Day 47. Sunday 17 May.

Day 47 means it must be a ‘day off’, our first on this trip. We couldn’t face the hordes in town, so opted to have a non-train day with just a walk in the Klanovice forest instead. It was still a coat day for us, despite quite bright sunshine. As it happened, of course, we were overtaken or passed quite often by groups of bikes – an orienteering event focussed on getting kids into the outside was in progress. Great to see so many family groupings. There were also pram pushers: we have noticed plenty of little kids, more than we’re used to seeing. And it was not at all intrusive, although there was not one single warning bell from the bikes! T spoke to a volunteer at one of the stations and learnt that the event was a way of getting kids out into ‘nature’ and the building behind him was a community facility where ‘nature’ activities were held after school (or that’s what T interpreted from the explanation). We completed the walk unscathed. The forest starts at the end of our street…oaks mostly and flat gravel paths. There’s an 11km circuit and we reckon we did about half of it.

On the way to the Vietnamese convenience store (previously mis-described as Chinese) to get milk for that morning cuppa tomorrow, we passed by Ha Long, a Vietnamese fusion restaurant, initially for beers, but then to sample some ‘traditional’ dumplings. Delicious – we would probably opt for this more recognisable version over yesterday’s tasting, although D was rather attracted to the dough yesterday. There is a strong Vietnamese presence in Czechia dating back to the Communist era when guest workers were welcome. T interrogated one of the young restaurant workers, who was born here, but his dad came over as a worker, met his mum who came over a year later, and they stayed. They brought their ‘street food’ outlet & then found that it was enjoyed by Czechs and so established Vietnamese restaurants.  He claimed that Vietnamese are the second most represented ‘foreign’ ethnic group in the Czech Republic and have significant representation in Prague in an area called Sapa. The dumplings in soy sauce & fried onion were terrific, along with Czech beer.

So that was the active part of the day. Bookings made during the rest of the slow afternoon for travel to, and our stay in, Budapest. And T picked up some stitching. It felt almost ‘normal’.

Day 46. Saturday 16 May.

Train to Prague is now routine. Stepped out of the station and almost straight away onto the Vintage Tram. Stepped off at the stop closest to Prague Castle, to join thousands of our best friends jostling, filming, taking selfies, posing for photos, talking, stopping, drifting, overtaking, spreading out, walking diagonally, being an individual and walking on the left side…..D was gritting his teeth.

Dropped in to Wallenstein Gardens (home to the Senate), which was relatively quiet, the koi were calm & the peacock enjoyed the cameras.

Resumed the trek to the castle. Having reached a viewpoint, admired the city & river stretched below and faced with hordes descending and descending, took some photos and surrendered, heading for the Franz Kafka Museum. How appropriate.

On arrival in that area, needed coffee urgently and conveniently the pub where the ‘a Capella’ singers were singing a couple of days ago was just opposite. Tried the Czech Old Cake, Makovec, which is simple, sponge-like cake with a crumble top made with ground poppy seeds, served warm…rather nice accompaniment to (ordinary) coffee.

By now it was too late for Kafka, so instead a leisurely walk to Jazzdock. It was bliss: virtually no crowds most of the way beside the canal.

And a little bit of Venice in Prague…

We arrived early, secured two good seats and had a refreshment.

We’d booked the 1500 show – Jazz on the roof with the Petra Vlkova Quartet: Petra Vlkova – vocals; Libor Šmoldas – guitar; Josef Fečo – bass; and Tomáš Zelený – drums. The tunes were standard love songs, all in English & shared among the 4 musos. Petra’s voice was full & deep, the guitar & bass great…a good way to spend a cold (but thankfully rain-free afternoon).

Across the river to admire that crazy ‘dancing house’. The Dancing House or Ginger and Fred, is the nickname given to a building completed in 1996. It was originally called Ginger and Fred, and is still popularly called that, as it resembles a pair of dancers, but the name Ginger & Fred is now mainly used for the restaurant located on the seventh floor of the Dancing House Hotel.

