Iron Curtain & Ironman: Vienna (Day 12)

Hola todos,

I am so excited to be in a new city! There is so much more to see and explore, and Vienna certainly holds a lot of potential for tourists, based on the too-long list of things I'd like to do.

I was ready to get going this morning a bit earlier than my parents were, so I went out to a cafe for coffee and to scope out a bit of the neighborhood. I got a cafe melange, a typical Viennese coffee, which seems like a cappuccino made with coffee (as opposed to espresso) and topped in a sweeter whipped cream (as opposed to steamed milk and foam). So it's a little lighter in flavor and a bit sweeter than a cappuccino. Perfect for a morning sip!

The third district, while being super close to downtown/historic Vienna, is super residential. While the subway lines are close by and the area doesn't feel too suburban, there were families walking their kids to school as I people-watched at the cafe.

I headed back to the Airbnb, we breakfasted, and then we headed off to downtown Vienna! It was time for our guided tour. Our tour was amazing and we covered so much ground (both physically and figuratively!) that I won't be able to relate it all perfectly here. I guess you'll just have to go to Vienna for yourself!

Vienna is about 2,000 years old (um, I'm sorry... what?!) because it was initially a Roman military settlement along the Danube. Today, Vienna holds roughly 2 million of Austria's 10 million citizens. And while 25% of the city was bombed during World War II (mostly toward the end of the war), the damage was concentrated at train stations, so many of the buildings throughout the city are their original architecture and structure.

Following World War II, Austria was divided in four by the Allies. When Austria regained its autonomy, it promised neutrality in the Cold War. To this day, they’re still not a part of NATO. (However, they are a member of the EU.) This neutrality is also part of the reason that Vienna is the spying capital of the world. They estimate around 7,000 spies are in Vienna currently (but how they get that estimate, I have no idea…)

Regardless, there are a lot of international citizens here. The 1990s brought significant regrowth to Vienna after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and now 35% of Vienna's residents aren’t Austrian.

For several years now, Vienna has been ranked as the most livable city in the world. Given its subway system, walk-ability, and cost of living, I believe it.

Cafes are a big aspect of social life in Vienna. In 1683, coffee was introduced when the Ottomans attempting to invade Vienna left coffee beans in their camp following their retreat. Sit-and-sip culture is big here. (My kind of place!)

Our first stop on the tour, right in the heart of downtown, was the state opera house. They do performances of new shows daily at the opera house and they completely tear down and reassemble each set as needed. On weekends, they'll do multiple different shows (not just performances! shows!!) per day.

We spent quite a bit of time in and around the Hofburg Palace. Started around the 1300s and gradually added to by each successive ruling generation of Hapsburgs, the Palace is a huge complex that today holds several gardens and museums. Portions of it are also used by the current government, including by the President. In total, the complex has 2,600 rooms. (We also found out that you can rent a "flat" or apartment in the Palace too! There is a waiting list, but the units are rent controlled, so that aren't that unaffordable, at least according to our tour guide.)

A few different shots of the Palace.

The Palace courtyard is one place where you can see the walls of additions that were made centuries apart. So on one wall are the remnants of a medieval gate and a moat; the next wall over was built in the 19th century.

This is the old medieval gate in the Palace wall.

The Hofburg also holds the Austrian national library, which is both a museum and a functional research library. They have a collection of every printed work discussing Austria in their archives.

Vienna is also the city of Mozart and Beethoven. Apparently, Mozart had 14 residences throughout Vienna during his lifetime, and Beethoven had 70.

 

Left: A sculpture of Mozart in the Hofburg Palace gardens. Right: Mozart lived in one of these apartments!

We concluded our tour at St. Stephan’s Cathedral, but I’ll talk more about that tomorrow.

St. Stephan's Cathedral. The size is along the lines of St. Vitus's Cathedral in Prague.

For now, it was time to meet up with my dad’s cousin Brett who has lived in Vienna for 25 years. Brett was incredibly generous with his time and was our supplemental/locals-only tour guide for, like, 8 hours. He showed us all sorts of nooks and crannies and hidden gems in the city. (And we got to catch up with him, since we hadn’t seen him in over a decade!)

