Copenhagen and Vienna

Copenhagen. September 10 -13

We flew to Copenhagen from Edinburgh and after flight delays finally arrived close to midnight. There was a train that was very easy to use which took us to the central station where we had an 18 minute walk to our hostel
We chose Next House hostel, very reasonable for here, $400 Canadian for three nights. The smallest room we have ever stayed at was in St Petersburg, Russia a few years ago. Until now.

I knew it was going to be small. But holy cow. I don’t have a photo because it was too small to get one, but did the job for three nights. New place, very clean and modern, really encouraged socializing especially for single travellers with tables and benches in the entrance, dinner night for singles, walking tours etc. Most of the guests were young people of course but also some families and a few older folk like us.

We had three nights and two full days here. We did a hop on hop off bus tour ( not worth the money) and a canal tour. Our live guide on the boat tour was hysterical and gave us lots of great information.

He also did a tour called ‘politically incorrect tours’ which would have been fun. He showed a bit of that side of him to us on this one. He really had a thing for the Swedes. There has been an ongoing battle for years.

The weather was cool and overcast in the mornings but got super warm and a bit muggy during the day.

We visited the very scenic and crowded Nyhavn which was very picturesque with lots of interesting old buildings with many colours and great signs on the walls .

A pedestrian bridge took us to the Freetown Christiana. Very colorful both in history and the buildings as there is a lot of graffiti on the walls. Walking there we found an area with food trucks and stopped for a very good poke bowl which was super filling.

The national museum of Denmark was very interesting and we spent a few hours there.

We decided not to go to Tivoli gardens as it was expensive and mostly an amusement park which we were not interested in.

The cost in Copenhagen were outrageous. They are not using the Euro but keep their Danish Kroner and I guess our Canadian dollar is very weak against it. Took a lot of the joy out of it for me looking at how much everything cost. The hotel had a good deal for a continental breakfast with a great muesli and toasties for only $15 which we took advantage of.

My $20 piece of bread with Nutella and blackberries

Vienna. September 13-16

We flew to Vienna and upon arrival took the very convenient and easy to use CAT train to the main station in the centre. It was 1PM when we arrived and found Fat Monk cafe and had a fantastic Poke Bowl before continuing on to our apartment which was a 15 minute walk.

We booked the Central Living Stephandsom Apartments for $642 CDN for three nights. It was old and a bit run down but clean, had a kitchenette and huge compared to our last place. Our studio apartment offered good bed, nice pillows and no AC but a fan which was great because it was super hot and muggy. We reached our self check in apartment and flopped out on the bed for a couple of hours with the fan on high speed to try and cool down.

There was a grocery store around the corner, Spar Gourmet, and we picked up some food and had a bite to eat for dinner before heading out

Our location is great! Just a short walk to all the main areas of old town.

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We figured out the subway system which only costs 1.5€ for seniors no matter where you go and on the honour system
I had purchased tickets for a Mozart performance at the Golden Hall which is done in period costumes. The hall was over the top ornate, lots of gold and chandeliers. This was the most expensive of the three I booked, 99€ each but we had great seats and could see the facial expressions and costumes very clearly. There was also male and female opera singers as well. We really enjoyed it

On the way back we stopped for a fantastic vegan chocolate gelato. Yum

We signed up for a free walking tour ( not really free of course because you are expected to give a big tip). It was interesting and we learned quite a bit about Austrian history

I had booked a reservation at Cafe Central at the suggestion of people on trip advisor and glad I did. The line up to get in was very long and up to an hours wait otherwise.
The restaurant has been around since 1876 and was a place many came to spend their days drinking coffee and reading newspapers. Trotsky, Lenin and Stalin were known to frequent here.
Doug ordered a beef stroganoff which he really enjoyed and I had soup and salad to justify the decadent but totally delicious Viennese chocolate pastry which we shared.

The Europeans are such classy dressers, even the ones on vacation look so chic and stylish. You can certainly tell the American and Canadian tourist from the European. We dress for comfort. However I am still surprised when I see younger women in gorgeous stylish dresses trading in the high heels for white running shoes. Very practical and smart.

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On our last day in Vienna I signed up for a tour to see the Schönbrunn Palace, the Baroque style summer palace of the Habsburg from the sixteenth century. Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth were the most well known residents.

We toured the inside of the palace and all the lavish rooms, which held wall to wall tourists and it was so hot and muggy it was stifling. It was very interesting though. Doug did not come with me as he is not interested in this type of thing.

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We spent some time in a small part of the acres of gardens both French and English inspired. This is a smaller version of Versailles as all the nobility were in completion with each other but the Austrians ran out of money.

I took the subway home, had a quick lunch and then Doug and I went to the Albertina Art museum. I did stop on the way for my big splurge of a pair of gorgeous blue Swarovski earrings.
The museum was defiantly not my cup of tea. I am more interested in the masters paintings etc, but can’t win them all.

A quick dinner back in our apartment and we are off to our last concert, the best for last in my opinion. It was in the Karlschurch which in itself was spectacular. I bought tickets for the fourth row so we had a great view of the musicians and their facial expressions. The conductor was the lead violinist and he was incredible. We heard Vivaldi’s four seasons and it was the best classical concert we have heard. The acoustics were amazing. The one hour 15 minute concert was over far too soon and afterwards we made our way back stopping once again for a chocolate vegan ice cream.

Today is the 16th, Saturday, and we made our way to the subway and on to the train station at the ungodly hour of 5:30AM. But we arrived at the right place at the right time which is good.

I am writing this blog while on our four hour train journey from Vienna to Munich Germany. The Austrian countryside is beautiful and we are enjoying our relaxed morning. Going through Salzburg now and the scenery is amazing. Rolling green hills and rugged mountains. Quite a few of our train mates are dressed in traditional Bavarian garb, lederhosen and all. It is Octoberfest in Munich ( it happens in September, not October for some reason)
One family we talked to was just going for the day from Vienna. Everyone is in a party mood.