Fancy Vienna

Capital City #10

Our first general impression of Vienna was that it was flasher, glitzier and more expensive than all the places we'd just been. All to be expected, of course, but we didn't anticipate how pronounced the difference would be!

some fancy church

One area where this was driven home was in our search for another new suitcase for John. This was our first significant undertaking in the city, and it proved to be fruitless. The cheapest appropriate option in every bag shop was still about 150 euros, maybe 120. With our trusty currency conversion apps out, we decided fairly quickly that John would be able to continue carrying/pulling his suitcase along with the broken wheel loudly protesting until we got back to the inexpensiveness of Eastern Europe.

Another noticeable aspect of Vienna was the number of people dressed up, trying to sell concert tickets. It was the city of music! We enquired into a performance at the opera house, and decided to “think about it” when the cheapest ticket was 45 euros. When another guy accosted us outside a subway station for a different concert, though, for two thirds the price (again, the cheapest seats – of course), we decided to splash out. If there's any appropriate place to go and listen to music by Mozart and Strauss, it's Vienna!

Also appropriate was that we bought these tickets, as it happens, on the way to see the Mozart House. There we learned a lot about Antonio Salieri, weirdly enough. I think there wasn't all that much info on Mozart, so they provided a bunch of information about this acquaintance of Mozart's. It was okay, but neither of us had heard of him before and we didn't particularly care about his life. That was just the first few rooms, though, and then we got on to Mozart himself. One of the most interesting parts was seeing his prodigious output – they estimate an average of six full sheets per day with twelve lines per page, and yet he also gave lessons, socialised and had a family. Another point of interest was the conjecture that Mozart was a big gambler who got enormous illegal gambling debts, due to his requests for loans of enormous sums of money from a patron/friend, despite Mozart's own hefty income.

Next we explored some of the Old Town, including the ornate Plague Column and the Holocaust Memorial in Judenplatz.

ornate Plague Column

appropriately bleak Holocaust Memorial

The next day was a lesson in luxury and elegance from start to finish.

We began with a visit to Schonbrunn Palace and its Grounds. The latter gets a capital initial letter because it's an attraction in its own right. We thought previous places we'd seen were opulent; this magnificent imperial palace threw them into the shade. Like many fancy buildings we've seen, no photos were permitted inside, but it was lavish, trust me. It was also heavily populated – a very popular tourist destination, with good reason.

part of the palace and grounds

As for the surrounds, they were rather vast and impeccably manicured. We easily spent two and a half hours going round the loftily titled Gloriette, Neptune fountain, Obelisk fountain, so-called Roman Ruin and Privy Garden. We also conquered the labyrinth, sadly finding only tourists at the centre on an elevated platform, and saw a couple of bisons on our travels, in the imperial zoo also located in the grounds.

the view from the palace to the Gloriette

guess which fountain!

That afternoon, as per our tourist book's instructions, we found a cafe, Mozart's apparently, and ordered a piece of cake and drink each (or, in John's case, apple strudel). The waiters were all in suits and ties, and I got three complimentary wafers with my iced chocolate, discovering a delicious brand of luxury wafer in the process! Again, fancy. And it was this song, Fancy, by Iggy Azalea, we actually had stuck in our heads all day. And yes, it's one of those songs where I only know about three lines plus the chorus.

We don't normally sink to the level of taking food shots, but this was - you know it - fancy.

During our travels in Vienna, we had noticed a big crowd that was constantly standing around outside the Opera House. Between our cafe date and getting home, we finally figured out what it was about - apparently Tom Cruise was in town filming Mission Impossible 5 at that building.

The film set, with possibly Tom Cruise or, more likely, his double.

That evening we hurried off to our concert at some palace somewhere (honestly, all the different concerts taking place in all these different fancy buildings was bewildering). The room itself was lovely, with beautiful chandeliers and many audience members dressed up (not us – but that's okay, we were in the cheap seats at the back).

The concert itself was all elegance and refinement! As promised by the guy on the street, this was a Concert Plus; not just a chamber orchestra, they also had a couple of opera soloists come out for some pieces, and a male and female ballet dancer for others. The singers were amazing; I actually looked at the chandeliers when the lady first hit a super high note, half-expecting it to explode. The dancers were also great, so graceful and beautiful, with the woman's long flowing dresses matching the evening's elegance; no tutus in sight. Perversely, John enjoyed the instrumental-only pieces best, as the dancers and singers distracted from the music behind.

The lovely venue pre-performance.

