Amy and the Great World

Archives for January 2015

Austria

A Day in Salzburg (Austria)

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Salzburg surprised me.

I figured I would like it–a fortress high on a hill, a river, mountains, a well-preserved Old Town…what’s not to like?

I also figured that it would be similar to Prague, so I wasn’t too excited about Salzburg. After just leaving Hallstatt (which I’m still working on writing about) I was pretty bummed. We’d made yet another mistake and purchased a train ticket for the wrong day (this trip to Austria was really a hot mess) and I  was grumpy to leave our little mountain paradise.

Luckily, Salzburg is a mountain paradise of it’s own. We weren’t there very long, and didn’t do very much, so I don’t have any “top 10 to do in Salzburg” lists for you.

Instead, we wandered around the gorgeous and adorable Old Town, stopped outside Mozart’s birth place, peeked into the Cathedral, gazed in awe at the mountains when they were briefly visible, tried Mozart balls (candy) and the famous chocolate liquor, and ran around the Mirabell Palace & Gardens pretending we were in the Sound of Music.

Unlike Vienna, which I know I should give another chance, I’m actually eager to return to Salzburg and explore more. I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to burst into song when seeing this charming city.

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While similar to Prague, I wasn’t like “well, we might as well just be in Prague.” Salzburg felt smaller to me, and I really enjoyed the fact that not many cars were allowed in Old Town. It was so easy to wander around the streets! I was really smitten with the riverfront, too–the water was so green!

IMG_7015 IMG_7020^^I had fun searching for peeks of the castle in-between buildings and down alleyways.

IMG_7030 IMG_7031 IMG_7032^^Mozart’s birthplace was cool to see, although we were too cheap to pay the fee to enter.

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My favorite stop was the Mirabell Gardens. It helped that we got a little bit of sun while we were there–the views were incredible! I felt just like Maria as I walked around the fountain, except she probably didn’t have to dodge selfie sticks every ten feet.

IMG_7051 DSCN6173DSCN6160 DSCN6129 DSCN6117 DSCN6116 DSCN6212^^making friends with a local pup and the dwarf statues. DSCN6220 DSCN6223

Hope to see you again soon, Salzburg!

Linking up with Bonnie, Courtney, Cynthia and Yalanda for Travel Tuesday!

 

Belgium Czech Republic France The Netherlands

Five Months in Prague (By the Numbers)

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I can’t believe we’ve hit 5 months in Prague! Everyone says the first six months are the most difficult of any transition, from moving abroad to moving back home to starting a new job, etc.

I admit I’m feeling very good about Prague right now, and I’m looking forward to seeing what month six has in store!

But first…

(please excuse the length, this month was a big one!)

FIVE MONTHS IN PRAGUE: BY THE NUMBERS

TWELVE Christmas-themed English lessons. If you have to work, might as well continue to be festive, right?

ONE EVENING at the National Theatre for the Nutcracker!

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THREE HOURS of chocolate overload with Andrea at the Choco Cafe.

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2.5 WEEKS (and counting…) of the cold that won’t go away.

NINE Christmas movies watched to fully embrace the season.

FOUR Christmas packages received! Thanks to all of our fantastic family and friends for those, they are so appreciated! I love it all so much I’m hoarding it in one spot so I can look at it all…

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ELEVEN Christmas Markets in total. Two in Prague, one in Valkenburg, one in Bruges, one in Brussels, one in Ghent, one in Paris, and FOUR in Germany. They all had their charms, but the markets in Cologne, Germany were certainly my favorite. Especially the Heinzelmännchen market, or the “Gnome Market” as known to us.

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SEVERAL HOURS in Cologne hanging out with Jessi & crew and Sara & her Dan! I love spontaneous blogger meet-ups. (how did I not take any pictures of this??)

THOUSANDS of festive lights seen–on Christmas trees, adorning streets, in light shows, sparkling on the Eiffel Tower.

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ONE water bottle full of champagne for New Year’s Eve in Paris. Nothing but class up in here.

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SEVEN incredible, busy, overwhelming, crazy, confusing, beautiful, wonderful days in Paris.

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400 STEPS up the Tours de Notre-Dame for my favorite view of Paris, and to visit the Chimera gallery, where I learned that the statues I actually thought were gargoyles are actually called chimeras. Gargoyles are actually the ornamental rain drains. Who knew? We had to wait in line for two hours, and we were supposed to be heading to the airport any minute, but I am so glad we made it up into the towers. I cried when I saw the chimeras and the incredible view of Paris.

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45 MINUTES in a Christmas market cave.

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SIXTEEN DAYS traveling through Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

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EIGHT cities/towns visited during these sixteen days–Charleroi (Belgium), Cologne, Valkenburg (the Netherlands), Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Paris and Versailles (which is also a city, not just a palace).

SEVENTEEN PEOPLE talked to via FaceTime in Texas on December 27…I missed a family reunion on my mother’s side, but I was happy to be able to see everyone this way!

THREE Christmas phone calls. We missed our families and friends but it was great to see their faces on the holiday.

FIVE NIGHTS with a view of the Eiffel Tower from our flat (since it was a studio, we had a view from the table, bed and kitchen! #winning #smug).

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TWO NIGHTS in a horrible flat in Paris with no heat and a moldy shower…we earned those five nights with a view and that smugness!

