Veering from Vienna

The next day we went on a whirlwind tour around some of the famous sights in the city. First stop was the Nash Markets, which are a gathering of market stalls, including food and antiques. We browsed these for a while, and I got one of the many, many falafel wraps for lunch before getting the bus to Hundertvasser village.  Based on the architecture of the Austrian-born artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the complex is a building (which is not open to the public) and a cafe and giftshop (which are). The buildings are quirky and breathtaking and well worth a visit if you like that kind of thing – which I do!

Next we went through the Museum quarter – where there was a weird grassy waterbed that I wasted several minutes bouncing on –  to some of the sights in the Old Town, including Heldenplatz, Hofburg Palace and St Charles’ Church. These all passed in a bit of a haze in all honesty and so I was glad when we stopped off for an afternoon break at the Sacher Hotel to try their famous Sachertorte.

There’s a whole debacle over who sells the ‘original’ sachertorte (and what original even means in this context) which you can read about at the hotel. I’ve got to say: I love this cake whoever makes it. Apparently it’s just as good from non-famous hotels and other cake-shops but I’m such a fan of this cake wherever you find it!

We covered these elements so quickly, and whilst gossiping about life, that there’s not really much I can say on them, other than that it would be nice to come back and do them a little slower. I don’t know if it was the rush, or the fact that I was pretty exhausted after my week in hostels, but I didn’t love Vienna. I wanted to, but I just didn’t get it. It just felt like a nice city to me, but one I didn’t feel that interested in delving deeper into. I know that’s an unpopular opinion – my best friend loved it so much he moved there – but I am fully open to the fact that I may have liked it more if my focus had been on exploring it.

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We had a slow start the next day (mostly due to more wine the night before) and eventually took ourselves to Schönbrunn palace and grounds, which we walked around for several hours before getting more cake. I finally tried some Austrian Strudel (take that bucket list!) which was amazing but I actually think the sachertorte was the highlight of this trip, dessert-wise!

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On my final day I climbed St Stephen’s South Tower – I’ve later heard that the North is far better, and to be honest, I expect it must be, as the South tower was tiny and enclosed, even at the top. To get my viewing kicks, I went to the Palace of Justice instead, which I’d been told would be open on a weekday and had a rooftop cafe. It was a bit of a walk away, but I’d started my day early so I had time, and the building and views did not disappoint!  I also took myself to Time Travel Vienna, an interactive museum on the history of Vienna, clearly aimed at children solo Cassis, to fill a whimsical hour.  I enjoyed this more than I want to admit. My final hour before going to the airport was spent on a postcard hunt for my collection –  I never did find the right postcard, which does just mean I’ll have to come back.

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After spending a week travelling around these cities, I really, really understand the appeal of people who spend a month (or more) travelling Europe by train. European trains, in my limited experience, are absolutely wonderful! I wanted to do a Europe trip when I was 18, but had no one to go with and the pound crashed so I talked myself out it. Now, 10 years later, I actually may just have to start rethinking about this! Cities are so accessible and I loved this trip so much that I can’t wait to do something similar again!

Mozart and Marionettes

On my final morning in Salzburg I let myself sleep in until just before check-out time. I missed the free breakfast, but after walking the equivalent of a half-marathon yesterday (I know this, my phone has a step-counter) I knew I needed to catch up on sleep. By the time I got up, everyone from my room had already headed out, which was handy as it meant I could pack up without getting in anyone’s way.

I checked out, stored my luggage and headed into the old town to finally get that peaceful walk around St Peter’s cemetery.

Following this, I spent over an hour in a dress shop trying on dirndls and lederhosen and taking selfies in the changing room. I bloody love them and wish I had a legitimate excuse to purchase some – If they hadn’t cost more than my entire trip I definitely would have! Finally, I bought a ticket to see the short version of The Magic Flute that was on at the Marionette theatre at 2pm. I’d sort of had it on my list for days but wasn’t certain I’d have the time to go. Now, with my train to Vienna leaving at 3:50 the 1 hour short show was the perfect excuse to see some marionettes and to hear a bit of Mozart performed in this place so well-known for both. It was a very surreal experience and really very enjoyable!

