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South America – 5 – Iguazu Falls

6 December 2017 / admin

Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 December 2017

Monday morning and it is time to say farewell to Buenos Aires. A lunchtime flight to Iguazu for the falls limits our time at the destination somewhat – it would have been nice to transit earlier in the morning, especially as our flight is then delayed and the small size of the Argentine airport means there is a single tractor to move luggage from plane to terminal and one bag is on the last of the three trips! Not as bad as Tenerife a few years ago – that was a complete standstill.

We are staying in the Melia Iguazu which is the only hotel inside the Argentine National Park, entry to which costs 500 Pesos, the size of which had not been overtly mentioned earlier (although we had checked). This was the prime reason for visiting the ATMs as they only accept cash for this payment – no credit cards (Argentina still requires credit card signatures – chip and pin does not appear to have arrived)! A former Sheraton hotel it is a very “concrete” structure of the ‘70s but the new owners have certainly renovated the interior.

We take our bags to our room and then we have time this afternoon, so Jackie and I head off to do the “lower” walk on the Argentinian side of the Iguazu Falls. On our way into the Iguazu National Park our guide has already explained to us that most of the falls are on the Argentinian side of the Iguazu river but that the best views are those we shall see tomorrow from the Brazilian side as are the most impressive falls.

On this side there are three ways of seeing the falls – two of which are simple walks from the hotel – the lower walk we proceed along plus a longer higher walk. The third way is to take the train to a location above the falls and walk along a walkway to a throat at the centre of the falls. (The fit can use the path alongside the railway to reach the same walkway).

The lower walk supposedly has a “wet” bit as part of the route goes close to some of the secondary falls and I decide to wear my anorak to prevent getting soaked as I did on Sunday. However the water flow is limited and we have no real danger of getting wet this afternoon – and it is hot wearing an anorak! It is inevitably humid and also pretty hot so both of us are feeling damp by the time we reach our room. Towards the end of our walk we spot some little monkeys.

The photos of the walk this afternoon are here.

In the interests of taking life easy we order a couple of burgers and a bottle of wine – room service; the bill was the equivalent of £75. The absence of competition and being situated inside a National Park being the explanation of the pricing.

On Tuesday we are off to Brazil and we take a coach to wend our way round by road to the other side of the falls via the town where most of the hotels are located. Border staff deal with transits such as ours on a daily basis and ease the movement – we stay on the coach and the guide takes our passports to the Border office, together with a list – no individual passports are stamped. To prove we are in another country the bridge colours change halfway across as we cross the river. And here the falls in the local language are known as Iguacu Falls in another National Park. On the Brazilian side the coaches drop off at the lower end roughly opposite the lower walk on the Argentinian side and the visitors walk up to the top where the coaches line up for the return trip.

We then walk along the Brazilian side of the river and not only do we see the falls we saw yesterday but we also see the falls much further along and these really are spectacular. We understand from our guide that since we visited the falls yesterday the authorities have opened a dam above the falls and have significantly increased the water flow so even the falls we saw yesterday look more impressive today!

I think we were slightly underwhelmed at Niagara Falls when we visited – that does not apply this time – this is magnificent. On the Brazilian side they have also built walks out into the river – most visitors to these platforms put on ponchos or similar but I brave it in a T shirt and inevitably get another soaking for my pains. I put the camera away when I get to the most distant platform as I do not want it get too wet.

The main photos from this trip are here. Some camera phone photos taken down at the very wet platforms in the river and of more animals running wild are here.

We return across the border to our hotel in Argentina and Jackie goes to the room. I take the train up to the top of the falls. Neat train – it is a diesel at the front end going up the hill and there is a control trailer at the back end so it merely shuttles back and forth. The train runs on down the hill to a station near the main entrance where people leave cars and they travel up and down using the train – so the vehicles do not move in the park.

The train photos are here.

There is some spray from the falls which helps cool down – but it is pretty warm this afternoon and the walk is some distance. Jackie would not enjoy the walk which I guess is nearly 1km long all above the river. The walkway is a fine mesh grating and one can see the water flowing past beneath your feet and I know she hates piers and the concept of walking above the water.

There are some photos of the throat from the viewing platform at the end to be found here. Also some ring tail coatis photos – NOT lemurs!

