Another tale, another 2 cities

Did Ultravox actually visit here?

Drove about 30 minutes out of Cesky Krumlov to the village of Holuvav, and a walk to a lookout that last night’s guide had recommended. There were a few people/school groups doing the walk, an old double chairlift that wasn’t open yet for the summer.

We walked up the hill, took us about 45 minutes, to where there was a tower at the top. As we didn’t have Czech change for the access fee we just came back down, the day was pretty hazy so wouldn’t have seen much anyway.

It’s the first time for the whole trip that we have seen cattle grazing, a few small mobs and some with calves. Drove through to Austria where the fields looked smaller and more structured… we have since learnt that they are big organic farmers so strips of wheat, potato, maize, lupins etc. Pretty country with chalet type houses.

Arrived at our AirBnB in Vienna about 5 pm, we were greeted by host Lasha (young student, brother of the apartment owner) and let into the underground car park and a lovely 5^th floor apartment. Great location within walking distance to the centre city area.

Breakfast view from our apartment Balcony

Grabbed some dinner, got to admit it was at an Irish pub across the road although we have been vowing we would not go to an Irish pub until we get to Ireland! Went for a walk into the main area, so many majestic buildings and lovely gardens too. We walked from one to the next mesmerised by all the grandeur. Got slightly lost as we didn’t have a map or phone data so were relieved to find the street that led back to our apartment.

Vienna is the federal capital of Austria, it has an artistic and intellectual air about it that was shaped by residents such as Beethoven, Mozart and Sigmund Freud. With a population of 2.6 million in the metropolitan area and over 6 million tourists a year the place is bustling.

Vienna has had continual occupation since 500 BC, first by Celts and Romans and then by Bavarian's and Slav’s, Brandenburg, Hadsburg, Turkish-Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian. It emerged from WWI as a republic and then from 1938-45 it was part of Hitler’s greater Germany. After WWII Austria was occupied by British, American, Soviet and French forces until 1955 when it regained it’s independence.

At the beginning of WWII Austria was willingly annexed into Nazi Germany. After WWII Vienna and Austria were occupied by the four victorious countries: Britain, USA, Russia and France. In Vienna each country had a different zone and District I was shared between all four nations. In 1955 Austria signed an agreement largely based on perpetual neutrality and became a fully independent country.

The city suffered a lot of damage in WWII but has largely been rebuilt to pre 1938 standards. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001 but is on the danger list of potentially losing this status largely because of high rise development threats. It is one of the most prosperous cities in Europe.

Found the bike shop the next morning for our pre-booked tour. It was a big group with 18 clients, 2 Dutch, 2 Kiwi’s and 14 from USA and only one guide. Our guide was an ex Bosnian who has lived in Vienna for 20 years. Unfortunately the size of the group caused some issues, they really should have had 2 guides as negotiating between the crowds often meant delays when some of the group would get mis-mothered. Not helped by one client in particular trying to bike and take photo's with their cell phone at the same time.... a recipe for repeated disaster! We discovered after the tour finished that some of the sites that were meant to be visited were dropped off the itinerary because of the group size.

We set off mainly on bike paths to in front of the museum and the church Kariskirche located on Karlsplatz (Charles Square) which is on the border of the I and IV districts. Then via the Vienna State Opera House, Josefsplatz which is a public square located within part of the Hofberg Palace which is used as the Austrian National Library and also contains Augustinian Church. The Vienna Town Hall located on the Heldenplaz has a central balcony. from which Adolf Hitler gave a keynote address to thousands. Since the end of WWII the balcony has been locked with no-one able to access it or more particularly use it for speech, such is the feeling against who used it last.

Passed by the Spanish Riding school with the Lipizzan horses. Rode by St Stephen's Cathedral and then beside the Danube channel to the park which had a Ferris wheel dating from 1897.

From there to a Hundertwasser architectural building complex (which was interesting after our autumn visit to Kawakawa in NZ's North Island which has Hundertwasser designed public toilets) and back to the start point.... hearing lots of facts and getting a great feel for the city (as per our other bike tours) despite our comments on group size.

Vienna has a lovely inner city and crowds of tourists. Our guide told us hardly anyone lives in District #1 (inner city) as it is very expensive and under mainly international ownership. As such he strongly feels the inner-city area lacks any community soul. 

 Mozart statue... he is not buried here so couldn't listen to him de-composing! (an oldie, but a goodie?)