If you don't care about classical music, I recommend you skip this paragraph and the next. The chamber orchestra was comprised of 13 people; one on the grand piano, 5 violins, a cello, a double bass, a flute/piccolo, a clarinet, percussion, and two brass instruments (a French horn, we think, and a trumpet or cornet). There was no conductor; the orchestra was led by the first violin. It was interesting to watch, as I've never seen such a small orchestra in action, or one led without a conductor. The first violin was definitely the most dynamic to watch, of course, as he played his own part with great panache and somehow guided the rest of the group too.

It was a really audience-friendly performance; the first piece had some gun cracks go off from the percussionist, which definitely woke the audience up – not that we needed it, given the exuberant pace of most of the pieces. The opera numbers included a duet from Figaro, a duet from Don Giovanni, as well as solo songs; instrumental pieces we recognised were Rondo alla Turca and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. They were all designed to be crowd-pleasers, of course, and the crowd was pleased. I had a big smile on my face most of the night, I was just enjoying myself so much, and we gave them an encore and a standing ovation at the end. For the last piece in the encore, the first violin motioned to us to join in and clap along in certain parts. Each time, predictably, the (rest of the) crowd enthusiastically got faster and faster, while the percussionist and orchestra grimly carried on at the proper pace. Ah, poor unwashed and rhythmically-challenged masses. Still, it was great fun, and a perfect completion of our time in Vienna!

We felt we got a wonderful taste of the delights on offer in Vienna, and were so glad we actually indulged in some of the experiences there. We came away with stars in our eyes – and with that song stuck back in our heads, unfortunately.

For a better version of the song to get stuck in your head, listen to this superior one instead: "Handy".

Praha

Capital City #9

We had an inkling that our camera was on the way out a couple of times before Prague, but when we arrived there it finally gave up the ghost. Everything works except when you zoom in, otherwise the image is washed-out and unfocused. In other words, everything looks like this:

Anyway, we arrived in Prague by a roundabout route that took us by van, which dropped us off at a train station across the border. No one came to check our tickets the whole train ride, which was alright. When we arrived in Prague it had just stopped raining and was only drizzling. We dragged our bags over the cobblestones that seem to cover every free piece of ground in the city, and found our AirBnB accommodation. It was nice, and inexpensive. The owner of the flat met us and showed us the place, and said how his assistant (!?) would come at checkout time to collect the key.

He also told us about a restaurant that served traditional Czech food that was just around the corner, and wrote down the name of the place for us, while warning us not to go to another place across the street. We ended up having lunch at the recommended restaurant, and discovered that traditional Czech food seems to fit firmly in the meat-and-potatoes camp. Anna had beef goulash inside a roasted bread bowl, with roasted onion, and I had roast rabbit, with potato dumplings and spinach. They were both hearty and filling meals.

Our flat was in a decent area of Prague, and one thing we noticed during our stay was all the dogs. Every second person (apart from in the tourist areas) seemed to be walking at least one well-behaved dog. Perhaps it was just the suburb we were staying in, or maybe Czechs are all dog-lovers.

The big thing to do in Prague apparently is to visit for stag parties, and we saw evidence of that, but really my impression was of a very touristy place, with buskers, bum-bag-wearing Americans investigating their Jewish heritage, Segways for hire rattling down the cobblestones, and the ubiquitous horse-drawn carriages with overdressed drivers. We saw the most exotic buskers yet, including a lady dancing with a boa (the snake kind, not the one made of feathers) and and some people who appeared to be Native Americans playing what I assume are traditional instruments. Here's a picture of one important landmark, an astronomical clock that had clockwork (really!) figures doing something we can't actually remember, it was so unimpressive. Note the crowds of people thronging the area in front of the clock. It's no wonder it's reputedly a pickpocket hot spot.

Here's a picture of another clock; this one has one of the faces in Hebrew, so naturally the clock goes anti-clockwise. It's all instagrammy because we hadn't figured out how to take photos that weren't all exposed like that yet.

Some of the buildings around eastern Europe have pictures painted on the outside of the building, like this one:

One of the other tourist hot spots is Wenceslas Square, which is more like a long rectangle, and which is the site of a bunch of interesting events that happened in the recent past. The Soviets (yes, them again) put down a couple of revolts during the 80s, when the Czech authorities weren't able or willing to be brutal enough. We looked at an exhibit on what happened, right there in the square where it happened.

