Vienna

It was an easy 1-hour drive from Bratislava to Vienna, which David handled since I was pretty sick of driving.

For the last two weeks, I had been trying to arrange a tour for David through Airbnb experiences, but I wasn't having any luck. The tours were either too expensive or they had really mixed reviews with some 3- or fewer stars amidst the 5-star reviews. The night before our day-trip to Vienna, I lucked into a 2.5-hour tour with a man who had consistent 5-star reviews. Someone must have cancelled on him because he had not been available at all the previous two weeks. For €25, I was more than happy to sign David up.

David loved the tour, and said it was a true five-star experience. That's about all I know about that. I think he took 4 pictures the whole time. Bah!

While we were walking to his meeting-point with the tour guide, I walked into a church, and was absolutely stunned by how ornate it was. After all these stunning churches I've seen, this one still surprised me! It was quite unimposing on the outside, and I just wasn't expecting it. But really, take a look at the picture below.

Thankfully I went into that church. Other than that, the only thing I really saw of Vienna was a playground and the outside of the theatre, where I sat with the kids while they ate ice cream, and I enjoyed my own very delicious eiskaffee. At least I entertained myself by taking a selfie of me holding Vienna fingers in Vienna. I don't even really like them that much, but I brought some to Vienna! And by the way, we stopped at a snap dog vendor, and there were NO Vienna sausages available there. Thank goodness! I would lose respect for that city if that were really a thing!

Vienna is probably the most beautiful city I've visited since I've been in Germany. I would really like to go back some day and see it properly. At the very least, I really enjoyed the outsides of the buildings, and all the statues and monuments around the city. And the weather couldn't have been better. What a great day trip for us!

Vienna was stunning mainly because of the architecture.

This could be my favorite window ever.

Wow. It was small, but it took my breath away.

"What are you looking at?!" I've liked pigeons ever since my friend Riley was little. (For SOME reason!)

Yes, we ate McD's in Vienna. Try not to judge me. The kids just love it so much.

Griffin thought this butt statue was HILARIOUS.

I didn't take many pictures at the playground, mainly because I was running around like a crazy woman trying to keep an eye on four very excited kids. And THIS one doesn't realize she is only two and "can't" do stuff like the big kids!

Bratislava (what did we forget this time?!)

For spring break, we are on a vacation that takes us to Bratislava, Vienna, and Garmisch.

We reserved an Airbnb in what appeared to be a very good location with a very big apartment. And it was both. Livvy had her own room and really seemed to enjoy it.

We left the house at about 3:15 a.m., which was only about 15 minutes later than I had wanted to. I drove the eight hours, and we made really good time. One funny thing is that, a few weeks ago, I found a CD in my work folder labeled in my writing "Singing Songs". I must have made that CD more than 15 years ago. It still worked to keep me entertained while driving! (Poor David and kids!)

We arrived in Bratislava shortly after 11:00 a.m. We were able to check in right away, and we all took a short nap, and then went out to see some sights and grab a bite to eat. I feel bad when I travel because I always starve and dehydrate the kids.

The first thing we saw was Michael's Gate. It was pretty. We didn't go up it, but we walked around the square and then found somewhere to eat. After dinner, the boys were, I fear, on their absolute worst behavior. I think it was because of the really long drive. They had been too cooped up for too long. So after dinner, we went back to the apartment and everybody vegged out, and we went to sleep early, which was good considering how little sleep I'd had the night before. At least the very hungry children loved their dinner. I ordered halusky since it is the typical Slovak dish, and it was okay, but not my favorite. David had some beef with a special horseradish sauce, and it was delicious. It was a nice meal with a friendly waiter. David also tried some slivovitz, which is a plum brandy typical in Slovakia. Surprisingly tasty!

The next morning, I left before anyone woke up and went to see the sights that were on my list. I had to abandon the kids, and I'm so glad I did. I walked around that very small city for about 2.5 hours, and really enjoyed myself taking my time and lots of photos. It was a good morning, even though it was a little drizzly here and there throughout my walk. It was fun, and I had time to be efficient and fast. So nice!

When I got back, we all got ready and drove to Vienna. That was an adventure for the next post! But for once, I can finally say that we forgot nothing! What a pleasant surprise!

Interesting cityscape. The UFO looking structure is a lookout and restaurant.

Micheal's Gate, from the 13th century

The start of my solitary walk. Michael's Gate was deserted.

The witch puppet had exquisite detail.

The Blue Church of Bratislava. Amazing from all sides.

Bratislava is an interesting mix of modern and old.

A memorial to a revolution during WWII.

Cutest post office box ever. Bratislava may have the most character of any city I've visited thus far. That's hard to say, though.

The halusky, which was not my favorite.

My favorite graffiti. Alice in Wonderland, I think?

Prague with a friend

I can't believe I got to go to Prague!

We decided to rent a car and drive there from Wiesbaden. We looked into taking the train, but the time and cost of it just didn't make sense. The main reason to rent a car was because I didn't want to leave David without the van. The added benefit to that was so that I had something that drove better than the Dodge Grand Caravan, and was also smaller. I made reservations for a parking spot in a garage, and Kathy found us what looked to be a nice Airbnb. Off we went on Friday morning.

First thing was to pick the rental car up by the train station. The reservation had said it would be a Mercedes sedan, but then when I got there, they said it was a Cooper Mini Countryman. Didn't seem to matter to me, I knew that would be a pleasure to drive. So off we went.

Google had told us it would be a five hour drive. We hit a lot (A LOT) of traffic, and it took us 8 hours to get there. I was already prepared for that from experience, so it didn't bother me too much. It was what it was. The German's reputation for the Autobahn is a lie, just so you know. It really only works late at night or in the wee hours of the morning. Driving the Mini was indeed a pleasant experience.

When we got to the parking garage, about which I was somewhat happy because it parked the car automatically and I wouldn't have to worry about that, they told me the Countryman was too tall. Oh, right. That's why I cared what kind of car we got. I had 1.6 meters of height. I just looked it up, and the Countryman is 1.561 meters high. Darnit, they were wrong!

But fortunately, they were very kind and let me use their house phone to talk with the reservationist to get a new location, and we drove there without incident. Man that garage was tight! Without hesitation, Kathy repeated her offer to park the car, and without hesitation, I accepted! (It is good to know one's limits, David always says.) Kathy was the BOMB at parking, and got us into a tight, awkward spot with no problem (mainly by not listening to the alarms, when I would have been stepping out of the car every two centimeters to see where I was--and I'm not exaggerating).

We had a bit of a walk to our Airbnb from the new parking garage, but boy, was the apartment ever in a good location, and just right for two friends!

We checked in and then immediately went back outside to walk around and find dinner. The atmosphere was lovely in that city. I felt welcome, and that was nice for a change. We checked out Charles bridge and went to Prague Castle. I was a little bit disappointed because the cathedral was closed for the day. I was a lot disappointed when I found out the the clock in the square was closed until summer. But Prague was still amazing in spite of all of that! It is a pretty impressive place. I enjoyed the food, the sights, and the weather. Most of all, I enjoyed Kathy's company. It was a great weekend.

Medieval helmets

Prague is a sort of paradox throughout.  Demonstrated in this photo.

Charles Bridge