Prague nearly did me in. Well, to be frank, an excess of beer and a heavy dose of stupidity nearly did me in. When we last left you, we were about to head off for a beer tour of the city. Of course, with a bit of time to kill, we cleverly decided a few warm up brews were necessary. Coincidently ending up in the same bar at which we'd swilled tequila and Bloody Maries the night prior, we got stuck into the steins and were already ticking over when we met the tour group at the Wenceslas Square statue. The tour took us to five pubs, of which I only really remember three. We had a meal at one, tried some scary schapps-like stuff at another, and my night effectively ended with a couple of shots of absynthe, reputedly 70% alcohol.
Needless to say, the next day I was poorly but we still had to see the sites. We made it to the Astronomical Clock for the great anti climax of it chiming, we crossed the Charles Bridge, which was beautiful despite teeming with tourists, and took a big walk around the Prague Castle. We rounded out the day with a traditional Czech lunch and some shopping for warmer clothes, then went out for dinner at a very pleasant pub-restaurant. Here we tried hot apple punch which, unfortunately, was loaded with rum and smelled like diesel with a splash of apple juice. We also discovered that there's a drink called 'grog' but were disappointed to learn that it is simply rum with hot water. Yuck.
Our train journey to Munchen was uneventful apart from a pile of drunken, lederhosen-wearing Germans piling into the first class cabin with us half an hour from our destination. Despite it being the end of the day, they put Australian drinking records to shame - a few girls passed around a few bottles between them and surely would have knocked over two bottles in that short journey.
Last night we had the mixed pleasure of our first beer garden experience, mixed because despite the food and beer being really good, the 8,000 or so seats in the beer garden itself were deserted due to inclement weather. Nevertheless, the meat-meat-meat spectacular I had was good, and, apart from a deceptively-named dunkel weiss bier (not a fan of wheat beer), the beer was cracking. The service was also good; the waiter had a good laugh at us struggling to read the all-Deutsch menu and eventually took pity, saying "why didn't you ask for an English menu?". Duh.
Today the weather is abject poo. On the way to writing this little diatribe we went to four venues seeking an umbrella, which we have now secured. However, the persistent rain is dampening many plans; a recommended free walking tour of Munich is looking unlikely, and beer gardens more so, especially given that I feel like my stomach has recently turned into a rusty spin dryer. Regardless we will go out again shortly and tackle the day, saving energy for the Oktoberfest (and maybe the AFL Grand Final) tomorrow.
28 September 2007
26 September 2007
Horses, beer and gothic towers
I'm going to begin by saying that I want a Lipizzaner...
The performance by the Lipizzaner stallions at the Spanish Riding School was absolutely awesome and worth every cent of the very expensive ticket prices. The venue itself was almost opera-esque - gallery seating on two levels looking down on the arena, and we had the perfect seats - on the lower level, about 3 metres above the ground and right in the centre of the long side of the arena.
Bear with me while I go through the highlights for me - they probably won't make a whole lot of sense to anyone who hasn't ridden horses for half their life, but I need to record them before they disappear from my memory. Unfortunately we weren't able to take any photos of the performance, and although everyone had cameras, they all obeyed the rule so I did too. I now regret that because all we have are several photos of the empty arena, but at least they are proof that we were actually there.
The first part of the performance was a group of eight young stallions still in training and performing fairly basic dressage movements. The mere fact that there were eight young stallions in the same confined space was interesting enough in itself, as some of them were absolutely exploding with hormones and a few 'mistakes' were made. It was then that the brilliance of the riders first became apparent - despite the antics of these very strong and exciteable young horses, the riders remained calm, quiet and with the softest hands you can imagine.
After this came a group of four of the mature stallions who performed more advanced movements that easily outstripped the abilities of the top international Grand Prix dressage horses, who are usually pushed beyond their abilities too quickly and eventually break down. These horses were almost perfectly calm and well behaved, supple and fit and performed all of the movements with no restraint or stiffness. This was followed by a team of two horses that performed similar movements in mirror image of each other, including some amazing feats such as simultaneous canter pirouettes around one another.
After this came the group of horses in ground training (all the horses are taught the movements from the ground first and then in the saddle with a rider), and this was where we saw the 'airs above the ground', the movements that most people come here for. These included the levade, a controlled rear which takes an enormous amount of strength from the horse, the capriole, which involves the horse rearing, then launching himself into the air and kicking out behind so that for a moment he is suspended horizontally in the air, and another movement that I can't remember the name of, where the horse rears and then leaps forward for two or three bounds on his hind legs.
This was followed by a single horse in long reins with the handler guiding the horse from the hindquarters. This was also cool because it was very difficult to tell how the handler was cueing the horse to perform each movement.
After this they brought out the big guns - the fully mature and trained horses performing the airs above the ground with riders, who incidentally do not use stirrups at all. This was amazing in itself, as the rider is sitting on a saddle almost completely vertical, with no stirrups while the horse leaps along, and the whole time his hands remained soft in the horse's mouth. I hate to think how many times these riders have bad falls before they master this.
The finale was my favourite - eight fully trained, mature stallions performing precision drill-style dressage literally nose to tail. It wasn't the most spectacular part of the performance but to see the happy, eager look on the horses' faces, their calm disposition and the effortless ease with which they performed was an absolute pleasure. On top of this, I saw the best riding I've ever seen in my life, particularly by the leading rider, who was an old guy in his 50s with a rather large paunch, but who had the softest hands I've ever seen. His horse was the calmest and most picture-perfect dressage horse you could image. I couldn't take my eyes off him for the whole performance.
