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New Years in Prague

2/12/2017

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Prague, Czech Republic 30th December - 2nd January 2016

Arriving by Train

The final stop on the honeymoon, we arrived in Prague train station the day before New year’s eve and found our way to our 5* hotel (which in Prague is more like 3* but we weren't complaining). The selling point of the Corinthia hotel was its swimming pool and spa on the 25th floor which looked out over the city of Prague. 

​Prague Old Town

​Beautifully decorated for Christmas, the old town square was filled with Christmas market stalls selling food and hot drinks with any kind of alcohol you might want. Prague's Christmas markets are rated as some of the best in the world. We were offered huge chunks of roasted ham, chestnuts and cider or mulled wine (this time with a shot of any spirit you might fancy), just to get you there quicker! Around the square groups of musicians got us all in the festive mood. An old saxophone player mesmerized crowds and a band got people dancing. The atmosphere was spot on!
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Charles Bridge

Crossing the river Valtava, Charles Bridge is probably the most famous attraction in Prague. We headed to the bridge early on New Years Eve and lived to regret it. It seems everyone in Prague had the same idea that day and we met them all on the bridge. Pushing, crowding and cold winds made for a very uncomfortable visit. We resolved to return the following morning before the masses awoke with their sore heads! Second time lucky as we had the bridge almost to ourselves. A low fog hung over the baroque statues giving the bridge an eerie feel. We walked along checking out the artists displays and visiting the spots that had been used in filming Mission Impossible (while we were there like!). 
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The Astronomical Clock

​A dominant feature in Prague’s old town square, the clock dates to 1490. Local legend says that if the clock is not maintained in good working order then the city will suffer (yeah, from lack of tourism). The facade has many features representing the sun and moon, the calendar and the time. It is decorated with mechanized figures that move on the hour every hour. We stood with the cross waiting to see what would happen when the hand struck 1pm. 
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After the brief show, we knew we needed to lower our expectations slightly. I don't know what we expected from 600 year old moving figures but on the strike of the hour, two small doors open to reveal figures inside moving clockwise and presenting themselves at the window for visitors to see. It lasted a few seconds, the crowds waited a little longer in anticipation of something more - which never came. After a brief pause, we all dispersed laughing at ourselves. ​
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​Ice Pub

One of the most fun experiences we had in Prague was our brief visit to the ice pub. Tucked away down an ally near Charles bridge, this was one for the bucket list. Visitors are asked to buy a €10 ticket which gets them one free drink and use of a thermal poncho & gloves (essential). In small groups, visitors are allowed to stay in the ice pub no longer than 20 minutes, presumably to prevent the ole hypothermia setting in!! Inside, everything is made of ice – walls, furniture, bar, glasses! It's kitsch but novel. Our drinks were served in ice glasses meaning we could smash them into a barrel when we were done, which turned out to be surprisingly satisfying. We sat on an ice throne and danced around ice sculptures. For those of us brave enough to remove a glove for photos, the results were cool! (lol)
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​Child of Prague

​The infamous child of Prague is on display in the Church of Our Lady Victorious in the lessor town. We dropped by in the evening, past the crib with a real donkey, sheep, goat and horse outside, and joined the crowd taking photos of the tiny statue. A wooden figure covered in wax, the child of Prague is no bigger than a foot and is on display on a high alter adorned with gold and flowers. The infant’s clothes are changed by the nuns, based on the occasion. We were thankful for our cameras zoom because standing in the aisle looking up, details were hard to make out. 
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​The statue itself dates from the 16th century and is a representation of Jesus. The crown is studded with diamonds and jewels and the infant is holding an orb which symbolizes kingship. It has been linked with numerous miracles. The superstition that leaving a statue of the child of Prague in the hallway / or outside, the night before a wedding to ward off bad weather has little to do with the history of the statue in Prague. Some Irish people believe that the statue of the child of Prague has to be beheaded and then the head had to be glued back on before it works as a good omen. Us Irish are funny folk. The only links that I could find are fairly tenuous. In 1555 the statue of the child of Prague was given to a Spanish lady as a wedding gift (there's the ole wedding link). 
Also, during the 30 years’ war in Prague the statue was discarded on a pile of rubble and its hands were broken, apparently a priest found the statue and it spoke to him asking the priest to give him hands and promising blessings in return (a potential link with the child losing and regaining body parts). Our child of Prague remained fully intact and it worked a treat for our wedding!