I am tired by the time I get back to the train back down the hill. The heat is certainly telling. We are now about halfway through our holiday and so the first clothes pack is just about exhausted and it is time to move things around for the rest of the holiday. Largely avoided splattering food down myself and so have actually managed to wear some tops more than once. Unlike Canada and Australia there are no obvious opportunities for some laundry to be undertaken – on both those trips one of the hotels had a small laundry facility! Time to pack up for the morning transit.

South America – 4 – Argentina – Buenos Aires

4 December 2017 / admin

Friday 1 December 2017 – Sunday 3 December 2017

Friday was transit day and we have an early start but as Mendoza airport is so small they really only need us there 45 minutes before departure – we are a lot earlier and so have time to spare. The local airline has a 15kg baggage limit – we have a worrying few minutes until authorisation is given for us to proceed with 23kg – after all as Jackie pointed out at check in it is her birthday. Once on board we find we are on the first flight using Aerolineas Argentina’s brand new 737 Max. The passengers clap this news and at Buenos Aires the ground staff and management are out taking photos of this wondrous new beast.

Flight distance is significantly greater than the last flight and we are flying for about 90 minutes. I had anticipated seeing huge expanses of grasslands and roaming beef herds but apparently this is no longer the main farming output of the country we are later told. Being a domestic flight there are no passport checks and the main wait is for luggage, Jackie’s case arrives immediately, mine takes ages! We meet a guide and head off into the City Centre to the Brick Hotel which is no distance – the domestic airport is just the other side of the railway lines. With our room not being available when we arrive at 12 o’clock, (despite a reminder about the birthday!) we wander about a block to find a recommended restaurant, El Mirasol which the wise heads around say is the best steak house. This is situated under a nearby flyover alongside a number of other restaurants.

The recommendation is borne out and we both enjoy a huge steak meal to celebrate the aforementioned birthday. Our dining companions also prove interesting – Jackie reckons the local mafia use it as their staff canteen amongst other diners. We are early diners and initially I thought there seemed to be a lot of waiters around but the place is soon packed – justifiably so – and the waiters are soon pretty busy.

Much, much later the hotel provides a small bottle of bubbly stuff and a cake for the birthday celebrations. I pop out in the evening briefly to go to the nearest ATM to increase our stock of local currency. I had already drawn some cash in Mendoza but we did not arrive with any cash and the need for a decent amount of cash will become clear when we head for our next stop.

Saturday is a morning coach tour of Buenos Aires which has a first stop outside Casa Rosada – the pink Presidential Palace. Work is in progress on improving the Plaza de Mayo at the front of the palace and so our photographs are not quite as good as we might like. There is some great architecture around the Plaza as the photos show.

Our tour progresses via some of the older parts of the City which seems to be dominated by places demonstrating the tango, then passes the BOCA Juniors football stadium before taking a stop at La Boca. Clear warning is given here not to wander away from the main vividly decorated street – obviously made safe for tourists but adjacent areas are apparently unsafe. Also in this area there was some evidence of either a former tramway or narrow gauge railway – identification has proven impossible.

Back in 1910 there were close links between Britain and Argentina and to celebrate 100 years of independence the local British community funded a Tower, now known as Torre Monumental. The events of 1982 concerning certain islands led to a change in name. The chimes sound identical to Big Ben.

Argentina has a remarkable mixture of immigrants. Originally a Spanish vice-royalty, independence was achieved in stages between 1810- 1818 which was followed by a civil war lasting until 1861. There was then a large immigration influx – Italian, Spanish and Portuguese in large numbers with smaller numbers from elsewhere (including the Near East – there is a significant number of Arabic speakers), such that in the early years of the twentieth century it was the seventh wealthiest nation in the world. Subsequently that position was lost – but in the Recoleta area where our hotel is located the architecture certainly reflects significant European influence from that time.

We also visit the house of Jose San Martin and another statue to go with the one seen in Santiago and the Glory Hill monument in Mendoza. He had a huge impact on the history of these countries.

Most amazing was the Recoleta Cemetery which we visited as it is the final resting place of Eva (Duarte) Peron in the Duarte family vault. (The family would not agree to Peron being interred with her). The area covered by the cemetery is such that one could easily become lost and we can only see a small proportion of these wonderful vaults. The linked article says that it covers 14 acres and contains 4691 vaults. Some of these are amazing pieces of architecture topped by statues and other decoration.

