A few days ambling about in Vienna

Another trip another blog, this time Vienna, the culture-packed capital of Austria. I was going through old blog posts recently to fix some formatting glitches and it's a good job I keep writing these because I generally don't remember quite a lot of what I've done. So I guess I'll keep blogging until it becomes a completely obsolete medium and the site gets shut down. Which can't be that far off, because blogs are very 2010.

Vienna always comes top of those 'best cities to live' rankings that appear in the press from time to time and so I was intrigued to see why it's regarded so highly. A lot of that is down to Vienna's high quantity and quality of social housing, rent controls, great public transport – many of the things that make a well run modern city. (And something a lot of modern cities lack.) 

It really had the feel of a great place to live while I was there. Admittedly I was only there for a few days and I'm sure Vienna has its own problems but I couldn't see many. Culture, food, drink, beautiful architecture, history are all there in abundance. Apparently there's an old stereotype about the Viennese people being rude, but I didn't encounter that at all.

Most importantly, I ate apple strudel on multiple occasions. The best one was probably in Cafe Landtmann, where Sigmund Freud is said to have gone between classes at the University of Vienna right across the road. Now it's a bit of a pricey tourist trap but I had to go in one of Vienna's fancy cafes while I was there and pay €6 for a coffee with extra ambience.

 

Kimchi on sweet potato fries – I'm not normally a food pictures person but this was the first thing I ate in Vienna and it was immense.

Does it count as street art if it's not on a street? Let's call it some graffiti with an admirable message.

Dr Freud will see you now. This the waiting room for patients of Sigmund Freud or his wife, Martha. This is the only room in the museum restored to what it once looked like, the rest of it is nice but a bit underwhelming. 

One of the Easter markets that were on in the second half of March. This one sold thousands of painted eggs.

The roof of Stephandsom Cathedral and its multicoloured tiled roof is right in the middle of Vienna's city centre.

Another angle of Stephandsom Cathedral, with dramatic sculpture.

One of Vienna's many pretty town squares, I think this was the Jewish Square

So sue me, I took another food photo. This time its apple strudel. If you go to Vienna and don't eat strudel I don't think we can ever truly be friends.

You might recognise this if you've seen The Third Man, a film from 1949 starring Orson Welles that was set in Vienna. The bottom left of the photo has a little portrait of Welles.

Back in the Easter markets again, this time taking a photo for Vita so she can see how big the eggs in Vienna are.

Can't remember what this church was called, but it was on the edge of the old town and made a nice photo with the steps leading up to it.

Some culture from the cheap seats at the Musikverein. The Bavarian Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle. At €10 for a standing ticket, you can see something pretty spectacular for an affordable price. (Sitting tickets went up to €130)

A mural of Mozart, possibly Vienna's most famous resident

Belvedere Palace on the outskirts of central Vienna.

Czech out what I did in Prague

Hello and welcome to my travel blog that stubbornly refuses to modernise and become an Instagram or TikTok account. Apparently the peak blogging era ended around 2012 so I'm only a decade behind. Keep it going for another decade and maybe this blog can become a retro curiosity. 

For the first time in several years (and definitely this side of the pandemic) I went on a solo trip, something  that felt slightly odd at first. We had a child nearly 18 months ago and so all trips away have been as a family. Now, that is all well and good and very enjoyable but so is the odd bit of solo backpacking. This blog is called the Inane Babble of a Backpacker after all, not the Inane Babble of a Man Clinging on to His 30s Who Goes On Nice Family Holidays. Maybe that can be the Instagram/Tiktok account.

Prague is somewhere I feel like I should have been before now, it's almost remiss of me not to have been there. The flights there were cheap and cost of accommodation, eating, sightseeing was very reasonable too. Around £2-£3 for a beer was fairly common. And it's very walkable if you're concentrating on the main sights either side of the river. 

My accommodation was in Praha 2, just outside the Old Town area about five minutes from the National Museum. It turned out to be a great location for food and drink options without paying the inflated prices of the Old Town. In fact, I was staying just around the corner from the gothic Church of St Ludmila, the first picture below. And then below that you'll see the first mistake I made...

The Church of St Ludmila.

I'd seen someone raving about these ice-cream filled doughnut cones online and made it a priority to try one for myself. Unfortunately I wrongly chose a cream-filled rather than ice-cream filled option, complete with strawberries and chocolate sauce. It was a LOT of cream and the regret kicked in long before I'd finished it. 

Prague's Astronomical Clock beside the main square in the Old Town. Been telling the time since 1410 – that's a lot of time.

This was just outside the Franz Kafka museum and is a sculpture of two men urinating at each other. Didn't find out why, just took the photo and enjoyed the scene. The base looks like the outline of the Czech Republic and I could google it to find out more but I'm not going to.

Sunset over the Vltava River, which runs through Prague. Prague Castle is on the hill in the distance. 

