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

Schloss Eggenberg

In the morning I tour Schloss Eggenberg. The state rooms are only accessed by guided tour so I sign up for the early tour. Eggenberg palace is another UNESCO protected building. It is a representation of baroque architecture. Schloss Eggenberg was created for the prominent Eggenberg family (yes the same one that had a presence in Bohemia – specifically Cesky Krumlov). The rooms are impressive but it is another in a long line of palaces that allow no photography so I have no photos to share. Many of the rooms were barely used over the years and it was a very large palace for the time when it was built. Regulations existed about having palaces with more rooms than what the current royals had so some rooms were not in use as a compromise. Also it was built with lots of math and astrology in mind: Hans Ulrich had items of the Gregorian calendar incorporated in the design (ie 365, 52, 31, 24, 7). Impressive because this was a time when the Gregorian calendar was not yet widely adopted.

We can take pictures in the gallery museum though. There is lots of religious themed art. I find Corpse of Saint Florian Guarded by an Eagle quite interesting.

There is also a large coin collection.

I stop at the Frankowitsch – Brötchenbar – Delikatessen to try their open face sandwiches for lunch. They are good. I love the spread on the sandwich Pumpkin seed oil. I also order a lox one because I love salmon.

After lunch I take the train up to Schlossberg the tall mountain area that overhangs into the town. I enjoy some great views from up there. I slowly walk down from level to level and finally get to those intimidating stairs. I am sweating just going down so I am not sure I would really enjoy going up this time of year but lots of other people are doing it.

Walking back to my hotel I decide to stop at a cocktail bar and try a couple drinks. Afterwards I walk around and finally get a night view of the city before I go back to pack. I head to Vienna tomorrow. Good night.

Alhambra

The main event of today is a visit to the Alhambra, a royal residence in Granada during the Nasrid kingdom (mid 13th century). The fortress like structure sits on a hill and can be viewed from most of Granada.

I have time to take advantage of the included breakfast at the hotel this morning since my reservation for Nasrid’s palaces is not until 11:00 am. To visit Nasrid’s palaces you must book in advance since it is very popular. With the booking you can enter the rest of the complex as early as 8:30 am if you like. Breakfast first then I will head up to begin my visit.

I enjoy the continental-style buffet that includes a torta and meat & cheese slices as well as fruit. I take advantage of the patio and the mild weather in the morning.

The Alhambra compound entrance is about a 30 minute walk by taking the back pedestrian entrance. There are ways to get there by bus but I didn’t bother researching that.

It is a constant walk uphill to get to the entrance. I walk between the area that holds the Generalife and the other side that has the palaces; but down below. In fact we walk under a walkway.

When I finally get to the entrance tour guides approach me. I forgo the tours since I have downloaded tour information on my phone and would rather take things at my leisure. When I approach the entrance gates it is like crossing the border to another country. At Alhambra you need to keep your ticket and passport readily available at all times because they will constantly ask to see it. Alhambra has more passport control than most countries I’ve been to. It gets kind of annoying because each time I take out my passport it is another opportunity for it to get lost or stolen.

Once I am inside I head over near the nasrid palaces because I have not left myself time to do anything else. I pass by a church and walk down a pretty shrub pathway and head down a hill. I line up outside the nasrid palaces waiting for my entrance to be called.

They let us in at batches I believe every 15 minutes. Once you are in you are free to view at your own pace. My strategy is to fall behind the pack in the hope that I can get a few pictures without crowds. I can’t fall too far behind though because the next group will be entering soon after us. Another couple or two has the same idea. I can’t get completely people-free photos because the couples need to do their photoshoots. Everyone is an instagram model these days. I won’t complain about it here because I complained about it enough during my sabbatical posts. One needs to just accept it is part of travel now.

I enjoy Mudéjar and Islamic style architecture so touring the palaces is a treat.

Loving all the textured patterns.

I catch a window area with a colorful stained glass ceiling that shoots rays of color down below. It is beautiful.

The Hall of the Two Sisters – I love how the light reflects a colorful prism

As the tour comes to a close there is a walkway with tremendous views of the city and a nice courtyard.

City views

After my tour of the palaces I head over the Alcazaba or military fortress. The fortress has some good views of Granada and the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains.

I almost never have a sweet tooth but I am hot from being outdoors and this ice cream sounds like the ideal lunch/snack right now. It hits the spot.

Next I visit the Palace of Carlos V next door. The circle architecture is kind of cool and there is a small artifact museum inside as well as an art museum upstairs but otherwise the building is not very exciting and doesn’t need a long visit.

I am finished with this portion of Alhambra so I head over to Generalife. Generalife was the sultan’s summer palace and gardens. The palace is not as impressive as the nasrid palaces but the gardens are very beautiful. I almost wish I brought a picnic lunch with me to enjoy with the flowers and the views.

There is a staircase that has relaxing streams of water pouring down the handrails. At the top of the staircase I find some refreshing cold water to refill my water bottle.

At the top there is a nice breeze. One almost forgets how impossibly hot it is down below. Again more beautiful views of the Nasrid palaces, the city of Granada, and Sacromonte.

I head toward the exit. On my way downhill I stop for a beer at the nearby café.

I follow the stone path back down the hill. I admire the towers and cross walks from down below.

I walk down Carrera del Darro to head back to my hotel. Later this evening I am going to a Zambra flamenco show in Sacromonte. More about that later.

Segovia

Today is a early start. I need to take the metro to the Madrid-Chamartín train station to catch my train to Segovia for today’s day trip. It is a new station to me so I give myself extra time to arrive. The ride to Segovia is around 30 minutes and we go through a long tunnel during the trip. The train arrives at the high speed rail station of Segovia-Guiomar that is about 4 km outside the city center. Luckily there is bus 11 to take you into the main tourist areas. Exact change needed for the bus, or at least smaller bill, because there is no where at the train station to make change (at least when I arrived the only restaurant was closed). I find a smaller bills hidden in my bag, others in line have a harder time collecting fare.