The photographs from the tour are here.

On the Sunday we decide to walk to the waterfront area where we know there are a lot of restaurants – especially a fish one. Our route takes us past this:

I did not realise at the time that there were actually three adjacent stations – we visited only the one on the left (Retiro the largest) – the Torre Monumental can be seen just to the left of the Retiro station. Moving right are the Belgrano and San Martin stations.

The photos of the station are here – magnificent station.

As we head towards the waterfront it starts to rain and by the time we reach our destination I am completely and utterly soaked. We are early diners at Sorrento and the food is excellent. I steadily dry out during the meal and the restaurant steadily fills up. A return taxi is employed for the return journey to the Brick Hotel.

I did dry out eventually but in the interests of avoiding a cold or similar we do not go out in the evening – but did allow to make progress with some reading and which saved us from getting over tired.

Monday morning is our trip to the Iguaza Falls – so on to the next post.

South America – 3 – Argentina – Mendoza

1 December 2017 / admin

Thursday 30 November 2017

A different bed so we do not sleep perfectly and we are up and about for a busy day. Our protest over morning wine tasting has achieved nothing and we head out of town for a 30 minute drive to the Matervini winery. Whilst a young winery it has vines going back to 1938 and the owner has a history of producing some very high quality Malbec – and when he sold the original winery he retained ownership of the older vines as part of the new winery. The best wine we taste is US$90 per bottle and the volumes are such that they only sell direct from the estate. They also hope to be eco-friendly and take steps to utilise solar generated energy.

The other winery we visit has Chilean owners but they have huge Italian heritage with the estate modelled on a Tuscan style. This is the Renacer winery. It is working towards much higher volumes than Matervini and buys in grapes from local growers to achieve those volumes. A very different approach and using blending of wines at the final stages to achieve some consistency. The grapes used in both cases come not just from close to Mendoza but also from the Yuco valley and from other locations with only the top wine from the Matervini bodega being an estate wine. Renacer are also experimenting with a Chardonnay!

Photos of the morning tour are here.

We return to Mendoza for a break and a sandwich before the afternoon city tour. In reality Mendoza is a working city with agriculture not the main industry – that is oil. And olives are as important as wine to the local economy apparently. Mendoza is the fourth largest city in Argentina and there is nothing of great age as earlier buildings were all destroyed by an earthquake in 1861. Experts were brought into prevent another similar disaster and the older part of town featured a main square and four lesser squares set apart by a few blocks to allow people to be in the open in the event of another major earthquake. Additionally the city was protected by a huge park to prevent rock slides into the city itself from the edges of the hills.

Our tour ends at the top of the San Martin park where there is a monument at Glory Hill to the Army of the Andes which was led by San Martin and achieved the independence of Chile and with other forces achieved independence for Peru. Although a revolutionary leader San Martin was often at odds with his fellow freedom fighters as he wanted to install local monarchies – his fellow revolutionaries generally sought presidential led republics. There is no arguing with his resolve in achieving independence for three countries (Argentina coming before Chile and the Army of the Andes with Peru later). General José San Martin had a busy life – reading that linked entry tells a complex but compelling story – he bestrode the continent in the first half of the nineteenth century like a colossus!

The afternoon tour photos are here.

As with Santiago we have a good guide looking after us – knowledgeable and informative. His dinner recommendation leads to perhaps the least exciting meal of the holiday – but who knows, we might have chosen the wrong food!

It has been sunny and warm today. We managed a couple of hours in the sun when we get back to the hotel before dinner. Time to move on again!

South America – 2 – Argentina – Mendoza

29 November 2017 / admin

Wednesday 29 November 2017

Wednesday afternoon is spent hopping over the Andes to Mendoza. This could have been an 8 hour bus journey at one stage of planning this holiday but the flight is under an hour, mainly spent going up and then down as the distance between the two cities is not huge – merely the Andes are in the way.

