Eurotrip 2017: Wieder Wien

Day 1:

Arrived in Vienna, and right after I go to my hostel picked up a döner kebab--which i have not had in AGESSSSS. It may not be Deutsch or Viennese..but it is by far my favorite food on this side of the world. And 2 Euro for a döner and soda? YES PLEASE.  

After my stomach was adequately filled, I wandered the city a bit unti I found the Albertina. Nearby here was an info booth, where I picked up every available pamphlet to read and consider in order to pick the perfect itinerary for my trip.

 Since I only had the afternoon, I decided to just wander and figure out where things were. In the process, I saw the first cafe that they go to in the movie Before Sunrise, and where they stood overlooking the city at sunset.

Then I crossed the city to where the university is and got a great dinner for 5 euro at an Indian pay what you feel place---every city needs one. When I lived in Melbourne they had 2 and we went there probably 2-3 times a week!

Day 2: 

Day two started with a wander through a park to find Brahm's memorial statue.

Then a quick jaunt to Cafe Sperl, which came highly recommended by everyone--AND was the second cafe the couple from Before Sunrise go to (with the famous telephone scene). After having a delicious piece of Sacher Torte (and Austrian specialty) I made my way to the Naschmarkt.

The Naschmarkt is basically what it sounds like--a continual marketplace. Here you could buy spices, great Turkish food, basic Viennese dishes, cheeses, meats and giant things of olive oil--as needed. It's a favorite place of many chefs in Vienna.

Afterwards, I decided to spend the day learning a little bit about one of the most famous Hapsburgs--Sisi. Unfortunately, I couldn't take pics, because the museum doesn't allow it, but I got to explore the Hofbug, which was the winter palace for the Hapsburgs. Sisi, in particular, had a museum all to herself--where I got to see how she took care of her stunningly thick, ankle-length hair, and how she came to be such an icon. With a mother-in-law who scared her, a job (as Queen) that she felt like killed her spirit, a daughter who died at two and a son who committed suicide--she became recluse fairly early on in her career as Queen. She took to traveling around with the excuse of sickness in order to escape her duties. When she did perform as Queen, however she took the Hungarian interests under her wing and truly helped make a difference in the eyes of her people there. The Bavarian girl who moved to Vienna to become princess at 15, was eventually assassinated during one of her trips. One of the most beautiful women of the era was gone. Basically---look her up. She's fascinating.

Outside thee Hofburg

the inner courtyard of the Hofburg

And if we're being honest while I do LOVE museums and the history that come with them, I was really just killing time until...THE SPANISH RIDING SCHOOL. Guys--I could not have geeked out more. Ugh, I miss riding so much. So here's to me starting that again once I get a proper job. Unfortunately you can't take pics of the stallions, because they're fussy--but I got pictures of the arena, stables and tack room. Here are a few fun things I learned while there:

1. It's called the Spanish Riding school because the horses are of Spanish descent (though they are now bred in Piebe)

2. Out of nearly 300 applicants each year only 1-2 get chosen to be riders

3. In 2008 they finally began allowing women and non-Austrians to apply--there currently is only 1 female rider

4. Schooling for riders can take from 6-10 years

5. One of the tasks they have to complete once they become an assistant rider, is to pick a stallion from Piebe and train them in the old Dressage style movements for the show. In order to do this, they must learn the natural abilities of the horse and use those as a guide. Obviously you can't rush how quickly this training takes place, hence the length of time it takes to complete schooling.

6. When the Spanish riding School was being constructed, people weren't OVERLY happy about it. They took to referring to things that they found strange or different as Spanish--something that Viennese people do even today

7. The horses have a VERY distinct look about them. With a baroque look and a lip that hangs down--people used to say the Habsburgs had bred horses to look like themselves LOL

The arena!

the Summer arena, and where they exercise the stallions

the Stables--and our guide who was the sweetest.

Tack room--the white show saddles (covered in red now) are worn without saddle pads and therefore have to be made to fit each horse perfectly.

The FINAL event of my glorious day was heading to the Volksoper to see Der Barbier Von Sevilla. The production was entirely in German, and while the Opera building is not as regal as the Staatoper, it is primarily visited by locals who want a nice night out, rather than tourists. And it was a GREAT night. I had read up a bit on the Opera beforehand so that I wasn't completely lost, but I actually was able to follow it fairly well (Cheers to 6 years of Deutsch). It was spectacularly funny, the backgrounds were fabulous, the songs were impressive and it was generally just a wonderful night!

Day 3:

My final day in Vienna was another day of just wandering. First, to Schönbrunn Palace, then to find more Before Sunrise movie locations. So off we go:

Schloß Schönbrunn--the Summer palace of the Hapsburgs

the view from outside the palace looking into the gardens--I need to come back during spring--the gardens are INSANE

Oh HAYY look it's that bridge they walk on in Before Sunrise!

And the Ferris Wheel! WOOO!

Oh yeah, I went to the national library too. Okay, well I didn't REALLY go because it cost 7 Euro to get in, but I stared through the doorway and ya'lll....you would think that someone had straight up copied the Library from Beauty and the Beast. Built by the Hapsburg family to hold their vast book collection--the library is UNREAL.

finally--Augustin Kirche where Hapsburgs got married, and also where they store their hearts after death because...they can?

Anyways--that's all for Vienna. It was fabulous. I want to come back in the Spring to see the gardens of Schönbrunn, and in January to go to a Viennese ball (bucket list item, people!). But now, it's on to Munich to see the one and only PETRA! AHHH!!