Marionettes of the Von Trapp Children and Maria

After grabbing my luggage and another schnitzel from the train station, I found myself on a double-decker train to Vienna. What is it about European trains that makes them so much better than UK trains? At least I was riding out of Salzburg in style! Goodbye lovely little town and onwards to Vienna!

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I have to warn you now, that my experience of Austria’s capital was very different to the previous two cities I visisted on this trip, as it was less of a sight-seeing venture and more a visit to a good friend who just happens to live in this city. For that reason, I don’t really have that much to ‘blog’ about, as such , as I did a lot less solo wandering and took a lot less interest in my surroundings. I’ll give an outline but in general, I need to revisit Vienna and experience the tourist side a little more!

Obviously, in true type-two lols, I arrived into completely the wrong station and had to spend my first hour in Vienna navigating from Westbahnhof to Hoptbahnhof station, where I’d agreed to meet Adam. Since we were both pretty exhausted we had a quiet night in, watching the sunset from their apartment and having a catch up over wine: the perfect evening after my crazy week.

Mountains and Fountains

I woke up incredibly early (for me) on my first morning in Salzburg. I guess it was the fact that you’re always slightly on edge and aware of everyone else when you’re staying in a dorm room but I was awake at 6:30 and couldn’t really get back to sleep. So, I got up and ready and then went for my free hostel breakfast, which started at 7:30 (I think). It was pretty basic but I was just grateful to have coffee at that time! No one sat together or tried talking, which, with the time in the morning it was, I didn’t find that weird at all. I worked out my day over breakfast and left the hostel by about 8am.

I’d decided that I wanted to walk up the Monchsberg and follow the route my hostel recommended on their free map. I walked towards the river and then got distracted taking selfies on the Mullner Steg bridge because the view was so stunning. I had no idea what I was in for when I went out that morning but stopping on that bridge was one of the most beautiful views I’d ever just happened across in my life!  I was aiming for the Museum of Modern Art, not for the museum (of course, you know me!) but because they have a lift that takes you to the top of the Monchsberg for a few euros. It actually took me forever to find the lift – to save you from struggling too: It’s actually inside the museum – there a chutey thing that’s visible on the cliff face that looks like it might be it, but it’s not and circling around looking for an open entrance to that is a great way to waste half an hour.

Once I eventually got to the top (it was only about 9am at this point) I set off on a lovely little woodland walk following the main paths around the route that my hostel had outlined as a good route to take. It was wonderful! The air was clean, the views were stunning and my walk was punctuated by lovely little Austrian men hollering ‘Guten Morgen’ as they passed, to which I would awkwardly respond ‘HALLOOO’. My favourite was Richterhohe, where I spent a good 40 minutes playing with the self-timer on my camera because it was both secluded and incredible.

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I followed the tops of the mountain around until I reached the Fortress Hohensalzburg where I paid entry and spent the rest of the morning wandering around. I really enjoyed the audio tour, which was included with basic entrance, and the marionette museum. I exited the Monschberg via the Funacular at the fortress (also included in the basic entrance fee) and, since I was utterly starving at this point, bought a Schnitzel burger from a vendor near the base. It was amazing! It was basically like a chicken burger with garlic mayonnaise – I don’t think they’re always like this but this combination was completely delicious! Following this I had another little wander around the old town but with the aim of getting back to my hostel to charge my phone for an hour or so, as all of my picture-taking had drained it.

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After spending a lazy hour or two in my hostel, I jumped on the number 25 bus to Hellbrunn Palace to see the trick fountains. It was a really warm day so the trick fountains were pretty refreshing but there were a lot of people on each tour and it was definitely more of a family thing than a solo travel thing, although I did enjoy it and am glad that I went. The rest of Hellbrunn I found unimpressive in all honesty: the audio tour was fine, the free folk museum was not worth the effort it took to get there and the pavilion from the sound of music was swamped with tourist (and more easily photographed from the back – which looks the same as the front but with less tourists!). I headed back to my hostel in time for more free salad, before grabbing some quick dinner elsewhere (okay, you caught me, I went to My Indigo again…) and returned in time for the 8pm showing of ‘The Sound of Music’, which was a better movie than I remembered! It was nice to see all of the locations I’d been too on the screen, although I think I was the only person in my hostel that evening who sat through the entire movie from start to finish. Fair dos, it is long!