I drop off to sleep before take off and wake up about half way through the flight. We had originally been seated separately but Jackie’s neighbour had moved so I was able to occupy the empty seat. With some turbulence seat belt signs are on and so there is great need for the toilet on landing. The queue for the passport check more than quadruples by the time we emerge from the toilets but the delay is not of “Luton” type lengths. The taxi driver taking us to the hotel cannot speak English and luckily it is only a short drive into town – although the road feels surprisingly rough (oddly no more poor roads experienced in our later local journeys)!

Park Hyatt Hotel Mendoza is a modern corporate hotel and lacks the charm and style of the hotel in Santiago which was very nice. It is not helped by an apparent belief when we arrive that there is no room booked for us and no real acknowledgement that they might be in the wrong – even when it turns out that they have booked someone else into our room (allegedly with my first name – how about checking surnames seeing that everywhere takes a copy of the passport? – even more amazed that another visitor has the same first name!). Having settled in we check the hotel dining options – and decide on the rather nice Grill Q – Parilla for a little later.

First we need some cash and think the casino might be able to change pounds into local Pesos (it was impossible to obtain Pesos at home). No – they can only really change dollars and if they must then they might change Euros. When did sterling cease to be important? We attempt to use the adjacent cash point but that seems to want a passport number, so as there is no urgent need we abandon the cash hunt for now.

We partake of a drink sitting in the evening sun, Jackie is getting attached to Pisco Sours to start the evening and I am drinking local red beer as it seems to be most acceptable . We decide on eating a plate of parilla (sometimes known as Asado) which is served for two people. It is an enhanced mixed grill consisting of two different steaks, short ribs, black pudding (in a sausage shape), a sausage, and a huge piece of chicken, some kidneys, all barbecue grilled exactly right. With all that meat a bottle of locally sourced Malbec seemed appropriate. We did order some vegetables but these were not the high point of the kitchen’s ability!

Time for bed.

South America 1 – Chile

29 November 2017 / admin

Monday 27, Tuesday 28 & Wednesday 29 November 2017

It has been a long time since that last holiday jaunt to Europe – but here we go again and much further afield. I am hopeful that this blog will now be much closer to real time as we head off to far flung shores – this trip includes very small portions each of Chile (one night), Argentina and Brazil. I also hope that the quality of the photographs might improve, but not sure that either of these hopes will be sustained!

What has changed is that I now have decent working apps on both iPad and phone for WordPress and so hope that if time permits something can be published as progress is made.

We shall only be in Chile for the one night – so no great insights can be expected. Formally the Chilean capital is Santiago de Chile simply to avoid confusion with the one in Spain. Our taxi is due at 6:15pm and the plane is due to depart at 22:00.

British Airways are now flying direct to Santiago – the flights commenced on 3 January 2017 and at 14 hours 40 minutes they are the longest flights that the airline makes. The new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners are allocated to the operation – panic commences given our experience on the return trip from Mexico earlier this year!

A huge plate of cheese and biscuits each and then settle down to sleep. Get about 6 – 7 hours sleep with a decent breakfast and the flight is slightly early into Santiago on Tuesday, late morning. Apparently the Chileans are keen on queues as the passport line takes an hour for us and much longer for the people behind us as it overflows the theme park style queues and is backed up, up the stairs. Not helped by those at the front of the queue not actually watching the display for the next free border officer! It is a bit mad as we reach the exit with huge numbers of waiting drivers. We miss our guide on a first pass but a wander back along the line gets us heading into the town centre with guide and driver.

Hotel Plaza San Francisco is almost in the centre of town with a beautiful church next door – internally it looks like this:

Earlier we had been advised by our guide to go to Lastarria which is walking distance and he particularly recommends Bocanariz. First we do a wine flight each to taste some different wines and then have a bottle of Carmenere to go with our steaks.

Photos of the first views of Santiago are here.

The following (Wednesday) morning we are met by our guide and are driven to the Presidential Palace and then taken on a walking tour through the City to the main markets which are huge – we see the fish and the farmers’ markets, the latter is mainly fruit and vegetables. The Chilean garlic looks very strong!

In the background Santiago is largely surrounded by hills – on one side the Andes which we have to cross again shortly. There are no trains across the border apparently.

We are then driven to the lower end of the cable car which takes us up to the top of the hill for San Cristobal and the view over the City. I see the funicular which is on the other side of the hill but we do not have time to return that way.