Homeward bound we dropped into Knedlín to try their famous dumplings. We did two; duck and sauerkraut, and wild garlic and brined cheese. The dumplings are made of potato dough with different savoury or sweet fillings. Some are fried, others boiled. A Czech lass dining next to us with an Indonesian friend had worked on the counter there, and said they were really a fusion food rather than traditional. The long queue indicated a successful venture and it is apparently the only business doing these in the Republic. It’s almost a version of a pie & we can imagine a steak& kidney variation, cauliflower & cheese, lamb &…????

Back to our station & Home on the train: passports checked.

Day 45. Friday 15 May.

Another crisp, cloudy day so maybe (maybe not) skip the umbrellas? D carries his after being urged to do so by T, who leaves hers behind. T has had a lovely catch-up call home & is ready for another day in the throngs of Prague.

First task on arrival in Prague was to recce the walk from the train station to the bus station to feel comfortable about our journey to Bratislava next week. It is about ten minutes easy walk and looks like the system there is straightforward. Touch wood. Came across some quite different architecture – and some more traditional at the Spanelska synagogue  (Spanish Synagogue.)

From there to the Museum of Decorative Arts. There two permanent exhibitions – one called Pleiad of Glass 1946-2019 and six other permanent sections grouped under the title Art, Life. Art for Life and a temporary exhibition focused on the vase.

We went into the the vase exhibition first.  It was titled The Vase.  A Symbol of Culture and Life. The exhibition is based on the premise that the vase represents one of the oldest and most enduring material forms of human culture, surviving as a symbol of the human body and soul through the centuries, preserving its identity while evolving alongside changing cultural, social and artistic contexts.

Then into the Pleiad where the exhibits aim to document not only the creativity of Czech artists, which in its day foreshadowed the future developments in art glass in the world, but also the technical virtuosity of the master glassmakers that collaborated in the execution of these artworks. The glass was the best part, but T felt that perhaps there was a restraint in design & form during the communist period.

And lastly, wearily, into Art, Life. Art for Life – the six permanent sub-exhibitions, divided into Rituals and Celebrations, Royal Kunstkammers (treasures of royal courts), Life of Forms, Clothes: Physique and Physicality, Design and the Phenomena of Modernity, and Utopia, Cosmos, Play. They presented a multi-dimensional image of European applied arts from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. In T’s view Clothes: Physique and Physicality (fashion culture from 19th century to today) was pretty tame, especially given the breakout changes in the 60s & 70s in the UK. T wondered whether the Soviet regulations were responsible for a very conservative approach to Czech garments of these periods.

Rituals and Celebrations

Royal Kunstkammers

Clothes: Physique and Physicality

Design and the Phenomena of Modernity

The core theme of the museum focuses on ‘art in the motion of life, aiming to show just how much applied arts and design impact humanity’s real and fictional worlds.’ It was a ‘phew!’ Experience in a very lavish museum space.

We felt pretty ‘decorated-out’. From there it was a short walk to the stop to catch our breath ready to catch the vintage tourist train and do the loop. It’s a 24-hour ticket so we’ll be back tomorrow to redo the route.

Off the train at a stop near an English language bookshop for T to score some much-needed reading material, then walk to our S1 train home. Passed an interesting sculpture, that had a throng of tour groups in rapture as the layers moved.

Today the ticket inspectors on the ride in and out actually checked our passports to confirm our age. We’ll take that as a compliment. Rain drops fell on our heads after alighting the train, so D’s umbrella was shared until we decided it wasn’t even enough to be bothered.

Day 44. Thursday 14 May.

Put in some time this morning to make travel and accomodation bookings for the next stage. Decided to take in a few nights in Bratislava (breaking the journey to Budapest). All set.

Into Prague on the train – on RegioJet, the other provider – a bit uncertain whether our free travel still applied. The ticket inspector accepted the proffered passports, again without checking, and roared with laughter when D said, ‘but thanks for asking.’ She said she had to because with foreigners their age was hard to pick! 60? 65? 70? All look the same’.

At the station a young boy – early teens – was just finishing playing on the public piano. He was very competent and was asked by a group of young men, who looked like a bucks’ party, to play a tune to which they sang – very badly. But everyone was happy.