 

Settling in Salzburg

After an extremely picturesque and comfortable train journey, I finally arrive in Salzburg.

OMG SALZBURG.

If you were hoping for a nice unbiased travel post then I’d better warn you now, what follows is the greatest love story between a girl and a city ever known to man or beast. Well, okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration but if you’re one of those people (like those on the trip advisor message boards that I read whilst researching this trip) who said Salzburg was only worth half a day, then you massively missed out my poor-taste-bearing chums.

When I got off the train I was a little confused that the rolling green hills I’d seen on my journey were nowhere in sight, and instead, what I was walking through was just a standard, if not a bit empty and quiet, city. The closer you get to the old town, however, the more character this lovely little place lavishes upon you, you lucky soul! Old churches (so many churches), majestic mountains and charming, charming little Austrian men who say ‘gezundheit’ to the awkward little brummie tourist girl with hayfever (me) are the heart of this place.

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I was staying at YoHo hostel, one of the few I could find and chosen over the others because of the promise that ‘The Sound of Music’ would be played there every night. I hadn’t seen the movie in about 20 years but was definitely willing to give it another go for the sake of this city. I was a fan of YoHo for this, the surprise free breakfast and salad bar I didn’t realise would be there, and the amazing and wonderful free map they supplied me with, which not only saved incredibly on my phone battery, but also absolutely made my trip – more on that later.

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After dropping off my bag, I went for a wander. Using my lovely new map I went to the nearby Mirabelle Gardens with the intention of wandering into the old town before dinner. I actually didn’t get that far – I got far far too distracted by the gardens! Perfectly manicured lawns, statues of goats that wish they were unicorns, a beautiful outdoor theatre space, stunning fountains and… erm… a Dwarf Garden.  The Zwerglgarten was something I’d read about when researching Salzburg, then, later assumed I’d dreamt the whole thing up because it was so completely random. But it turns out that there is, indeed, a lovely part of Mirabelle Gardens that is home to several dwarf statues. These little guys are both grotesque and charming, sassy and wise and, quite frankly, provided the potential for endless entertainment for a wandering Brummie tourist. I had far too much fun mimicking their poses and taking selfies amongst them and would very highly recommend a visit if you’re ever in the area!

I spent so long here, in fact, that by the time I even considered dragging myself away, it was time for the free salad bar in my hostel. I thought it might be pretty good to get some of my five a day before heading out for some more substantial food later on, so I walked the ten minutes back and grabbed myself a bowl of free salad. Now comes the excruciating part. The salad was served in the bar, and in the bar were two men drinking. I grabbed my bowl and headed for a table as one of them left the room and the other graciously invited me to sit with them, which I did. It was nice of them to invite me but that’s about all good I can say about it. The man I was sat with wasn’t even staying at my hostel, he was a local chef who came in for the cheap drinks and we struggled to chat in very broken English until his acquaintance came back, and they resumed their conversation in what I think was Arabic while  I sat there awkwardly eating my salad as fast as humanly possible. The reason I’m telling this story, dear reader, is because I think it explains the reason I like solo travel. Sometimes you’ll make friends, like I did in Munich, and sometimes you’ll make painful acquaintances, like this incident in Salzburg, but in the end, it’s your choice to be alone or not and that’s pretty empowering.

After wolfing down my salad we said our goodbyes with a mutual understanding that we just had nothing in common and went our separate ways. I ate my salad in the dining room the next night.

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After the salad incident I went for another explore around town. I find that when staying in a hostel, it’s quite hard to have a quiet evening in. Well, okay – in fairness I’ve never tried it, but I sort of imagine it would be kind of weird and boring and so I often try not to come back until at least 9-10pm. In countries with nice weather I’ve found that this tends to work out fine and gives me more time to explore. So, this time, I headed to the old town to have a very short wander around the winding streets and to find something with protein to add to my salad half-dinner. I walked through the town to St Peters. The cemetery was closed by this point, which was a shame as it looked really beautiful and I made a mental note to come back on another day and wander round. I did wander into the church though, and it was so empty and peaceful that I actually sat down and had a little think about life for a few minutes. It was such a nice atmosphere – I don’t often find that peacefulness in touristy churches but St Peters at 8pm was amazing.