Photographs of the morning tour are here.

The final part of the tour is a drive around the new expensive modern suburbs before returning to the airport for our flight to Mendoza. Once on our way I establish that at some point my small Canon camera has not made its way to its normal place in my bum bag and appears to have been left at the hotel. Subsequent attempts to contact them have not been successful!

Euro Tour 11 – Budapest and Home

11 August 2017 / admin

Wednesday 2 August 2017

Usually the last day of any tour can be a little wasted as time is spent waiting for collection and return to airport and home. Today is very different as nearly all of the participants book an extra organised trip to visit the famous Childrens’ Railway and the cog railway. I had looked at attempting to cover these on our own – so was relieved when the additional tour was organised and the cost was about £20 each.

Normally there is tram route from the City out to the terminus at Huvosvolgy. As our coach gets closer to the destination we can see that the line is completely closed at present and has been replaced by buses. Wholesale modernisation by the look of it. And our coach has to detour around various road works.

The Childrens’ Railway provides children with an education in the ways of the world as well as being a reward for good performance in school. They learn jobs on the railway and interaction with the passengers – checking tickets, saluting our departures from each station and signalling and related matters. For the humble passenger the train travels through some very attractive countryside – although getting decent pictures seems to have escaped me today!

If there is time available there are various activities which can be accessed from the stations along the lines – a zip wire and various walks in the woodlands. We however are simply doing the journey in one direction.

At the destination it is a very short walk to the terminus of the Cog Wheel Railway. The current cog line dates from 1973 when it was completely renewed but the line first opened in 1874, merely 5 years after the Washington Cog Railway we visited last year. Again we are taking a single journey down the line – which passes through an expensive residential area back towards the City Centre.

The photographs are here.

We had identified another restaurant within walking distance of the hotel – so once back we walk there. Again it is very hot (it had been cooler in the hills). To our disappointment it seems the restaurant is closed. We walk round in a bit of a circle but the only place we can find open is the one we used on the first night – so it is I think the only time on this holiday that we have eaten in the same place twice.

Once lunch is finished we wander back to the hotel and enjoy the air conditioning until it is time to return home.

Journey	Distance
London - Berlin	579
Berlin - Prague	175
Prague - Vienna	157
Vienna - Budapest	133
Budapest - London	926
Total	1970

So including the coach and river trips this looks like a total of 2000 miles. I am pleased to report that once we were back Jackie’s sciatica did eventually clear up – but it was a long slow process.

In November / December we are heading to South America for Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Watch this space.

Euro Tour 10 – Budapest

10 August 2017 / admin

Tuesday 1 August 2017

Today is officially a free day and in view of the excellent weather (the heatwave continues) it seems entirely reasonable to us to go and make use of the Szechenyi Baths. By walking back to the station where we arrived it is possible to catch a direct service to the Millennium Monument we visited yesterday and then walk through the park grounds to the baths.

Obtaining an entry ticket is not difficult – but working out where to go inside turns out to be a bit more complex. We find the changing cabins and take all of our stuff with us. We arrive just about in time to get two sun loungers (and move them into some shade) before entering the large pools outside. They are quite busy – and the temperature of the pool is about 32 deg C – and the air temperature is not much higher.

Whilst I do not believe the pools are as effective as the spa at Rotarua in easing aches and pains they certainly provide some relief. Inside the building there are a variety of pools at different temperatures and we both take an opportunity to relax in these before departing.

We start walking across the park and I am reminded we were told of a couple of local cafes when we were on the tour so decide that a light lunch here would be a good idea before we head back. Jackie is feeling the heat and is looking forward to the air conditioning in the hotel and is very glad when we get back there!

I decide to return to the centre of town and to see if I can traverse the funicular which was closed yesterday – I also have to master an ATM for some cash – but after our practice earlier on the holiday this is not difficult. I can report that the funicular is working and I take it up the hill; at the top I am in time for the local changing of the guard; then I return to the bottom. It is very hot and I consume a huge beaker of orange juice. Dehydrating! I walk back across the Chain Bridge and return to our hotel on the metro.

Photographs of my solo excursion are here.

In the evening we are back on the group tour. Our fellow travellers have apparently also enjoyed the various Baths which exist in the City. We are taken to the Danube for a river cruise and dinner.

