End of my travels

The next day I visit the House of flowers and the museum of Yugoslavia.

Google maps, while working fine the past two days, all of a sudden can no longer give me directions that includes public transportation options so I download a bus map to try to figure it out like the “old days”. It’s challenging because the language barrier.

I find my directions to the House of Flowers that includes a walk over a bridge and a walk uphill.

The House of Flowers is the official burial place of the beloved (and sometimes not) Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito. Attached to the mausoleum are wall exhibits of photos of different events of Yugoslavia. It was truly a unique type of socialism in Yugoslavia.

Also nearby is the Museum of Yugoslavia. It is a collection of items related to the time of Yugoslavia. There is supposed to be another museum in the complex but it is closed for renovations. This museum is informative and has information in English but lacks some context for certain events, especially in the last 30 years or so. I guess it’s understandable because there are still things that can’t be discussed because there is not the political will. It’s best to just leave it unknown I guess than stir up anger. It is probably still too soon.

Later I tour the beautiful Serbian Orthodox Church the Church of Saint Sava. The church is magnificently beautiful inside. There is so much gold and bright features.

Lunch today is cevapi. Cevapi is one of my favorite Balkan dishes. The only disappointing thing is that this one doesn’t come with the amazing bread.

I decide it is time for dessert and walk to the Hotel Moskva, a local landmark known for its Russian Art Nouveau style. There is a cafe attached here where they serve their distinct Moskva cake, a cake of almonds cherries and pineapples (Moskva šnit). I enjoy the cake with a coffee and get to people watch for a while.

For the evening I want to go check out the neighborhood of Zemun for dinner. Since I know very little about the neighborhood I choose a restaurant as my destination. Google maps is still not working with the public transportation instructions. I suppose I could take a taxi but I am not familiar with how taxis work in town and I’m not in the mood to try to figure it out tonight so I hang out nearby my hotel instead. It’s almost like google maps is no longer receiving a feed from the Belgrade buses. This is quite disappointing for a solo traveler that tends to be fiercely independent and hates asking for help. Maybe tomorrow I’ll have a better go at it.

In the morning I walk down to Kalmegdan to see the old fortress and get views of the city.

I take a break from the heat and pack my things since I leave early tomorrow morning for my long flight home.

I have one last early evening walk.

I stop at a rakia bar try some different flavored rakija, one specifically thyme flavored. I grab a sampler pack to take home with me tomorrow.

Soon I’m off to bed for my early morning flight.

In the morning I am dropped far away from the airport entrance for some reason. I slowly drag myself to the check in and then start the long journey home. There isn’t a fast and easy route to get from this part of Europe back to the USA. My travels were amazing but I am happy to be home. I don’t yet know what is next for me but I am sure I won’t stay still for long.

Goodbye Vienna (and Austria)

I go to the famous cafe Sacher to try their torte cake. I order the combo with the coffee and the special Brut champagne. If I return I’ll insist on sitting upstairs in the beautiful velvet dining space.

I visit the lovely Austrian National Library. I love a library with old books.

Finally get to try wiener schnitzel at Huth Gastwirtschaft.

I visit the Imperial Crypt, the crypt of the royals.

I then visit the Stephansdom Crypt where I see a plethora of human bones as well as intestines and other innards in alcohol jars. I highly recommend this tour if you like creepy things. No pictures inside.

Some internal body parts, juicing up for hundreds of years

I walk around town and then have cocktails at an American bar.

What goes with crypts, bones and cocktails? Seeing the Barbie movie in a historic theater. This theater also is famous for showing the movie The Third Man. If I had more time in town I’d come back to see that.

After the movie I take the train and walk to my hotel through the Prater amusement park where I get to view it lit up for the evening.

My final day I visit Belvedere Palace and its weird art. The palace is a museum and holds some famous artwork by Gustav Klimt and other artists.

Finally I eat a late lunch at an old glass building, the restaurant called Brasserie Palmenhaus Wien.

There is so much more to see and do in Vienna but but I am flying to Serbia in the morning for my final stop so I go back to pack. This time I have to pack for flying since all the bus and train routes were terrible.

This time tomorrow I’ll be back in the Balkans

Graz museum day

I visit the Kunsthaus Graz (Graz modern museum) because I love some weird art. The main exhibit is a series of artwork from artists from the former Yugoslavia – a region I visited earlier. I see the artwork from the artist that does the running through Zagreb nude (I love you Zagreb) and I see some interesting penis related artwork (Gelatin by Golem is one example, photos of naked guys in nature backdrops is another). The art explores many different ideas and pushes boundaries. One movie shows hostile architecture in the ways cities develop spaces that seem to prevent sitting. In the movie people sit in these hostile spaces and later show their bare bottom with the associated indentations. In addition the museum has a great view of the city.

I also walk through the art space called Murinsel, an island in the Mur river that hosts a cafe and an art space. They play movies and have live music perform there.

I also walk along the water.

I notice a long path up the hill to a park with scenic views but it is not in the plans today. Instead I happen upon a tunnel next door that was built as a war shelter. It leads up to a lower part of the park. I use this time opportunity to grab lunch. Sushi is on the menu today. There is a photographer taking photos of all the menu items for I am assuming website photos and such. They offer the few of us dining all the plates when they are done with the photos. Unfortunately this happens after I’ve already stuffed myself. I could have walked out with a much cheaper meal if I would have just been slower to order.