We were headed for the Decorative Arts Museum Prague, but couldn’t pass by the Jerusalem Synagogue, so named because of the street it was built on. One lone security guard who seemed completely relaxed: we went through a scanner but kept our day bags.

There was a permanent exhibition and a temporary one. The temporary one was Patchwork of Czech Synagogal Windows that presents a selection of 18 patchwork works inspired by synagogue windows. Each of them is an encounter between two worlds: precise architecture and soft matter, glass and textiles, memory and contemporary craftsmanship. T learned of a new technique: Japanese meshing…a bit like raw edge weaving.

The other is titled “The Jewish Community in Prague from 1945 to the Present,” presenting the post-war history of the Jewish community in Prague using unique photographs, documents, and documentary films, capturing key moments of the Jewish population from the end of World War II to the present day. It was confronting and eerily reflective of recent events at home. A final sentence as we exited resonated: ‘….That however often ran up against what are today incomprehensible difficulties with the authorities.’ History rhyming?

There was also an exhibition about restored synagogues around the Czech Republic. Many of these are now in the local town ownership (rather than belonging to the Jewish community), but each town preserving the history and the heritage for future generation. By now we were overloaded, so it was a cursory walk through.

A much-needed coffee was next, and then the by now familiar walk towards the river through the Old Town.

By the time we’d reached Charles’ Bridge we knew there was no time for the Decorative arts so decided to get tickets for a 5:30 PM concert, and in the meantime get a beer or something equivalent somewhere quiet. Tickets bought, Charles Burger Bar provided the other ingredient, although it was no longer quiet by the time we left! Timing perfect – back to Church of St. Salvador to take our pews ready for the performance.

The musicians – six violinists, a viola, a cellist and a bass player – are from the Czech Symphony Orchestra, so were as good as you’d expect. And the organist was superb. The program was sort of a compilation of well-known classical favourites…our toes could tap along. For T the standout was the mezzo…Handel & Schubert & the Bach on the organ. T had to ‘block out’ the camera holders in the row in front!!!!

By the end, we were done (again); T suggested that we could have dinner at home (she had a pork thing in mind & needed only a leek & another potato, that Billa would have…actually 3 potatoes, 2 carrots & big bunch of parsley bought) so headed for home by train.. The vagaries of the train system hadn’t finished with us just yet! Checked the Departures board to see that a train that should suit us departed soon on what we thought was Platform 5. We became a bit suspicious when the train on Platform 4 loaded and departed, at the same time as ‘our’ train was supposed to & there was no one else on Platform 5. D went into the ticket office to check, and after eventually getting the staff to hear ‘Klanovice’ in an Australian accent, was advised it was S1 – which we already knew. What platform? S1. By this time there was only one train, arriving, at Platform 1, which was crowded, and it had S1 on its electronic display. That’ll do, and it did.

Home by 2000 & pork delicious served by 2100. We’ll sort the next concert tomorrow.

Day 43. Wednesday 13 May.

A sound night’s sleep, albeit with an early awakening. We both thought we’d slept in until after 0900, but it was not even 0700. Serenity is profound…can’t hear a leaf fall. But by 0900, next door neighbour was out with a sawing device, dealing with heavy-duty pruning of trees on his fence line. This possibly explains why our host has some new tree plantings in her backyard, a bit deeper away from the side fence.

Another cold & cloudy day, so armed with coats, brollies & galoshes we got under way. At to the local train station D decided to check with the ticket office that the tickets he’d bought yesterday were OK and was not surprised to be told they were wrong. The train guy then started to prepare the right tickets but stopped to ask how old we were. When told, he asked if we had proof – passports were presented. He wasn’t interested in checking them, advising us that as we were over 65, all public transport was free, and we just needed to have proof of age. Sure enough, on the train into Prague the ticket inspector asked for tickets, took one look at, but not into, our passports and continued with a smile.

From the now familiar station we wandered towards old Prague, past the Powder Gate Tower, ready for a coffee, which we found at Art and Coffee. The brownie was OK but not as good as those from O’Halloran Circuit.