Dinner was bought at My Indigo, which my hostel recommended and flagged on my lovely map, but taken out and eaten on a bench in Mirabelle gardens as I called a friend from home and caught up with the world. I LOVED this café, and wish there were some in the UK. As you may have learnt from my previous posts, I prefer to get casual food for dinner when travelling alone, rather than fancy and awkward solo meals. My Indigo was pretty healthy Asian-style cuisine for a really affordable price that could be eaten in or taken away. I’d definitely go again (as you’ll notice that I actually do, in my next entry).

 

 

 

Holidays on Holiday

When I woke up on my second (and final) morning in Munich I was full of ideas of how I wanted to spend my final day. Unfortunately, on the way out of my hostel I noticed a note on the door pointing out that today was a holiday and that all shops would be closed.

Since part of my plan involved tracking down and trying on lederhosen, I was a bit disappointed by this news. A holiday in Britain basically means that everything is open, but for shorter hours. A holiday in Munich meant that the sights were open, as well as some restaurants etc, but all of the shops were closed. I passed some desperate tourists hunting for cigarettes at one point, gesturing wildly and screaming in broken English – I guess I was lucky that the only thing I had to think about was finding an alternative activity for the day.

I was slightly (albeit groundlessly) worried that no food places would be open and so brunched in the same place as the previous day while I reworked my plan. I knew that I wanted to climb St Peter’s tower for a nice view over Munich, as recommended by my tour guide yesterday. I always buy a postcard in a new city and keep these in a collage on my wall as a record and souvenir of all the places I’ve visited, but I was a bit worried that this might not be that easy to do with the shops being closed – and my lederhosen plans were completely out of the window unfortunately! I was getting the train across to Salzburg at 2pm so had about 3 and a half hours to enjoy in Munich before then. The weather today was lovely and so off I popped on my final day of Bavarian adventures, without a solid itinerary in mind, but happy to play it by ear.

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As I walked through the main streets of Munich it was obvious that the shops were a complete no-go – even the more touristy ones. It was pretty interesting to see window-shopping manifest itself rather emphatically, as at almost every store people were scoping out the window displays, with no way of being able to purchase the goods! I made my way to St Peter’s, next to the Viktualienmarkt from yesterday and was relieved to note that, at the very least, postcards were being sold at the entrance to the tower. It’s a 299 stair climb to the top, which is less than the Convent Garden tube station in London and so therefore doable (anyone who has nonchalantly decided to ‘just take the stairs’ will know exactly what I mean here). I love a good climb up a church tower in a new city – I think it’s actually one of my favourite things to do and so was very happy to hand over my few euros for this. Once I got to the top there was a bit of a blockage of people and I couldn’t understand why no one was moving around in the anti-clockwise direction the sign posts suggested. It was only once the bells started that I realised I was up there at 10:55am and the tower faced Marienplatz and the New Town Hall, in which the Rathaus-Glockenspiel puts on a little show a few times a day, one of those times being 11am.

I’d seen the little clockwork figures as part of my walking tour yesterday and so didn’t mind missing it today, whilst using that time to take some photos of the view I was facing. Eventually everyone moved round and I got some stunning views of Munich and it’s striking red rooftops. Upon descending the tower I browsed the postcards, but didn’t see any that encapsulated my Munich experiences so, heartened that there’d be other postcard vendors open today, I moved on. I filled up my water bottle up in Marienplatz and noticed that the structure next to me, near the fountain, was a toy museum. It looked quite small, certainly not enough to fill my 2.5 remaining hours before my train, but it did remind me that museums would be an option for today.