Tourism is the biggest earner by far in Austria, 6 million visitors in Vienna alone plus the winter ski industry for the country is huge. Austria is also emerging as the headquarters for international organisations, promoting peace, security and sustainable development and is a seat of the United Nations. Our guide stated Austria has to be friends with everyone, as they are reliant on everyone else for everything!

We wandered back to the apartment via a crepe lunch and past the natural history museum and Volkstheater plaza, and parliament buildings which are under restoration.

In the evening we walked down to the Opera theatre, at the back they live screen the opera for free. Our bike guide had given us this hint….  There was heaps of people there on plastic chairs etc, we lasted a few minutes, AC/DC it isn’t!, pleased we hadn’t splashed out on a ticket to see the actual show. (ED note: that was never on the list!)

We then just wandered past the magnificent buildings of the RingStrasse and found dinner at a restaurant on our way back to our apartment. Thunder and lightening about with rain threatening but not coming to anything substantial. The following morning Lasha met us, to collect keys, who when questioned proudly told us he has been studying Opera for 5 years and just that day had been accepted into a professional role.... perhaps a name we will see in coming years!

Criss crossing the Danube

The drive into and through Hungary to Budapest was uneventful. We had already applied for our toll road ‘registration’ on-line the night before so no need for stopping to gain this as we crossed the border. Interesting to note that the road signs are in both Hungarian and English, which soon became obvious is their ‘go to’ second language. Helpful for us obviously but probably somewhat surprising compared to other European countries travelled in.

Arriving into Budapest took a while… a traffic jam as we arrived meant a couple of messages to our AirBnB host to update him of our arrival time. We drove pretty much through the centre of town and arrived to find our host waiting on the sidewalk to help us park the car behind the apartment block.

Quite an experience as you would never pick there was parking there, with just double wooden doors similar to a front door at the base of a 4 story building. The doors only just fitted our car, and the side mirrors had to be folded in!! But once in there was parking for some 12 cars (including a couple of lifts to cater for 4 cars each). Every other building in the area is back to back but the developers of this block obviously felt parking was important to the residents…. but we didn’t want to see Hungary suddenly experience earthquakes, don’t think Pug would fare well….

However, once in, the apartment was huge and very nice… as well as a bit of a bargain. All within easy walking distance of the very centre of Budapest.

We went for a wander around the closest area and also up to the top of Gellert Hill to the Liberty Statue which represents those that sacrificed their lives for independence, freedom and prosperity of Hungary. In the same area was a citadel, built by the Hadsburgs. Seems a lovely looking city and has a real ‘busy city’ atmosphere… in comparison to central Vienna which almost lacked a bit of soul as per our guides comments. Found a nice restaurant, fed on Hungarian Goulash and watered, and off to bed.

The two sides of the Danube river, Buda and Pest make up the total city. Budapest city as such is not old as its current configuration was born only in 1873, with the unification of Buda, Pest and Óbuda. The three city parts were developing separately for centuries.

Many nations realised the strategic importance of the Hungarian capital and the surrounding area in early times in history. With the Buda Hills towering above the Danube providing excellent defensive positions and potential control of Central Europe’s main waterway to its inhabitants.

Archaeologists found evidence of human settlements as early as 500,000 BC but the first recorded occupations by the Romans, after they expelled Celts, was around 35 BC. Although they did not occupy for long their influence is still visible with some of the historic sites.

In the 9th century a fierce nation arrived from the Ural Mountains area and settled down along the Danube in the Carpathian Basin. They were the Magyars, the ancestors of current Hungarians.

They founded a strong state here, under the rule of their first king, St. Stephen… whose name is referenced often throughout the modern city. At this time Buda and Pest were only tiny villages. In the middle ages the area was invaded and decimated by the Mongols, but regained Hungarian control when the Mongols returned to Asia.

From the 14^th century the area developed rapidly, particularly the area on the Buda Hill side of the Danube. A period of Turkish control occurred during the 16^th century before the period of the Hadsburg rule which led to what is classed as the golden age for Budapest being the late 1800’s/early 1900’s.

Hungary is now known in history to keep picking the wrong side during both World Wars with the city being demolished in a siege of 1944/45. The Germans destroyed all the Danube bridges, and it took 30 years to rebuild the city.

Post war resulted in the period of Soviet control, and subsequently led to the massacres of 1956 due to social disquiet. The Soviets actually gave a Hungarian leader some free reign to rebuild the country during the late 70's/early 80's and this became a pre-cursor to Hungary being one of the fastest countries to emerge strongly from the 1989 collapse of the Eastern Bloc.

