Prague, Vienna, Brataslava
Last day in Prague was a public holiday to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Velvet Relovution. Big party in Wenceslas Square (which no-one had thought to inform the trams about. On tram on way back to hostel when an official looking woman walked on with a gleam in her eye and said something in Czech. Everyone chuckled and got off the tram. Long queue of trams all at a stand still.
Vienna very cold. Spent morning walking round Zentralfriedhof in hail, gale-force winds and rain. Eventually found Beethoven's grave. Stood solemnly and sang a couple of verses of "The Decomposing Composers". Went into town.
Habsberg architecture very imposing (but in a softer way than Prussian). Vienna really beautiful and most of the old buildings seem intact. Schloss Schoebrunn very... well, yellow, really. Like a little Versailles - the Emperor's Summer Resisdence. Again, full of Roman Imperial ideology. I'm convinced that Empire never died, it just got spread about a bit. Everyone's been trying to aspire to it for the last 1,700 years.
Train to Brataslava this morning. First impressions: a bit run down. But closer inspection of Old Town Centre shows it's quite pretty in parts. The very old next to the very new next to the Soviet. Very small though at first appearance.
Saw the Hall of Mirrors in Brataslava's Primate's Palace where Franz II signed treaty with Napoleon after Battle of Austerlitz. (Napoleon won.)
Eastern European railways don't always bother with railway bridges. In the small towns you just run across the track. And Jo is very insistant I should mention the in-train WC's that are effectively a hole in a cupboard. You can see the Slovakian ground rushung by.
Feeling more and more like an opinionated, borgouise, Westerner.
Vienna very cold. Spent morning walking round Zentralfriedhof in hail, gale-force winds and rain. Eventually found Beethoven's grave. Stood solemnly and sang a couple of verses of "The Decomposing Composers". Went into town.
Habsberg architecture very imposing (but in a softer way than Prussian). Vienna really beautiful and most of the old buildings seem intact. Schloss Schoebrunn very... well, yellow, really. Like a little Versailles - the Emperor's Summer Resisdence. Again, full of Roman Imperial ideology. I'm convinced that Empire never died, it just got spread about a bit. Everyone's been trying to aspire to it for the last 1,700 years.
Train to Brataslava this morning. First impressions: a bit run down. But closer inspection of Old Town Centre shows it's quite pretty in parts. The very old next to the very new next to the Soviet. Very small though at first appearance.
Saw the Hall of Mirrors in Brataslava's Primate's Palace where Franz II signed treaty with Napoleon after Battle of Austerlitz. (Napoleon won.)
Eastern European railways don't always bother with railway bridges. In the small towns you just run across the track. And Jo is very insistant I should mention the in-train WC's that are effectively a hole in a cupboard. You can see the Slovakian ground rushung by.
Feeling more and more like an opinionated, borgouise, Westerner.
posted by Michael at 12:25 am
1 Comments:
Hello, meiner beste Man!! (It is possible that I just described you as my favourite female husband because I've forgotten all my adjectival endings - sorry!)
Great to hear all your stuff - you make travel reporting interesting. It helps also that Salzburg and Prague are the 2 places I've visited in the last year (or 5 for that matter). Fond memories of both.
Thanks for the smoothie maker mate! good one - we'll have to whip you up a Christmassy one when you get back. Got photos yesterday - great stuff - you proved elusive but i've got a few nice ones of you.
have received a few more visits from our mysterious nocturnal visitor - no more bricks thru windows but interresting behaviour none-the-less. This is what you get when you pray for a stranger methinks - hope we haven't heard the last of it.
Anyhew, sorry for rambling on you blog. Like your friend, I was forced to start a blog to be able to post on yours. Am currently torn as to whether or not to do much with it. Self-reflective or self-obsessive?? keep the posts up on yours though mate. You have interesting stuff to keep us up to date with.
Schone grusse and god bless. Heb 3 v 13
Post a Comment
<< Home