Viennese whirl and Parisian style - the elegance of Old Europe
In and around Europe
Everything was going right from 1995 to 2000..
Job was great, relationships were good, money was coming in. It is exemplified in my life by the trip I took in 1997 for just over two weeks in May 2007. The mid-nineties was a feeling of excitement of Europe opening up. For over 45 years we had been squeezed into Western Europe. The fence stopped at Berlin and Vienna, the cities of Prague and Budapest seemed in a different galaxy. Available on a Cedok tour or through a maze of bureaucratic tape - but suddently that changed. The Wall came down in 1989 and Europe seemed to open up again.
The cities so long behind the Iron Curtain had a pristineness about them - untouched by McDonalds or Marks and Spencers. They seemed to be preserved in aspic and the words was to see them before they were altered forever. Of course, in these days ten years later were I have a Polish plumber and a Czech friend the concept of the Iron Curtain seems like ancient history. In 2007 where 250,000 Poles have taken advantage of their entry into the EU and look towards Manchester and Dublin rather then Moscow or Warsaw. But back then it was a sense of new territory. And there was a feeling that you had to see them then..before it was too late..
And then there was Paris. Possibly the best city in the world (and a league above all those other pretenders such as Cape Town and Sydney) and next door. And I hadnt been there yet. I was at the start of my travelling career. Four years after returning from the US I got my foot back on the travelling rung. My Aunt booked the Paris/Vienna leg as well as my flight back from Austria. But what she did forget that I was travelling from London. So I had to scramble around and get transport between those two old rivals London and Paris. Those two cities who have slugged it out for premier city of Western Europe for two thousand years. And the method of transport I chose (coach/hovercraft) is now a museum piece itself consigned to history by the channel tunnel. I'm glad I did it when I did..
But most of all Continental Europe charmed me. It appealed to my sense of romance and history. There was disapointments, sure, I mean can any city hold a candle to the 'City of Light' straight afterwards - Vienna certainly struggled. But so many pleasures - gazing up at the Opera Garnier, steak in beer sauce, rattling around the Ringstrasse on the bim (tram), drinking in the Marais, Ottoman history at the Budapest museum, the explosian of gilt baroque at the Loreto in Prague, the fountains of the Schonbrunn Palace, the Danube from Fishermans bastion, Mala Strana from the Strahov monastery and the cafe streetlife of four of Europes most charming capitals.
Because that is the essence of Mitteleuropa - charm..
The cohesive whole that inspires a fairytale experience. The essence of civilised life..
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler actonsteve
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1
Hovercraft to Calais and then on to 'The City of Light'
A few steps up the stairs of the METRO and I entered another world..
I emerged to the bustle of night-time Paris. The great square of Republi... Continue reading »
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2
A gargoyles view of Paris from Notre Dame then Monsieur Eiffels famous creation..
There is too much in this city to waste time laying in..
I was up and having a baguette breakfast at 9.30 in the morning. I chose a boulonger... Continue reading »
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3
Realm of the superich - The Louvre, the Passages and the stylish shops of Paris
Zut Alors! My feet ache!
Paris is very hard on the shoeleather but very pleasing to the eye. After a night out exploring the zinc bars of Le... Continue reading »
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4
From the heights of Montmatre to the buzz of the Champs Elysee
I took a break from the delights of Le Marais' nightlife last night as I really pushed myself yesterday with the sightseeing. But Paris is like tha... Continue reading »
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5
The palace of the Sun King - the glory that is Versailles
The last glitter gasp of the ancien regime.
The last breath of the most cosmopolitan and sophisticated court Europe has ever seen be... Continue reading »
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6
Artists and Interllectuals - how does the Latin Quartier really measure up?
I didnt stay at my hotel last night. I ended up in a tiny apartment in the 13th Arondissement and had to make my way back up to the Marais. I got d... Continue reading »
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7
Flying to Austria - the beginning of exploring Middle Europe
If god lived on earth he would probably live in Vienna..
It is one of the most grand, opulent, civilised and ornate cities I have ever visite... Continue reading »
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8
Vienna - City of Imperial Nostalgia - the centre of Empire
If god lived in Vienna then I can see him living in the Hofburg.
The centre of the Austro-Hungarian empire for hundreds of years this buildin... Continue reading »
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9
Schonbrunn Palace - Baroque retreat of Empress Maria Theresa
"Some countries go to war...but you lucky Austria marry..."
And so said Habsburg Emporer Franz Stephen, the husband to one of the mi... Continue reading »
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10
In and around Schwarzenbergerplatz -the Belvedere Palace and Linke Weizelle
Last night after a wiener schnitzel on Greichengasse I walked back from the Innere Stadt through the Holfburg courtyards. I walked through the gate... Continue reading »
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11
The 2.15pm train from Westbahnhof to Budapests Keleti-Pu
I sit here now in the Buda hills.
Away to my left the lights of Pest twinkle across the river. I'm in an open-air restaurant on Utca Boromzen... Continue reading »
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12
Fishermans Bastion, Lion statues and wine gushing fountains on Castle Hill
A magic moment happened today.
I was entering St Matthias' church - Budapests' principal cathedral that served 500 years as a mosque. It was... Continue reading »
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13
Across the river in Pest - Opera House, Danube and a tragic Synagogue
One thing was has struck me about this city is the lack of anything Communist.
I expected an eastern bloc capital to have more statues of Len... Continue reading »
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14
The final day in Budpest and the 9.15pm from Keleti-Pu
Today is going to be a long day as my train to Prague does not leave until 9.20pm.
Having to kill twelve hours in Budapest is going to be tri... Continue reading »
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15
Arrival in Prague - an explosian of baroque on the Vlatava
Uncomfortable is the word I would use to describe our overnight journey from the Hungarian capital to the Czech capital.
I knew that... Continue reading »
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16
Hradcany Castle - the heart and soul of Prague
Damn this city for being so beautiful.
The colours of the buildings are amazing. Grey stone surrounded by bright pink, yellow, blue, emerald... Continue reading »
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17
Prague at its most glittering - Staromanske Namesti and the jewish cemetery
Did I tell you how good the Villa David is? No? - well, the last few nights I have had steak in beer sauce for under £3.00. The staff are very frie... Continue reading »
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18
Praha Hladi Nadrazi - the 1.15pm train back to Sudbahnof Wien
The great thing about staying in a hotel is that you are not kicked out at 8.00am as in a hostel, but can have a nice lazy lay in. I had a nic... Continue reading »
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