A walk across town to our pre-booked bike tour meeting point. Not a big group on the English speaking tour although the tour company was quite busy with 4 groups (English, German, Hungary and Dutch all heading separate ways). Our guide was a young Hungarian girl, very good English speaking and enthusiastic. We should note at this point it was hot…. and only mid-morning! Starting just beside Szent Istvan Bazilika (St Stephen's Basilica.... see, there's the first reference!) where a large, obviously visiting, choir was giving an impromptu performance on the steps.

We moved to a memorial to the persecution undertaken against Hungarians, particularly Jewish, during the time of WWII and beyond. During the mid 1950's the Soviets increased their control of Hungary as they were not happy with the social mood within the country and concerned it was straying from the communist ideology. This memorial is controversial however, with many viewing the Hungarian leaders of the time as not doing enough to fight this persecution and hence being implicated themselves. A very clever memorial however with fountains of water controlled by visitor’s feet so that although fully enclosed you can end up inside it…. Kids and dog’s were loving it.

Across the road and through a park, Liberty Park, which is bordered by many embassies. The most noticeable is the US embassy… the level of security very obvious. The buildings around this area have been used for many films over latter years, where the filmmakers wished to portray Russian architecture (Red Sparrow being one reasonable recent movie example) but could not do so in the actual location. In actual fact the day we passed through a film crew was working.

There is also a statue of Ronald Reagan strolling towards the USA embassy with his arm outstretched, however his path is blocked by the existing monument to Russian forces. A message that was a bit lost on our young guide I think but signalling the struggle to break the iron curtain at the time.

Headed to beside the Danube river, and the parliament buildings. Interesting seeing a changing of the guard, which our guide informed us is just for the tourists. However the guards (on duty 24/7) wear the same heavy wool uniforms 365 days of the year… on the day we were there the temps above 30 C !!

A building, which is now the Agricultural ministry, has brass fixtures fitted to the stone pillars, each marking one of some of the hundreds of victims of a mass shooting by soviet forces against an anti-soviet demonstration in 1956. The brass fixtures fill actual bullet holes. Numbers of actual casualties is still open to debate as many were removed by security forces to hide details but general consensus is that it could have been high as 800-1000. The demonstration had been a peaceful, non-armed one.

We then travelled through various parts of the city, all on the “Pest” side of the Danube river.  The theatre area, Jewish area and commercial area were viewed.   

We touched on the very corner of the massive gardens/park area, close to one of the famous Budapest baths complexes. The gardens cover a huge area, include a zoo and amusement park, and are a carry over from the Soviet era when citizens were unable to travel outside the border so facilities within country were developed to a good level.

During our stay we didn’t visit any of the baths… actually in 2 minds about it, how many people soak there/hygiene etc?

After the tour was completed we headed on foot to a couple of the visited spots for another look, then crossed over the Danube to the Buda side. Many boats plying the river, both short cruises and the large multi-day floating hotels loading or disembarking. Fortunately no ferry collision’s today, as had recently occurred here. A very poignant memorial on the river banks of shoes which signified the many Jewish people shot and dumped in the Danube during WWII by fascist militia.... very sobering.

We climbed up to Castle district, part of the impressive range of churches, castle and buildings on the ridge overlooking the Danube and the city. Spectacular views, and as it was very, very hot we actually stooped to a Starbucks and re-hydrated with smoothies! A wedding was occurring on the battlement walls of the complex, a spectacular setting for a wedding and we can only imagine the cost!

Weaved our way back along the ridge via multiple ornate buildings and squares. This included a labyrinth which once held Count Dracula, an adjoining blood bank (no, we’re kidding about that one!), Buda Castle where a military band was practicing in one spot which gave a performance march as we passed and back to river level at the castle garden bazaar.

We returned to the city once more, re-crossing one of the pretty bridges…. narrowly avoiding the scores of prima donna’s aiming for Instagram fame. By this stage a drink was in mind, so a meal with a beer and our day was complete.

In the morning we went to the large indoor market located near our apartment, many locals were buying up their produce. However the trinket/stuff stalls were mostly still closed or only just opening, which didn’t worry us in the least, but a perfect illustration of the tourist slower start to the day!

Truly an impressive city of which we only scratched the surface, a very busy city also which added to the overall atmosphere and stunning architecture and mixed history.

Ha.. who said Noel doesn't pay attention, he managed to find this among a wall of padlocks high on one of the hills (and bonus, he didn't even have to buy it!)