The National Theatre, with one of the local trams going past.

Praha means Prague in Czech, which is why I took this photo. And a tram just happened to be passing to add a bit of extra je ne sais quoi to the picture.

The Dancing House in Prague, designed by architects Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry. You know what? This building was a bit underwhelming. There, I've said it. I expected more, walked a fair way to see it and it was just a bit 'meh'.

The Electric Sheep Book Bar - great cocktails and live music, delicious chocolate covered pretzels, plus a three legged dog wandering around looking for all the attention it can get. What more could you ask for? 

One of the 30 Baroque statues that are dotted across the famous Charles Bridge. Also one of the earliest known examples of doing bunny ears over someone who doesn't know it's happening, captured in stone.

Aerial view of Prague from the tower of St Vitus Cathedral in the grounds of Prague Castle. Climbed about 250 steps to get to the top of that tower but the views were spectacular.

I suppose there has to be a photo of me in there somewhere to prove that I actually went. A few more grey hairs since the last solo trip, hoping to one day attain 'silver fox' status. Prague in the background again, taken from the top of St Vitus by a passerby who looked like they knew what they were doing with a camera and wouldn't steal my phone.

Part of the Waldstein Garden, next to Malostranka Station.

Water-level view of the Charles Bridge from a little boat tour I went on. Ice cream and a beer included in the ticket price, lovely stuff. Need to update their audio tour though, still referencing Queen Liz, gawd bless 'er.

Front door goals.

Sculpture of Sigmund Freud suspended over a road. Easy to miss when you're walking by at street level, let me tell you.

I loved the design of this Metro station so I made a little video and it turned out very well. Almost looks vaguely professional.

Czech stew and dumplings. Very hearty Eastern European fare - probably not first an obvious pick in the middle of summer but I was determined to try some while I was there.

On my final night I walked up the hill into the middle of a park called Riegrovy sady, where loads of people gathered to watch the sun set over Prague with a drink or two. Castle in the background again. Fire juggling guy in the foreground, low-key smell of weed wafting about, you get the idea.

Interior of the Spanish Synagogue. Very impressive and blingy.

My flight leaving Prague was delayed by two hours so I had some time to kill before I went to the airport. And just so happened to be near the Prague Ghost Legends Museum. I kind of hoped it was going to be one for the enjoyably shit category of museums and it did not disappoint on that front. Although it didn't kill much time before my flight either as I was done in about 25 minutes. This exhibit accurately demonstrates what I would look like if I were a ghost.

Canals and apple pie: a long weekend in Amsterdam

I’m dusting off the blog as I’ve just been on a very new kind of trip – the first time abroad with a child! That child is Vita, she’s nearly four months old and has now been to Amsterdam.

Going on a city break with a baby is a big change but it doesn't completely alter the way you travel. For example, you can still spend the afternoon walking around the canals of Amsterdam, you just need to factor in a few more rest stops and have a ready supply of nappies and outfit changes for all eventualities. 

Most of the weekend was spent exploring the city, including taking the ferry across to Amsterdam Noord, a formerly industrial area undergoing major regeneration. Think large apartment blocks peppered with interesting bars and restaurants at street level – it’ll be unrecognisable in a few years’ time. It’s already very different to when I was last in Amsterdam three years ago. 

One of the culinary highlights of the trip was apple pie in Winkel 43, in the city’s Jewish Quarter. There was a queue outside the door but it moves along pretty quickly as everyone is going in for apple pie, which doesn’t take long to eat when it tastes this good. I asked the guy behind the bar how many pies they get through on a busy Saturday and he said up to 120, which is more than 1,000 pieces of pie.

Whenever I visit a city like Amsterdam I get very jealous of all the cycling infrastructure. London isn’t a bad city to cycle in but it’s got a long way to go before it gets anywhere near the likes of Amsterdam or Copenhagen. Cycling is second nature to the people who live there and it shows how much more liveable a place is people are prioritsed over cars.

This trip was also the first time I've ever received a passport stamp from an EU country. It was a lovely reminder of the fact the UK is rapidly travelling backwards, cutting itself off from its neighbours and generally making a tit of itself on the world stage. C'est la vie.

I love a new passport stamp but would have been happier to not need them from EU countries...

Harriet and Chloe (one of our hosts for the weekend) enjoy a 'Peep Show' in a creative space/warehouse in Amsterdam Noord

Some street art outside the warehouse containing a very nice restaurant called IJver

The canals of Amsterdam. You get all kinds of boats on the canals, from dinghies to houseboats to a boat full of drunk guys (only saw one of these to be fair)

Some of the very aesthetically pleasing homes of central Amsterdam

This street looked like it had been reclaimed for pedestrians and cyclists. Hardly any parking space for cars, loads for bikes and mini-gardens all the way along

Apple pie close-up in Winkel 43

Harriet and Vita with a piece of pie the size of Vita's head in Winkel 43. I graciously gave Harriet the biggest slice and definitely didn't say "oh it looks like I've given you the biggest piece" when I did

Another shot of Amsterdam looking rather pretty in the sun. I feel like I could definitely live in Amsterdam although I suspect the rent on any of the places in this photo would make Elon Musk do a double-take.