Now I've got that out of my system I'll let George give you his interpretation of the performance from a non-horse person perspective, and he can also fill you in on our activities since we've been in Prague.
Hello, 'tis me. Not once did I think of the Spanish Riding School visit as "Bec's thing" as I was sure I'd find it interesting. In fact, I even quite enjoyed the Lipizzaner museum, particularly watching amazing video of these horses leaping in the air and kicking their hind legs out behind them, in an ancient battle technique called 'the capriole.' Seeing the capriole live is what I came to be excited about, but it turns out the whole show was more amazing than I could have imagined. The sheer control of both riders and horses - not necessarily one over the other, but in general - was staggering. To see, right in front of you, a guy of your size and weight, sitting on a horse as it jumps 3 to 5 steps on its hind legs, or leaping in the air and kicking out at an invisible opponent, is simply dazzling.
The 'slow' bit that Bec really enjoyed was as enjoyable to me; if you can imagine the Holden Precision Team driving independent, strong-willed animals within an inch of death, then you've got the idea. It's not necessarily as dangerous, but Bec is not joking when she says 'nose to tail.' It was beyond perfect. These horses and riders have obviously put in so much time and practice you cannot but be impressed. I literally had hairs standing up on the back of my neck.
Anyhoo, after the riding school we decided to wind down at a few Heurigen houses. Unfortunately it was a mission to get there and back as one section of the normally superb subway line was down, necessitating no less than four changes. We made it in the end and enjoyed sturm ('new' wine that is not entirely fermented, leaving it sweet, slightly effervescent and looking like cloudy apple juice) at one Heurigen house at which we were in danger of being hit by falling chestnuts. We moved to another that had sold out of sturm (it is a rare treat, available only in September of each year, making us very lucky) but we had a wine and a pretzel and watched a Wednesday-doppelganger cat eat and wash. Finally we settled at a place which turned out to have a great buffet and plenty of sturm. We sat outside and I ate until I literally felt sick, making the five trains home quite a debacle.
The train trek to Prague the next day started in a first-class cabin shared with Kiwis (one of whom looked strikingly familiar). We got kicked out of first as our ticket from Breclav to Prague technically didn't allow it, then spent our first hours in the Czech capital trying to resolve issues such as IPods left in Vienna, extremely bad hair and unsuitable shoes. Achieving some of these, we rewarded ourselves by meeting Tom again, as well as Sarah and Matt (Bec works with Sarah) and hitting the booze in a big way. Tom, in his inimitable style, had met a lovely young Mexican lass called Jennifer in Barcelona and brought her along as well, meaning we had a great team to celebrate his 30th birthday in this most magnificent of cities.
We celebrated with a butt-kicking dinner near the famed Astronomical Clock, which of course involved pant-loads of beer, and drinks at a little bar on the way back to respective hotels (tequila slammers and Bloody Maries with double vodka were involved).
With limited memories of last night, Bec and I met Tom again late this morning and climbed the Powder Tower which gave great views over Prague and a coming rain storm. Farewelling Tom, we scoffed some dodgy local vendor food and headed off to shop for clothes on the cheap. With some success, and the rain pelting down, we ducked into the first available bar, which by coincidence was the same as we'd indulged in various spirits the night prior. And that, two and a half litres of beer later, brings us to now.
Tonight we're copping out to the tour thing and seeing traditional beer halls and the like. I personally can't wait. Until next time.
Prost!
The performance by the Lipizzaner stallions at the Spanish Riding School was absolutely awesome and worth every cent of the very expensive ticket prices. The venue itself was almost opera-esque - gallery seating on two levels looking down on the arena, and we had the perfect seats - on the lower level, about 3 metres above the ground and right in the centre of the long side of the arena.
Bear with me while I go through the highlights for me - they probably won't make a whole lot of sense to anyone who hasn't ridden horses for half their life, but I need to record them before they disappear from my memory. Unfortunately we weren't able to take any photos of the performance, and although everyone had cameras, they all obeyed the rule so I did too. I now regret that because all we have are several photos of the empty arena, but at least they are proof that we were actually there.
The first part of the performance was a group of eight young stallions still in training and performing fairly basic dressage movements. The mere fact that there were eight young stallions in the same confined space was interesting enough in itself, as some of them were absolutely exploding with hormones and a few 'mistakes' were made. It was then that the brilliance of the riders first became apparent - despite the antics of these very strong and exciteable young horses, the riders remained calm, quiet and with the softest hands you can imagine.
After this came a group of four of the mature stallions who performed more advanced movements that easily outstripped the abilities of the top international Grand Prix dressage horses, who are usually pushed beyond their abilities too quickly and eventually break down. These horses were almost perfectly calm and well behaved, supple and fit and performed all of the movements with no restraint or stiffness. This was followed by a team of two horses that performed similar movements in mirror image of each other, including some amazing feats such as simultaneous canter pirouettes around one another.
After this came the group of horses in ground training (all the horses are taught the movements from the ground first and then in the saddle with a rider), and this was where we saw the 'airs above the ground', the movements that most people come here for. These included the levade, a controlled rear which takes an enormous amount of strength from the horse, the capriole, which involves the horse rearing, then launching himself into the air and kicking out behind so that for a moment he is suspended horizontally in the air, and another movement that I can't remember the name of, where the horse rears and then leaps forward for two or three bounds on his hind legs.