Refreshed and refuelled, we continued on towards the town square, marvelling at the architecture – T remarked that it was like a fairy tale storybook. We just gawked.

There were crowds, busily taking photographs and (grrrr) selfies. One group of five women each posed multiple times, in turn, in front of a door that D was waiting patiently to photograph without people in the frame: in the end he tersely (but politely) asked them to step aside to allow his quick photo, which they did before resuming their colonisation of the spot.

Meandered toward & through the Jewish quarter, passing by the Old Jewish Cemetery, without feeling the need to go in. T had a little peek in a vintage shop: lots of spray-painted jackets & leather.

 Feeling peckish, looked for something savoury to eat. Options were scarce but eventually found Kafka Hummus Café, which turned out to be a treat, including great service from a very personable, humorous (and pretty) young woman. She got a tip. T had a warming lentil soup, a flashback to her trip to Prague with Fiona many years ago (1999?) and a very real ginger tea after. D had falafel and chips (passed the small salad bowl to T) and a big beer.

On we walked, over one of the bridges, past the Kafka Museum which we’ll visit tomorrow. As we were passing a ‘pub’, we were drawn by some terrific group singing, so stepped inside, along with quite a few other passersby. Ten men and one woman were singing a Capella, sitting around a table, (with beers ) what appeared to be a well known, responsive song. What it was about. A rehearsal? Just a fun group? Unlikely tourist attraction? No idea. Took a video, but too big to post here.

Stopped at the Shakespeare Book Shop, selling titles in English. Didn’t have the book T was looking for (Niall Williams’ 4 letters of love). Back over the Charles Bridge with lots of other tourists and locals, & after a little provisions shop at Billa, headed footsore for the train home.

Passports again waved to the ticket inspector who just nodded. Internet had been down this morning and was still down. Hosts came over to fix the problem and we had a lovely chat with Helena while Lada worked.

Day 42. Tuesday 12 May.

Early wake up without an alarm (who needs it?). Cup of tea, breakfast, finish packing, and Uber was early. An interesting conversation with the driver, Burak, on the trip to Wien Hof station that took much longer than predicted due to rush hour traffic – good thing for D’s nerves that we’d left early!

Burak was born to Turkish parents in Austria – they’d come seeking opportunity. He is a Muslim, and stated that there is much discrimination, citing his decision to leave the police force after three years because of harsh treatment over his wish to observe Ramadan. He then trained as a teacher but left that profession very quickly because of the kids: he said it gave him a new admiring perspective on his mum and all mothers. He now drives taxis. He speaks Turkish, German, English and Spanish, and travels extensively – Europe of course, and last year to South America, seeking experience and broadening. A very interesting young man. But one comment jarred. We mention3d that the area we’d been staying in had a significant Jewish element – as well as many women in hijabs. We asked whether there were any tensions. He said that there weren’t but the Jews didn’t pay any tax in Austria. D did not react but knew that this is one of those ‘truths’ that become easily accepted as fitting a stereotype: a form of anti-semitism.  Google later confirmed the fallacy.

The train station was easy to move around, albeit as you’d expect, lots of travellers. At 1000 the Departures board wasn’t yet showing our 1110 train – that information with platform numbers only appears about twenty minutes before departure. Eventually it did show up: 12 C-E. Up the escalators to Platform 12, to see A and B, with a train in place and the next departure board destination showing somewhere else. D starting to panic, thinking there may be another platform on the other side of the tracks and we’d now need run to get there but calm T accosted a bemused (or amazed?) young woman who pointed out the C ‘…a bit further along’. The letters refer to approximately where on the platform the particular train will pull into. Old eyes. A few minutes wait in freezing cold until our train pulled in, we boarded and departed, exactly on time.

No railway pie. The trip was uneventful…mostly green fields, growing veges & canola & tree crops. Plenty of leg room & carriage (2nd class) was very comfortable, with quite stable wifi. Arrived at Praha Hlavni nadrazi on time.