Our first stop was lunch post-tour at Cafe Diglas, which was cute and near the tourist city center.

Then we checked out this Burger King, which now occupies the top half of a former concert hall. (A shoe store occupies the lower half now—no pictures allowed, though.)

We passed through Karlskirche, a Catholic church with a great plaza, Naschmarket (pronounced “nosh—market”—I didn’t know we got the word for snacking from German!), the MuseumsQuartier (the largest space dedicated to art on the European continent, I think?), and so much more.

Naschmarket

Karlskirche

We grabbed a few cold drinks at 7 Stern Brau’s internal patio.

Then we passed an excavated site which shows the different layers of civilization on which Vienna is built. They can’t excavate the whole city, so they exhibit this area as a sample of what is all around Vienna.

We saw the Spittelau incinerator and then walked along the Donaukanal, a small river canal off of the Danube. There were beautiful bike and walking paths and green space along the canal.

The Vienna incinerator! Random, I know. But a cool piece of functional art nevertheless.

We ended the night at Weinschenke in the second district for dinner and then walked through the lively (read: bar, party, and hostel) Bermuda Triangle district to the subway home.

 

It was a super full day (30k+ steps 😅) but we were so grateful for the double tours! And we have plenty left to check out.

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora

Iron Curtain & Ironman: Vienna (Day 11)

Hola todos,

None of us could sleep in, despite the super late evening. (We got to bed around 1 am post-race!) My dad was in post-race physical overdrive, and I think the rest of us were just so thrown by the busy day previously and everything we had coming up. But we still took our time for a leisurely morning before checking out of the Airbnb and heading off to Vienna. We also took this time to plan out what we wanted to do and where to go our first afternoon in the city.

The view out of the Airbnb in Klagenfurt will be missed...

The drive back to Vienna was about 3.5 hours and was incredibly picturesque—so many shades of green, lots of castles, and beautiful rolling hills.

We checked into our Airbnb to drop off luggage, but before we could get going on our real Vienna exploration, we had to return the rental car. Which shouldn't have been that hard. But none of us speak or read German and we had to navigate unfamiliar one-way city roads and weird-sounding street signs the old-fashioned way (no data or Wi-Fi meant no GPS-based directions!). It was a bit stressful, but hey—at least we didn't crash into anything or anyone. We did finally get everything checked in and situated without any significant drama, and our Vienna adventure could finally start!

The neighborhood of our Airbnb. We were in the 3rd district of Vienna, just a few subway stops from the city center. Perfect!

It was mid-afternoon and so we needed to check out parts of the city that weren't going to close soon. We purchased week-long subway passes (the same price as 3-day subway passes, weirdly enough) and got a picture of a subway map. There are so many stops that make downtown Vienna super accessible for tourists.

Our first stop was Prater Park, a large green space with tons of roads and paths that are free of car traffic—bikes, runners, and roller blades only! It also has a large amusement park attached to it with a ton of different rides. Even on a weekday afternoon, this amusement park was fairly busy. I can only imagine what it is like on weekends!

(Of course I found ice cream!)

Next up was the independent nation of Kugelmugel, which is located in Prater Park. Yep, you read that right. Kugelmugel is an independent micronation with a couple hundred citizens and a fenced off area in Vienna. Just read this link for the information. I guess it has its own embassy in Vienna, although we didn't manage to find it.

Small but mighty—the mouse that roared, anyone?

We walked along most of the park back to our Airbnb (which my dad's legs handled pretty well, given his race was yesterday!) and then we rested a bit before heading out to dinner.

The view over a bridge near Prater Park. Gorgeous.

We grabbed dinner at Stadtwirt, a restaurant in our neighborhood with local Austrian food and outdoor seating. The food was delicious and the weather was great for outdoor dining. It was kind of weird to not feel pressured leave quickly after finishing our meal to open the table up for other diners. There is a big dine-and-relax culture here. I could definitely get used to this!

