Fai Quan
formerly known as "Prosaic Traveller"
Wien (Vienna), Austria (4) – Prater (Day 4)
As per usual, if an opportunity arises for us to view some sights from above, we will seek it out. This was the case when we read about the Giant Ferris Wheel located at the Wurstelprater amusement park. We planned to make a quick stop and then head to QuartierMuseum for some evening exploration. However, what we discovered was not just a Giant Ferris Wheel. The quick stop took up the whole evening. We couldn’t get over the cleanliness, quality and colourfulness of the rides & amusement stands.
Visibly deserted at the start of the visit, the park became quickly occupied as the evening turned to dark.
In the main entrance of Prater, there is a video jumbotron showing a concert that was being held at another venue within the park. We took a moment to watch and listen to the performance. What we thought was an incredible impersonation of Jose Feliciano turned out to be the real Jose Feliciano.
Wien (Vienna), Austria (3) – Mexikoplatz (Day 4)
We decided to take the U-Bahn to the Danube and see what the shores of the river has to offer. We discover Mexikoplatz, a docking station for the riverboat cruise line. These humungous ships sit waiting as their passengers embark on a shore leave tour of the city.
A walk along the north shores of the Danube we can see Heiliger Franz von Assisi a.k.a the Mexico Church.
Along Hndelskai with apartments on the background
Crossing the Donauinsel Bridge from the north shore of the Danube to the south shore
The Donauinsel Bridge on the right. Looking across the Danube to Melia Vienna (a high rise hotel).
Riverboats getting an exterior cleaning
People relaxing on Mexikoplatz. Wouldn’t know if they were passengers who declined a trip to the city or locals enjoying what the area had to offer.
Wien (Vienna), Austria (2) – Street Scenes (Day 4)
Spending most of our time looking up at all the beautiful architecture, we miss what is at eye level. Here are some scenes when we look around at the day-to-day activities and sights on the street.
School excursion in Karlsplatz
Playground at Karlsplatz
Horse drawn carriages line up outside the Albertina Museum
Citybike Station on Karntner Strabe, outside the Vienna State Opera House
Statue of the siren, Lorelei, at the Vienna State Opera House
Excavations at Michaelerplatz unearthed remains of a Roman house and former Burgtheater
Shopping on Kohlmarkt
Could be an ad for the GQ Magazine
Before the noon hour rush
Graben
Holocaust Memorial
Carriages are getting backed up outside the Uhren Museum on Schulhof
The reason for the back-up…a removal of an illegally parked vehicle.
Wien (Vienna), Austria (1) – A Taste of Architecture (Day 4)
Skipping to Day 4 as Day 3 of our trip consisted of being on a train for almost 8 hours from Zurich.
The following photos depicts a very small portion of the beautiful architecture that exists in Vienna. Spread throughout a large area of the city, a person can only explore so much in the one day we gave ourselves. We opted out of Ringstrasse, the 5.3km long street that contained most of Vienna’s noteworthy buildings. We stayed on streets that didn’t have a lot of vehicular traffic and sometimes wandered into areas where there was not a lot of pedestrian traffic. If you plan for a visit, give yourself a few days to see all the incredible places this city has to offer.
Karlskirche (St. Charles’ Church) is a baroque church that is affiliated with the Catholic faith.
Technische Hochschule is a type of university that focuses on engineering sciences.
Vienna State Opera House
Located on busy Ringstrasse, it was difficult getting a picture without cars or light stands
Back view of State Opera House
Hotel Bristol
Hotel Sacher
Albertina Museum
Austrian National Library at Josefsplatz
Hofburg Palace
Museum Judenplatz
The architecture may be simple, but the significance of this building far outweighs palaces and castles
Heiliger Franz von Assisi (St. Francis of Assisi Church) is located beside the Danube River
Catholic Church Maria am Gestade
Looshaus stirred controversy in the 1909 year that it was built. Located across Michaelerplatz from the Hofburg Palace, it deemed too modern.