A week in Pisa and Lucca that we didn't think would happen

Somehow, despite all the travel restrictions, cancelled flights and general covid-induced chaos, our trip to Italy at the end of July was still possible. A couple of months ago I was convinced it would all get cancelled. But fast-forward to a two weeks before the trip and our plans were still intact, so we packed our bags, put on our face-masks and headed for Pisa and Lucca.

You've probably heard of Pisa, it's got that big wonky tower in the middle of it. Lucca is another city in Tuscany, about half an hour from Pisa by train and a great place to eat yourself into a pizza/pasta induced coma if you fancy it. It's packed with great cafes, restaurants and bars scattered throughout its old town area.

Pisa was probably a lot quieter than usual at this time of year because of coronavirus, which meant Piazza del Duomo where the Leaning Tower is located was less packed with people than it would be normally. Climbing the stairs of the leaning tower cost a slightly exorbitant €18 but it seemed foolish to visit one of the most iconic buildings in the world and not go up it.

Lucca is Pisa's quieter, more laid back cousin and you can spend hours just walking round it, losing yourself down various narrow streets and seeing which part of the city you re-emerge in. All while eating delicious gelato or stopping off for a coffee, of course.     

While travel is certainly possible at the moment, it's different. It was very noticeable in Italy how much more on the ball they are with wearing masks than we are in the UK. Walk into a shop, museum or hotel and you put your mask on straight away or you're not allowed in. Same goes for airports and train stations. Yes it can be uncomfortable in the heat of summer but if it means businesses can stay open because people are following the rules, then that's fine by me. 

I suspect this won't be the only trip abroad I take that requires a face-mask until the magic vaccine comes along and sorts out the coronavirus situation. Ah, what a strange time we are living in right now. The keys, wallet and phone check before leaving the house has become keys, wallet, phone and mask. Well, if that means we can travel more safely then it's a very small burden.

Stay safe, help each other out and remember things will get back to normal eventually. And in the meantime, why not gaze admiringly at the photos below. 

It does lean a bit doesn't it? Someone should probably fix that.

Who knew holidays in 2020 would include wearing a face-mask everywhere? The Leaning Tower of Pisa decided to take it one step further, by issuing visitors climbing the tower with a buzzer you wear around your neck, which goes off if you stand too close to someone else. But that included people in your party, so it went off all the time and was probably a bit of a waste of time and money for the tourism board if you ask me. 

I was challenged to take an 'ironic' leaning on the leaning tower picture. I rose to that challenge.

Keith Haring went to Pisa in 1989 and painted this huge mural on the side of a building near the train station.

Rose and Harriet in front of a door in Lucca that's clearly much too large for them. Or perhaps they are too small.  

A view along the waterways of Lucca. Can't really call it a canal as you couldn't fit a boat along it, more of a walled river I guess.

Lion statue that watches over Lucca. 

The church of San Michelle in Lucca dates back to the 795AD and was rebuilt in 1070. So it's pretty old. And just behind it is an excellent pizza place called Pizzeria Pellegrini that has been going since 1972. Not quite as old but still pretty good going. 

Touristing hard around the walls of Lucca on a four seater bike/wagon. Fun way to spend an hour. 

That's Manel on the front, he is Portuguese but also speaks Italian and English because other countries are much better at learning languages than us British and Irish folk.

The gardens of Villa Garzoni in Collodi. Collodi sounds more like it should be a rural town in Ireland but is in fact a town near Lucca which also contains Pinocchio Park, an attraction much-loved by the Irish contingent on our trip.

A section of Piazza dell Anfiteatro in Lucca. The buildings go all the way round it like a large amphitheatre, hence the name.  

I think this building is the Institute of Botany in Lucca but don't quote me on that. It's in the botanic garden anyway so it's got something to do with plants. 

Ate a lot of gelato on this holiday. I'm not normally one for getting ice cream in a non-edible container but I wanted to pour some coffee onto the ice cream and do a DIY affogato. Because I'm classy. 

Back in Pisa and a view along the Arno river. It's only now, writing this caption that I have realised this is the closest we came to seeing a sunset in Italy. And I bloody love a sunset. You don't have to get up at the crack of dawn for it like a sunrise and you can probably have a drink too. 

We walked the walls in Pisa and once you get beyond the main square you don't actually see much. However I did like the staircase at the exit, so that exposed walk in baking sun was probably worth it.

Piazza Cavalieri (Knight's Square) in Pisa.