Speaking of Soviet aggression, the Museum of Communism is an interesting place to go, detailing life for average citizens (comrades?) of Czechoslovakia under communism, how the country became communist, the various puppet regimes, and how the country stopped being communist. It was a little difficult to follow; I still don't have a proper handle on the timeline of events, but it was interesting anyway. They had pictures of the construction of a massive Stalin statue that must have been imposing – it was destroyed only a short time after it was completed, since Stalin was dead, and was no longer in vogue. There's also a section about a young man, Jan Palach, who burned himself to death to protest the government. He has an almost martyr-like status now, and I'm unsure of how to categorise him myself. Primarily because self-immolation is terribly sad, but also because it's unlikely to achieve anything other than a martyr-like status for the deceased. However, in this case, his death did precipitate a more active agitation for regime change. The museum also has a small exhibit on current abuses in North Korea. Definitely sobering.

The museum is situated near Wenceslas Square, above a McDonald's. The irony is not lost on them.

On one of our days in Prague we made the steep climb up to the Castle area, which has a bunch of buildings inside the walls of the small old town area on the top of a hill.

View from the top

Everyone wants to see the view.

Up the top there is a really rather impressive church, St Vitus' (anyone know who Vitus was?)

Outside

Inside

We had a good wander and saw a bunch of old buildings, but one of special note is this building. We're not sure what it is, but it's headache-inducing.

Those designs are just painted on.

The Senate Gardens are cool, although this:

is a little over the top. It's a drip wall which is meant to be... I'm not sure what it's meant to be, other than Gothic horror. Apparently someone thought it was a good idea to install this thing.

We've been making good use of the underground/metro/subway systems in the cities that have them; we'll get a three day ticket, and stick to the underground. It's easier that way, and we've got to know a few now. Prague has the longest escalators we've ever seen:

We took the underground to church on Sunday. Another International church, we arrived late, and slipped in just as the sermon was beginning. The sermon was on Stephen's message to the Sanhedrin before he was killed, and how they had made idols of the Land, the Law and Temple, worshipping the things rather than the Creator. I think it's a stretch to get that from that passage, but it was challenging nonetheless.

On the way to the bus to Vienna my bag (the Red Bag of Courage – as I've just dubbed it) became a metaphor for mortality. One of the wheels split. That was my new bag, new as of Stockholm. That'll teach me to buy cheap bags. You'd think.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

One of the day trips from Krakow we definitely wanted to undertake was a visit out to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. Both places are free to visit, and there is a free shuttle bus that frequently goes between the two, as well, so the only part we needed to pay for was the three hour (in total) bus trip out there and back.

We never expected to enjoy our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and we didn't. It was, however, a really valuable experience, and provided more insight than I'd anticipated. I thought I had a fair idea about what had gone on in the concentration camps, but seeing the buildings and exhibits for ourselves was a real eye-opener. We didn't take many photos here though, you may be relieved to know.

One of the buildings at Birkenau.

We started off by going to Birkenau, which was primarily designed as a death camp. We were awed by the sheer size of the camp - 175 hectares' worth didn't mean that much to me on paper, but walking around the camp took a long time, and this was with much of the barbed wire fence removed. We saw inside some of the bleak accommodation blocks, with wide bunks that would have been crammed with people. Signs also notified us as to which buildings were used for quarantining newcomers, or for the criminal medical experiments by Josef Melenge, or for killing newborns and their mothers with a phenol injection to the heart, or for keeping those destined for death for up to several days with no food or water.

The lovely accommodation quarters - they were absolutely crammed in here, of course.

When the rooms housing those destined for death got too full, this patch of ground was used for the overflow - they'd just be left out here in all the elements.

There were also the gas chambers themselves, of course - or at least the ruins of the ones the Nazis didn't manage to completely destroy when they fled the camp. They didn't seem as massive as I was expecting; a testament to the Nazis' brutal efficiency at moving masses of people through them, I suppose, as well as crowding them in as much as possible. We overheard a tour guide telling her group how the Nazis made sure the chambers were cleaned after every execution session, as there was always blood and faeces on the floor afterwards as a result of this kind of death. They were meticulous in cleaning it so the next group wouldn't panic as they entered.

Gas chamber ruins

One thing that had never sunk in was the fate of pretty much all the children who arrived here. There were photos, most of them taken by the SS, of some of the groups of people walking along the very same road we walked down, that took these people directly to their deaths. It was heartbreaking to see the faces of beautiful children, along with mostly older women, and of babies and little toddlers being carried along to the gas chambers awaiting them. I thought of my own gorgeous nephews and niece, so young and innocent, so similar to the faces I saw - except for the sombre expressions in the photos. It really drove home the pointless, needless, barbaric waste of precious human life here.

We were left with one and a half hours to look around Auschwitz, and I wish we had had longer, as this was where all the proper exhibitions were.