Even the small commercial shops on the side streets had unique architecture
Zurich, Switzerland (6) – 25hours hotel langstrasse (Day 1, 2 and 16)
My last post of Zurich is about the most interesting hotel that I have ever stayed in. Where most hotels give you a good night’s sleep, this hotel also gives you an experience. It was the start and end of our 2017 European journey.
Outside the hotel
The Neni restaurant where we had our breakfast
The Gift Shop sold very interesting items
Display case beside the reception desk
Bookstore
Using clothespins as bookmarks was neat
Espresso Bar
Looking down from the staircase
Bar Lounge
Lounge
An interesting piece of art beside the staircase
Decorative lighting on the staircase to 2nd floor
Business Centre on the second floor
Available meeting areas on the second floor
Second Floor bar is available for those using the meeting rooms
A wall is covered with dominoes
Another wall is covered with album covers
Floor information that is displayed outside the elevator doors
Zurich, Switzerland (5) – People Watching (Day 2)
The guilty pleasure of people watching. It is the people that adds the character to the streets of any city.
Beer Station draws the after work crowd
The uphill climb to Dolder Grand is entertained by watching young skateboarders make use of the downhill.
Donut shaped seating provides a great lunch eating area.
Suntanning near Zurichsee
Tourists waiting to board cruise boats at Zurich Burkliplatz
Coffee across the street from the Zurich HB.
A musical interlude at Burkliterrasse
Zurich, Switzerland (4) – Europaallee (Day 2)
Located along the train tracks of the Main Station, there were lots of construction of commercial and residential towers. This new trendy area, a.k.a Europaallee, is full of eateries, shops and bars which is popular for the young professionals. All the photos are on Lagerstrasse from the Main Station to our hotel.
I appreciated the creativity of these building sites. Instead of a wire or boarded-up wall surrounding the area, they have large windows which allows people see inside. Some of the windows had designs in neon which lit up a night. I thought it was pretty cool.
Inside this office/retail complex was a Coop Supermarket. We made stops here to grab our evening dinner or snacks to take on the road.
Jack & Jo was a restaurant that appears to have been popular amongst the locals
There were a couple of post-secondary schools and residences in the area, which explains the abundance of young people.
Our hotel (on the left) had two popular restaurants located in front and next door.
Zurich, Switzerland (3) – Street Cruising (Day 2)
Our second and last day in Zurich was spent cruising the streets. Since we booked only one day here, we made the most of the time. Now that we were wide awake and clear-headed, the morning was spent retracing our steps from the night before. This time we extended the river walk to Zurichsee. In the the afternoon, we headed to The Dolder Grand Hotel. A 3km uphill hike that gave us some pretty cool views of the city.
Limmat River at Sihlquai and Ackerstrasse
A paddleboarder conquers a small dam located to the left of this photo
Beautiful tree covered Neumuhlequai
A view of Old Town from Bahnhofbrucke
Limmat harbour
Zurichsee and the Swiss Alps in the distance
Local Government Office to the left of Kirche Fraumunster
One of many outdoor restaurants getting ready for the noon hour rush
Shopping in Old Town
From Lindenhof Park, view of Old Town
The top of hill in the background is where we head to in order to get to Dolder Grand
From Lindenhof Park looking towards east side of Old Town
Looking back at the uphill battle to get to Dolder Grand
A modern residence that has a great view of the city below
Taking a rest and enjoying the view of Zurichsee
Dolder Grand
A five-star rating costs about $1000.00 per night, per person. We didn’t go through the interior or exterior grounds to see if the price was justified.
Dolder Grand Golf Course
Zurich, Switzerland (2) – Evening Stroll (Day 1)
To be in sync with the time zone, we headed out for a walk to keep ourselves from falling asleep. A stroll to Old Town starting from the Zurich HB, along the Limmat River and back to our hotel, 25Hour Hotel Langstrasse.
