Thursday, June 12, 2008
I am writing this on the train from Bratislava to Vienna. Prior to visiting Austria, I did not know that Vienna and Bratislava are two European capitals that are most closely located (at least according to one guidebook that I read, I will check the map when I get home). It only takes 1.25 hours from Vienna to Bratislava by regular train, thus the journey can easily be made in a day.
This morning, I had originally intended to take the Twin City Liner to Bratislava. This company operates high speed ferries between the two cities, and I met up before 8:30 AM by the ferry port located on the Danube River (close to Schwedenplatz subway station). However, I quickly learned that both the 8:30 and 09:00 ferries were sold out and that only VIP seats were available. The total for a round trip ticket would be over 60 Euros, and just thinking about how much that would be in USD made me freak out (mild exaggeration). If I had been with people and less concerned about seeming cheap, I probably would have gone for it, but instead I chose to check the train schedule. It took me less than 30 minutes to get to Sudbahnhof train station, from where trains depart for Bratislava approximately every hour. For only 14 EUR, I got a round-trip ticket to Bratislava, and the ticket included one free day of local transportation within the Slovakian capital. When arriving at Bratislava’s Petrzalka station, the old city of Bratislava was just a 10 minute bus ride away from the train station (by bus number 80, free when you have bought the 14 Euro train ticket).
The capital of Slovakia spreads out over the banks of the Danube River. With a population of almost 500,000 people, it is the largest city in Slovakia, and thanks to its strategic location it has long been a crossroads of long-distance trade routes.
During the 16th century it was the seat of the coronation of Hungarian kings, which in its time was about as popular as hosting the MTV Music Awards. Things pretty much went downhill from then, but since the fall of communism, huge EU investments and a liberalized economy have helped stimulate economic growth. Big parts of the city are currently undergoing construction, and Bratislava will with time likely become a much more interesting city.
I knew from before that Slovakia is a rather small country, actually that is probably the only thing I knew about the Slovakia. The other piece of knowledge I had was that Slovakia used to be behind the Iron Curtain, but unfortunately I was not able to find any cool Stalin or Lenin statues during my visit today. Then again, perhaps it is a healthy sign that the city does not publicly display statutes glorifying mass murderers. Back to the part about Slovakia being a small country; When visiting the Grassalkovich Palace today (home of the president), my brochure noted that there is an attractive park located behind the palace. After entering the garden, I noticed that a press conference was going on, and none other than the President and his wife were giving a speech and answering questions from reporters.
There were plenty of journalists around, but none of the locals in the park (I assume these individuals were not tourists) were not interested at all in the press conference. To them, it seemed like a daily occurrence to see that President, and no one seemed interested in his presence. While I tried to sneak rather close to steal some pictures of the President (it seems like his name is Ivan Gašparovič), his bodyguards stopped me from getting too close. Being very sun burned and dressed rather awkwardly (pretty much covered up due to sunburns), I guess they could have mistaken me for a crazy pale white terrorist, violent political activist, or assassin (depending on your point of view).
While seeing the Slovakian President probably was the most exciting happening of the day, I also visited the city’s other major tourist attractions. These include the castle, which is the dominant feature of Bratislava. This is where the Hungarian coronations took place, though the current structure is a replica built in the 1950s. Other attractions include St. Michael’s Gate, which is the only part of the city fortifications that has survived to this day.
Originally, there were four gates to the medieval fortified town, but now basically only St. Michael’s Gate remains.
After doing the bicycling tour yesterday and eating some rather poor ice cream, I visited the Schonbrunn Palace, which was the home of the Habsburgs. The puny Napoleon also lived there for a little while, and I guess everyone enjoyed the 1441 available rooms.
Despite the size of the property, I probably would prefer a modern apartment with modern showering and bathing facilities, but each to his own. After visiting the palace and taking the Imperial Tour (which is all time would allow), I headed off to a pub to watch Spain beat Russia 4-1 in the European Championship. After the match, I headed back to the Schonbrunn Palace and attended a fantastic classical concert in the Orangerie. While I cannot recall how much I paid through Expedia, the amount on my ticket stated 48 EUR, and I would not be surprised if I saved a bit of money paying for the ticket in USD.
