Hi Roberta, and thanks for inviting me
as a guest blogger. My usual blog topics are about my writing life,
but because I just returned from a trip (yes, with a new idea for an
historical mystery), I’m going to share some of my incredible
experiences with your readers. If anyone has visited these places, I
hope they comment with their opinions. It’s always interesting to
see how different people react to the same environment.
I flew into Vienna, Austria, a day
before meeting the group of like-minded people with whom I would be
traveling. I always need the extra day to recover from jetlag. When
the others arrived, our journey began.
Ah, Vienna. Just the name of the city
conjures up images of eighteenth century ballrooms and chamber music.
The Viennese are justly proud of their cultural heritage, and
although much of the city, along with its opera house, was bombed,
the city has restored most of its damaged buildings using the
original plans. There is much to see there, and if I went again, I
would plan to spend at least a week instead of the three days we had.
From Vienna, we took a train to other
cities. I splurged and got a deluxe sleeping car, complete with
private bath and a huge picture window. I’d do the same again.
Sleeping on a train is my idea of heaven on earth, to say nothing of
dining in a car with new friends while the world zips by.
Our first stop was Innsbruck. From
there we visited other cities, like Munich, Salzburg, and Venice,
ending our train ride in Budapest. The route took us through
Brenner’s Pass, an area that figured in WW II history.
I had been to Munich and Venice before,
but I had never seen Venice in flood stage! It had rained for days
and the canal flooded the streets and the square. The authorities put
up something like a catwalk (short folding tables) so pedestrians
could cross the square without wading. Of course, vendors were
selling colorful plastic boots and some pedestrians just chose to
wade across the square. I wish now I’d bought a pair of those
boots—a perfect memento—but I had to think about my full luggage.
Innsbruck and Salzburg are beautiful
cities, surrounded by alpine country. I definitely would like to go
back and spend a week in each of those cities.
My surprise came
in Budapest. We stayed on the Pest side of the Danube, but many sites
we wanted to see were on the Buda side. I took one afternoon to enjoy
one of their thermal baths and a massage, then took one of their
frequent buses back to the hotel in time for dinner. Speaking of
dinner, one night we ate dinner on a boat on the Danube. Budapest,
from the river, is an awesome sight at night. The bridges are lit and
from the city streets, hundreds of tiny lights flicker, reminding us
that in spite of its ancient beauty, Budapest is a thriving city of
thousands. Budapest, to me, is a hidden jewel. I believe they
consider their town a poor stepsister of cities like Vienna. I
emphatically disagree. Budapest should be on everyone’s bucket
list. And the opera house is beauty to astound you. Be warned,
though, to read what the opera is about if you don’t already know.
The subtitles are in Hungarian, whereas both Prague and Vienna state
opera houses have English subtitles.
Our last day was spent at the Danube
Bend, where we ate lunch in a wonderful restaurant high in the
mountains with a view of the city below. From there we visited a
market where I bought scarves for my daughter. They are always a
welcome gift and take little space in your luggage.
Now I’m home and back to revising a
mystery set in Stockholm. That might require a trip to Sweden too!
~ Joyce E. Moore
Sounds like a dream vacation, Joyce! I'm jealous--and what opera did you see in Budapest? (Ditto on the train observations--there's nothing like it.)
ReplyDeleteHi Juliet: In Budapest I saw Falstaff. I love opera so for me, the combination of those beautiful European opera houses and a good opera is irresistable. Thanks for stopping by Crone Henge.
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