 Because we had no idea, and signage was limited, first stop was to the Information desk to ask about the train to Klanovice, our accommodation locale. Simple, was the answer, but to be sure D asked the chap behind the counter to write down the details, and we thought we were set. Next, D showed the lady at the Ticket counter where he wanted to go on his scrap of paper and a map on his phone, asking for two return tickets. She asked if we were over 65 (for which she was thanked) and she duly handed over two tickets. Upstairs, we looked at the Departures board to see a 1620 train on the Uvaly line – but noticed the provider didn’t match our tickets.

Back to Information, same counter, to be told that they were the wrong tickets, to go back to the Ticket counter to get them exchanged. Back to the Ticket counter to a different lady, who advised the tickets were OK but we were at the wrong station! She gave directions to the other one – Praha Masarikovo nadrazi – about ten minutes walk away – at this stage both Apple and Google maps refused to take part in this charade, so we were on our own. We headed in the direction she indicated to the exit, to be faced with a downpour, which had fortunately eased by the time T had her galoshes on. Apple Maps now relented, joined the game and led us to the station. Four platforms: which one? D approached three railway employees who were in conversation and had no interest in helping a customer – one just walked away. However, one of them eventually indicated the train at Platform 2 where we were standing as the one we wanted, so we boarded. D could breathe again.

Smooth trip to Klanovice, with D following progress on his phone map. T is so thankful that she doesn’t have wifi to do the mapping! The unresponsive railway employee was one of the staff on the train. Apple Maps then guided us to the address shown on Airbnb – no sign of the property where we are staying. Dark rainclouds threatening: suitcases, backpacks & umbrellas, not a good combo.

Our host had sent a link earlier, so we went to Google maps, did a U turn to go to the other side of the block, to a different address. Arrived to locked gates and pressed the intercom just as an online grocery delivery arrived. He answered the response from the intercom, and eventually Helena opened the gate, let us in, showed us the flat and advised how to get to the nearest grocery store.

We are dry & warm in a ‘granny flat’…no elephants thumping above or around. The location is outer-suburb Prague, huge residential blocks, very ‘Toorak’ style residences…we’ll fit perfectly. There’s a huge garden and a woods at the end of the street. The little Asian grocery store (10 mins walk away) had a bit of everything, including plastic flowers, undies, bags of potting mix, kids’ fishing nets…we just picked up a pack of frozen chicken fillets, tomato passata, bananas, chickpeas, milk and tortillas. Dinner sorted, to accompany those potatoes & red onions (+Italian red).

The serenity is deafening.

Day 41. Monday 11 May.

Another late start to the day after some trip management…neither T nor D checked the weather forecast and as we headed down Taborstrasse it was obvious we’d been neglectful – it was a dark and stormy morning threatening. T had identified an op-shop & was occupied for a good 45 minutes: D took the opportunity to have a haircut. ‘Not too short’, he said. ‘Parted?’ ‘Yes’ ‘Ah! – classic’.

Sky was by then then spitting so dropped in for the worst coffee on this trip, and pretty much the worst service. D ducked back up the street to buy an umbrella (to add to our collection back at the apartment), was horrified at the prices, but eventually found one that we could afford without a bank loan.

Sharing the tiny brolly we caught the Yellow Bus on the Blue Line, planning to travel along that route until it met the Green Line, which would take us out of town to an elevated viewpoint. From there, the plan was to work back to the Yellow Line in order to get to the Upper Belvedere (T had set her heart on seeing some Klimt and of course D obliged). Great plan. Timing was a bit tight, but workable – until the downpour started with thunder & lightning a delayed bus driver swap, the reasons unexplained. Thankfully, we were high and dry onboard, watching those who unfortunately weren’t. There were upset Aussies, who alighted, talking about going home to change clothes, others who also lost patience and got off, and an upset Korean who made frequent, increasingly agitated but polite trips from upstairs to query what was going on. Folk were edgy, we didn’t know what the issue was but presumed that the torrential rain was part of the delay. Eventually, with the rain abated, we got going, but our plan was in disarray. Struck up a conversation with an Indonesian tourist (living in Montreal) & topics quickly landed on the state of the world under the influence of the current US President, and the unsuitability of the US First Lady and Duchess of Sussex for office/position.