This was followed by a single horse in long reins with the handler guiding the horse from the hindquarters. This was also cool because it was very difficult to tell how the handler was cueing the horse to perform each movement.
After this they brought out the big guns - the fully mature and trained horses performing the airs above the ground with riders, who incidentally do not use stirrups at all. This was amazing in itself, as the rider is sitting on a saddle almost completely vertical, with no stirrups while the horse leaps along, and the whole time his hands remained soft in the horse's mouth. I hate to think how many times these riders have bad falls before they master this.
The finale was my favourite - eight fully trained, mature stallions performing precision drill-style dressage literally nose to tail. It wasn't the most spectacular part of the performance but to see the happy, eager look on the horses' faces, their calm disposition and the effortless ease with which they performed was an absolute pleasure. On top of this, I saw the best riding I've ever seen in my life, particularly by the leading rider, who was an old guy in his 50s with a rather large paunch, but who had the softest hands I've ever seen. His horse was the calmest and most picture-perfect dressage horse you could image. I couldn't take my eyes off him for the whole performance.
Now I've got that out of my system I'll let George give you his interpretation of the performance from a non-horse person perspective, and he can also fill you in on our activities since we've been in Prague.
Hello, 'tis me. Not once did I think of the Spanish Riding School visit as "Bec's thing" as I was sure I'd find it interesting. In fact, I even quite enjoyed the Lipizzaner museum, particularly watching amazing video of these horses leaping in the air and kicking their hind legs out behind them, in an ancient battle technique called 'the capriole.' Seeing the capriole live is what I came to be excited about, but it turns out the whole show was more amazing than I could have imagined. The sheer control of both riders and horses - not necessarily one over the other, but in general - was staggering. To see, right in front of you, a guy of your size and weight, sitting on a horse as it jumps 3 to 5 steps on its hind legs, or leaping in the air and kicking out at an invisible opponent, is simply dazzling.
The 'slow' bit that Bec really enjoyed was as enjoyable to me; if you can imagine the Holden Precision Team driving independent, strong-willed animals within an inch of death, then you've got the idea. It's not necessarily as dangerous, but Bec is not joking when she says 'nose to tail.' It was beyond perfect. These horses and riders have obviously put in so much time and practice you cannot but be impressed. I literally had hairs standing up on the back of my neck.
Anyhoo, after the riding school we decided to wind down at a few Heurigen houses. Unfortunately it was a mission to get there and back as one section of the normally superb subway line was down, necessitating no less than four changes. We made it in the end and enjoyed sturm ('new' wine that is not entirely fermented, leaving it sweet, slightly effervescent and looking like cloudy apple juice) at one Heurigen house at which we were in danger of being hit by falling chestnuts. We moved to another that had sold out of sturm (it is a rare treat, available only in September of each year, making us very lucky) but we had a wine and a pretzel and watched a Wednesday-doppelganger cat eat and wash. Finally we settled at a place which turned out to have a great buffet and plenty of sturm. We sat outside and I ate until I literally felt sick, making the five trains home quite a debacle.
The train trek to Prague the next day started in a first-class cabin shared with Kiwis (one of whom looked strikingly familiar). We got kicked out of first as our ticket from Breclav to Prague technically didn't allow it, then spent our first hours in the Czech capital trying to resolve issues such as IPods left in Vienna, extremely bad hair and unsuitable shoes. Achieving some of these, we rewarded ourselves by meeting Tom again, as well as Sarah and Matt (Bec works with Sarah) and hitting the booze in a big way. Tom, in his inimitable style, had met a lovely young Mexican lass called Jennifer in Barcelona and brought her along as well, meaning we had a great team to celebrate his 30th birthday in this most magnificent of cities.
We celebrated with a butt-kicking dinner near the famed Astronomical Clock, which of course involved pant-loads of beer, and drinks at a little bar on the way back to respective hotels (tequila slammers and Bloody Maries with double vodka were involved).
With limited memories of last night, Bec and I met Tom again late this morning and climbed the Powder Tower which gave great views over Prague and a coming rain storm. Farewelling Tom, we scoffed some dodgy local vendor food and headed off to shop for clothes on the cheap. With some success, and the rain pelting down, we ducked into the first available bar, which by coincidence was the same as we'd indulged in various spirits the night prior. And that, two and a half litres of beer later, brings us to now.
Tonight we're copping out to the tour thing and seeing traditional beer halls and the like. I personally can't wait. Until next time.
Prost!
23 September 2007
Guten Tag from Vienna
Forgot to mention in our last post that one of the benefits of the super long and mostly drunken train ride here was that it was our first journey that we could actually see substantial changes in the landscape along the way. It was also by far the most scenic trip yet, going between mountains covered with pine trees and tipped with snow, and through valleys that looked as well tended as a golf course but were complete wilderness.
The contrast of what we´ve seen of this whole country thus far with dirty, disorganised Rome is amazing. Everything here is absolutely immaculate and clean, even the metro stations and public toilets! The traffic is sedate and polite, the drivers readily give way to pedestrians, and the whole pace of this place is slower and more relaxed. You´d hardly guess it was such a big city until you try to walk all over it, like we did.
After our last post we were surprised to discover (particularly after our experience in Spain and Italy with the siesta) that none of the restaurants nearby were open at quarter past nine. So we decided that we weren´t really hungry anyway and skipped dinner altogether in preference of an early night.