Once again, the sheer scale of the tragedy was driven home to us by the exhibits showing belongings taken from the camp victims. There was one room absolutely filled on either side of the walkway with thousands upon thousands of shoes, and another massive mound specifically devoted to children's shoes. There were huge piles of suitcases and baskets; spectacles; combs and brushes with some toothbrushes as well; in particular, though, a room with literally just under two tonnes of human hair. The Nazis sold this hair for use in the textile industry, and the liberators found great big bags full of it when they entered the camp. Once again, it was distressing to see cute little baby clothes among the confiscated items.

There were also photos of emaciated victims post-liberation. We saw two stick-thin boys, a 10-year-old and a 14-year-old, directly after being set free. There were also photos of three naked women taken after four months of intensive treatment following liberation; given their skeletal appearance, it was hard to imagine how they could possibly have been any thinner four months earlier.We have seen quite a lot of female nudity on our trip so far, mainly in paintings in art galleries, as well as in artwork for sale on the street or in dodgy advertising. However, the photos of these three women in the nude was as far removed from objectifying them as could be. Rather, it made us see their humanity, and reinforced to us how this camp was composed of real, individual human beings. Two of the women had been 70-75kg when they arrived at the camp, and the third had been about 60kg; when they were liberated, the first two both weighed 25kg and the third was 23kg.

It wasn't only Poles and Jews in the concentration camps who suffered terribly - there was an exhibition on the fate of Poles in general, with some photos of emaciated children and children fainting from hunger in the countryside - accompanied by the chilling quote below.

What do you do when confronted with accounts of such atrocity? It reminded me of a line by Wilfred Owen: "Carnage incomparable, and human squander rucked too thick for these men's extrication". Owen wrote it about traumatised war survivors, but I think it could also be applied to those who went through the camps.

It also made me newly grateful for God's justice, knowing that He will judge us all at the end. It is unthinkable that such actions might go unpunished, and that those responsible for such brutality, wholesale slaughter and torment not be held to account. God would most definitely not be good if He didn't punish such grievous sin. Whether or not these men pay for their crimes themselves, or whether they repent and trust in Jesus, in which case He has suffered and paid for their crimes in full on the cross, I know that these atrocities won't be passed over. This leads me to be newly grateful for God's mercy, as well, that He has provided the way for such sins to be forgiven in Jesus, and that I can know my own sins are dealt with as well.

Krakow and Wieliczka

From Warsaw we took the train to Krakow, deigning to visit a non-capital city. We didn't regret our condescension! Krakow was great – heaps of tourists, granted, but it had cool old architecture, the best market we've been to yet, a happenin' festival and just a great vibe in general! Not to mention - the discovery of khalva (or helva) in the supermarkets!!! If you don't know what this is, hopefully our later posts from Russia will inform you. In brief, it is a delicious spread for bread/toast. We bought two types: vanilla and chocolate. But back to Krakow!

 A lively performance in the main square.

Sneaky shot from the back. See their feathered caps? Jaunty!

We explored the compact city centre the afternoon of our arrival, discovering the fabulous market in the central square, as well as the familiar horse-drawn carriages and impressive buildings.

an impressive building

We also stumbled upon a Pierogi festival nearby – we wandered down the stalls, and sure enough, every one featured some kind of variation on that particular food. I didn't realise one food type could get enough buzz to get its own festival! I wonder if there are people who travel to Krakow specially at this particular time in order to attend?

A shot of the food festival - all the pierogi you could ever want!

Accompanying the food was a stage for performances, which all seemed pretty good. Again, there was that disconnect due to our lack of comprehension of the lyrics, though.

Maybe angry about something?

Part of the reason for our visit to Krakow was its location as a base for day trips. One of the two trips we took was to the salt mines at Wieliczka. The ticket included a two-hour English tour as we trooped around the various salt tunnels and gazed at salt caverns, statues and, most notably, a great big underground salt cathedral. As we walked around, we were instructed to look down from time to time, and were informed that everything around us was made of salt – including what looked like a stone tiled floor underneath us. It was amazing!

The loooong descent down into the mine.

salt statue #1

so-called "cauliflower" formation due to salt water oozing through the porous rock

salt statue #2

The salt mines had been in operation for centuries. Most of the different tunnels were explored at great risk, dug by hand, and the salt would be hauled out by machines powered by horses and men. Now, of course, it's all electrically lit, with staircases made out of wood, and wooden scaffolding holding up the ceilings. Wood is apparently a good material to use in a place like that, since the salt preserves it.

impressive wooden scaffolding

Since it was such dangerous work, the miners would at first erect little shrines, to pray for protection as they entered a new area to carve out. Soon they were making chapels, and having services underground, and there's a handful of little chapels spread throughout the labyrinth. The main cathedral is still in use today, with mass held every Sunday. They also hold underground concerts down there, in an events hall.

 one of the shrines

The massive underground salt cathedral! Even the chandeliers were made from salt.