New Years Eve

In recent years Prague has become one of the most popular destinations in Europe for celebrating New Year's Eve. A word of warning, unless you've booked accommodation well in advance, expect to pay exorbitant prices for NYE in most city hotels. People booking into our hotel in December would be paying twice to three times the price we paid (booked 4 months prior). Also, be prepared for some serious partying. 
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NYE in Prague old town is not for children or the faint hearted. Restaurants and clubs book up early, cruises on the river are very popular as most people want to be in a prime spot for the fireworks at 12 midnight. In fact, the official city fireworks are not set off until New Year's Day, instead, on NYE various organisation's, families, groups set off their own fireworks and the sky is lit up with fireworks being set off from all over the city. In the old town and on Charles bridge it does get a little unsafe as people in the crowd set off their own fireworks, often aimed at boats or river side restaurants. 
The crush of people is also not too pleasant as people rush away after midnight to try to get transport home. From our hotel room we could see the fireworks starting at about 8pm and continue into New Year's Day. Music and streamers rang in the new year in the old town square. ​​
​We walked to Charles bridge and waited with the crowds on NY day to see the official fireworks. The crowd was less rowdy but not quite chill either. The firework display lasted 10 minutes from 6pm and 'apparently' told the story of Prague's history in lights. Given the effort it took to get to the spot, ward off the masses (holding firm on our space) and standing in the -7C cold, the display was a little underwhelming and we did get embroiled in a crush as the crowd tried to fight past each other with buggies and bikes  to get off the bridge afterwards. There was an atmosphere but it wouldn't be our first choice for ringing in the new year again. 

Overall Impressions

We found Prague to be much more cynical than the other cities we visited. Perhaps it's due to the increase in tourism but the staff in hotels, restaurants and attractions seemed to be doing their best to get your money and didn't want to know if you weren't going to drop a few hundred. We found people to be quite rude and the city to be fairly tacky. It is a city with huge potential, the buildings are picturesque and the cobbled streets reminded us of Venice or Paris. Yet the buildings, although beautiful, were not well cared for. Graffiti could be seen even in the old town and every inch of the city is covered in tourist souvenir shops selling ‘I love Prague’ condoms, shot glasses and peep show postcards. Not to sound prudish but we weren't expecting the sex machines museums on the old town square, it felt on a par with Kuta in Bali or Malaga in Spain in terms of the level of commercialism.
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Wonderful Wien

2/11/2017

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Written by Her
Vienna, Austria. 28th - 30th December 2016

Arriving by Train

Having taken an early train from Budapest, we arrived in Vienna Hbf less than 3 hours later and just in time for lunch. We had pre-booked Vienna Pass cards (well worth the initial investment of €75 each) as they give you free access into all the main attractions and free use of the many hop-on hop-off bus routes. Immediately, having stepped off the train we could see that Vienna meant business, the city was entirely set up for tourists and information was aplenty. We also realised that there are enough museums, attractions, restaurants and districts to keep a tourist busy for at least 2 weeks so we were going to have to be ruthless in our choices.
​We checked into our classy hotel (Motel One) opposite Vienna Opera House which turned out to be the best possible location for a short stay in the city and we hopped on a bus to the museum quarter. Once the court stables, the museum quarter now houses art museums, dance theatres and museums. It is the 8th largest cultural area in the world and in the centre was a lovely Christmas market where we got some gluhwein and cheesy pasta bakes.

​Schonbrunn Palace

Fed and watered we hopped back on a tourist bus to Schonbrunn. We knew we were losing time, it was 3pm and we intended to get the last bus back to the city. However, if there is one thing we learned about Vienna in high season, it is impossible to do anything in a hurry (be prepared to queue). When we arrived, the throngs of tourists were lined up at the ticket station. With our passes we had free entry but needed a ticket anyway. 
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When we got to the counter we were told we couldn't enter the palace for 60 minutes due to overcrowding. So we waited. There was a mini Christmas market with musicians serenading the crowds. ​
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There was also a Strudle show which we felt obliged to attend – for all of you I mean, not for the free struddle! A young male pastry chef enthusiastically showed us the steps involved in making the perfect Apple struddle, the secret being that the pastry must be soaked in olive oil to make it extra pliable for stretching super thin, not to mention getting all those extra calories in there. We enjoyed a slice which listening to some lame jokes in German, we were also glad of the warmth. 
​Finally we gained entry to the famous Schonbrunn palace, us and at least 100 other people. Handed our audio guides (somehow I got one in French!), we were to follow the herd around the various elaborately decorated rooms, between barriers and sans photos. It was nothing less of chaotic as people pushed and shoved their way around the narrow walkway. Conscious of time, and not having the space to appreciate the interior, we didn't spend as long as we would have liked figuring out the unusual relationship between Sisi and Franz Joseph Habsburg.
​The Palace itself is vast, excessively so, with over 1,400 rooms. It was the summer residence of the Austrian monarch (I can understand why they left in winter because the icy breeze would skin a cat). Within the complex there are enough activities to keep a tourist busy for at least a full day. It has a carriage museum, a hedge maze, an extensive garden, a zoo and the imperial palace itself. 