This morning, I had originally intended to take the Twin City Liner to Bratislava. This company operates high speed ferries between the two cities, and I met up before 8:30 AM by the ferry port located on the Danube River (close to Schwedenplatz subway station). However, I quickly learned that both the 8:30 and 09:00 ferries were sold out and that only VIP seats were available. The total for a round trip ticket would be over 60 Euros, and just thinking about how much that would be in USD made me freak out (mild exaggeration). If I had been with people and less concerned about seeming cheap, I probably would have gone for it, but instead I chose to check the train schedule. It took me less than 30 minutes to get to Sudbahnhof train station, from where trains depart for Bratislava approximately every hour. For only 14 EUR, I got a round-trip ticket to Bratislava, and the ticket included one free day of local transportation within the Slovakian capital. When arriving at Bratislava’s Petrzalka station, the old city of Bratislava was just a 10 minute bus ride away from the train station (by bus number 80, free when you have bought the 14 Euro train ticket).
The capital of Slovakia spreads out over the banks of the Danube River. With a population of almost 500,000 people, it is the largest city in Slovakia, and thanks to its strategic location it has long been a crossroads of long-distance trade routes.
During the 16th century it was the seat of the coronation of Hungarian kings, which in its time was about as popular as hosting the MTV Music Awards. Things pretty much went downhill from then, but since the fall of communism, huge EU investments and a liberalized economy have helped stimulate economic growth. Big parts of the city are currently undergoing construction, and Bratislava will with time likely become a much more interesting city.I knew from before that Slovakia is a rather small country, actually that is probably the only thing I knew about the Slovakia. The other piece of knowledge I had was that Slovakia used to be behind the Iron Curtain, but unfortunately I was not able to find any cool Stalin or Lenin statues during my visit today. Then again, perhaps it is a healthy sign that the city does not publicly display statutes glorifying mass murderers. Back to the part about Slovakia being a small country; When visiting the Grassalkovich Palace today (home of the president), my brochure noted that there is an attractive park located behind the palace. After entering the garden, I noticed that a press conference was going on, and none other than the President and his wife were giving a speech and answering questions from reporters.
There were plenty of journalists around, but none of the locals in the park (I assume these individuals were not tourists) were not interested at all in the press conference. To them, it seemed like a daily occurrence to see that President, and no one seemed interested in his presence. While I tried to sneak rather close to steal some pictures of the President (it seems like his name is Ivan Gašparovič), his bodyguards stopped me from getting too close. Being very sun burned and dressed rather awkwardly (pretty much covered up due to sunburns), I guess they could have mistaken me for a crazy pale white terrorist, violent political activist, or assassin (depending on your point of view).While seeing the Slovakian President probably was the most exciting happening of the day, I also visited the city’s other major tourist attractions. These include the castle, which is the dominant feature of Bratislava. This is where the Hungarian coronations took place, though the current structure is a replica built in the 1950s. Other attractions include St. Michael’s Gate, which is the only part of the city fortifications that has survived to this day.
Originally, there were four gates to the medieval fortified town, but now basically only St. Michael’s Gate remains.After doing the bicycling tour yesterday and eating some rather poor ice cream, I visited the Schonbrunn Palace, which was the home of the Habsburgs. The puny Napoleon also lived there for a little while, and I guess everyone enjoyed the 1441 available rooms.
Despite the size of the property, I probably would prefer a modern apartment with modern showering and bathing facilities, but each to his own. After visiting the palace and taking the Imperial Tour (which is all time would allow), I headed off to a pub to watch Spain beat Russia 4-1 in the European Championship. After the match, I headed back to the Schonbrunn Palace and attended a fantastic classical concert in the Orangerie. While I cannot recall how much I paid through Expedia, the amount on my ticket stated 48 EUR, and I would not be surprised if I saved a bit of money paying for the ticket in USD.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
PEDAL POWER Vienna
This morning I went bicycling with Pedal Power Vienna. I booked the trip through Expedia, and it turned out to be an informative experience. However, the guide was not a particularly exciting person, thus the bicycle trip ended up being a little disappointing.
Yesterday, I tried eating the "world famous" Wiener Schnitzel, which apparently originates from Milan.
Being close to Germany, the food here is rather plain, but I guess I can survive for a few days. If I were to stay here longer, I would have to start hitting some Asian restaurants.