Got off bus as close as we could to Belvedere (having created a new plan) and walked there. T was still concerned about having left our apartment windows ajar…what would we find on return?

Rain stopped, we  arrived at the Belvedere, footsore but dry, in time to sample high Viennese cuisine: we were hungrier than ‘cake’, & there were no sandwiches, so the waiter recommended the next best thing: a traditional Viennese thin sausage, mustard and grated horseradish on a bread roll, that would be quickly delivered in time for our 1600 entry. T, still wondering why she agreed, reckons the horseradish came close, but not close enough, to saving the dish.

Made our way through check-in (8 mins before our 4pm slot) & into the galleries. Of the Klimts, there were a good number: portraits, landscapes and of course ’The Kiss’. The grounds, buildings and exhibitions were grand: we needed much more time. We agreed later that this visit was just a snapshot (as lots of them are); it would be easy to spend weeks and still not cover all that is offered. We also noted that there are a lot of events and activities coming up, as the season progresses (opera & concerts aplenty) that we would have liked to attend.

By 1700 we were done, unable to tackle more than Klimt, so headed out, hoping to get the Yellow bus, on the Yellow Line, back to the Opera House, to then get the Yellow bus on the Blue Line to the closest stop to home. Not so straightforward, as the Ho/Ho bus finishes at 5. So, it was a walk home, all the while watching the sky. Made it just before the next downpour, so at least that worked! And the apartment was high & dry, including this morning’s laundry.

T chopped another red onion, the half zucchini, some broccoli heads….to go with the last of the pasta. But there are a few fresh items to carry tomorrow, as well as the staples…

By train to Prague tomorrow. D is hoping for a railway pie.

Day 40. Sunday 10 May.

A slow start to another fine day. Walked into the city centre, wandering the graceful, classical cobblestone laneways showing a different kind of neighbourhood. Passed St. Stephen’s Cathedral, undergoing a serious polish & overlooking the Mozarthaus, where we have booked a string quartet for this evening. A quiet little coffee-shop away from the throng delivered that ‘hit’.

Continued down to the Opernring and noticed what seemed to be a market in Stadtpark. It was certainly more than just a market: on Mother’s Day weekend the park hosts the Genuss Festival, where more than 180 craft food producers and companies from Austria showcase their high-quality gourmet products and beverages.

 Interestingly, many folk were carrying wine or beer glasses, usually with something in them, and when T checked, yes they were glass, with no breakage issues, perhaps because of the five euro deposit. Very crowded, but very calm. People walked, talked, sat, lounged on benches and on the grass on a perfect sunny Sunday.

Decided to take the Ho/Ho bus on the Yellow route, to find, of course, that rides were suspended until mid-afternoon due the Genuss and Wings for Life, a global charity race, in which athletes from all over the world run any distance between 1k and 100k – just have to be faster than the Catcher Car. 100% of the earnings go directly to the spinal cord research foundation. Proud of our champion team running in the Mother’s Day run for breast cancer in Canberra.

Feeling foot-weary and in need of sustenance ahead of a 1530 bus trip, it was time for a sit down & snack  and, having seen a T-shirt with the message ‘No Kangaroos in Austria’ (took D a while) where better to find something close by than a genuine Aussie pub? It did the job.

The bus stop was at the opera house and hawkers in costume were spruiking last-minute tickets for Donazetti’s Elixir… for Monday night. T looked a likely target & was keen; but when it was a cash-only thing, we retracted.

 The bus took us past Schloss Schönbrunn (heaving!), pointing out the Orangerie Konzerte (which might get a guernsey for Monday), the new main railway station and Oberes Belvedere. We debussed at Belvedere hoping to get in to see Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’, and other displays, but by now visits had stopped (it was after 1700). Walked back to the closest Ho/Ho bus stop at the Opera House hoping to do the Green route to fill in time before the 2000 concert – bus rides had finished too. Another sit down was needed, and T started a conversation with an elderly couple waiting for the opera doors to open (Salome) about opera prices and whether the hawkers in costume were legit or a scam. Jury is still out.  We googled prices for tomorrow night for Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’Amore.  Very few seats available, and those seats were over 250 euro each. That’s a bit over our budget. The hawkers were offering seats up high in a side box (similar to what we’d had in Milan years ago) at 60 euros: the older gentleman confirmed that the operas were usually sold out months in advance, said that hotels bought up batches of seats and if  tourist guests didn’t take them they were passed on to the hawkers to get rid of.  A box seat up high at 60 euros was standard price but the lady was pretty dismissive of the quality of such a viewing position. The summer opera season is clearly huge business. We Antipodians always presume that we can get tickets on the day, as the mood takes us…doesn’t quite work like that in Vienna.