​The Albertina Gallery

​Lucky for us, we arrived in Vienna on a Wednesday, the only day that the Albertina opens late each week. After escaping the queues in Schonbrunn we were happy to have some space and peace to wander around some of the best art work in the world. We made our way through the great impressionists - Monet, Van Gogh and Degas, to pre-expressionists Munch and Picasso and finally to more contemporary works of Warhol and Katz. There was a separate film stills section and the largest print room in the world. We also got to walk undisturbed around the state rooms (or the residence of the archdukes of the Habsburgs). We were kicked out a 9pm after a couple of hours but it was well worth the visit. 
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​The Spanish Riding School

​Getting a seat in the Spanish Riding school training session meant an early start for us. An hour before the starting time we headed to the ticket office only to be greeted by a queue of other eager beaver tourists (of which Austria seems to be full). We commented several times of the ferocity of these people and their lack of interest in manners or staying in their rightful place in the line. I have never had to fight so hard to stay at the top of the line, it became a serious competition between myself and a 60 year old German man - I won!
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​The riding school is the located in the Habsburg palace grounds and is the traditional riding school of Vienna’s famous Lipizzaner stallions who perform regularly. The school was first named in 1572 making it the oldest in the world. The horses are bred especially for the school in Western Austria. The morning session that we attended was not a performance but rather the public pays for admission to watch the riders in training with their horses. Each rider oversees one horse and they must ensure that the horse trains specific muscles to be able to perform certain moves (watch the video here). We watched the riders gently encourage the horses to keep their necks bent and shift their weight to their hind legs. It is said that the movements were originally developed to strengthen the horses body for battle. In 1918, the school opened performances to the public to help to pay for the upkeep of the school. Today riders come from all over the world to try to pass the entrance exam and become Lipizzaner riders in the school. 

​Austrian National Library

Most definitely one of my favourite sights in Vienna, the Austrian national library state room is located in Hofburg palace since the 14th century. The library contains about 9,000 books dating from the Middle Ages, as well as globes and atlases within its 7 million odd collection. I was particularly interested in the map collection which dates to the 16th century. The globe and map collection made it into the UNESCO world heritage list and the world’s only public globe museum was opened.
​The room, although not that long is highly decorative. The ceilings are covered in 1730 frescos that would give the Sistine chapel a run for it's money. The walls are clad in rich wooden bookshelves which stretch from the ground up onto a first-floor balcony. Behind the walls of symmetrical books are secret doorways which reveal spiral stone staircases to the upper floors. Standing proudly in the centre of the room is a marbel statue surrounded by 4 baroque globes. Lining the parquet floor are glass cases displaying the most treasured books for visitors to admire. 
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Habsburg Treasury

​In Hofburg palace, along with the imperial residence and Sisi museum lies the Habsburg treasury. Always attracted by bright sparkly things I insisted that we go to the see Crown Jewels. Inside the vaulted rooms, we could wander around the exhibition. Many of the items (crowns, vestments, scepters, orbs) had been taken by the Nazi’s to Nuremberg but we're returned to Vienna by the USA after the war. 
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While the crowns were incredible, two more interesting items were on display in the treasury. Firstly, a unicorn horn! Given as a gift to the Habsburgs, it was believed that the twisted tusk of a narwhal (whale) was a unicorn horn which would bring great luck. The second item was a large Agate (stone) bowl which was thought to be the holy grail. The bowl is carved from one piece of agate and is the largest of its kind in the world.  The Habsburgs must have thought they were so sorted - the greatest luck in the world and eternal life…nice one.

​Café Landtmann

Opened in 1873, café Landtmann is famous for its clientele. A regular haunt of Signmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Marlene Dietrich and Max Reinheart (remember him from Salzburg). It is considered one of Vienna’s most elegant cafes and continues to attract celebrities like Burt Lanchaster, Paul McCartney and Hillary Clinton, so obviously, it was on our list! Situated just opposite the Vienna city hall, café Landtmann had the usual queue for a table but this time we lucked out and waltzed in within 30 seconds. Although it's not the cheapest place one could have lunch in the city, the food was good. I opted for the goulash soup and local cheese plate while himself went for the local delicacy of boiled beef. Very tasty and quite nice staff (which is a rarity in Vienna). 
Directly across the road from the Café Landtmann is Vienna's Rathaus (City Hall). The beautiful Neo-gothic building is very different from other Viennese architecture and was one of the most striking buildings we saw in the city. After lunch we treated ourselves to some dessert from the bustling Christmas market stalls out front.

​Freud Museum

​Identified by the giant red banner saying FREUD that hangs outside the building, we buzzed ourselves into the stairwell of the Freud museum. Making our way up the stone staircase to apartment number 5 which was Dr. Freud’s home and office, we were again greeted by a queue! Up and up we went, past the apartment, winding up the stairs the queue continued. The museum had decided that due to overcrowding it was admitting just 4 people at a time and there were at least 40 ahead of us! With time pushing on we decided to wait it out. ​ The line moved pretty fast and it was worth the wait. The small but perfectly formed apartment was filled within information.
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 Listening to our audio guides we were led from the entrance hall (where Freud’s travel chest lay – he loved to travel & collection interesting objects which he used to adorn his office), into the waiting room where patients would sit and wait to be called. His office was rather bare, with just a reading chair especially designed for him. The parquet floors and double doors continued throughout the apartment into the living quarters of the family where we heard how Freud, a Jew, was lucky enough to be able to leave Austria during World War II. He paid a leaving tax which amounted to 1/3 of his life savings but was lucky to get out alive as all four of his sisters were killed in concentration camps. 

​Naschmarket

An eclectic mixture of stalls and restaurants, naschmarket was a short walk from our hotel and a nice place to spend an evening. Whatever the mood is, there is surely something to suit in this market. We passed restaurants with seafood, desserts, Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Italian, German, Austrian, beer, wine or cheese. We popped in for some Dim Sum and Pho to relive the ole Asia adventure. It wasn’t half bad and the price was decent too. 

