Vibrant Vienna!

As we got off the train from Salzburg and stepped out side the train station in Vienna, we could feel the heat. We thought we are going to get roasted during the day, just like Salzburg.

Once again, Sheila had selected an outstanding apartment - "The Pension Sacher" - for us to stay. The apartment is right in Stephansplatz, managed by a very sweet & nice family and we were given a warm and hearty welcome. To visit Stephansplatz, all we need to do is just step out of the apartment building!

Stephansplatz is the name of the square at the center of Vienna and is named after the famous Stephansdom
( aka St. Stephens Cathedral ). The Stephansplatz was alive with people until late night and it was almost like living in an apartment right in the middle of Time Square, NY :))

St. Stephen's Cathedral, the tallest in Austria and ranked as the 14th tallest in the world.
What struck me most is the beautiful tile patterns on the roof. 
I don't remember seeing a tile-roofed church anywhere else!

Stephansdom - St. Stephan's Cathedral

Views of St. Stephan's Cathedral and Stephansplatz from our apartment - The Pension Sacher.

Sculptures on the outer walls of St. Stephens' Cathedral.

Vienna Opera House, walking distance from Stephansplatz.

During our many walks around the city, we found fountains with sculptures reminding us of our 2006  trip to Italy.

Karlskirche (aka St. Charles's Church). The two tall pillars are modeled after the "Trajan's Column" in Rome.
I checked our 2006 Italy trip fotos and found a foto of the Trajan's column (refer next foto).

 

Trajan's Column in Rome (foto from our 2006 trip). The Karlskirche's columns are modeled after this.

Karlskirche

Golden piece above the altar of Karlskirche

@ The Belvedere Palace Gardens

Taking a break at a fountain during one of our city walks on a hot day.

As we crossed a park and rounded a corner, heard nice music and enjoyed watching these couples dancing.

Perfect sync!

Entertainers @ Stephansplatz.

As we were leaving for Prague the following morning, we enjoyed 
Stephansplatz at night,  one last time - on this trip; who knows we may be back here again :))

Swiss: Wonderful "Wengen"

Wengen, a beautiful, picturesque, small village nestled in the tall mountains of Jungfrau region was our home for 3 wonderful days.

After we landed in Zurich, we did a series of train hopping from Zurich to Berne to Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen to Wengen. The train ride from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and from Lauterbrennen to Wengen offered outstanding views and vistas. Though we were all tired and jet lagged, we couldn't peel our eyes from the train windows.

The only way to reach Wengen is through the train, uphill from Lauterbrunnen. No cars are allowed in Wengen and few electric vehicles owned by hotels operate to haul people and luggage to/from the train station. Wengen just has a  train station, a major road with shops and restaurants and plenty of hotels and pretty chalets.

Train ride from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen

Bird's eye view of Wengen

Cable car from Wengen to Mannlichen, which is at the top of this mountain.

View of Wengen from the Mannlichen Cable Car

Having fun @Wengen Train station while waiting for the train.

The only major road in Wengen

The chalet we had stayed, Bella Vista, had gorgeous views of the mountains.

View of the "Monch" peak from the bedroom.

Almost every window in Wengen had a window box with flowers :))

Beer, The Universal Language :))

The cab driver spoke only very little and broken English. We were on our way to our apartment from the train station in Vienna.  He was very quiet until I asked him to recommend the best local beer. As if a switch was turned on, he lit up and rattled off the names of all his favorite beers. He immediately opened up and started showing us the landmarks of Vienna describing them with sign language and his funny & broken English! The girls were laughing at me and the driver trying to communicate. Immediately it dawned upon me that "Beer is the universal language that brings together people instantly :))

Starting from the Nova Scotia trip we did in '95,  I have developed the habit of tasting the local beer wherever I visit. I can never drink more than 1 glass of beer but absolutely enjoy trying out the local beer flavors.

Here is a sample for your future visit to these cities:

Enjoyed RUGEN BRAU  @ Kleine-Scheidegg Train Station, Swiss- after the adventurous hike!
Best Beer at the Best Location :))

FELDSCHLOSSCHEN  @ Bern, Swiss.

OTTAKRINGER HELLES - on the train from Luzern to Salzburg

ZUM MONART @ Salzburg

OTTAKRINGER  @Vienna

PILSNER  URQUELL @Praha

When I was studying at the University of Oklahoma, Norman - I had been to an Ale House near the University. They used to claim they have more than 100 beers from all over the world.  I don't have any fotos from that time and they didn't have a website in 1989 :))  I searched online and found a similar one ( not the  same ) that has more than 200 beers. Checkout their Beer Guide @ the link: McNellie's @ Norman, Oklahoma!!!

Photo Credit: McNellie's @ Norman, OK.

Photo Credit: McNellie's @ Norman, OK.

