We had a good night’s sleep and appear to be more or less adjusted to our new time zone. We had some breakfast downstairs (complimentary due to Nicole’s Hilton Honors Gold Status). Afterward, we walked around the block to the Museum of Communism. It wasn’t massive, but it was broken up into three parts – the Dream, the Reality, and the Nightmare.
It was actually quite interesting. Having been an international affairs major with a concentration in Eastern Europe, I didn’t think I was going to learn much new, but the museum had a uniquely Czech (or Czechoslovakian) perspective. Having walked through the picturesque streets of Prague yesterday afternoon, it’s quite difficult to imagine a massive statue of Stalin, for example, towering over the same city.
The museum wasn’t big, but it did have some quality exhibits and very concise information that was very interesting and informative. Take for example this fascinating bit about the toilet paper crisis!
We then returned to the hotel to check out and head to the train station to get our rental car. It was about a ten minute walk from our hotel, but then over an hour wait for Budget to get the car ready. Communism may have left the Czech Republic, but the whole waiting for goods aspect hasn’t been completely ironed out.
Eventually we were on the road, in our upgraded Skoda. We are not accustomed to having larger cars and the trunk was shockingly large. Usually we have to do some sort of Tetris to get our bags into some tiny hatchback’s trunk. After some heavy traffic in Prague, we made our way onto the open road and eventually to our first stop at Telc, a UNESCO heritage site.
It is known for these colorful houses and buildings that border the main square. They are in the renaissance style and painted quite brightly. Some seemed in suspiciously good condition, like they were just part of a Hollywood movie set. For something that’s supposedly hundreds of years old, many of the buildings looked like they were doctored to look old. What do I know, though.
We walked some more around the town, which did not take very long. It is quite small. It was also quite chilly out considering it was in the 80s yesterday. There was a stiff breeze that added a bit to the chill. We then got in the car and continued on our way.
Within an hour after leaving Telc, we crossed into Austria, which was fairly easy. Just a quick look at the vaccination cards and on we went. Soon enough, we found ourselves in Vienna traffic. We elected to stay out of the main town, and chose a Hampton Inn next to a park on the river. Little did we know until we arrived, that this “park” was in fact a massive amusement park of sorts, but rather than pay for entry like Disney or Universal, you pay for each ride. The “park” as it turned out, did make for a nice place to walk after all.
We had dinner at the “park” at a place called Schweizerhaus. It is said to be not just a beer hall, but an Austrian institution. It is comparable to something like the Hofbrauhaus, but minus all the drunk foreign tourists and overpriced menus. Our ids and vaccine cards were checked at the entrance. There was a covid testing site within the grounds of the amusement park as well. I know there is probably a large group of people back in the United States that would find this setup to be some sort of fascist powerplay. But I have to say, when we walked into a massive beer hall that had seating for thousands, it’s good to know that everyone else inside has either recently tested negative or has been vaccinated.
We stumbled through the menu a bit, since there were no English versions, but we did understand words like schnitzel and wurst. Our dinner of Wiener schnitzel, bratwurst mit senf (mustard), potato salad, and fries went down well. People around us were ordering the “special” which was some sort of thing called the “Knuckle,” or just a massive piece of meat. After dinner, we elected to go for a walk.
The sun had set, and we are accustomed to seeing Vienna at night having last been here for a long layover in December of 2016, when we never actually saw the sun. It was, however, extremely cold on that last visit, and it was nice to be able to walk for a distance without fear of frostbite. We walked along the canal for a bit and found that Vienna is quite lively when it’s not 10ºF. People were exercising, strolling, hanging out at pop up cafés or bars or just chilling on benches. At one point we saw an entire salsa dance class. This city is a lot more alive in August than in December, that’s for sure.
We eventually found our way across the canal to the place we stayed at during our last visit. It is currently going for $300 a night, which is one reason we are in a Hampton Inn next to a bunch of carnies. We explored the neighborhood a bit and went inside St Stephens cathedral.
We worked our way back to our side of the canal, fought our way through some salsa dancers, and found ourselves on a quieter part of the walkway before cutting back up through the amusement park.
It was still hopping at 10pm. It has kind of a fun retro Europe vibe to it. We walked around the area a little bit before calling it a night and going back to the Hampton. I had left the window open, so when we got back to the room we could hear the screams just across the way. We will have to close that up before we go to bed. No need to wake up to a grown man screaming at the top of his lungs.
passports & pepto bismol 