Featured dish of dinner: Wiener schnitzel! Breaded and fried veal traditionally served with seasoned potatoes and a lemon wedge.

Even though this was a super low step count day (what, with the drive and all), we were all pretty tired from our long race day and early morning. More Vienna was waiting to be explored tomorrow!

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora

Iron Curtain & Ironman: Klagenfurt am Worthersee/ IM Austria (Days 9-10)

Hola todos,

Getting to Klagenfurt am Wörthersee

So, my main issue with early morning trains (and planes, and buses) is that you run the risk of oversleeping or missing an alarm. With afternoon and evening transport, you have the “What do I do with my bags all day?” problem, of course, but right now I think I’d prefer the latter, since I basically woke up every hour last night dreaming that I had overslept and missed my train to Vienna! When I finally got up, it was because the sun had already risen and so I had a mini-panic attack. Until I realized it was 4:30 am! That’s how early the city gets light out. Makes me wonder how dark it gets in winter...

As I made my way to the train (via metro), people were already out and about—but many of these folks were coming home from the night before! Even though the area around my hostel got quiet around 11 pm (I’m guessing a noise regulation), there’s clearly plenty of nightlife in other quarters.

After asking a few locals for directions from the metro to the train station (It was right there, I was just too tired to notice it.), I caught the train without any drama.

But unlike the trains I’ve been on before, this one had Harry Potter-like carriages that sat groups of people and had closing doors. Very European!

I found a car with two other women in it and promptly fell asleep.

We crossed border into Austria without much fanfare and got into Vienna. I had a short layover at the train station where I bought a bit of a breakfast and some coffee. (I was back on the euro! I knew how to say please and thank you!)

I got my new train (which was nicer regional one, much more similar to an Amtrak) and got to Klagenfurt am Wörthersee after a few hours. It was roughly 6-6.5 hours of total travel. 

While getting to Klagenfurt am Wörthersee was no problem, I had trouble finding the bus I needed to take to get to the race park where I was meeting my parents. I needed help from no fewer than 3 train/bus station employees and a random man to finally get me to the bus I needed. When the bus arrived and I asked the driver where he was going (in very stilted German showing a screenshot of the stop I needed), I realized I hadn't even purchased a ticket yet! I was able to buy one on the bus, though, (cash only; fortunately, I had cash!) and I was finally able to get to the race park and lake.

Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, in the Karnten region of Austria, is about 3-ish hours outside of Vienna by car towards the Slovenian border. It's a smaller town that seems to primarily operate on summer tourism by Austrians and other Europeans. The region is beautiful--tons of green and farmland and random castles on hills. Klagenfurt itself has a stunning lake and tons of rivers and creeks running through the town and along the houses.

I finally met up with my parents!

The race lake is the local town’s primary summer hang out spot—it seemed like the entire town was at the lake. They had music and a little kids aquathon (swim and run) race, so we hung out at the lake, I got some swimming in and soaked in the amazing natural beauty.

And wow wow wow-- small town Europe is where it's at! The lake water was beautifully blue and the temperature was perfect. The racers were going to have a great day tomorrow!

 

It was the day before the race, so we didn't do too much. (My parents have been in Klagenfurt for a few days, so they have seen the local sights a bit.) We went back to the Airbnb and just chilled with an early dinner in so my dad could carb-load and get plenty of rest.

My mom and I also made sure we had everything planned and packed as our race spectator prep—we take that job seriously!

It's Race Day!

It's hard to believe that the whole reason for this trip is already here! My dad has put in so much time and energy into training, and we're so proud of him.

Race mornings are early. We had an early wake up, about 4 am, so that my dad could get all set up at the race venue before it started. My mom and I even managed to accidentally get front row seats to the start of the swim: we were just going to situate ourselves up on the pier overlooking the swim, but at the last minute they opened up some of the beach right along the swim start. We were even able to spot my dad before he went off for the swim, which can be hard to do when everyone’s wearing the same thing: a black wetsuit and a green swim cap.