The following morning we availed ourselves of the very generous and excellent breakfast here - at last, no more overly sweet pastries and cake. There were some other bizzare additions, such as cold meats, brie and swiss cheese, bread rolls and savoury dips, as well as the usual bread, eggs, bacon, cereal, yoghurt, etc. Surprisingly the coffee here is quite good too, even from an automatic machine, and far better than anything we had in Italy. OK, I´ll stop talking about food now.
After breakfast we started our tour of the city, checking out some of the numerous churches and palaces. The highlight was a quick tour of the catacombs beneath St Stephen´s Place, which displayed old statues that had been removed from the outer of the church as well as some more grisly scenes, such as centuries old bones stacked like firewood in individual rooms.
We also went into the Lipizzaner Museum, which chronicles some of the history of the Spanish Riding School as well as the care and training of the Lipizzaner stallions that perform in the show we´ll be seeing tomorrow. Now I´m even more excited about going.
Other than that we just walked absolutely everywhere in our usual pattern, came back to the hotel for a too-short rest before heading out to a restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet guide. It was called the "Gulaschmuseum", and suprisingly enough it served numerous different goulashes, including a chocolate dessert one, which we unfortunately couldn´t possible consider trying after our enormous main courses.
Today we mastered the metro system and did a little less walking. We went to the Hapsburg´s summer palace, a gargantuan palace with 1440 rooms and set on an enormous estate. We didn´t go inside but went for a big walk around the gardens, climbed a monument with a great view of the palace and grounds as well as a good bit of the city, then got ourselves lost in the maze. After this we had a tasty lunch at a cool jazz bar and were served by a grumpy cow of a waiter who wouldn´t even look at us when we spoke to her. She got no tip for her troubles.
Then we went to the House of Music, which was this bizarre interactive museum type thing where you could learn more about the theories of sound and music through a series of hands-on auditory experiments. It was weird.
Tonight we´re heading out to find an area of Heurigen, wine houses that serve their own wine fermented on the premises and are apparently very cool.
Not sure if I mentioned that tomorrow we´re going to the Spanish Riding School...?
Auf weidersehen.
The contrast of what we´ve seen of this whole country thus far with dirty, disorganised Rome is amazing. Everything here is absolutely immaculate and clean, even the metro stations and public toilets! The traffic is sedate and polite, the drivers readily give way to pedestrians, and the whole pace of this place is slower and more relaxed. You´d hardly guess it was such a big city until you try to walk all over it, like we did.
After our last post we were surprised to discover (particularly after our experience in Spain and Italy with the siesta) that none of the restaurants nearby were open at quarter past nine. So we decided that we weren´t really hungry anyway and skipped dinner altogether in preference of an early night.
The following morning we availed ourselves of the very generous and excellent breakfast here - at last, no more overly sweet pastries and cake. There were some other bizzare additions, such as cold meats, brie and swiss cheese, bread rolls and savoury dips, as well as the usual bread, eggs, bacon, cereal, yoghurt, etc. Surprisingly the coffee here is quite good too, even from an automatic machine, and far better than anything we had in Italy. OK, I´ll stop talking about food now.
After breakfast we started our tour of the city, checking out some of the numerous churches and palaces. The highlight was a quick tour of the catacombs beneath St Stephen´s Place, which displayed old statues that had been removed from the outer of the church as well as some more grisly scenes, such as centuries old bones stacked like firewood in individual rooms.
We also went into the Lipizzaner Museum, which chronicles some of the history of the Spanish Riding School as well as the care and training of the Lipizzaner stallions that perform in the show we´ll be seeing tomorrow. Now I´m even more excited about going.
Other than that we just walked absolutely everywhere in our usual pattern, came back to the hotel for a too-short rest before heading out to a restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet guide. It was called the "Gulaschmuseum", and suprisingly enough it served numerous different goulashes, including a chocolate dessert one, which we unfortunately couldn´t possible consider trying after our enormous main courses.
Today we mastered the metro system and did a little less walking. We went to the Hapsburg´s summer palace, a gargantuan palace with 1440 rooms and set on an enormous estate. We didn´t go inside but went for a big walk around the gardens, climbed a monument with a great view of the palace and grounds as well as a good bit of the city, then got ourselves lost in the maze. After this we had a tasty lunch at a cool jazz bar and were served by a grumpy cow of a waiter who wouldn´t even look at us when we spoke to her. She got no tip for her troubles.
Then we went to the House of Music, which was this bizarre interactive museum type thing where you could learn more about the theories of sound and music through a series of hands-on auditory experiments. It was weird.
Tonight we´re heading out to find an area of Heurigen, wine houses that serve their own wine fermented on the premises and are apparently very cool.
Not sure if I mentioned that tomorrow we´re going to the Spanish Riding School...?
Auf weidersehen.
21 September 2007
An addition - kind of important
Bec´s post covered everthing we´ve done and the magnificence of Vienzia very well BUT...
I must add, after an unforeseen sunscreen leakage, my phone is - to use a highly technical term - stuffed. If you need to contact me, please message (or in an emergency phone) Bec on 0412 411 081.
Chairs.
The G Man (yes, I´m pissed).
I must add, after an unforeseen sunscreen leakage, my phone is - to use a highly technical term - stuffed. If you need to contact me, please message (or in an emergency phone) Bec on 0412 411 081.
Chairs.
