salzburg

SALZBURG

First off please let me give you some trivia on SALZBURG and THE SOUND of MUSIC movie….the English version was only released in Austria 8 years back!!!!! Also it is partially a true story and Von Trapp family does exist and the family moved to the States when the Nazi’s took over Austria.
In the States they used to perform all over before which they performed in the UK. Some other observations about Salzburg and The Sound of Music:-
• The production house thought they would finish the movies in 3 months but owing to bad weather the movie took 11 ½ months to complete. This can be noticed when you realize that they had shot the end at the first schedule and the remaining movies in parts over the 11 ½ months. So basically the children look older in the beginning and look younger at the end!!!
• In the movies they are shown escaping over a mountain which INCIDENTALLLY leads to GERMANY!!!! So that is artistic licensing for you!!!
• Apparently the Austrians have NO FONDNESS for the movies despite it having millions of fans across the globe.
• In Salzburg every year in July / August there is a SOUND of Music festival where about 2 million people visit the city and the current resident population is just 150,000 only. So around the festival time most of the city residents move bag and baggage as the city infrastructure cannot cope with the influx.
• In the movie the butler squealed on the von Trapps but in reality it was he who helped them escape

Now that we are done with that, we can go ahead and enjoy the real Salzburg. It is a medium sized town with the hills all around and the river flowing through…quite picturesque actually.

When we were there we got hit by a spell of cold weather and it was quite windy, not that it dampened our spirits.

We had taken a train for BUDAPEST to SALZBURG and I just cannot compliment the efficiency and service of the Austrian OBB train service. The train was on time, clean and the seats comfortable. Do remember ( talking from this experience ) that normally if the seat is reserved then the destination is marked on the electronic seat number above it. If blank then this seat is unreserved.

After checking into our hostel we headed to look for a lunch place and what a discovery we made – a place called PASTA VINO. I can easily tell you that I have never ever come across such a great restaurant before.

The reason why I am praising it – the people running it. There was the cook / chef / owner called VINCENZO was the most entertaining person I have met. He made the meal so lively and exciting as only an Italian could make it. Regards the food…simply spectacular and the house wine an amazing match. There is no menu and the pasta is cooked fresh, so depends on when you go you may get pasta, spaghetti, fettuccine etc. also there is one option from chicken, fish or veg. the meal is simple and that is what adds to the flavour. It was a GREAT meal.

That night we headed to AUGUSTINER BRAUSTUBL BREWERY.& BEER GARDEN. This place is run by the monks who brew the beer at the same location. What an EXPERIENCE especially for a beer lover like myself. If ever you are in this part of the world DO NOT MISS IT. It is not one of those tourist traps and is so so local that you will stick out like a sore thumb.

The way the system works is that you pick up your glass after choosing from either 500 ml or a 1 litre one. then you pay a grumpy person, for which you have to stand in a huge line. Then again line up to get the beer filled where the person doing this has made it into an art form. Then you head to one of 3 cavernous halls ( outdoors gardens if the weather permits ) and take a place wherever available.

For food you can either choose from 6 food court kind of places and if you want you can get your own food!!!!!! The taste of the beer – PRICELESS!!!!!!!

Another place worth it’s salt is the BIO BISTRO café which sells only organic veggies dishes and is run by an amiable Punjabi from Jammu & Kashmir called Sayal who is based here for the last 20 years.

Other then eating we did actually do quite a lot else. We visited the Mirabell Gardens and the Castle ( though by now I could not make the difference from one castle / palace to the other ) and saw MOZART’s birthplace.

We just walked and people watched and took in the atmosphere as that is what I like the most. There were these people playing chess in the open air on this huge painted chessboard. I met have spent a good part of an hour watching too locals fight it out with their supporters giving them all the possible advice. An afternoon well spent!

Another bit of trivia on Salzburg – the promoter of the all famous drink for die hard party lovers – RED BULL originated from here and has his HQ here. Infact he has an entire island where his HQ is. Also he has an entire Hangar at the local airport where his cars and airplanes are open for public display.

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Olomounc

Leaving Prague we started our journey to this quaint little town. En route we stopped at this place called KUTNA HORA.

At one point of time centuries ago, this town was a very important trading city and was very famous. Over the course of time this place lost its importance.