I'll save you all of the details from that day: my dad was racing for about 14.5 hours and my mom and I managed to see him multiple times on both the bike and run, even though the course was unfamiliar (and all of the checkpoints and race distances were in kilometers...) [And while I have a lot of videos, I don't have a ton of pics to share. We mostly all look sweaty and tired--to varying degrees, of course...]

And because the Airbnb was so close to a portion of the bike course, we were able to have breakfast and lunch at the Airbnb instead of fast food and we had access to nice bathrooms--a key race day commodity!

He looked great all day, even through the final stretches of the marathon. Before we knew it, it was time for him to finish! We saw him at a final spectating point and then ran to the finish to try and beat him there. The IM Austria finish line vibes were awesome. We were able to watch my dad have a super strong finish. He was so full of energy despite his long day and excited to cross the finish line.

 

This was his 19th Ironman-distance race finish and we couldn't be prouder :') The real question is how mobile he will be when we head to Vienna next? We still have plenty of walking and touring to do!

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora

Iron Curtain & Ironman: Budapest (Day 8)

Hola todos,

 

This was my last morning in Budapest, so I want to make the most of it. And I’m really enjoying these quiet morning walks while a city wakes up! It’s a work morning, though, so there is still commuter traffic to work and school.

It’s cloudy and the weather has significantly cooled down. It’s perfect for walking all over and not getting overheated or sunburnt--which is good, because my shoulders have been getting a lot of sun exposure. I was able to wear an extra layer for the past two days comfortably and avoid further burning.

A quiet residential street

I ended up taking the metro to my first stop of the day. It was a decent distance from my hostel, so it was worth a quick metro ride to save my legs and feet a bit. It was also my first time popping over to the Buda side of the city!

I started at the Cave Chapel, a church built into the side of a mountain (okay, hill-- it's also called the Gellért Hill Cave). It’s incredibly unique and the interior chapel and living spaces for the monks are all in the hillside. (It is still actively used!) During the communist era, the entrance to the chapel was built over and sealed shut.

You can also get some great views of the Pest side from the elevation on the Buda side.

Then I walked across a bridge back to the Pest side and to my next stop. On the walk, I hit some side streets that were less touristy to get a feel for the real city. 

Left: A picture of the Elizabeth Bridge (a famous Budapest bridge) with the Buda side of the city on the left and the Pest side of the city on the right.

Right: Me with Pest in the background. (Another bonus of early morning wandering is that you have fewer people staring at you during your self-timer photo shenanigans!)

Taking a less busy street through a new neighborhood is a great way to find some hidden gems and get the "real" feel of a city.

This next stop wasn’t originally on my list, but our tour guide yesterday recommended it, so I figured I’d give it a try. As you may have noticed, I hadn’t had my espresso and morning pastry yet this morning. I was saving it for this next stop. And while I strongly prefer to eat at an open air cafe or outdoor patio while in Europe, I think this cafe was totally worth an exception.

This is the New York Café, rated for years as the most beautiful cafe in the world. Its interior design is magical and they match the ambiance by having live piano and string music serenading you during your meal.

 

The interior was elaborately decorated with painted walls and ceilings and gold overlay on everything.

  

It was about 10:15 by the time I got there, and it was already pretty full. One of the benefits of being a solo traveler is that I was able to get a small table without waiting. But our tour guide did recommend that you get reservations if you wanted to eat at one of the busier times. (And, despite being called a "cafe," they do serve dinner.)

I had an espresso and their cottage cheese-stuffed pancake, which was really more like a crepe. And before you get on me about eating pancakes in a country that isn't known for pancakes or crepes in a place that isn't France, I will point out that this thicker crepe is very popular in this part of central Europe! Lots of street vendors and restaurants have offered it on their menus as a "pancake."

One word of warning: the New York Café is very expensive. But I think it’s definitely worth the high price for the experience, and definitely worth cutting corners elsewhere in your budget to make the cafe work. (Choosing a hostel instead of a hotel room for just one night would balance this out!) #BabeOnABudget

Now it was time to walk off the rich pancake by heading to the Metropolitan Ervin Szabó Library. This is a functioning public library that used to be a palace. The fourth floor still holds its interior design and decor from its palace era, and you can actually get a chair or table and study or read in the palace portion. It looked like there were lots of students who came and were doing work in the library.