​St Stephens Cathedral

A final pit stop on our final day, we walked the exclusive shopping street of graben to get to Stephansplatz, the square where St. Stephan’s Cathedral loomed. Churches don’t usually blow my hair back but this one was a little different because of the decoratively tiled roof. The cathedral is one of the tallest in the world, so it's a little difficult to appreciate it all from the ground. The roof is decorated with coloured tiles (more than 200,000) which are laid in a mosaic pattern showing a double headed eagle – the emblem of Habsburg dynasty. The Cathedral took 65 years to build and unfortunately air pollution and smog have caused the outside to turn a black colour which is a little off-putting. Mozart’s Viennese home is located just around the corner from St. Stephens down a small cobbled alleyway so we took a quick look before hopping on the train to Prague.
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Christmas in Budapest

2/10/2017

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Written by Them
​Budapest, Hungary. 24th -29th December 2016

The Prestige Hotel (Honorable Mention!)

We were unceremoniously dumped on the Buda side of the Danube by our over-charging taxi driver, eager to get a few more tourists in before heading home for his Christmas dinner. Looking around us, our hopes that the “Prestige Hotel” would live up to its name were fading into thin air like our exhaled breath against the freezing temperatures. We walked up and down the empty street looking for the hotel entrance, which we were assured, was “just up that street there” from where we had been dropped.
​A quick google mapping later brought us to the hotel entrance. As we walked across the 8 story high open reception area the relief we felt was as warm as the welcome we received. We were upgraded to the largest suite in the hotel and shown to our room by an extremely polite local with perfect English. The suite comprised a huge living room area with roll top couches and armchairs, large ornate dark wood coffee table, espresso machine, and floor to ceiling heavy velvet curtains. We cracked open the Hungarian champagne which stood beside the fresh red rose on the coffee table. The bedroom appeared smaller but only because the huge king-sized bed took up so much room, with pillows numerous enough to build quite an imposing fort. It really was a scene straight out of a bridal magazine.

Initial Impressions

Budapest is a large working city. Divided by the river Danube into pest on the right, and hilly Buda on the left. We found the city to have a bit of an edge to it, maybe it was the darkness, maybe it was the long symmetrical streets, or maybe it was the legacy of communism, but it felt more Russian than European. The people were busy and uninterested in tourists, the taxi drivers were con artists and the music and twirling dancers had a Bolshevik feel. It was certainly different from the other countries we had visited on the trip, making it more exciting for us.

Christmas Dinner in Costes

​Based on recommendations from friends we were lucky enough to secure a reservation months earlier in the Michelin star restaurant Costes for a special Christmas Eve (Hungarian Christmas Day). Not coincidentally, the restaurant was downstairs in our hotel, so we arrived early and were greeted with a glass of mulled wine. A series of aperitifs emerged plate after plate before we even started into our 5 course meal filled with elegant takes on local delicacies. Sitting for a couple of hours we must have been greeted by each one of the friendly staff with a festive happy Christmas and another plate of food. Thank God we were staying upstairs because after 9 courses of rich Hungarian fare, it was all we could do to get in the lift!
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Hungarians are very proud of their food...and their wine. We were told to try goulash – which of course 'is much better than Austrian goulash', we could barely tell the difference. While not a fan of the meat, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to get a plate of roast potatoes, bread, cheese and mulled wine from a street stall on Christmas Day (but I did miss my mushy peas and stuffing!).
 

Midnight Mass for our unholy souls

​While we're not all that religious, Budapest's most beautiful Basilica, St Stephan’s, was just 5 minutes from our hotel so we couldn't leave it off our list. We had read lots about midnight mass and the basilica was the place to be on Christmas eve. At 11:30pm we followed the hoards of tourists down a flood lit street towards the imposing dome of the basilica. The huge interior it said to be able to hold up to 8,000 people and it felt like we tested it that night. People crammed into every square inch of the church. Tourists standing down the sides, locals sitting in the centre, it was more than a little chaotic. Organ music gave the whole thing quite an ominous air. We left early having had enough of the crowd, vowing to return and visit properly in the morning. 
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​We returned the next day to have a good look round and to go up to the dome at the top, for what we were told would be incredible panoramic views of the city. We bought tickets for the lift that went up. For once, I was delighted that it wasn't some rickety spiral staircase that would test my fear of heights and ultimately, despite my best intentions, prevent me from seeing the view from the top.