I know they’re a standard tourist thing but I must admit that I don’t tend to gravitate towards galleries and museums: I’ve spent so much of my time following other people’s paces in them that I tend to think of them somewhat resentfully and, as such they’re not my priority in a new city. That doesn’t mean I won’t go to a museum, but more that I prefer to walk around and experience the nuances of a city itself, and collect interesting experiences in that city, rather than spend a lot of time in its museums. Still, today was certainly an exception and I got quite excited when I read about the potato museum in Munich!

Unfortunately this was a bit too far away to get there and back in time for my train, so I settled on the Science and Technology Museum (my favourite type of museum) and went on a wander in that direction. On the way, I passed a display which I assume was an advert for sunglasses, but involved some Barbie dolls placed in very compromising positions. There’s no reason for this anecdote except that it was such a bloody weird thing to see a display so obviously due to attract children containing such adult themes. Hilarious. And scarring.

When I reached the museum there was a huge queue and I was running low on time, so I decided to do my favourite part of any museum visit before going back to town and getting my train: the giftshop. Stop judging me – there was no time for education and culture! Seeing the things you could buy made me really wish I’d had time for the museum (or at least part of it, it’s apparently huge) and I think then and there I realised I’d have to come back to Munich one day for the museum, my fairytale castle experience at Neuschwanstein, which I had to give up when my original flight was cancelled, and for more beer.

I did, however, get a postcard.

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After the long walk back to town I realised I was pretty hungry , so I took Jemima’s recommendation of a nearby kebab shop from yesterday and may have purchased one of these beauties for my train journey. I can’t remember the name of it but they’re everywhere and I suspect they’re all amazing. Even sober. Especially sober. I picked up my bag, made my way to the station, jumped on the nicest train I’ve ever been on (and panicked that I’d accidentally wandered into first class and would get kicked off) and tucked into my kebab whilst watching the rolling hills and beautiful churches in the villages between Munich and Salzburg pass me by.

Auf aufiderzein Munich.

 

English Gardens and Bavarian Beer

Following a stressful two days, I’m finally here, doing what I like to do best when on my own in a foreign country: Brunch.

I was originally meant to fly out on Sunday night but after waking up on Sunday morning to a text informing me that said flight was cancelled, I wasn’t sure I’d get to go on my second solo adventure at all. After rebooking my flight for a full 24 hours later, and making the decision to cut ‘Day 2: Neuschwanstein Castle’ out of my Bavarian adventures, I finally arrived at the airport, somewhat less excited than I may have been the day before.

I landed at 11:30pm and struggled for a few minutes to navigate the airport! It was huge, which I guess is a good thing when flying out, but a bad thing when trying to find the S-Bahn when grumpy and/or tired. I eventually did find my way onto what I hoped was the right train (you have to exit the airport and walk forwards, past the random skate park that just seems to be there, until you see the S-Bahn sign – it’s not very far away but easy to miss because, again, random skate park in the way). Suddenly everyone got off and swapped to the next train. Too tired and obviously far too awkward to ask about this, I followed the crowd after a man nodded at me in what I took to be a ‘yes, this goes to Munich’ kind of way. It did stop there eventually so I can only assume this was a mighty fine decision on my part. Well done tired, grumpy and solo Cassi.

I found my Hostel easily enough as I’d booked Wombats, right next to the station, knowing I’d be trying to find it at midnight on Day 1. After crawling into bed at 1am, the first thing I noticed was how stuffy it was – dear lord, it was warm! Still, I guess that bodes well for the weather! I’d been checking the forecast daily before I went as it looked like the heatwave was about to fail and I might spend the next week sightseeing in the rain. Not that I don’t love rain, but I have a suspicion that spending all day wandering around a new city alone is a bit easier in nice weather – at least for my first few trips.

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Anyhow, brunch makes everything better and I am now a much jollier Cass. Here I am in Coffee Fellows, a chain that looks friendly, affordable and is right next to my hostel, caffeinated and fed and planning my first day. A walking tour around Munich, a visit to a beer hall and a stroll around the English Garden are the things I want to tick off my experiences list for today, whilst also hopefully trying some German cuisine and picking up some tips for what to do with my remaining half-day tomorrow.   I quite like it here in this café – when I first googled breakfasts in Munich I was a little worried at the prices that were coming up, but here I am having a bagel and a coffee for about 7 EU. Good for me.