The G Man (yes, I´m pissed).
Three days in Venice is nowhere near enough
You see it in movies, you read about it, you see photos, but still nothing prepares you for the wonders of Venezia (Venice). It is absolutely amazing. Part of you thinks that maybe it's not actually real, and actually I'm still not sure if it is.
There's something completely surreal about wandering around streets where there are no cars, no scooters, no bicycles, no ambulances, no police cars. The roads are canals and the emergency services, taxis, buses and general transport are all via boat. It's an amazing place - the most unique place we have ever seen, and probably ever will see, again.
The reason we haven't written sooner is twofold - firstly, we've been so enthralled with Venice that we haven't been able to stop long enough to bear going inside as opposed to roaming around endlessly, getting ourselves lost and finding where we are again, and secondly because internet cafes were 7 euros an hour as opposed to the 2 euros an hour we've become accustomed to.
We stayed in an apartment, which was surprisingly cheaper than a hotel room, and it was so good to be able to cook real food again (especially considering Venice is the most expensive city in Italy). Our first day we walked around for a bit, found Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge, then went to the supermarket and bought up big on beer, wine, and groceries. You can't imagine how good it is to cook again after eating out at least once a day for more than a month - all we made was pasta with tomato sauce, chilli and basil and it was one of our best meals of the holiday! That's probably an exaggeration, but it really was such a relief that we couldn't get enough of it.
The following morning, after three weeks of croissants and sweet crap for breakfast, we had scrambled eggs, proscuitto and toast, followed by yoghurt and all bran and it rocked. We also made our own coffee, which, sadly, was better than the majority of the coffee we've had all over Europe (another realisation - coffee in Australia is actually better than in Italy).
That day we pretty much wandered all day with our mouths hanging open in amazement. We started by booking our train to Vienna, then we went to the ghetto which was the place that the Venetian Jews were forced to live before they were herded to their deaths at concentration camps. It was just a square, but it was kind of moving as well - there were plaques and you could kind of picture what it would have been like to live in a trapped community. At some stage we went back to our apartment and had leftover pasta for lunch (yum), then we set out again with the intention of getting purposely lost. We tried to get to some public gardens and then there was a huge thunderstorm and it pissed down with rain. We sheltered under an awning for a while waiting for it to stop, then eventually gave up and tried to walk out anyway. Finding that the rain was much heavier than we'd thought, we stopped under a canopy until the sun came out and the rain almost stopped and we ventured out again. As if all this wasn't enough, we were then pelted by huge pellets of hail, at which time we were luckily in front of a cafe, so we went in for a beer. Here we stayed for an hour or more talking to a fellow Australian who was also stranded there until the rain cleared up. By then the rain seemed to be gone for good so we headed back to our apartment, stopping on the way to buy some fish for dinner. Predictably, while we were in the supermarket it again started pissing down, but knowing we were close to home we decided to brave it anyway. Bunches of locals were lining the streets under awnings and laughing at us as we ran up the street in the pouring rain getting completely drenched, but we made it to our apartment for nice hot showers and a fantastic dinner of roast potatoes, salmon with lemon butter sauce and rocket and cherry tomato salad. Sound good? It was fantastic and it cost us about 5 euros.
We had originally intended to hit the town that night, but the rain persisted and we were so comfortable that we just stayed in and had a quiet one.
The next day (yesterday) we got up early and rushed down to San Marco Square (the biggest tourist area in Venice - a huge square with beautiful architecture and a massive church surrounding it). I was dubious about the lack of tourists but there was hardly anyone there and the morning sun was so beautiful, so we took shitloads of photos and eventually headed very slowly back to our apartment for breakfast, photographing all the way. We had another great breakfast of friend eggs on toast and cereal, then spent hours on the water bus to go to Lido, an island off Venice. Unfortunately Lido was a bit poo, with the promised beaches being rather crap. We salvaged the trip by having relatively good pizzas for lunch (our first paid meal in Venice), then we got back on the boat and went back to the mainland, walked through the gardens we'd missed the day before, then went back to the apartment for a bit of a rest.
After our big lunch we skipped dinner and finally went out to catch a bit of the Venice nightlife. We went to a swanky bar first where we were conducted to a table by a blonde woman who looked more like a hooker than a waitress and bought overpriced drinks and waited for half an hour for the bill before we pissed off as quickly as possible in search of a jazz bar George had spied two days before. Not accustomed to seeing Venice at night, we got lost for a while before finally finding the bar, which turned out to be closed on Wednesdays, and then gave up and went back to the apartment. Unfortunately I'd somehow hurt my back so was not altogether displeased to end the night with an Averna (Italian liquer, $50 a bottle in Adelaide, €9.90 in Venice).
Today was to be our first long haul journey, 8 hours to Vienna, and it was surprisingly bearable, especially when you consider that we were sharing our 6 person cabin with 4 loud Americans. Apart from being a bit loud, they turned out to be totally decent people (amazing enough). We spend the first half of the journey comparing our various cultural practices, which was surprisingly interesting, and then they shared their junk food with us, and then we discovered the drinks trolley served beer, and then we shared our pre-purchased bottle of red with them, and by the time we pulled into Wien we were thoroughly jolly and well aquainted.
We then got a cab to our hotel, dumped our crap and here we are filling you in before we go our for a Viennese dinner. We're now staying here for four days rather than going to Salzburg for two and here for two, so from now we have a minimum of three days in each place, which is quite comforting. Sunday we go to the Spanish Riding School; I can't wait!