Up we went 6 people per lift to the third floor. We exited expecting to see a huge dome, instead we were greeted with another lift, this time 4 at a time…up again. The doors opened into the enclosed basilica dome where we exited to see none other than the usual rickety spiral stairs…Damn, I was out, as were the two French girls that shared our lift.
The three of us headed back down the multiple lifts, unfulfilled while himself soldiered on alone. As usual, he was rewarded by a fabulous view over the rooftops. He took some incredible photos that I lived vicariously through. ​

Hungarian State Opera

​Located at the top of Andrassy Avenue (Budapest’s equivalent to the Champs Elysee), the Opera house blends into the baroque architecture of the area. Inside, the ornately decorated gold and red velvet interior gives it a lavish feel like all the best opera houses in the world. Our visit on Christmas morning was one of the things we were most looking forward to in Budapest. We got dressed up and walked just 10 minutes from our hotel. Up the marble staircase we found our private box (fancy or what?). 
​Each year on Christmas Day the opera house puts on a show that attracts elite families and international visitors from all over. This year it was the nutcracker, a ballet performed by children and adults with huge talent, and very muscly legs! The most enjoyable element for us was admiring the detailed sets and beautiful costumes that were part of the fabric of the story (pun intended). The live orchestra played continually for an hour at a time without missing a note. The young children in the boxes surrounding us were mesmerized, holding their breath as Tchaikovsky’s melody filled the small opera houses and gave us a Christmas Day to remember. 
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The kids weren't the only ones mesmerized!

Gellért Thermal Baths

​Built into the side of Gellert hill, the baths are said to be filled with healing water from thermal springs that rise on the site. The water does actually contain lots of minerals like calcium and magnesium which can been seen solidifying at the mouth of mosaiced water spouts. Due to its healing properties, the baths have been marketed as a spa and wellness centre. It's possible to have spa treatments, Thai massages, medicinal treatments and go for a hot dip or cold dunk!  
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​We decided (cough…I decided) that we should spend a morning being pampered! We pre-booked a VIP couples massage, changing cabins and entry to the thermal baths on Stephan's Day for around €100pp. We checked in at reception, a huge circular room with tiled mosaic floor, glass ceiling and lined with sculptures of beautiful naked bodies…no pressure! An electronic key fob gives you access to all areas. We changed into swimsuits and found our masseurs. Two lovely ladies dressed head to toe in white. ​After an hour of relaxation we made our way (in nothing but swimsuits), back past the camera wielding tourists, through the public lobby (morto) and into the main swimming pool.

The complex is like a maze of underground tunnels with pools and baths around every corner. We took a dip in the 40C bath with only a few brave others …the masses were hanging out in the 36C bath.  Then we dropped into the Finnish sauna before hitting the icy plunge pool & heading away. The baths are so pretty with cherubs, mosaics and stained glass that we were tempted to stay there all day. 

Cruising the Danube

Budapest's many bridges are some of the most distinctive elements of the city and we figured that a cruise on the Danube would be one of the best ways to appreciate the view. Rapidly running out of daylight, we opted for a night cruise which turned out to be a genius idea. We found that all of the most impressive buildings, like the famous Hungarian parliament building and the presidents residence were best seen from the river,  illuminated in the darkness. Our cruise was full, over-full to be honest. We chose seats on deck for the best view, on the down side, it meant enduring freezing winds. Despite being wrapped up within an inch of our lives, we felt the cold that evening.

Christmas Markets

​We came to Eastern Europe in search of the perfect Christmas as part of the perfect Winter honeymoon. Of course nowhere does Christmas markets better than Europe and we had been doing a tour of them since we arrived. Having enjoyed the markets in Austria it was now time to try Hungary’s offerings, their local snacks, and twists on the theme. Mulled wine is of course a staple across the continent but Budapest had more in store. Our local market was a two minute walk from our hotel, set in front of the stunning St. Stephen’s Basilica. 
​This market had a large Christmas tree at its centre surrounded by a children’s ice skating rink. While the children may have had to pay a few euros to live out their Disney’s “Frozen” fantasies it was free entertainment for the rest of us watching bundled up little kids fall, crash into each other, bust themselves off the outer walls of the rink or for some smaller ones, slowly and gingerly inch their way along with eyes firmly fixed on their encouraging parents. On the hour a 5 minute light show was projected onto the walls of the Basilica which was very impressive the first time we saw it. 
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​The food was hearty and heavy but there was something to suit everyone. Steaming, meaty soup was served in hollowed our individual round loaves of crusty bread, roast new potatoes mixed with peppers and sausages by the plate full. I sampled it all. In particular I relished digging into a whole ring of soft liver black pudding next to sticky fried spuds washed down with hot wine. Yes please! There was also a fantastic lamb stew type dish, lifted with paprika and Hungarian spiced goodness.
Herself was drawn to the deserts of course and the smell of one particular stall drew us more than others. Conveyor belt-like, these guys were churning out foot-long hollowed out doughnut type desserts filled with a flavour of our choice, melted chocolate, vanilla cream and so on. Revelers could watch the process from start to finish. The raw dough was rolled out into one long continuous tube, then wrapped tightly around a large wooden cylinder, like a rolling pin but longer, making sure the dough overlaps itself on every rotation and finally the dough is sprinkled generously with sugar. 
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The dough is then set over a grill-less barbecue pit, beginning on the far left and moved along when the cooked dough on the far right is taken off and given to the waiting customer. The dough is rotated as it cooks and moves along the grill line. The smell is addictive and we almost had our first fight over how it should be shared. ​
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​We couldn’t help noticing the poorer citizens of Budapest, poking around the bins near the market or asking for some change from passers-by. One gentleman in particular stuck out for us. We first noticed him on Christmas day, a man in his 50’s digging aggressively in the bins around the market area. We passed him later again along the banks of the river, still whistling. He had an extremely loud and very tuneful whistle albeit he never changed his tune. We could hear him from several streets away as he repeated the verse and chorus to Wham’s “Last Christmas” over and over. 
The first time we heard him was before news of George Michael’s death. The next time we saw him was after and he was still whistling the same tune. We wondered if he had heard at all but whether he had or had not, his whistling must have struck a chord with everyone he passed.  ​