Pretty much everything in the salt cathedral was carved by only three men, working in turn, one picking up where the other left off. It took them ages - no wonder. Also - salt statue #3

Salt statue #4. Light coming through the figure to prove that yes, it is indeed made of salt!

One thing we haven't mentioned is John Paul II. He's everywhere in Poland; every second street seems to be named after him, and you can get a bunch of pope memorabilia in the tourist shops. There was, of course, a salt statue of John Paul II in the underground salt cathedral, too.

This isn't Pope John Paul II. This is Krakow's patron dragon, Smok. And it isn't in the underground cathedral.

In the evening, upon our return to Krakow, we explored a bit more of the city by night, which was fun.

an impressive building

another impressive building

Krakow by night

Pope John Paul II Smok the Dragon

 final impressive building

Our second day trip was to Auschwitz-Birkenau, which warrants a separate blog post of its own.

Warsaw

Capital City #8

The bus ride to Warsaw wasn't great. We'd booked bus tickets too late to actually get seats next to each other, and we didn't bring tea with us, presuming we would have a stop somewhere along the way where we could buy something. Fools! Who needs a meal stop on an 8-hour bus trip, from 3-10pm? Thankfully, we had a couple of those small bags of chips (we used up the last of our Lithuanian Litas on those) and a packet of biscuits. Not exactly a healthy diet.

[Speaking of biscuits, it's been hard to actually get proper biscuits anywhere; even in Canada we struggled to find anything close to a proper packet of biscuits.]

We stepped off the bus into the sweltering Polish evening, turned the corner and were immediately greeted by this:

We were later told about the building – the Palace of Culture and Science. Built in three years, it was meant to be a 'gift' to the Polish people from the Soviet people, but many still see it as a symbol of Soviet domination. Still, I can't help but be impressed, even if I did end up calling it the monstrosity during our time there.

Warsaw in general was an impressive place to arrive in, another marked shift coming from the Baltic states. There were massive skyscrapers all around, like any modern Western city - the most awesome (in the original sense) first impression of any of the places we've visited so far.

After wandering around looking at different buildings, unsure if we were at the right place, we called the number for our accommodation. We were at the right place, but the place had no reception, and we were expected to give them a call, which we weren't told in advance. This was our first experience of the cash culture that eastern and central Europe seem to have, as we were taken to an ATM to get out the required amount of Zloty.

I like Poland. It's an interesting place, the people seem friendly enough, and everything's quite cheap. We got an apartment in the centre of town for about the same price as we were paying for the worst motel on the outskirts of Quebec City.

The next morning we wandered into the old town:

We had a look inside the palace area at one of the exhibits about the Polish resistance. There was an uprising when the Soviet army was steadily advancing on Warsaw, in the hope that the Poles would be able to have their own government up and running before the Soviet troops arrived, so that they could have more bargaining power. The Soviets stopped advancing and just sat on the other side of the river while the Nazis brutally put down the uprising, after which they flattened virtually the whole centre of the city. It's impressive the way that they've rebuilt.

Interesting-looking buildings, but what's that in the distance? Do I hear the roll of thunder?

The heavens opened, and the rains began to fall.

We took shelter in a shop selling expensive jewellery and knick-knacks made from amber.

Then the power went out, and we stood around the windows with the other tourists who were just browsing, waiting for the rain to stop.

The rain petered off, and we were able to have a look inside one of the churches there, along with the rest of the huddled masses:

Despite what the photo shows, there were actually quite a few people there.

The Market square was pretty much deserted. One has to wonder whether they intended to have matching umbrellas.

On the way back we stopped to get an umbrella, although not an orange one.

The next day we went to Wilanów palace. Wilanów is actually pronounced Vilanoff.

Some highlights:

Frog versus Crayfish!

The ceiling paintings had great perspective.

That evening we visited Łazienki Park. They were in the middle of an exhibition celebrating orientalism in Polish art and society, hence the lanterns.

Just like Hagley Park during the lantern festival.

There was also a Chinese-style gazebo. We haven't been to Asia yet this trip.

The park is apparently famous for its peacocks, but we only saw one.

Warsaw as a city (the little we saw of it) was great. We'd visit again, and we could have spent more time there, quite happily.

We didn't, however, visit the "achingly modern" Chopin Museum, as our beloved tourist book strangely put it. We are finding a couple of gems in our "Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget" - look out for the next one in the post on Prague.

The next morning we took the bus to Kraków.