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After brunch I wandered over to the starting location for my Tour. I got Ben, an Irish immigrant and part-time actor tour guide, who was audible, funny and knowledgeable – which is all really all you need in a tour guide, so I was pretty pleased! At one point he made us stop and go around the group saying where we were all from. I found this strange at first as most groups I have been in do a show-of-hands, rather than a one-by-one thing but it really highlighted the diversity of the group, and it was easy to spot other solo travellers through this method. I tried plucking up my little courage and talking to a girl from San Francisco who seemed to also be travelling alone, but I can only assume that I must have intimidated her with my overflow of charm and charisma as she sort of wandered away from me when we stopped in Odeonsplatz. Somewhere between ‘Italian style’ and ‘lion with open mouth’ I realised she probably wasn’t coming back and so, after picking up my dignity, I tried again with a girl who’d said she was from London. I’d seen her walking with a guy who had said he was from Japan and so I wasn’t actually certain that she was a solo traveller, but I gave it a go. Queue my drinking buddies for the day.

It turned out that Jemima, (as the London – but actually Kent- girl was named) and Junyu (the Japanese man) were not travelling together but had done what I did and latched onto a fellow lonely soul.  The three of us chatted easily throughout the rest of the tour and realised we all had pretty much the same list of things we wanted to do that day, and the same fear of doing them alone. By sort of unspoken agreement, we ended up spending the rest of the day together, which was a nice milestone for me in terms of making friends whilst travelling solo! I hadn’t really realised that this was on my solo travel experience list (mostly because I didn’t make a list) but it felt like an achievement when it happened. In Budapest I had the comfort of my bestie there, and so I never really had the inclination to find like-minded chums and so it was really nice to see just how easy it can be.

Ben ended the tour on Viktualienmarkt.  I was shocked and amazed that there was a full on, real German market here. This was certainly one of my moments of idiocy, but we only see them at Christmas, and this one looked exactly like those, but was really in Germany and was available all year round. It was really exciting and at Ben’s recommendation we got a Bratwurst there and a tankard of beer and sat in the beer garden together to eat and drink. I wanted to try German food, but I’m a little hesitant with processed meat and so wasn’t sure I’d like Bratwurst. It turns out that I had nothing to worry about – the Bratwurst was like a very exciting sausage sandwich. I had a spicy one which tasted a bit like chorizo and went so well with the beer. Oh, and the beer! Served by the litre (or two) in classic tankards, it was so clean and refreshing – utterly delicious!

This was one of many we had throughout the day. After lunch and a wander around the market we went to Hofbrauhaus, the famous beer hall in Munich, where we had our second tankard of the day. I was a bit underwhelmed by the Hofbrauhaus in all honesty – Ben had mentioned a song the band played where everyone would cheers and drink but if it happened I didn’t hear it. After finishing our beers here (or allowing Junyu to finish mine as I know my pacing for a Tuesday afternoon) we wandered to the English Garden, a massive park in the north of the city where I’d heard there were more beer gardens. We stopped to look at the river surfing, take a few selfies and to have another beer and a pretzel before stumbling back towards the train station. Here we went our separate ways after swapping Facebook details.

Me and my new pals tucking into a pretzel and a beer in the English Garden

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I really enjoyed walking and drinking around Munich and cannot get over how refreshing that beer was! Ben had given me some great tips for how to spend my final few hours the following morning and I’d made solo travel companions. We’d also passed a few shops with lederhosen and dirndl’s (the women’s Bavarian dresses) and I had got it into my head that I must try these on before the end of my trip.

I reunited with Jemima later that evening for dinner, as our hostels were right next door to each other. We took a little walk to Bazi’s, which basically did Roast Pork in a box. Roast pork, potato dumplings and sauerkraut is a dish that Ben had mentioned on his tour earlier as being standard Bavarian food, so I jumped at the chance to try it. It was slightly salty but really good and really affordable.

After being so grumpy when I arrived, Munich really turned my mood around and I had an amazing first day in the end.