TOO MANY STAIRS to count. Paris especially seems to be the land of stairs–we walked up and down in the Louvre, up three spiral staircases to our flat, up and down in Versailles, up and down the Arc de Triomphe, up and down the Tours de Notre-Dame, up and down to the river…

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POSSIBLY ONE MILLION MILES walked on our Christmas trip. Despite the amount of food and beverages we consumed (see below), E and I both lost weight because we were on the move so much!

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A RETURN VISIT to our favorite bar in Belgium, Café Terrastje, for some of my favorite beer, Kasteel Donker, and some ham & cheese pasta.

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EIGHT HOURS in the Louvre.

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ENDLESS amounts of good food consumed, from potato fritters to waffles to fries (oh I love my Belgian fries!) to crepes to raclette to croissants to chips to macarons to salmon to steak to duck to lasagna to pasta to na’an to curry.

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TOO MUCH glühwein, wine, champagne, coffee, cocoa and beer to count. Not that I’m complaining…

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QUESTION:

Even though it’s halfway through January, how was your December??

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Linking up with Nicole. 

Austria

A Letter to Vienna (Austria)

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dear vienna

Dear Vienna,

I’ve been putting off posting about you for a while because I’ve been dying sick for over a month now, and because I’m afraid I won’t have the words.

Even you might find this interesting, Vienna, as I definitely talked a lot while we were there (mostly to E…he’s a lucky man). Most who know me will agree–I rarely run out of words when I’m given the opportunity to speak.

I’m worried I won’t have the words to describe you as a city, because to be honest, we didn’t connect that well. I’m still not sure why, because I was completely charmed by Salzburg and I was in love with Hallstatt before I even arrived.

Don’t take it personally, Vienna, for you have many wonderful things that I (and many, many others) love. Gorgeous architecture, friendly people, horse-drawn carriages, grand and unique cathedrals, great food (including possibly the best meal I’ve had so far in Europe, except maybe in Paris), and coffeehouses that I still dream about.

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Yet, when family members or friends who may be visiting ask about Vienna, I recommend we go somewhere else.

There are many reasons why this is the case. Please don’t take offense, because I really didn’t hate you.

Perhaps it was because it was really, really cold while we were there, as well as dark and gray. Maybe it’s because E and I booked bus tickets on the wrong day and lost money, which led to a fight. Maybe because our pension was in a strange area of town and wasn’t very comfortable. Perhaps it’s because I knew both Hallstatt and Salzburg were on the horizon, places I’d always dreamed of seeing (especially Hallstatt).

Looking back, it probably was just my attitude. I’d come off a stressful week, I was anxious about our hastily planned trip and our hastily packed bags, I was bummed at the expensive yet not great hostel, and everything seemed so much more expensive than Prague–which is true, because a large chunk of Europe tends to be that way.

Still, I enjoyed your architecture, and the horse-drawn carriages, and hearing the famous Vienna Boys’ Choir sing just before they kicked us out of the hallway. It was great to see the Hofburg Palace, the former imperial palace of the Habsburg empire (back when Austria ruled a lot of Europe), and wander the massive grounds. One weird aspect, though, was accidentally walking into some military fair on the grounds. I was not expecting to see tanks and tents full of military technology in front of a decadent palace (while I’ve got you, Vienna, can you explain that? I’m still flummoxed).

IMG_6841 IMG_6829IMG_6799^^see? tanks. In front of this palace.

My favorite part of your little city, Vienna, was the coffeehouses. Can we just talk about these for a minute?

Vienna, on this level we really connected. I take my coffee seriously, and so do you.

I tried one of your speciality coffee drinks, called an einspänner, that was essentially espresso and whipped cream. I savored it, surrounded by gorgeous, 19th century furniture, listening to a man play dreamily on the piano. I will recommend that everyone going to Vienna visit Café Sperl for atmosphere (piano player!), tradition (it opened around 1880, and the furnishings haven’t changed since!), and of course, the coffee.

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At another coffeehouse I ordered the famous Sachertorte and a coffee beverage called a fiaker, similar to the drink I’d tried earlier but with a shot of rum. I don’t recall the name of the place–it was just one near the Hofburg that we stumbled upon–but I will recommend this traditional torte…especially with coffee!

IMG_6816^^Please excuse my extremely awkward face…this is the only picture I have of the torte!

In addition to your lovely coffeehouses, we ate one spectacular meal (just one because we were too busy spending money in said coffeehouses…no regrets). This restaurant, Gasthaus Pöschl, was recommended to me by a high school friend who stopped in Prague after visiting you, Vienna. She raved about the pumpkin kraut and frankly (because I’m…basic?) anything with pumpkin is something that catches my interest. E and I shared the tafelspitz, a boiled beef dish in broth with a side of potatoes and the pumpkin kraut. The meat was fall-off-the-bone delicious, and the pumpkin kraut was even better than I anticipated.

IMG_6832^^the famous pumpkin kraut.

In conclusion, I’d like to apologize. Vienna, I know I will not love every place I visit (I do struggle with this idea, because I want to love them all), but I feel that I dismissed you too quickly. I will be back, someday, to give you another try. In the meantime, don’t change a thing about your coffeehouses…and save me some pumpkin kraut!

XO,

Amy

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Linking up with Travel Tuesday!

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