New York café in the Boscolo hotel

​Keeping an air of luxury about our trip we decided to walk from our friend’s apartment to the New York café for breakfast. However, the luxury did not extend past the incredible interior architecture and painted ceilings. We queued for a free table with throngs of tourists behind barricades at the door. When seated...eventually, we ordered. An over priced breakfast of fruit, a selection of breads and an omelette for €45. Our table was too small to accommodate the ostentatious plates that held our drinks and the staff were nothing short of rude. The omelette had the wrong ingredients and the selection of breads consisted of croissants or sliced white bread! We did enjoy the view and being serenaded by the violinist but we left as quickly as we came.
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The Synagogue

​The Dohány Street Synagogue is a short walk from the city centre on the Buda side. Dubbed one of the world’s greatest synagogues we put it firmly on the list. It’s an ornate building from the outside but somehow appears quite small surrounded by terraced streets of large 4 and 5 story Russian, functional style buildings. 
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​The first thing visitors must do after purchasing tickets is to pass through the security gate and metal detectors. Bags are manual inspected and visitors may be padded down by private security men in black bomber jackets and dark sun glasses. Once inside the building the men are asked to wear hats or if you do not have a hat they provide cardboard Jewish skullcaps.

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We had visited the catholic St. Stephen’s Basilica on Christmas Eve for midnight mass just a day or two before. We even went back to see it when it was quieter over the following few days. We could enter here at no charge and without any security measures. During midnight mass some older locals had motioned to the non-Catholic tourists to remove their hats while inside. The seats in the Synagogue were individual. Along every row was an arm rest between each seat and a personal compartment which opened to hold one’s prayer book. Men sat together on the ground floor and women sat upstairs, out of the men’s distraction. The Catholic pews were long and undivided. The difference between the two religions was striking, experienced so close together. 
​We had to google the various parts of the synagogue to understand the significance of each aspect.  Outside there is several monuments to Jewish people who have died because of their religion. The arcade and the Heros' Temple, which seats 250 people is used for religious services on weekdays and during the winter time. Designed by Lázlo Vágó and Ferenc Faragó the Heros’ Temple serves as a memorial to Hungarian Jews who gave their lives during World War I. The Raoul Wallenberg Emlékpark (memory park) in the rear courtyard has a memorial to the Hungarian Jewish martyrs who were murdered by the Nazis. Made by Imre Varga, it resembles a weeping willow with leaves bearing inscriptions of the names of the almost 400,000 victims. There is also a simple large square stone in an outside alcove which states definitely and plainly “NEVER EVER AGAIN”.

Living like a local....ish!

While this was the first time either of us had visited Hungary, we had had lots of interactions with Hungarian people living in Ireland already. During my time cooking I had worked with some great Hungarians. More recently I had become good friends with Zse, who I met through the free legal advice clinic. As a wedding present Zse very, very kindly offered us her apartment in Budapest during our stay. It was a fantastic opportunity to get inside and look behind those facades that we normally see as tourists. No matter where we have been, Paris, Venice, Phnom Penh, we see hotels and attractions and the outside of buildings 90% of the time. We imagine what kind of houses the locals have and we think we know but of course we probably don’t. Well in Budapest we can say for sure that we know.
The apartment itself was one of many within a block but unlike more familiar apartment blocks, all of the common areas here were on the outside! We entered at night into one of those huge, anonymous, functional buildings through an old wooden double door. The dark hallway led out, past the bins and the post boxes into a large open cobbled courtyard. The flights of stairs lead up the building in the freezing outside air and from the landings at each level we could see the outdoor, suspended walkways which lead along the breath of the surrounding buildings, lined with apartment front doors.

Zse’s apartment is quaint, and wonderfully personalised. We felt almost like intruders, sneaking into someone else’s abode. We had pages of instructions from Zse which were dearly needed in order to run this little house. Zse’s mother had already been and had left a loaf of local bread, some butter, milk (for tea) and some chocolate sweets. With a pizza place nearby we were set for the few days and it was a thrill to walk from a genuine Budapest residential burb into town. Koszonom Zse!