We've come to the conclusion that one month is quite long enough for travelling: homesickness has settled in - we're missing Jedi (our dog), our house, our friends and family and I'd just about kill to ride a horse right now. I know the rest of the holiday is going to disappear so fast and I don't want to wish it away, but we've realised how good Australia is, particularly Adelaide (yes, laugh at your will, but try to deny we have it good). We've had no food that is as good or better than good Adelaide food and we crave a bit of order after risking our lives on Italian streets for the last week or two. We may well find that in Vienna and Germany: we'll see.
On that note, we should probably find some dinner. This has become rather long, but I didn't want to leave anything of Venice out.
Conclusion on Italy: if you've got a week or two, skip Rome unless you have a hankering to see the ancient Roman stuff - it is fascinating, but you have a shitload of tourists to contend with, a lot of grime and filth, crazy drivers and quite rude serving staff. Florence is better, but still with the crazy tourist shit. A great base for seeing Tuscany, which is one of the most beautiful places in the world in our opinion. So do that too. And do a Tuscany bike tour, it rocks, even if you're afraid of riding bikes (you'll get over it) and riding through vineyards and olive groves is well worth the physical effort (which is kind of essential in Italy anyway with all the olive oil in everything). Also Venice is an absolute must. Yes, it's expensive, but staying in an apartment makes it worthwhile and you'll never see a more amazing place in your life. It's just incredible. We took more photos there than we've taken just about anywhere!
Speaking of which, we're in the process of uploading photos from Barcelona to Venice into individual albums, so check out the link in the last post. I hope it works - we've had issues finding places that allow it, but there are plenty to peruse if you're keen. I hope you enjoy - sorry about the extreme length of this post.
And from Vienna - prost!!
There's something completely surreal about wandering around streets where there are no cars, no scooters, no bicycles, no ambulances, no police cars. The roads are canals and the emergency services, taxis, buses and general transport are all via boat. It's an amazing place - the most unique place we have ever seen, and probably ever will see, again.
The reason we haven't written sooner is twofold - firstly, we've been so enthralled with Venice that we haven't been able to stop long enough to bear going inside as opposed to roaming around endlessly, getting ourselves lost and finding where we are again, and secondly because internet cafes were 7 euros an hour as opposed to the 2 euros an hour we've become accustomed to.
We stayed in an apartment, which was surprisingly cheaper than a hotel room, and it was so good to be able to cook real food again (especially considering Venice is the most expensive city in Italy). Our first day we walked around for a bit, found Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge, then went to the supermarket and bought up big on beer, wine, and groceries. You can't imagine how good it is to cook again after eating out at least once a day for more than a month - all we made was pasta with tomato sauce, chilli and basil and it was one of our best meals of the holiday! That's probably an exaggeration, but it really was such a relief that we couldn't get enough of it.
The following morning, after three weeks of croissants and sweet crap for breakfast, we had scrambled eggs, proscuitto and toast, followed by yoghurt and all bran and it rocked. We also made our own coffee, which, sadly, was better than the majority of the coffee we've had all over Europe (another realisation - coffee in Australia is actually better than in Italy).
That day we pretty much wandered all day with our mouths hanging open in amazement. We started by booking our train to Vienna, then we went to the ghetto which was the place that the Venetian Jews were forced to live before they were herded to their deaths at concentration camps. It was just a square, but it was kind of moving as well - there were plaques and you could kind of picture what it would have been like to live in a trapped community. At some stage we went back to our apartment and had leftover pasta for lunch (yum), then we set out again with the intention of getting purposely lost. We tried to get to some public gardens and then there was a huge thunderstorm and it pissed down with rain. We sheltered under an awning for a while waiting for it to stop, then eventually gave up and tried to walk out anyway. Finding that the rain was much heavier than we'd thought, we stopped under a canopy until the sun came out and the rain almost stopped and we ventured out again. As if all this wasn't enough, we were then pelted by huge pellets of hail, at which time we were luckily in front of a cafe, so we went in for a beer. Here we stayed for an hour or more talking to a fellow Australian who was also stranded there until the rain cleared up. By then the rain seemed to be gone for good so we headed back to our apartment, stopping on the way to buy some fish for dinner. Predictably, while we were in the supermarket it again started pissing down, but knowing we were close to home we decided to brave it anyway. Bunches of locals were lining the streets under awnings and laughing at us as we ran up the street in the pouring rain getting completely drenched, but we made it to our apartment for nice hot showers and a fantastic dinner of roast potatoes, salmon with lemon butter sauce and rocket and cherry tomato salad. Sound good? It was fantastic and it cost us about 5 euros.
We had originally intended to hit the town that night, but the rain persisted and we were so comfortable that we just stayed in and had a quiet one.
The next day (yesterday) we got up early and rushed down to San Marco Square (the biggest tourist area in Venice - a huge square with beautiful architecture and a massive church surrounding it). I was dubious about the lack of tourists but there was hardly anyone there and the morning sun was so beautiful, so we took shitloads of photos and eventually headed very slowly back to our apartment for breakfast, photographing all the way. We had another great breakfast of friend eggs on toast and cereal, then spent hours on the water bus to go to Lido, an island off Venice. Unfortunately Lido was a bit poo, with the promised beaches being rather crap. We salvaged the trip by having relatively good pizzas for lunch (our first paid meal in Venice), then we got back on the boat and went back to the mainland, walked through the gardens we'd missed the day before, then went back to the apartment for a bit of a rest.