The fact that has impressed me most about Vienna so far is that people are capable of standing in lines. On the escalator, people neatly line up on the right side and let people pass on the left. It is extremely hot here at the moment, almost too warm to be quite honest. If global warming continues, someone really needs to introduce the concept of air condition to the Austrians.
Also, thanks to Holland for beating Italy 3-0 yesterday in the European Championships. It was a fantastic match to watch.
This morning I went bicycling with Pedal Power Vienna. I booked the trip through Expedia, and it turned out to be an informative experience. However, the guide was not a particularly exciting person, thus the bicycle trip ended up being a little disappointing.
Yesterday, I tried eating the "world famous" Wiener Schnitzel, which apparently originates from Milan.
Being close to Germany, the food here is rather plain, but I guess I can survive for a few days. If I were to stay here longer, I would have to start hitting some Asian restaurants.The fact that has impressed me most about Vienna so far is that people are capable of standing in lines. On the escalator, people neatly line up on the right side and let people pass on the left. It is extremely hot here at the moment, almost too warm to be quite honest. If global warming continues, someone really needs to introduce the concept of air condition to the Austrians.
Also, thanks to Holland for beating Italy 3-0 yesterday in the European Championships. It was a fantastic match to watch.
Monday, June 09, 2008
I wrote the below rant about Korean Air the other day, though I did not get a chance to post it. Right now I am sitting in a lounge in Schipol Airport, and I just got back from seeing the Anne Frank Museum. I am catching a flight to Vienna in about one hour. Amsterdam was really showing itself from its best side this morning. It seems like everyone is Amsterdam bicycles to work, and there are hardly any cars to be seen. This is probably a result of the city being better suited for cycling than for driving, and it certainly makes the town much more pleasant. Amsterdam feels like a small town, and when it is sunny the canals look more beautiful than ever.
The Anne Frank Museum is a great place to visit. I think it is worthwhile once in a while to relearn the lessons of the Second World War. There was already a fairly long line around 8:30 AM (the museum opens at 9 AM), thus you're hereby advised to visit the museum early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
Anyway, back to my Korean Air rant:
While I have already flown around the world a few times, and up and down as well, I still find flying to be rather fascinating. At least, that is, for the first 1 hour or so of each flight.
The amusement usually starts before boarding, when lots of frantic business men and other passengers feel a strong urge to grab their cell phone and call someone. I have yet to hear anyone having a meaningful or important conversation, the topic is mainly that they are about to board the plane (like that is some fantastic achievement) or that the plane is five minutes late. These days, taking a flight is barely more expensive than getting on a bus or a train, but I am glad more people than me still find it exciting to get on a plane and feel like bragging about it.
Now, each plane ride usually ends up having its share of horrors. In the US, it generally takes hours to board a plane as everyone is watching their space and usually blocking the aisle with their huge bodies. There is usually never sufficient storage space in the overheard compartment bins, a problem that is likely just to get worse as airlines start charging for checked luggage (like American Airlines just announced). It is not long ago that I read a WSJ article about how airlines need to schedule significantly more time for boarding in Europe and the US compared with for example Japan. The Japanese are simply more organized, not to mention that an average Japanese person will not manage to block an entire aisle.
Anyway, today I flew Korean Air from Incehon to Vienna. While I have flown Korean Air several times already, I only have positive memories, and they mainly relate to sexy stewardesses (very important) and relatively good airplane food (also important). They have also been kind to upgrade me on a few occasions, which is one of the reasons why I chose to fly with them again on my way back to Europe for a brief holiday.
While Japan and South-Korea are only separated by the Sea of Japan (or the East Sea as Korea prefers to call it), the cultural divide between the two countries is huge. While I have unfortunately never had the pleasure of living in Korea, the temperament of the Koreans is completely different from that of the Japanese. While passengers on a Japanese transcontinental flight barely will make a sound for 12 hours, on a Korean flight you will see Koreans up and about running through the aisles. On today's flight, a random Korean grandmother type started singing a traditional Korean song, and enthused passengers (me excluded) cheered her on. The flight was noisy the entire way to Vienna, and I barely managed to catch a couple of hours of sleep.
Anyway, I guess the only way to guarantee a pleasant flight is to fork out the thousands of bucks you need to buy a business class ticket. Unfortunately, I don't have the will or cash to do that right now.
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