Our friend's hospitality didn't end there, however, as Zse managed to convince her Hungarian boyfriend who was at home for the holidays to collect us on our last day in the city and drop us to the train station. Thanks Kal, we had a fantastic time. 
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Lamenting the Lammertal

2/9/2017

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Written by Them
Annaberg and Abtenau, Austria 20th -23rd December 2016

​As a special Honeymoon treat, we decided to book a couple of nights in a luxury chalet in the Austria Alps. Deciding against hiring a car for the duration of our stay, we felt the seclusion would force us into relaxing and recovering from the chaos of the wedding. We were not prepared for how comfortable the chalet would be or how breath taking the views, it turned out to be the most memorable experience of the entire honeymoon. 
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The Chalet from Heaven

​Although pretty pricey, Luxuslodge, a company run by Christine has three luxury chalets in the ski area of Annaberg Lungotz. The closest lift to the ski slopes is just 100 metres away.  All of the chalets offer panoramic views of the Bischofsmutze and Dachstein massive mountains. ​In reality, the chalet was a home away from home. Better equipped than any property we’ve ever rented, the chalet was warm, comfortable and impossible to leave. Christine kindly agreed to show us around on arrival, she explained how to light the modern glass fireplace, how to keep the outdoor hot-tub at a cool 40C day and night. 
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​Christine explained that she had taken the liberty of filling the fridge with champagne, cold beer and Austrian groceries. A cake stand of homemade biscuits stood on the countertop beside the stocked nespresso machine. Having thanked Christine profusely and coyling pretending that we were used to all this luxury, we sat down to watch the sun over the mountain with a glass of wine in hand. After dark there’s not much to do in Dachstein West but Christine knew that and had thought of every eventuality. The TV had a DVD player, Xbox and most importantly Netflix (we may have watched the Gilmore girls!) and the kids room was fully stocked with board games! 

Snow Shoeing

Okay, so we stayed in a dream Chalet, miles from a village or town, literally on the f..king mountain of an Austrian ski resort. You might think what else could one do in such a place but ski. Well, we are not ones to shy from a challenge as you know and we did in fact manage to entertain ourselves on a ski slope for two days (wait for it) without going skiing! Yep! impressed? We went...not like your other cliche tourists...for a walk.
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 ​We did encounter our own treacherous and perilous undertaking when we had to walk across the actual ski path to make it to the only pub on the mountain. ​​We doned our thermals and our snow / hiking boots, our hats and gloves and we braved the wild outdoors, of this luxury Austria ski chalet resort. The sides of the roads were icy and slippery so it was enjoyable. We made our way to the side of the slope and watched locals literally fly down the ski slope. The kids in particular, were fearless as they launched themselves without sticks, off the slope clearing some 20 feet before zooming down the hill.
We are Irish and there is probably something deep down within our psyche somewhere that allows us to seek out pubs no matter how remote and treat them like a home from home. We sat in a classic Bavarian style lodge, grabbed a couple of Weissbiers, a sausage with kraut, strudel for the lady and gazed out at the most spectacular white mountains you will ever see.
​A quick snowball fight (she won) and it was back to the hot-tub to recover from our Tom Crean like snow walking expedition in honeymoon style. It’s a surreal experience to shed your clothes and walk through the snow to an outdoor hot tub but once inside you feel no cold. Feeling like royalty, we sat in the tub marveling in the scenery of forested slopes, snow peaked mountains and rocky outcrops. The chalet felt completely private, from our tub we couldn’t see any other homes nor were we overlooked by any other chalets. It was perfect. Magical. Once in a lifetime. 

Service to write home about

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-​On our last evening we asked Christine to bring a Fondue kit so that we might cook a leisurely meal. As usual Christine went over and above our expectations, arriving at 6pm with a huge box of treats. Included in the ‘fondue kit’ was a bottle of Austrian wine, washed and prepped salads with a variety of dressings; four types of meat all pre-cut for fondu-ing along with a variety of different vegetables and dipping sauces. We spent the evening cooking, chatting about the wedding and relaxing. It was just what we needed and set us up for the rest of the trip. 
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​Upon hearing that we were on honeymoon, Christine arrived back to our chalet a few hours after checking in, with a beautiful hand written note and a heart shaped cake. It was a lovely touch and served as a necessary reminder that this trip was different to the others we’ve taken, this is the only time we’ll ever be on honeymoon! Thanks Christine!

Adventures in Abtenau

 Abtenau is a village in the province of Salzburg, an hour’s bus journey outside the city. It is small, very small. There are no tourist attractions here and there is no skiing done here. We had put it on the itinerary for one very important reason, to have the most romantic experience of the whole two week honeymoon.
 From the Chalet office we booked a horse and sleigh going from Abtenau into the surrounding hills. Neither of us knew what to expect but we were optimistic. We took the bus for the 30 minute journey from the ski resort to the little village of Abtenau. Wheelie suitcases in tow we literally rolled into town. We were an hour early for the sleigh so we hit “Tony’s café” for a coffee. The little café was perfect for a quick stop, local, nice staff and an array of local dishes at cheap prices. We enjoyed a local hot chocolate and a warm bowl of goulash soup (tiny meat balls and veg in a rich tomato broth). 
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The time came and we dragged our bags down to the town clock for our rendezvous. We were met by two huge, beautiful black horses, their broad backs warmed under their wool overcoats and jangling bell reigns. They were magnificent. Our driver was every bit as authentic, an could-be understudy from “Miracle on 34th Street” he was a kindly old Austrian man with a white, grey beard under a warm black Russian Winter hat.
​We put our suitcases in the convenient baggage compartment at the back of the open top carriage, climbed in through the dinky quarter height side-door, fixed the latch, pulled the wool blankets up over ourselves and snuggled down for our sleigh ride. The driver, with what little English he had turned and asked simply “sun or snow?”. “Snow”, she exclaimed without a second thought. “Good” he nodded with an actual twinkle in his eye. We were off.  We bumped and bobbed our way out of town and into the brilliant white hills. Christmas trees lined the hill sides with both big and small wooden houses dotted along the quite, meandering country road.
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​We passed only a handful of people throughout the whole trip. The people we did pass, families living in this Winter wonderland were friendly and their kids only too happy to wave to us as we passed. At one point we stopped for some photographs. Stepping off the road to get a better angle his foot went down in the snow to knee deep. With a shallow, babbling stream along the other side of the road, picturesque was never a more appropriate description of such a magical place.
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​We arrived back half an hour before the next bus to Salzburg (herself is a genius at scheduling). Just enough time to pop back into Tony’s and grab a coffee, basking in a honeymoon well done…….. We also destroyed the poor woman’s café floor with all the mud and snow we tracked in from the fields. Whoops!
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Salzburg's Favourite Son