The bus drop off is right in front of the aqueduct for which the city is famous for.

View of aqueduct right past the bus stop

The exact date of the construction of this roman aqueduct are not know but it is still a marvel to view considering this had to be done prior to 200 AD.

My gaze heads to the sky while I watch flocks of birds flying in and out of the arches in round patterns.

My train to Segovia was quite early this morning and I didn’t get a chance to eat a proper breakfast. I pass by a café that seems like a place the locals go and I order a café con leche and the bread-like thing that is sitting on the counter. The Torrijas de Leche ends up being a sort of French toast-style egg custard bread. I normally don’t choose sweet things in the morning but it is nice to try something different every once in a while.

I am now ready to begin my day.

The second most important thing that people visit in Segovia is the Alcázar de Segovia. This fairytale castle is said to have inspired Disney’s Cinderella’s castle. Not sure about that since I heard the same story about Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. Anyway it is neat to tour and it has some great overlooks from the castle.

To get the the alcazar I take the long way and wander through the quiet streets of the Jewish quarter.

I eventually come to the city wall and I follow that to the alcazar. Soon the castle appears in the distance.

Again I spend a good amount of time looking at the ceiling. I am always fascinated about how much detail is given to ceilings.

I walk by a couple churches, including the Segovia cathedral. It is only day 3 of my travels and I’m already burned out on churches so I decide to not go inside. From the pictures I’ve seen online it has some pretty neat floors though.

I prefer instead to just wander the streets. This time of day there aren’t as many day trippers so it is nice and peaceful.

Again I walk through the Jewish quarter. I love the texture patterns on the walls of the buildings.

I return to the busy areas. People are shopping and gathering. It is lunchtime.

I have planned in advance for lunch today. A stop to Segovia is not complete unless you try a local specialty the cochinillo (roasted suckling pig). Mesón de Cándido is recommended for suckling pig. I have made reservations in advance and have an outdoor table with a view of the aqueduct. I am very glad my temporary meat aversion is gone by the time I arrive in Spain so I am able to enjoy this very juicy pork. The skin of the pig snaps loudly when pierced with a fork. I apologize to all my vegetarian friends for the vivid description.

Still have some time before I needed to head to the train station so I walk down another busy street. I see more nice churches and there is a nice view of the cathedral off in the distance.

I stop for one last snack before I head back to Madrid. Its been another hot day but I’m slowly getting back into the groove of travel. I just need to slow down at times.

Wandering around Yogyakarta

I am still in Yogyakarta Indonesia. I book a food tour after my long day of temples. I head down early to meet my tour leader as I tend to do. Being early I decide to get a soda at a Circle K nearby to the meeting spot while I wait. It is raining hard and it will probably make the tour not so much fun. The tour guide contacts me on WhatsApp and asks if I would like to cancel for the evening and try for the next day. I am the only one scheduled tonight so I decide it is probably better to try again tomorrow.

I contemplate getting dinner somewhere nearby. Because of the rain I sit at a table outside the circle K under the overhang while searching for a place. All of a sudden I hear a boom and a spark. The store goes dark and people are stirring on the block. Around the corner and less than 10 feet from my body an electrical fire has sparked.

I step out onto the sidewalk and away from the building. Yes indeed. The transformer is on fire.

While we are watching the fire a spark appears at the power line above and power to the block goes out.

We watch the fire while we wait for the fire truck to arrive.

I think somehow I must have caused this fire so I walk away. I find a taxi driver around the corner to get me back toward my hostel because it is raining.

Taxi driver does not understand me and drops me off 3 miles from my hotel insisting it is the correct location. He refuses to take me further and it is still raining. I notice a bunch of rickshaws bikes (I find out later the actual name is Becak – Yogyakarta traditional trishaw) with plastic coverings. This will be my ride back to my hostel.

Didn’t take great pictures of the Becak but you can get the idea above.

It is a fun ride and I safely make it back to my hotel (dry). I find a place to get a quick dinner nearby and then I’m done for the night.

Exploring Yogyakarta

The next day I do some exploring around town. Because the main town areas are only a couple miles from my hostel and it is a nice sunny (hot) day I decide to get out the map and walk.

My route takes me down a bunch of residential alleys, some with some fun art.

I cross underneath an opening into the walled area that holds the palace and other landmarks. The palace seems to be closed for a special event but I explore other areas inside.

This park and this tree become a lively area at night. During the day it is hot so you only see a few brave playing sports in the park.

Inside the walled area there are colorful walking paths.

I see this car and think it is adorable. I realize later that night what it is for. My next post will include pictures of that.

These pot hole covers are very clever.

Taman Sari Water Castle

Part of the Sultan Palace, Tamansari was a royal bathing location and retreat built in the 1600s. Not being very large it takes me no time at all to explore the grounds.

At short walk later past some cute cafes and more wall art I come to the next big sight in town.

I find signs for the Situs Sumar Gumuling, an underground mosque and well, but it takes me a while to find the actual entrance.

I end up going into some tunnels.

Eventually I reach the very popular mosque with its odd stairs. It is a very popular place for photography.

There is a round like structure around the stairs. It is cooler there and I try hanging out in this area to wait for the crowds to die down but they never do.

As I walk out a band is playing. The drummer is using the bench drum like I saw previously in Bali.

After I head outside there are more men who want to take photos with me and more student groups who want to practice English with me. I talk to a couple student groups and then head back to my hostel to rest up for my nighttime food tour.

I am excited about seeing Yogyakarta at night!