Earlier in the day we had noticed an Italian restaurant – Cantinetta La Norma – that had promise for a ‘meal out’, not far from Mozarthaus so headed there for dinner before the show. The Siciliana pizza was terrific, as was the Montapulciano. And the maître d’ was engaging and generous. Of course we had to share a panacotta, & then a little complementary almond liqueur. He was the perfect salesman and we felt we’d just had a quick trip to Italy. D was amused by a sideshow in an adjacent laneway, as three very young women preened and posed in a store window for about fifteen minutes, using it as their mirror.

The concert was in Vienna’s oldest concert hall: the Sala Terrena where Mozart had  played, and across the courtyard where he had briefly lived. We had bought tickets online. On arrival the young man on the desk apologetically explained that as we’d booked late, our seats were not together – but we could pay for an upgrade. We consulted, declined, upon which he gave us a free upgrade, whatever that really meant apart from sitting together. The performance was delightful, lively and engaging: Mozart plus a bit of Dvorak, Papa Haydn & Bach.

And a slow walk home through a still very active city night life.

Day 39. Saturday 9 May.

A herd of elephants (perhaps one child) invaded the apartment above us at around 0530 – chance of going back to sleep: zero. Struggled along to a cup of tea at 0630 then time to decide what to do with the day. Hop on, Hop off Bus to get an overview was the decision. D was surprised that the red Ho/Ho bus seemed booked out online for the 48 hours we wanted, so Yellow was the go.

After breakfast got down to Yellow Bus Stop 9, waiting patiently for the bus that comes every twenty minutes. One did – and completely ignored us. There was a sign attached to the stop, only in German, which we then interpreted was telling us something like ‘this stop is not in use’. We walked down to Stop 10 and in due course a bus arrived and stopped for us. So we spent two hours or so listening to the audio, taking in the sights, trying to map read, and changing seats to either get better protection from the wind or to get a better view. As we’ve found previously it is an easy way to get a feel for a new place, even if not in any depth. Views of the palatial inner circle are indeed sumptuous and then it was across the Danube (it branches into 4 sections to mitigate the flow) the modern tower landmarks, the gardens (Prater), past the UN complex and we were back at our start point.

Having done the Blue Route, we got off at Stop 10 – and yes, the bus bypassed Stop 9, although the commentary promised great things if we got off, primarily the Wiener  Kriminalmuseum (Vienna Crime Museum) with assurances of gory exhibits.

A quiet afternoon, with some research into our next stay – likely Prague (now confirmed). Looking for a stand-alone place to avoid elephants above.

An evening stroll to the Danube – not particularly blue, and full of huge cruise vessels, which strangely seemed empty, with buses alongside.

Back through community areas: Mexikogedenkstein (Mexico Park), so named in honour of Mexico being the only country that opposed officially the Anschluss in 1938. Where were you Australia: was a pattern emerging? The church of Hl. Franz von Assisi is right on, or in, the park, which had lots of families doing normal things, and a few old men on benches having a quiet tipple.

We commented on the prevalence of women in hijabs and wonder at the ethnic mix here in Vienna. We had earlier been in the old Jewish quarter (but, as the bus commentary had mentioned, Austrian Jews were dispossessed & then killed during WWII (65,000). Then back through Venediger-au-park, another community/family space, to arrive at a ‘street party’ not far from home organised by, we assume, the local Turkish community. Again, great atmosphere.