Eurotrip 2017: Adventures in Amsterdam

Hello again, friends! Since I've got a few hours to kill on my bus to Prague (whattup 16-hour journeys!), it's probably time for an update. So here's a quick look at the northern Venice--Amsterdam.

Day 1: 

Perhaps my favorite part of my time in Amsterdam was the very beginning. I pulled into the train station around 9:15 and made my way via tram (and the help of a lovely Dutch girl) to meet my friend Anne. Anne and I had spent the last few hours trying to sort out whether it would be best for me to meet her at work or home. And fortunately (for me) she couldn't escape work early enough and asked that I meet her there. FUN FACT: Anne manages a brewery/bar called Troost. So my immediate introduction to Amsterdam was walking into a bar, receiving a giant hug from a friend I hadn't seen in 2 years and then being offered 2 free locally brewed beers. BOOM. I see you Amsterdam. I see you.

After a couple drinks, we headed back to her place and almost immediately crashed. She'd been working most of the day and I'd been traveling--so hooray sleep! The next morning we got up and had a quick breakfast together (boiled eggs on buttered toast with a bit of ketchup--pretty great idea actually). And she gave me a quick lay of the land before I headed off to adventure the city! Apologies in advance for the large amount of canal photos--I've decided it's imperative that I live near water at some point in my life.

(Not a canal--but I loved that this woman turned around at EXACTLY the right moment.) What a perfect  view of the quaint and crazy life that is Amsterdam.

My first ACTUAL stop of the day was...yup, you guessed it: The Tulip museum. Hello FLOWERS! Since obviously it's not actually Tulip season in Holland, I had to do the second best thing. So I spent an hour in a museum learning about how Holland came to be the number one exporter, where they came from, and how they're cultivated and distributed at the end of the season. 

I won't bore you with all the details (unless you really want to know because it was actually super fascinating) BUT here are some general takeaways:

1. Tulips actually originated further East in the region of what is now Turkey. 

2. Because of this a Turkish emperor took a great interest in their beauty, and began to breed them at his palace in what is present-day Istanbul. You may have seen the pictures of it on a previous blog--Topkapi Palace (check out the Istanbul trip obvs)

3. The tulip was considered to be such a beautiful flower, that the name tulip is actually derived from the Anglicized version of an Arabic word that is extremely similar to the spelling of Allah--Lalah.

4. Once the Dutch people discovered them, the various Tulip cultivars became extremely prized, leading to what came to be called Tulip Mania. At the height of the mania, highly coveted varieties of Tulip could go for over 10x the ANNUAL wage of a skilled worker. AKA these people were paying more for tulips than houses. It was nuts.

5. When the tulip exchange collapsed, Dutch started exporting them to other countries (who were eager to see the flower that caused an economic disaster) and that led them to be the world's leading exporter of Tulips--continuing to this day.

Okay, my bad. I got excited and told you a lot more than intended. But that's CRAZY, right?! Anyways, after that excitement I wandered over to the Dam, the town square of Amsterdam. It is home to the Royal Palace, the national monument and you know, like Madame Tussaud's. 

After exploring a bit, I wandered around and happened to find myself by Rembrandt's house. Hurrah!

 (Really going for the Dutch coloring here)

Finally I hit the flower market (which at the present time is a bulb market because cold weather and whatnot.

Ended my day by walking over to the Museumsplein and checking out the famous I Amsterdam sign, which happens to be right by a skating rink, and one of the most beautiful museum building I've ever seen, the Reijksmuseum!

Finally, I made the long walk home through Vondelpark, one of the biggest parks in Amsterdam. It was stunning. And while the pictures themselves don't do it justice, walking through Vondelpark was one of those lovely moments in life when you feel like you're just watching life happen. It was probably 25* out, and people of all ages were biking, running, walking their dogs and just going about life. So lovely.

Day 2:

This was official museum day for me. Amsterdam has a TON of wonderful museums, so picking out just two was rather difficult. Budgeting, people, budgeting. I ended up deciding to do the Rijksmuseum (the national museum) and the Anne Frank House. Okay, the second one wasn't negotiable if we're being honest.

So here's a quick look at some of the fun things I saw:

It SNOWED! So I took the tram this day--walking for hours in the freezing cold isn't quite my deal.

Tulip/Flower vases --each of those little tubes holds a single flower--as shown:

When Dutch people discovered Chinese porcelain...they loved it. And Delftware, as the Dutch version is known, is EVERYWHERE. And while generally I ignored it, some pieces truly were too beautiful to be looked over.

But like really. They were obsessed.

Also, they had WAY better doll houses than us.

Just so we're clear--these doll houses, if placed on the floor--we're taller than me. I'm 5'5".

Got to see some Van Gogh.

And Vermeer--this was by far my favorite piece. So perfectly done.

AND this guy, who really had a terrible life:

ROUGH.

After a few hours spent going through Dutch history, I made my way to the Anne Frank House. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures inside and the outside was too blocked by tourists to get a proper photo. But, if you ever end up in Amsterdam, I highly recommend it. Perhaps it's my interest in the atrocities of World War II, the insanity of the pain people could do one another, or maybe that God can use even the smallest of us to do great things; but whatever the reason, the museum, while small (and quite steep!) was really impactful. To walk through rooms where whole families slept and ate and snuck about for 2 years, was just heart wrenching. Beautifully done, and so inspiring to hear her father speak about his daughter and why he published her stories/diaries.

Finally, I made my way again to see the pretty lights of the city and then headed back for a final drink and hangout with Anne before heading off to Prague!