From the river we are able to see some beautiful sights. With the river cruise completed we rejoin our coach noting that the next party are ready to embark – they keep these cruisers busy. The coach takes us to the top of Gellert Hill which enables us to enjoy some views of a lit up Budapest at night.

Photographs of this evening’s expedition are here.

Some of us remain in the reception for a drink and a chat once we are back at the hotel.

Euro Tour 9 – Budapest

9 August 2017 / admin

Monday 31 July 2017

Formal organised tour for the group this morning. Our first calling point is the Millennium Monument, or Heroes Square, celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the formation of the Hungarian state in either 895 or 896 AD; the construction commenced in 1896 and was completed in 1900. The parkland adjacent to the Monument surrounds the famous Szechenyi Baths, so the location of these is now known. There are a number of other public baths in Budapest.

Our tour moves along and we see some more wonderful architecture as we head towards the City centre. Our next stop allowing us to visit toilets and have a cup of coffee is adjacent to St Stephen’s Church. It is one of the largest churches in Hungary and was completed in 1905.

Our final destination is the Castle district which is atop a hill on the Buda (western) side of the Danube; Pest was on the eastern side of the river. They were united as a single city in 1873; previously Buda had been the capital of Hungary.

Featuring in the photographs is the Matthias Church, although we did not go inside the external features are magnificent. It is adjacent to the Fishermans’ Bastion. This accords some marvellous views over the city.

This marks the end of the official tour and we decide to return independently to our hotel, mainly because of a wish to use the funicular to descend river level. However the funicular is closed for the day – and in the upper station I can see a man with a feather duster industriously removing cobwebs! It was a hot walk to the top station, it feels even hotter as we walk back to the bus stop (especially as we subsequently establish that there are other powered routes up and down!).

Once we have identified the right bus to catch (!) it is a straightforward ride downhill, through a tunnel and across the Chain Bridge. Once on the Pest side of the river we leave the bus and in a side street which leads back to St Stephens Church we find a series of restaurants and make a choice after studying the menus. The sun is beating down so it is nice to be in shade as we eat lunch.

It is still very hot when we set out for a little walk along the eastern edge of the Danube. We have a very specific target in mind – Shoes on the Danube Bank. In late 1944 / early 1945 a large number of Jews were executed on the orders of the local fascists and this memorial was created in 2005.

A little further along is the magnificent Parliament Building. We only see the outside but we understand that the inside is equally magnificent. It was inaugurated in 1896 again marking the 1000th anniversary of the State but not completed until 1904.

There is an adjacent metro station facilitating return to the hotel.

Later in the day we walk along to Blaha Lujza and find Cafe New York around the corner. Again this had been identified for a visit prior to leaving home and we made a wrong choice – we chose to eat a meal – but the service is designed to cater simply for those coming to have some cake and a drink and not for a meal. Beautiful inside as the photos on the web demonstrate! Oh well you win some and you lose some!

Euro Tour 8 – Vienna to Budapest

8 August 2017 / admin

Sunday 30 July 2017

We have some spare time this morning but decide to take it very easy as we covered some ground around Vienna yesterday. We have a lunchtime departure from the same new station at which we arrived and we can see it looks very new with clean track, nicely ballasted. I manage to take some photos of trains but these are not brilliant.

Now we head east south east (roughly) to Budapest and as we go it is obvious that it is getting warmer, indeed much warmer. As with all of our other trips the crossing of borders is unobserved without passport checks.

Budapest is in the grip of a heatwave. It is a relatively short walk (of 600-700 yards) from station to our hotel but it certainly feels further as we adjust to the heat. The oddity here is that we were originally told we would be at another hotel yet our guide assures us this is the facility which is normally used. We are pleased the air conditioning works well and is noticeably quiet in our bedroom so we can sleep. It is particularly welcome after the heat outside.

The Hotel Bristol may be convenient for the station (and be relatively attractive internally) but is surrounded by a less attractive selection of rough sleepers and what Jackie assures me are drug dealers. Never having met one of either group to my knowledge I cannot be sure about the latter; the former are self evident! During our stay here there is one individual sleeping on the same bench in both the morning, afternoon and evening when we pass. By the last time we pass him, he did appear to have moved so was presumably still alive. Another was sleeping on top of a wall, if he rolled to his left he would not just fall to the ground but all to the bottom of the steps down into the underground station – a long way down.