 Impressions of the area we are in…immigrant workers(?), lower socio-demographic, very little personal glamour, tired, daggy, apartment blocks… but traffic is very quiet, making for easy flat walking. A warm day, cloud building…

Dinner: frittata, with a purple onion & broccoli (sourced after much angst about not needing the quantity they come packaged in). Seems you can’t just buy 1 onion or a small head of broccoli…so, there might be some waste.

Day 38. Friday 8 May.

Early start, easy one hour or so drive to Ljubljana (according go Apple Maps) to hand back the car to SixT, with enough time to go back to Lupo, our favourite café, for a humorous chat with the barista who remembered: ‘double espressos, hot water’…  ‘Well, no, we’ve changed…1 double shot Americano & 1 normal A.’ The change is to extend the savouring with a bit more lingering. The playlist had Animals, Bob Dylan & Stones today – T tapped her feet. ‘There is a house in New Orleans’ took D back to 1969 when another Animas’ hit  ‘We’ve gotta get out of this place’ was almost an anthem. On leaving, ‘Lupo’ asked where we were going next…Vienna, for music…’Ah, classical’ he said.

At an outside table T engaged in conversation with another customer, a woman sitting alone & with a broken arm (the café is next door to the hospital). She explained she’d fallen over 10 days ago on a trip to Uzbekistan; the break didn’t need plaster, just a sling. She said that Uzbek had terrific, brightly coloured Islamic architecture, was very clean & safe (now added to the bucket list).

And enough time to get to the bus station – D had conniptions when looking at the departures board and not seeing our bus, until the ticket lady told him that  he was actually in the train station and he needed to cross the road to the buses!

While seated awaiting our bus, T was joined by a young woman on her way to Rijeka, on the bus before ours. She was wearing a splendid hat & when T complimented her, she said that she’d got it in a shop that sells hijabs…it comes in a variety of colours & is good for hiding unwashed hair (T’s, btw, was freshly washed). There was then chat; a Bosnian,  she has been living in Munich for 3 years & will qualify for residency after 5, giving her a more flexible passport for work opportunities (Bosnia’s situation is still not so good). She cycles & hikes…’if you want to change your life, just cycle or hike’ (followed by some detailed travel routes accomplished). It’s safe for a woman, too. In summer she has a tent. T asked her about living in Germany now…’better than Bosnia, but in these last few years, Germany has become very expensive…rent!!! Because of Ukraine…economy has ‘fu….d up the working people’. She talked about Bosnia having the oldest pyramids in the world…T asked what they were made of…the explanation sounded a bit ‘supernatural’…maybe ‘forest bathing/positive energy/chakra stuff ?…she was studying in that field & that is where her next job will be. Then her bus pulled in and she waved farewell.

T navigated the bathroom at the bus station. It meant lining up at the ticket office to buy a token to go into a slot at the gate…on arriving at the gate with said token, a woman behind T asked where to get a token. When T explained the system, the woman (Pommie accent) was not happy, so T offered that we go through the gate together…the gatekeeper was not happy! D had an equally convoluted experience getting his token.

On the bus for the five-hour drive to Vienna – stops on the way to drop off/pick up passengers but no relief stops for those continuing. We dared not take much from the water bottle and wished we’d brought some snacks. Drivers changed over at Graz – neither had any compunction about letting other road users know they’d stuffed up: horn, flashing headlights. To be fair, on every occasion some gentle remonstrance was justified if not really such a good idea. The worst was a Tesla driver who was driving slowly until the bus started to overtake, then sped up and cut right in front of it from an inside lane. Drivers not impressed, nor was D.

Arrived at Wien, debussed and called Uber, as it was too far to walk: Ahmad was there immediately. D had seen him drop someone off and do a U turn to wait opposite. He was very chatty and particularly happy to pick up Uber rides (he was also a ‘phone’ taxi driver, which was far more stressful) as Uber was prepaid, with a pre-arranged route, so no arguments with suspicious customers…so ‘no stress’. ‘ I’d rather have a smaller amount of money with no stress’.  A philosophy for life.

Arrived at the apartment, self -checked in, shopped for essentials (salmon, spuds…milk, tomatoes…) and that’s the end of the day, with 2 little baked spuds to kick start tomorrow.