Corner of Bahnhofpl and Neumuhlequai. Across the Bahnhofbrucke from Zurich HB.
Central Plaza Hotel
Along the Limmat River
Looking towards Bahnofquai from across the river on Limmatquai
Old Town on the west side of Limmat River
Crossing the Limmat River and looking back at where we walked along the right.
I don’t know if this is some form of exercise for these two men by challenging the rushing water going upstream.
The narrow path of Hirschengasse off Limmatquai
The Motta Cafe on Limmatquai
Lit up Grossmunster
Munsterhof
Quiet cobblestone paths wind through a unique shopping area
A brightly lit flowershop
Heading back to the hotel, we came across a great lookout point in Lindenhof Park, located on the west side of the river. A view of the path where we started our journey. Zentralbibliothek stands out in the spotlight
Another view of Limmatquai from Lindenhof Park
Austria, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia & Switzerland 2017 (4) – How to Gain 5 Pounds
When booking a hotel, I always choose one that offers a breakfast buffet. To start off a day of exploration, the thing you don’t want to do is waste your morning time by roaming around the city looking for a place to have eat. We would consume as much food at this time to keep us going until supper. At the end of day, we would go to a nearby deli and grab something to take back to the hotel. Most of the restaurant meals didn’t occur until we reached Ljubljana (our third destination city). There was only so many deli sandwiches a person can eat.
You would think that walking approximately 20kms per day carrying a 10lb backpack would make me burn off all those calories that I consumed. Instead, I came home with added weight (the last two pounds have been a bummer to shed).
Here is just a sampling of what we enjoyed over our holidays in Central Europe. I’m one of those sad individuals who like to take pictures of my food.
Breakfasts
I give myself three courses:
- Hot foods
- Yogurt and Granola
- Dessert and fruit
1st course at 25hours hotel langstrasse in Zurich
I got hooked on the “Cream Cheese and Granola Spread” (at the top) which went great with the Croissant.
1st course at Hotel Cubo in Ljubljana
Hot foods were made to order. Eggs any way you want them with as many sides (sausage, bacon, pancakes,…) as you want.
2nd course at Hotel Cubo in Ljubljana
Last course at Hotel Cubo in Ljubljana
They had the best dessert selection and I took advantage of it.
All courses at the same time at Hotel Stadt Citta in Bolzano
It was always a busy morning here so I stocked my table up with everything.
Last course at Hotel Maximilian in Innsbruck
This was just a small sampling of the incredible fruit selection.
On the Train, “Henry”
Mushroom Goulash with fried sliced bread dumplings. A late evening meal on the train as we make our way back to Vienna from Salzburg.
Linzer Schnitte
I couldn’t resist as we were passing through Linz (the city where the dessert was created) at the time.
Brownie Tarte
A long train trip from Vienna to Ljubljana, I needed the energy.
Coffee Break
Delicious crepe dessert and Cappuccino in Ljubljana. The waitress did a great sell job convincing me that I should indulge
Dinners
Sausage with Sauerkraut & Mustard and Goulash with Polenta at “Paninoteka” in Ljubljana
Fish and Potatoes at “Grajska Plaza Restaurant” in Lake Bled
Shrimp and Zucchini at “Grajska Plaza Restaurant” in Lake Bled
Spaghetti Carbonara at Piazza Walther in Bolzano
Spaghetti Carbonara in Venice
I was comparing Carbonaras with my bastardized version. This one was the overall winner.
Meatlover’s special at the “Cammerlander” in Innsbruck
Salmon Pasta at the “Cammerlander” in Innsbruck. Trust me, if they had Carbonara on the menu, I would have ordered it.
Classic Burger from “Magic Pizza” in Innsbruck. It was a long day and late into the evening so we grabbed a couple of burgers to take back to our hotel. It wasn’t until we pulled these things out of the bag that we discovered the humungous size. Rod’s iPhone is dwarfed beside it.
Fai Quan 