So the king decided we must make it famous again as we need revenues from tourists so he asked one of his artist to design a CHURCH made of BONES..yup you got that right. A church of bones dedicated to god, and it was a HIT. People started coming in droves and all was hunky dory again.

What an eerie place the church is, the lamps are made of bones and skulls, the tapestries are made of bones and trust me you want to click your picture and move on. All in all a great day stop from Prague.

When we reached OLOMOUNC it was windy and the ‘mard ko dard nahin hota’ type I was, I forgot to carry my pullover for the walking tour of the city and boy! Did I regret it. There is a lot of history too this place, as is to every nook and cranny of Europe and it is a town worth visiting.

We had lunch in this amazing local place where we had the local wine and I rate it quite high. The overall ambience of this place was very basic and not touristy. The service was what we had come to realize of the Czech Republic, cold and efficient. Please shed all illusions of an south east asian beauty smiling at you and willing to pamper you kind of service, after all the communist have left a mark on their psyche.

We walked around town and stayed at this AMAZING place where they had the most amazing breakfast by far. The rooms were clean and huge.

In the night we went to this PLANE BAR which was…this plane converted into a bar ( simple ) and what a rocking time it was.

The other thing about OLOMOUNC was the parks huge and well used. Whilst we were returning from the bar at about 1 am, joggers were pounding the pavements and at it.just amazing.

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Auschwitz and Krakow

AUSCHWITZ

En route to Krakow we stopped at AUSCHWITZ. What can I say? I just pray to god that such history is NEVER repeated. One has to be here to realize what might have transpired here and that would not even be a tiny percentage of it!!!

How can people do such things? The fact that after these atrocities the Nazi’s would go back to their families and enjoy dinner with them and do normal kind of stuff withour batting an eyelid. It was so normal to behave like that!!!!

We did a 3 hour tour of this place which was literally HELL for the jews and one could not but feel for what they might have gone through. There is so so much that can be written about how bad this place was but it would not be enough.

There are two concentration camps – Auschwitz and Birkenau. The first one was Auschwitz but they needed a bigger one as this one was not enough!!!! They designed a bigger, better and more efficient one!!!! Earlier they used bullets to kill but that was getting expensive so they looked for cheaper alternatives and ‘experimented’ with other various methods before settling on gassing them.

The worst part was that the jews that were being killed were never told what lay ahead for them. They were told that they were being taken to other camps and for that they needed to shower and to the extent that the Germans told the Jews to remember where they kept their clothes so they could collect it on the way back………

There is so much that we were told of and one cannot but feel saddened and the atrocities that took place. for me what touched me most was when I saw the rail lines end at the camp, for that literally meant the end of the line for a lot of people.

All I can do is pray that such instances are NEVER repeated again and that the world has learnt their lesson from this horrific time in history.

KRAKOW

If there were ever a city I would want to come back to it would be Krakow. This town bustles with energy and enthusiasm. Basically this is an university town and is the seat of learning for most of eastern Europe. It has about 33 universities and 25% of the population are students.

There are about 1000 bars and restaurants ( you cannot blame me for liking this places ) and some bars go 3 floors underground!!!! We were there for 2 nights and I really don’t know where the nights went by. We used to get lost in the underground rooms only to discover different bar counters and DJ’s spinning some funky tunes. Post Krakow all of us would need some SERIOUS detox programme.

We did an amazing and superbly informative cycle tour where LUCAS rather DR LUCAS was our guide. Post the communist era and lot of people hold amazing degrees but have hardly any work so they take up part time jobs like these. We surely weren’t complaining as Lucas was heads above all the guides I had ever met.