After lunch I walk by an interesting double staircase.

I walk by the mausoleum dedicated to Emperor Ferdinand II next door. It looks impressive but I decide to wait til later to go inside which proves to be a bad decision because I never catch the opening times again during my visit to the city.

It is three o’clock so I am in time to see the historic Glockenspiel dance. In this clock there are two dancers, a woman and man, who dance to the different chimes.

Earlier when I was rushing to the clock I noticed a weird white building in the distance. This building seemingly made of white cubes is called Argos designed by Zaha Hadid.

Tonight I have dinner reservations to try the famous Graz fried chicken (Backhendl, or Styria Fried chicken). It is quite good and pairs nicely with their salad that contains pumpkin seed oil (yum) and the famous Styria beans the size of a thumb.

When I finish dinner it is raining so I run back to my hotel for the evening. Little do I know that this rain will cool things off nicely. While most of Europe has a heat wave I am feeling quite nice the next couple days.

Prague Castle

Today I wake up early to tour the Prague castle grounds. I splurge for the audio guide to assist in my visit. I use my combo ticket to get into the St Vitas cathedral and a couple minutes after my entry the audio tour dies. Before I exit I ask if re-entry is available since I have to run back and get another device. When I am unplugging my headphones from the device something seems weird but I ignore it and carry on – I realize later that I probably dropped something at this moment. I obtain a new audio guide. The cashier seems puzzled but I assure him this is normal for me (I’ve had my share of audio guides die on me or be in the wrong language). I head back to the church to start my tour again and realize I no longer have my ticket. I thoroughly search my purse and look around the floor of the church and it is no where. I head back to my audio guide guy with my sob story and he tells me I need to buy another ticket. I dump my purse out on the bench in the office and the ticket is still not there. I huff in frustration at my stupidity but in the grand scheme of things the ticket isn’t that expensive so I get my credit card out to purchase another one. When I get to the cashier he has a smile and a ticket for me free of charge. I guess a little dramatic show sometimes works. I am very grateful.

St Vitas Cathedral

Prague castle

Prague castle was built during the time of the Kingdom of Bohemia. It is supposed to be the largest ancient castle in the world. I tour it and it doesn’t seem that large but maybe they are including the whole set of buildings nearby. Also some of the palaces are privately owned and are separately ticketed. The St. Vitas gothic church is pretty great but my favorite part of the complex is probably the area called Golden Lane. It is a row of houses that are set up to be representative of places in the past.

St George’s Basilica

Golden Lane

Golden Lane (Zlatá ulička) is a small street where goldsmiths, among others, existed and also contains the former home of Franz Kafka’s sister where he is famed to have written there as well.

After I leave the castle complex I enter an old medieval pub to escape the sun and heat. U krále Brabantského is medieval style, eating with hands and the waiters act at times like they have attitude. For instance when I got my check it arrived stabbed into the table with a knife.

I head back to my hotel and clean up for my wine tour in a couple hours. More on that later.

Kutna Hora (and creepy bone church)

One of the things I really wanted to do upon my trip to Czech Republic is take a trip out to the town of Kutna Hora and see their creepy bone decorated church. I did research on the logistics of getting there and decided to opt for a pre-planned coach tour instead. Sometimes taking group trips is more simple and gives me an opportunity to be around other travelers.

For the most part the tour is a good idea; I have nice conversations with people on the tour but I do feel rushed at times and something about the sound system on the van has me missing much of the guide’s commentary anyway even though I am sitting close to him.

We stop first at the bone church or the Sedlec Ossuary. The actual church is called All Saints. The story behind the bone decor is that it was quite common to move old graves to make room for church expansions. In this case nearby bones are literally thrown in the basement to make room for whatever development comes next. At some point a sculptor is hired by the ruling family, Schwarzenberg, to do something with all the bones. The end result is what is seen today: Bone chandeliers, bone buildings, and ornamental bone decor. No pictures are allowed inside but I do snap some from the church above at one angle only. The photos here are the ones I purchased from postcards in the gift store. I don’t send many postcards but I have a feeling these might be useful.

After the bone church we head into the town of Kutna Hora to look at another gothic church, St. Barbara’s Cathedral. One thing to note is that the area was rich in silver and very prosperous. This grand church reflects that since St Barbara was the patron saint of miners.

Our guide takes us further into town and then gives us some free time to wander around or eat. It is late in the afternoon and I dont want to eat a full meal this close to dinner so I decide on an ice cream instead. I try the sea buckthorn flavor, an orange flavor I’ve never seen before. It’s a type of berry and its sour. Funky just enough for me.

We return back to Prague and I decide to try the highly recommended ham in old town. You buy by weight at an outdoor stand. In advance I have read the warnings about asking for a smaller portion but I am still upsold on the ham. I also try the potato dumpling pork sauerkraut dish called Vepřo knedlo zelo(also recommended). Both my orders are very disappointing to me. All the food is too salty and I cannot eat it. The ham is also very fatty and tough. It sits here half eaten before a homeless person asks me for my leftovers. I am glad that someone else will at least enjoy it. I am starting to think Czech food is not my thing. I thought since it is close to German food I’d be into it but it sits too heavy on my stomach.