croatia, then moved a second time to Loro, Italy. I was stuck by the large size of the home. It was nearly two stories high with a simple brick arching ceiling and dirt floor. The building is surrounded by an open walkway that contains many confessionals and Catholic paintings. The grounds also contained a very ornate church. It was small in comparison to many of the ones we have seen in Prague, but due to its quaint size we were able to really appreciate all of the details of the decor and statues. At the front of of the church were two wax replicas of saints containing there actual bones. The church also contained many chubby cherubs which became quite disturbing. We also visited their vault containing some magnificent pieces covered in precious jewels.

We then walked down to the Prague Castle complex. It is very large and the exterior of the buildings were amazing. Once in the complex we toured the Schwarzenberg Palace museum containing Baroque art in Bohemia. We both decided we prefer the stone statues (chiseled) versus the Baroque (casted) statues. On display were time-telling (sundials, clocks, etc) devices which were interesting to see their progression over the centuries. In the basement were many liturgical robes. We both commented on how heavy they must have been to wear, and the more honor you had the Catholic church, the heavier the garments and head pieces. We had been being watched very closely the entire time, but when I pointed to a piece of jewelry that particularly caught my eye I quickly learned that you do NOT point in museums. At that "point" we ended our toured.

Dave & I then wandered the castle grounds some more and ended up in a torture chamber full of paraphernalia from the time. Dave found the Czech Republic military uniform display in the Powder Tower Mihulka particularly interesting. This was one of the few museums where one is permitted to take photographs.

We finished our day at a yummy bohemian restaurant several blocks from our apartment. It was a wonderful experience to enjoy the local fare in the locals' hangout. Dave enjoyed more Prague beer and I had an orange cream ice tea that we both enjoyed and will be looking for in the US. (As a side note, I don't know how the Czech's don't suffer from dehydration. Water is not served with any food unless you buy a small bottle (about 6 ounces) of it for about $3. It often cost twice that of a beer that's three times the size.) We shared a large plate of french fries that was served with a pile of both ketchup and tarter sauce. To our surprise, it was wonderful; the combination of sweet and sour was very good. For dessert Dave tried the honey cake, but it wasn't worth repeating. On the contrary, Laney had deep fried marzipan stuffed plums in a Bailey's cream sauce that was amazing! Dave ended up giving a 30% tip. Their custom is to give no more than 10%: stupid Americans or God Bless Americans. We don't know which they said.

(Events of June 16, 2009)
Dave and I didn't get to bed until 0230, so we had yet another late start. There seems to be a pattern starting here. We went for a nice tram ride today, only to find out that our tourist map was wrong, so after reorienting ourselves we changed our plans for the day and walked back over the Vltava river into the Old Town. The first official stop of the day was the Museum of Decorative Arts. The pieces that we admired most were inlaid furniture from the 15&1600's. Here I said goodbye in Ukranian instead of hello in Czech. Oops! I can't understand why people keep laughing at me when I attempt to speak. As a side note, I am able to blend in with the locals and even got the nod of approval from two grandmas. I just need to not open my mouth and I might pass, except Dave seems to hinder my incognito approach.

We toured the Powder Tower which is full of rich history, but I won't bore you here with the details. In the Old Town Square the Prague astronomical clock "goes off" every hour. We didn't pay nearly as much attention to the clock as we did to the huge crowd that surrounded it. We got a good laugh at the huge flock of people watching something less exciting and more frequent than watching the apple drop in Time Square.

Our next laugh of the day came during the beginning of our guided tour of the Municipal House. Laney and a German college student got verbally scolded for talking while the guide gave her sales pitch. Needless to say, that made us laugh even more and so we hung out with her during most of the tour discussing our opinions on the male versus female rooms' decor.

We ate dinner at Kolkovna where I had Petron goulash (excellent!) and Dave had the meat platter. Dave's 0.5 liter beer cost only 39 cK while Laney's 6 ounces of water cost 65 Cz. It is so different here in that respect. I do not know how the people in Czech Republic do not become dehydrated. Water comes with no meals, and since it is so expensive everyone drinks soda or beer instead. I normally don't drink much water, but really started to miss having it with each meal.

When starting to head back to our place, I realized in the subway that I needed to use the facilities. This was an odd experience that I am not desiring to experience again! You walk into the bathroom and a chain-smoking woman of Soviet stock puts out her hand for money. Thankfully, this part I was prepared for. However, looking over to see that she was just standing between the male and female "rooms" with a view of both made me a little uneasy. Then I proceeded to the stall only to realize there was no toilet paper. What had I just paid for? I decide to check the other two stalls and realize I must go attempt to ask Svetlana where the TP is located. Thankfully, I did not have to ask as it was hanging right by her. Once again I wondered what the money was for as the TP had to have been left over from a Soviet infantry stock. Let's just say it was not Charmin soft!