Below are some of my observations, as well as what we did in Krakow:-

• Pope John Paul II was from here and was a cardinal in Krakow before being ordained. They LOVE him and really look up to him. We visited the place where he stayed when he was n Krakow and it is said that from his window he would talk to hundreds of students till 2am!!!!!
• The gardens are just brilliant and so full of life. Everyone cycles here and it is such a perfect place to just ‘be’.
• We ate some amazing falafels and kebabs at the corner stores and they are like what our bhelpuri wallas are to us
• We spent some amazing time watching the festivities around the square as it was the weekend and people from neighboring villages and towns came here to take part in what I felt was a competition of sorts. They were dressed in their traditional clothes and what a photo op that was
• We went salsa dancing and it rocked
• We visited Oscar Schindler’s factory and house. Here also it was saddening to here how the Jews were treated and the atrocities they had to endure. It also saddens one to know that Osacr Schindler who helped save a thousands of Jews died a penniless man in South America.
• There are also stories of how other helped the Jews and despite being threatened, beaten, tortured continued to do so. There was this one lady ( whose name I don’t recollect but is a national hero and also was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize ) who everyday went to the Jewish Ghetto and would try and save one child. This she did for 4-5 years and eventually the germans SS caought her. They broke her legs and were going to hang her but someone bribed the SS and got her released….do you know what she did after that? Once her legs were ok, she went back to the ghetto and started saving other lives. She lived till she was 98 and she said that there never was a bad person, it was only the circumstances that made a person how they were and see forgave the Germans what they did to her. Just amazing. Oh! She did’nt win the Noble though…Al Gore beat her to it for Global Warming!!!!
• Learnt a lot about the history of Krakow and Poland in general and that would take a full day to write down.

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Santorini - Athens

Santorini – Athens – Budapest – Prague

What a leap. From the islands to the centre of Europe. Today was a long long travel day, not that we minded it. The tourist season in Thira had picked up so the airport was a mess ( literally ) and it could do with a major renovation.

We caught an Aegean flight to Athens where we connected to a Malev Hungarian flight which got us to Prague via a transfer in Budapest.

• when u fly these so called full service european airlines you will realize how lucky we Indians are to have so many airlines fighting over us. Literally our Indian carriers and heads over heels higher in comparison to their counter parts in Europe. The only service we got was a glass of water / softdrinks and a bun!!!!

Nevertheless we got to Prague safely and that is what counts. I just wanted to make a point that we are lucky to have what we have in our part of the world.

Prague of PRAHA ( as they call it locally ) airport was awesome and we were out in no time. We were staying at PLUS PRAGUE a great hostel but a couple of metro stops out of the centre.

It was neat clean, spacious and a great place to stay at. They also have free wi fi and hence I can blog easily. They have a great bar ( open all night ) and a kickass atmosphere.

We checked in and headed to the city to get our bearings. Unlike in India where you can see people EVERYWHERE at ANYTIME, in Europe post 6 it is difficult to spot a peron on the road esp in the NON TOURIST areas. Gets quite eerie actually.

Anyways we went into the centre of town and chilled over some great Czech lager and enjoyed a night out on the town.

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Zakopane ( Poland ), picnin in Slovakia and BUDAPEST

Zakopane ( Poland ), picnin in Slovakia and BUDAPEST..have a great week

ZAKOPANE

From Krakow we moved to Zakopane a hillside city which is famous for it’s ski slopes and even more so for it’s ski jumps. The world ski jump cup held here.

We were the for the summer and it was what a picture perfect postcard would be like. I cannot but imagine what it would be in the winters when the small pedestrian’s street would be filled with people walking with their skis and wearing their warm overcoats and chatting over a cup of hot cocoa.

This is a very ‘active’ town as in the number of outdoor sports equipment shops it has. I am a sucker for such stores and I spent a better part of the day going from one store to the other like a kid in a candy store. It was an other thing that Suchna had taken away my money or god alone know what I would have bought.

We also trekked up a hill and the view from there was fantabulous. Just sitting up there and not having to talk or ‘do’ anything is as MASTERCARD puts it….that moment was PRICELESS!!! What a view and once again I was picturing the winter here, which incidentally is PEAK season here.

We stayed at a hotel which I think stopped in time when the communist were still around. Each room had those radios which if sold in the States would go as antiques.

Other then that we just unwound here and did NOTHING. It was a good and much needed break for all of us after the constant traveling.

They have these local cheese stall that has got a huge variety of homemade cheese in all shapes and sizes. These guys here LOVE their cheese and I could see locals taking huge bits of what would have been a years supply of cheese for me. I did taste some and they were very tasty and delicious. This was a cheese lovers paradise.

Also since this is the polish countryside we got a great insight into the local life. They get around in tractors and these have huge trailers attached to them ferrying a host of things for the farm. These tractors are open and normally have 2-3 people sitting along with the driver. Also the local women here wear head scarves and pitch in with the farm work.