Salzburg, the Salt Castle!

Before the EU trip, when discussing the trip details with my colleague, he mentioned that Salzburg means "Salt Castle" and  1000s of years ago, Salzburg produced a large amount of Salt. "Salz" is salt in German. Since Austria is land-locked and assuming salt can only be produced from sea water, I was wondering how come Salzburg produced salt. After digging up further, I learned that the salt was from the mines near Salzburg and the city was built by the rich folks who owned these salt mines.

Among many other things, Salzburg is famous for Mozart (who was born in Salzbrug) and the backdrop for the musical,  "The Sound of Music".

We took the train from Luzerne to Salzburg. As I checked out the dining car menu, I was really surprised to see the entree "Chicken Curry with Jasmine Rice". The 7-feet tall German waitress explained that they have this entree in almost all of the the train routes :))

Waiting in Luzerne train station. We have whittled down our luggage to one carry on item and one backpack each.
It really helps to travel light :))

Though not spicy, Chicken Curry with Jasmine Rice was tasty and enjoyable.

The nice and spacious pent-house apartment we stayed - "Wolf Dietrich" - is walking distance from the old town, the Mirabell Gardens, many restaurants and is conveniently closer to the bus stops.  

Construction of the the "Hohensalzburg Castle" was started in 1077 and it continued expanding until 1519.
It is one of the biggest in Europe.  While you can climb the steps, we took the easy - lazy way, a Funicular :)  

The Golden Bed Chamber was impressive. We opened a door on the wall and saw an
elevated sitting place with a hole - an attached Toilet in the bed room, supposed to be most modern in those days :)

View of the Salzburg Old Town (forground) and New Town (background) from the top of the fort.
The Salzach River separates the old and new towns. The Salzburg Cathedral is prominent in this foto.

Mirabell Gardens is where we spent time every evening, enjoying the flowers, fountains and watching people.
Many scenes for the song "Do Re Mi" from "The Sound Of Music" were shot in these gardens.

View of the Salzburg Castle from Mirabell Gardens.

Salzburg Cathedral

Inside the Dome of the Salzburg Cathedral

Salzburg Cathedral

Outside Mozart's house. The birth place museum has his entire life history on display.
Of course, the girls are Piano wizards and knew much more about Mozart - like his elder sister was
more talented than Mozart but was never given or got the opportunity to shine.

During travels, while I enjoy the history, culture, local food and local beer, there is nothing to match the simple joy of
watching  people - locals and from all over the world ;)

Swiss: Lovely "Luzern"

When we reached Luzern, it was pouring Cats & Dogs. After having a nice lunch - enjoying the views of beautiful Lake Luzern through the heavy rain,  we headed to the the place most folks go when it rains during vacations - a museum :))

The Luzern Transportation museum - aka "Verkehrshaus", was spread out in multiple buildings and had some very ancient train engines in addition to displays of sea and air transportation.

Finally it stooped raining and we wanted to checkout the Lion National Monument. As we were walking towards the monument, I asked a bicyclist to confirm if we are going in the right direction.  He said he is also going that way and walked with us. His name is Carl and he is a part-time mechanic and part-time sculptor -  making sculptures out of scrap metal.  He was so happy to have a foto taken with the girls :))

The Lion Monument was very simple with a wounded Lion depicting the Swiss Guards who were killed in 1792 during the French Revolution. We had dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant - Kanchi. The food was just OK at Kanchi.

The next day, it was still raining in the morning. Instead of visiting yet another mountain near Luzern, we decided to visit Bern, which is just 1-hr away by train (more on Bern in the next post).

When we returned from Bern, we visited the "The Chapel Bridge"- a historic, covered bridge built in 1333.

The Chapel Bridge is very close to the Luzern railway station and had many paintings dating back to 17th century. 

On a side note, after this EU trip, we have started recognizing the places showing up in Tamil movie songs :)) You might recognize The Chapel bridge from Surya's movie song:
Link => Sillunnu Oru Kaadhal - Newyork Nagaram Song
Though the song says Newyork City, it features the Arch near the Luzern railway station and the Chapel bridge. I also caught glimpses of the COOP store - a famous Swiss grocery store where we shopped regularly.

I strongly recommend taking a long boat ride in Lake Luzern.

The boat crossed the lake from one shore to the other, stopping in few small towns along the way.

Though it was almost the same, typical Swiss scenery - rolling green hills, tall mountains, emerald green color lake - the more we experienced it, the more we fell in love with Swiss :))

Clouds seem to spill over a mountain and about to embrace the town below.

The day we left for Salzburg, the sky turned a brilliant blue and I was able to capture the real charm of Luzern.

Click on this image to enjoy it in full screen!

 Luzern, the city by the lake, has a special place in our hearts.