When I initially planned this day, I figured I’d be hungry after touring the library and so I would head out for some lunch at the Central Market Hall. However, I was still full from my late breakfast! I went to the Central Market Hall and looked around anyways. On the first floor are a bunch of local produce and butcher stands. On the second floor are lots of souvenir shops and restaurants (both sit-down and pop-up). While the food smelled amazing, it was all incredibly overpriced. (It's probably good I didn't go there hungry!) If you have limited time and don’t want to hunt for good Hungarian food, this is a place to guarantee that you’ll get an assortment of Hungarian options (and knock out your souvenir shopping while you're at it). But I was able to get great local food at other places around the city, so I'd recommend you actually try to find a local place!

After walking around the Hall, I took the metro to Liberty Square (which is at the top of Andrassy Street, the "Champs Elysées" equivalent). It took me on the "millennium" train, which is the newest train line. And though it is the newest line, it goes through the oldest parts of their underground subway tunnels that were built back when horses pulled the trains! 

Liberty Square is a big plaza with a freedom monument, a modern castle, and several museums.

My stop at Liberty Square was the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts. I walked around for about two hours to see their highlights (with the audio tour! so helpful). They have statues, earthenware, and paintings from a variety of different cultures. I got to see an El Greco, another Velasquez, and more Dutch masters. The layout of the museum is a bit confusing, but their collection is amazing!

They also have beautiful rooms inside the museum that are centered around certain architectural styles. They're enormous and beautifully designed.

Well, my goal for today was to have a slightly lower step count since my legs are so tired, but I decided to walk back down Andrassy Street from Liberty Square to my hostel. I just can’t justify avoiding what the city has to offer in beautiful weather and amazing sights while I’m here! I’m going to be sitting on a train for roughly 6 hours tomorrow, so I’ll be able to sleep and rest then.

Beautiful architecture down Andrassy Street

I stopped by a langos (pronounced “langosh”) stand for a (very) late lunch/early dinner. Langos is a savory fried dough that is traditionally topped with cheese and sour cream. (I added red onions to mine.) I went to a park to eat it since the weather was amazing! It was ginormous and super rich, so I ate only about half of it.

As I sat in the park eating my langos, it started to rain! The park was across the street from my hostel, so I ran back indoors just in time to avoid the huge downpour that ensued. (Thankfully, that didn't happen during my walking tour!)

It poured pretty heavily for about 30 minutes and then totally dried up, so I went for a final walk around town on my last night. (To include a local ice cream snackie and some plaza steps, of course!)

Overall on Budapest

This city was amazing. Just... wow. I felt incredibly safe as a solo female traveler and even though some of the tourist things are a bit spread out, the metro and tram system is cheap, easy to use, and fast.

Will I come back? I have to! I barely scratched the surface in my two days here. If you're thinking of going, you should try to spend at least 3 days to see as many things as possible. (I didn't even get to really explore all that the Buda side has to offer!)

If I had stayed longer, I would have also: gone to some Turkish baths (there are an assortment throughout the city; Budapest has a ton of natural hot springs!), checked out the Buda side more (including the Buda "Castle" district), and probably gone inside a few more museums. They also have a Budapest "card" that gives you free or discounted access to a lot of city sights--if I had been in the city longer, it might have made financial sense to get the pass. They also have discounted metro fare if you buy a pass-- I didn't use the metro enough to make that worth it, but if you are staying longer or using the metro more, it could be.

Overall, though, I will warn you that tourism can be a bit pricey in Budapest. As one of my hostel roommates put it, Budapest is a cheap place to live and go out but an expensive place for tourism. Food, drinks, restaurants, groceries, and hostels were cheap; entry tickets to amusements, museums, etc. were pretty overpriced.

I need a reasonable night's sleep since I have an early (early!) morning train. Tomorrow is a new country, and I'll meet up with my folks!

Besos,

Tina the ExploraDora