After our big lunch we skipped dinner and finally went out to catch a bit of the Venice nightlife. We went to a swanky bar first where we were conducted to a table by a blonde woman who looked more like a hooker than a waitress and bought overpriced drinks and waited for half an hour for the bill before we pissed off as quickly as possible in search of a jazz bar George had spied two days before. Not accustomed to seeing Venice at night, we got lost for a while before finally finding the bar, which turned out to be closed on Wednesdays, and then gave up and went back to the apartment. Unfortunately I'd somehow hurt my back so was not altogether displeased to end the night with an Averna (Italian liquer, $50 a bottle in Adelaide, €9.90 in Venice).
Today was to be our first long haul journey, 8 hours to Vienna, and it was surprisingly bearable, especially when you consider that we were sharing our 6 person cabin with 4 loud Americans. Apart from being a bit loud, they turned out to be totally decent people (amazing enough). We spend the first half of the journey comparing our various cultural practices, which was surprisingly interesting, and then they shared their junk food with us, and then we discovered the drinks trolley served beer, and then we shared our pre-purchased bottle of red with them, and by the time we pulled into Wien we were thoroughly jolly and well aquainted.
We then got a cab to our hotel, dumped our crap and here we are filling you in before we go our for a Viennese dinner. We're now staying here for four days rather than going to Salzburg for two and here for two, so from now we have a minimum of three days in each place, which is quite comforting. Sunday we go to the Spanish Riding School; I can't wait!
We've come to the conclusion that one month is quite long enough for travelling: homesickness has settled in - we're missing Jedi (our dog), our house, our friends and family and I'd just about kill to ride a horse right now. I know the rest of the holiday is going to disappear so fast and I don't want to wish it away, but we've realised how good Australia is, particularly Adelaide (yes, laugh at your will, but try to deny we have it good). We've had no food that is as good or better than good Adelaide food and we crave a bit of order after risking our lives on Italian streets for the last week or two. We may well find that in Vienna and Germany: we'll see.
On that note, we should probably find some dinner. This has become rather long, but I didn't want to leave anything of Venice out.
Conclusion on Italy: if you've got a week or two, skip Rome unless you have a hankering to see the ancient Roman stuff - it is fascinating, but you have a shitload of tourists to contend with, a lot of grime and filth, crazy drivers and quite rude serving staff. Florence is better, but still with the crazy tourist shit. A great base for seeing Tuscany, which is one of the most beautiful places in the world in our opinion. So do that too. And do a Tuscany bike tour, it rocks, even if you're afraid of riding bikes (you'll get over it) and riding through vineyards and olive groves is well worth the physical effort (which is kind of essential in Italy anyway with all the olive oil in everything). Also Venice is an absolute must. Yes, it's expensive, but staying in an apartment makes it worthwhile and you'll never see a more amazing place in your life. It's just incredible. We took more photos there than we've taken just about anywhere!
Speaking of which, we're in the process of uploading photos from Barcelona to Venice into individual albums, so check out the link in the last post. I hope it works - we've had issues finding places that allow it, but there are plenty to peruse if you're keen. I hope you enjoy - sorry about the extreme length of this post.
And from Vienna - prost!!
17 September 2007
To the next venue
Florence is done. Well, not quite, as we only yesterday discovered the beauty of regional Tuscany, less than an hour from the tourist-drenched streets of Florence.
Anyhoo, after we last left you (with the seemingly unrepeatable miracle of being able to upload photos) we found a cool-looking bar at which to cool our heels. A highlight for me was the local dark ale, the name of which escapes me, but the highlight overall was discovering Veuve Cliquot was available by the glass. I lashed out on one for Bec who can probably never again drink that Aussie muck...(tongue in cheek).
On Saturday we had it in our heads that we were going on our long-planned cycling tour of Tuscany however plans were once again thwarted in that our booking was for one reason or another one week out. However it turned out the tour was overbooked Saturday and underbooked Sunday so we got an easy exchange. We spent the day instead being typical tourists - we climbed the cupola (the inner dome) of the Duomo which really was worth the wait despite my various rants about tourists and line ups, we walked around the entirety of the city seemingly looking for uniquely Tuscan places to eat and drink and ended up settling in the Santo Spirito area where we knocked over a local spumante and then had dinner at the Lonely Planet recommended Trattoria Casalinga. The recommendation is highly advocated - the food as well as the service seems totally genuine e.g. no quarter is given for tourists, the place was packed with locals and was absolutely bloody fabulous. Bec had a seafood anti pasto and the famed cured ham with rockmelon and I enjoyed what was easily one of my top 5 favourite ever steaks, in Florentine style which I think just means 'with salt, pepper and oil and perfectly cooked.' We also had to put to rest many of our preconceptions (read prejudices and stereotypes) about American tourists during this dinner as we got talking to a guy from Boston who just so happened to speak fluent Italian and helped us out with the waitress who, albeit highly efficient, was not at all interested in parla Inglese. We had a drink with Tony after for his troubles.
Yesterday we finally got to savour the sights and flavours of the real Tuscany on our bike tour. Two Italian-speaking Britons picked us up from Florence and drove - very fast - to a castillo in the heart of a small Tuscan town. The family owners of the castillo also produce wine and olive oil (supposedly a world-beating oil) and we got a view of the winery and oil press and a taste of the product, which was pretty damn good. Also of interest was the view from the peak of the tower which would have been amazing if not somewhat marred by clouds of flying ants choking the area.