In normal circumstances the 600 yard walk to the Underground station would not be a barrier to moving around easily – but the high temperature (around 38 deg C) and the pain Jackie is suffering from her sciatica made the walk less than enthralling. Luckily the nearest supermarket is very close by and we can get water with ease.

Budapest, as is well known, is actually two cities: Buda and Pest, separated by the same Danube river last seen in Vienna; I wonder if we are seeing the same water pass by?

Our group dinner tonight is just around the block at a very convenient local restaurant. Good simple food. Very nice.

Euro Tour 7 – Vienna

7 August 2017 / admin

Saturday 29 July 2017

Today is a free day according to the Rail Discoveries itinerary so our plan is to visit the Vienna Ringstrasse and get much better photographs than were possible yesterday. Also we are celebrating 28 years of marriage and a special dinner is planned.

We walk down the hill to the local tobacconist and obtain some tickets to roam the public transport network for not very much money and then a little further down the hill to the inbound tram stop (some of the roads are one way so the return journey will be on a different line – more confusion). This takes us to a little short of the Ringstrasse in the Museum Quarter. We can walk out to the Ringstrasse and walk quite a distance as far as Shottentor. It is flat and we are going at a gentle pace as it is turning pretty warm this morning!

Shottentor is a great interchange and after studying the map I find that we can take a tram service direct to one end of the park which then requires a (perhaps too long) walk to the famous Ferris wheel at Prater, as seen in the Third Man film. The walk is level, but further than anticipated. Indeed so well landscaped is the area that we simply cannot see the wheel until we pretty close to it, like the observation tower in Prague it is hiding behind a bank of trees! Around the Ferris wheel is a fun fair including another wheel – but we only want the Ferris wheel.

Half of the original cabins on the wheel have been removed and some are now used for little historical displays of the history of Vienna in the waiting area, to occupy people if the place is busy. Today however we are able to join a short queue and join the third cabin to come round. It is a bright clear day and we have a good view across to the end of the Alps- they end here as they run into the Danube river.

Jackie enjoys the trip and we hopefully have some decent pictures. At this end of the park it is a short walk to the metro/underground and we find our way onto the line in the right direction (signposting is not as clear as we might like) but when we reach Opera station we nearly come out of the wrong exit. Once we have the right exit we are only a short walk, now in a very warm environment to Sacher hotel where at Café Sacher we join a very short queue for a table.

I choose some wieners for lunch and get two as I have to avoid the inevitable sugar in the torte! Jackie has ice cream cake and not the torte as it looks slightly dry when served to others. The ice cream cake looked like this:

All goes down rather well so it makes for a nice light lunch.

We wander to the nearest fiacre stand but Jackie does not like the look of the ponies (or perhaps their drivers), so we have a longer walk in the heat back to the St Stephens Church and take a pair of greys for a little trip of 20 minutes.

Jackie and I get serenaded on as we travel around! Both photos from Jackie’s collection!

We have walked a lot today and we end up quite a way from the Museum quarter to be able to take a return tram to our hotel – so have another lengthy walk which requires several stops in the heat. Once back we can have a nap before going out again.

In the evening we have about a 30 minute downhill walk to Restaurant Mini as there is no easy direct transport. And taking the metro would probably have taken about the same length of time. On our walk we noted that high end stereo systems are obviously selling well as we see a well stocked shop with no visible prices (so more than we can afford) including valve amplifiers. Some fellow travellers also saw similar places. HiFi is alive and well in Austria!

As ever Jackie recorded our stunning meal so with her photos and descriptions here we go:

On the left: “Tempura prawns with an amazing orange dressed salad! Gorgeous!”.
On the right: “Tuna ummm with wasabi apple! Was fab!” Her words – my starter!

For main course: “We both had duck with Beetroot and mushroom. Risotto! Divine!”

At the end of the meal: “We both had chilli chocolate soufflé with sour cherries! I want to move in!”.

We then had a 30 minute stroll back to our hotel but it was a bright warm evening; just slightly uphill rather than downhill.