Monday 13 June 2005
It has now been a month since the wedding - time does fly!
This morning it was up at 4.30am as we had to catch a train at 6.10am from Krakow to Katowice. We got on the train to find it was a supplement service adn we should have booked. The cost for the two of us was 23zln, about NZD10, so it wasn't too bad.
At Katowice we had to wait a while for the next train, so we ate the breakfast the hotel packed for us. We got a service that goes to both Vienna and Budapest. When we got to the Austrian border the train is split into two - one part goes to Budapest, while the back half goes to Vienna.
When we got to the Czech border (with Poland) we got examined by the Polish Immigration guard very carefully. When we entered Poland on Friday no official checked our passports so we had no entry stamp. When we explained this the guard was happy and stamped us out.
We had the compartment to ourselves for the whole journey from Katowice to Vienna. Once again we got our passports stamped on exit and entry, I am getting quite a collection now.
We arrived in Vienna about 1.30pm and caught the tram to the main transport interchange. Along the way the tram went underground along a tunnel. When we got to the main interchange we caught another tram - it turned out the hotel was so close we could have walked.
After checking in we caught the U-Bahn (Underground) to Stephansplatz. In the playa there is an impressive cathedral and stars dedicated to the famous musical residents of Vienna - Mozart, Strauss and Hayden. before walking through the city to the Musuem Quarter. The buildings along the way are stunning - lots of marble and bronze statues of Austrian kings and Greek heroes. Also many statues are dedicated to horses - not surprising as Vienna is home to the famous Spanish Horse School.
We caught another U-Bahn to Prater Park, which is a large fun-fair on an island in the Danube. It has go-karts and rollercoasters but we went through the Labyrinth with it's trick floors and unusual stairs. One set of stairs has half the steps moving up while the other half moves down - very tricky.
We also went in th ghost house. Along the way some gory figures pop out at you - and then towards the end I was examining one figure and he came to life and chased after both of us! We found it very amusing.
After our early start we began to tire - it has been very hot in Vienna today - 28 degrees. This has been the first really hot day we've encountered so we've got out the T-shirts and shorts today. Forecast tomorrow is for more hot weather with possibly heat thunderstorms in the evening.
Before I sign off I must tell you about a funny incident we had last night in Krakow. We went to a pub just off the main square for dinner and I ordered the steak (which was very nice) and Chaucey ordered the Pepperoni Pizza. When the pizza arrived it was good, except it had no pepperoni. The waitress insisted that the pizza was what we ordered - pepperoni. They obviously had never heard of sausage with pepper as they just put peppers and ham on the pizza.
This morning it was up at 4.30am as we had to catch a train at 6.10am from Krakow to Katowice. We got on the train to find it was a supplement service adn we should have booked. The cost for the two of us was 23zln, about NZD10, so it wasn't too bad.
At Katowice we had to wait a while for the next train, so we ate the breakfast the hotel packed for us. We got a service that goes to both Vienna and Budapest. When we got to the Austrian border the train is split into two - one part goes to Budapest, while the back half goes to Vienna.
When we got to the Czech border (with Poland) we got examined by the Polish Immigration guard very carefully. When we entered Poland on Friday no official checked our passports so we had no entry stamp. When we explained this the guard was happy and stamped us out.
We had the compartment to ourselves for the whole journey from Katowice to Vienna. Once again we got our passports stamped on exit and entry, I am getting quite a collection now.
We arrived in Vienna about 1.30pm and caught the tram to the main transport interchange. Along the way the tram went underground along a tunnel. When we got to the main interchange we caught another tram - it turned out the hotel was so close we could have walked.
After checking in we caught the U-Bahn (Underground) to Stephansplatz. In the playa there is an impressive cathedral and stars dedicated to the famous musical residents of Vienna - Mozart, Strauss and Hayden. before walking through the city to the Musuem Quarter. The buildings along the way are stunning - lots of marble and bronze statues of Austrian kings and Greek heroes. Also many statues are dedicated to horses - not surprising as Vienna is home to the famous Spanish Horse School.
We caught another U-Bahn to Prater Park, which is a large fun-fair on an island in the Danube. It has go-karts and rollercoasters but we went through the Labyrinth with it's trick floors and unusual stairs. One set of stairs has half the steps moving up while the other half moves down - very tricky.
We also went in th ghost house. Along the way some gory figures pop out at you - and then towards the end I was examining one figure and he came to life and chased after both of us! We found it very amusing.
After our early start we began to tire - it has been very hot in Vienna today - 28 degrees. This has been the first really hot day we've encountered so we've got out the T-shirts and shorts today. Forecast tomorrow is for more hot weather with possibly heat thunderstorms in the evening.
Before I sign off I must tell you about a funny incident we had last night in Krakow. We went to a pub just off the main square for dinner and I ordered the steak (which was very nice) and Chaucey ordered the Pepperoni Pizza. When the pizza arrived it was good, except it had no pepperoni. The waitress insisted that the pizza was what we ordered - pepperoni. They obviously had never heard of sausage with pepper as they just put peppers and ham on the pizza.
posted by Michael at
8:23 PM
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