SLOVAKIA

I must say I can tick this country off my list as we did stop in Slovakia albeit ina lovely meadow to enjoy a picnic lunch. It was such a great affair as all of us had ‘stolen’ a lot of bread rolls, butter, jam, yoghurt etc etc from the breakfast counter at our Zakopane hotel, and along with some amazing Polish wine we had what was one of the best and inexpensive but memorable meals.

Slovakia is truly a very beautiful country and I am sure that someday it will give the other countries a run for their money in tourism. These were some of the BEST roads I traveled through in my entire life.

BUDAPEST

Here the saying ‘THE FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE LAST IMPRESSION’ does not apply for us. When we reached Budapest we were not at all impressed and wondered what was so special about this place. it was a run down city and need more then a spit and a polish.

But we were quite wrong…very wrong. The reason for this wrong impression was that we had taken a couple of wrong turns and ended on some random streets. Luckily this mistake was soon sorted out when we found the actual city centre.
We could never have been more wrong. I concur totally with anyone who says Budapest is one of the best and prettiest cities in Eastern Europe. We did a Danube river cruise in the night and what a sight it was to see the palace and bridge lit up. We went crazy clicking pictures, me trying to be artistic and take ‘blurry’ pics et al. also on the boat we could complimentary wine and beer and that was enough to get us going.

After that we went to this AWESOME bar / nightclub. From the outside it was like a garage and you wouldn’t even know what was inside. Once we entered this place it was this kickass nightclub with room after room. It was a industrial shed turned into a club. The interiors were of these old computers and computer paraphernalia and a very grungy kind of look. There were sofas made of cut bath tubs, old PC’s and what not!

Inside there was a projector where they screened movies sometimes and the screen was near a huge open air atrium. What a great place to catch a movie!

The next day we went for this cycle tour, led by one of the most prettiest tour guides have come across. ** I really recommend city cycle trips for anyone who wants to get the feel of the city and places like Budapest have exclusive cycling roads and what a joy it is to use these roads. The cyclist and pedestrian are treated like gods here and everywhere in western Europe.

Hungarians have this history that they have always supported the losing team and this has quite affected their mentality. Also most of their uprising have always failed and that has also affected them.

Notwithstanding this place has some great history and they have built some mind blowing monuments. They also have this statue of a lady called Liberty, who they jokingly call the ‘bottle opener’ because of the shape it is designed in.

They also have this amazing palace and like all other European cities they have a lot of history attached to them. For eg: they have this bridge where the architect proudly claimed that if anyone could find one single mistake then he would jump from the bridge into the Danube. Soon one small boy pointed out a flaw, that the lions at the beginning of each sides of the bridge did not have a tongue. Folklore has it that he jumped of the bridge, but there are some people who say that the architect did make one other tunnel.

The town is actually in 2 parts – Buda and Pest, on either sides of the Danube. Buda is the older part where the palace etc is and Pest is where downtown is.

Another thing about Budapest is that they do not clink their glasses when they cheer. This tradition goes back to the time when the Austrians ruled Hungary and there was an uprising. During this uprising the Austrians killed a lot of Hungarians and as a memory to that the Hungarians swore that for 150 years they would never clink their glasses. It is another thing that 150 years have just passed but the tradition stays.

We also caught the Manchester United v/s Barcelona Fc UEFA Champions League final at this amazing bar in one of the by lanes frequented by locals. The atmosphere was so charged up and a great time was had by all. We had quite a few ( putting it mildly ) beers and by the end of it the entire bar was cheering together and all had become the best of friends. Sumit had bought this red wig which he wore to support Man U but unfortunately it did not help his team win.

Budapest is comparatively much poorer then the some of the other parts of Eastern Europe as is evident from the number of homeless and vagrants on the streets. But if you were to compare it’s beauty, give me Budapest anyday.

Also it was here we had to bid adieu to a lot of friends we had made and especially we would miss Carlos and Owen. These 2 guys really made our trip a grand success and it would not have been even half as fun without them.

A lot of HUGS and KISSES ( carlos’s staple line ) were passed around and over a ginormous pizza ( for 3 euros only ) everyone said adieu. I do hope soon our paths cross again.

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