The bike tour kicked off marvellously; virtually all down hill, surrounded by stunning green, rolling hills and vineyards, and ending with a fantastic lunch at a very traditional little trattoria. However, after lunch and several reds (of course the ANZACs at the table, aided by an ally in a young Canadian girl, had to polish off any remaining booze), the remainder of the trip was somewhat tougher. It contained one mammoth climb that Bec and I did attempt but ended up pushing our bikes a few hundred metres in. Fortunately the tour lads were prepared for this and 5 of us ended up panting in the back of a van for the rest of the uphill leg. Overall I'd say the day was one of the single best we've had and I'd recommend the tour to anyone coming to Tuscany. On that note, if anyone likes the idea of hiring a villa in Tuscany for a month sometime, let me know...Another fact worth mentioning about the tour was that Bec hadn't ridden a bike for at least two decades before yesterday and acquitted herself well despite much initial trepidation. She is now over her fear and cycling around Amsterdam now seems a vague possibility...well done to her.
Last night we were utterly stuffed from our efforts of the day and had a quiet dinner and a few drinks, somewhat ironically, at an Irish pub (admittedly this was mostly because we got a drinks discount from eating next door). We got more gelati before crashing out.
We are very soon to head off to Venice, so our next report will be from there. Ciao!
Anyhoo, after we last left you (with the seemingly unrepeatable miracle of being able to upload photos) we found a cool-looking bar at which to cool our heels. A highlight for me was the local dark ale, the name of which escapes me, but the highlight overall was discovering Veuve Cliquot was available by the glass. I lashed out on one for Bec who can probably never again drink that Aussie muck...(tongue in cheek).
On Saturday we had it in our heads that we were going on our long-planned cycling tour of Tuscany however plans were once again thwarted in that our booking was for one reason or another one week out. However it turned out the tour was overbooked Saturday and underbooked Sunday so we got an easy exchange. We spent the day instead being typical tourists - we climbed the cupola (the inner dome) of the Duomo which really was worth the wait despite my various rants about tourists and line ups, we walked around the entirety of the city seemingly looking for uniquely Tuscan places to eat and drink and ended up settling in the Santo Spirito area where we knocked over a local spumante and then had dinner at the Lonely Planet recommended Trattoria Casalinga. The recommendation is highly advocated - the food as well as the service seems totally genuine e.g. no quarter is given for tourists, the place was packed with locals and was absolutely bloody fabulous. Bec had a seafood anti pasto and the famed cured ham with rockmelon and I enjoyed what was easily one of my top 5 favourite ever steaks, in Florentine style which I think just means 'with salt, pepper and oil and perfectly cooked.' We also had to put to rest many of our preconceptions (read prejudices and stereotypes) about American tourists during this dinner as we got talking to a guy from Boston who just so happened to speak fluent Italian and helped us out with the waitress who, albeit highly efficient, was not at all interested in parla Inglese. We had a drink with Tony after for his troubles.
Yesterday we finally got to savour the sights and flavours of the real Tuscany on our bike tour. Two Italian-speaking Britons picked us up from Florence and drove - very fast - to a castillo in the heart of a small Tuscan town. The family owners of the castillo also produce wine and olive oil (supposedly a world-beating oil) and we got a view of the winery and oil press and a taste of the product, which was pretty damn good. Also of interest was the view from the peak of the tower which would have been amazing if not somewhat marred by clouds of flying ants choking the area.
The bike tour kicked off marvellously; virtually all down hill, surrounded by stunning green, rolling hills and vineyards, and ending with a fantastic lunch at a very traditional little trattoria. However, after lunch and several reds (of course the ANZACs at the table, aided by an ally in a young Canadian girl, had to polish off any remaining booze), the remainder of the trip was somewhat tougher. It contained one mammoth climb that Bec and I did attempt but ended up pushing our bikes a few hundred metres in. Fortunately the tour lads were prepared for this and 5 of us ended up panting in the back of a van for the rest of the uphill leg. Overall I'd say the day was one of the single best we've had and I'd recommend the tour to anyone coming to Tuscany. On that note, if anyone likes the idea of hiring a villa in Tuscany for a month sometime, let me know...Another fact worth mentioning about the tour was that Bec hadn't ridden a bike for at least two decades before yesterday and acquitted herself well despite much initial trepidation. She is now over her fear and cycling around Amsterdam now seems a vague possibility...well done to her.
Last night we were utterly stuffed from our efforts of the day and had a quiet dinner and a few drinks, somewhat ironically, at an Irish pub (admittedly this was mostly because we got a drinks discount from eating next door). We got more gelati before crashing out.
We are very soon to head off to Venice, so our next report will be from there. Ciao!
15 September 2007
At last - pictures!
After much tribulation, we have the first rather large selection of images available for your edification. Using Picasa you can flick through yet untagged images from London, Edinburgh, Paris, Bordeaux, San Sebastian, Zaragoza and the very beginning of our time in Barcelona.
As a certain OB predicted, there is an abundance of photos featuring food and booze - staples of any Bec and George journey.
You can have a look at our 600 or so pics here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/georgebec
Enjoy!
As a certain OB predicted, there is an abundance of photos featuring food and booze - staples of any Bec and George journey.
You can have a look at our 600 or so pics here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/georgebec
Enjoy!
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