2/9/2017

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Written by Him
Salzburg, Austria. 17th - 21st December 2016

Mozart

While "The Sound of Music" is perhaps what Salzburg is best known for outside of Austria, Salzburgians appear most proud of their city's claim to classical music fame. Salzburg is the birth pace of Mozart. Born in 1756 in a small upstairs room in the old town, on the banks of the river. Mozart is Salzburg's most famous son and his Geburtshaus (birthhouse), now a museum is one of the city's major tourist attractions.
Despite the city's small size it in fact boasts two Mozart museums and just across the river visitors can wander through Mozart's later residence which contains some of the composer's actual instruments. Salzburg is also home to the worlds only Mozart Foundation who's remit is to promote his work and heritage and to carry out research about the artist.  
We visited both museums during our visit. They are chock-full of information, a lot of it unrelated stories about family members etc. In all it is a little overwhelming and we found it difficult to take in The volume of information as presented. However, we were struck by how early he showed his genius. Mozart began leaning the piano at 3 and composing by 5. He had completed his first symphony at age 8. Feeling in adequate yet?​
Mozart's work is still regularly performed in Salzburg theatres and his name and image appears on far more of the city's souvenirs than anything else. However, while the Salzburgians are anxious to play up this sophisticated heritage we couldn't help but notice that Monty Python's "Spamalot" was playing in the theatre less than a stone's throw from Mozart's residence.  ​
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 Mozart moved from Salzburg to Vienna 1781 in search of more accolade and a wider audience. He died age 35, almost the same age as ourselves and it is incredible to think of what he had achieved and the legacy he had managed to leave in such a short number of years. Mozart is buried in Vienna and we may take the opportunity to seek him out again next week. 
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The Real Von Trapps

2/9/2017

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Written by Her
Salzburg, Austria. 23rd - 24th December 2016

Villa Von Trapp

For those of you who may not know, The Sound of Music was actually based on a real life musical family living in Salzburg. The character of Maria was based on the life of Maria Augusta who married Georg Von Trapp, a marine captain in 1927 & later wrote a book about her family’s life. Like the movie, Capt. Von Trapp was a stern man of significant wealth. He was originally married to the daughter of the man who invented & produced the torpedo. The couple had 7 children but his wife developed scarlet fever and died aged just 31. 
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Maria, an orphan from Vienna, joined the Benedictine order in Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg. As she was a trained primary school teacher she was sent to live in the Von Trapp home to teach the youngest child, shortly after joining the order. Once Marie Augusta moved in with the Von Trapps, she fell in love with the children (she had less time for the stern captain). Before she was due to go back to the abbey, the capt. asked if she would like to marry him and become a mother to the children. She claims that it was his mention of the children in his proposal that convinced her to stay. When she married Georg she was just 7 years older than his eldest daughter. The couple went on to have 3 more children of their own. 
The Von Trapp family became known as wonderful singers after entering competitions in Salzburg. In fact, the Von Trapp family choir won the award for best musical group at the Salzburg festival in the 1930s & went on to have worldwide fame. They travelled all over Europe & America performing. During WWII, native Austrian Hitler drafted both Capt. Von Trapp & his eldest son to the German army. Staunchly against Hitler's regime, the two men refused to join the army, and as an even bigger insult, they refused to perform at Hitler's birthday party in Austria. Afterwards, the family had no choice but to leave their home in Austria. Unlike the movie they did not have to flee over the mountains, Georg had an Italian passport so they took the train to Italy before heading to the US. The family toured America & finally settled in Vancouver, Canada (which they said reminded them of Austria). The Captain died aged 67 in 1947 and Maria lived on in Vancouver to the age of 82. She died in 1987.
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The real home of the Von Trapps is in Aigen, about 10 mins outside Salzburg. The family lived at this residence from 1923 - 1938. In 2008 it was turned into a hotel called villa Trapp so we couldn't resist checking in for one night to have a nose around. Basic but authentic, the 3 storey house is not quite as grand in the one in the movie. One can imagine the rooms filled with people, 7 children, the captain, maria and presumably some staff would have had the house at full capacity. 
Dotted around the house are photos of the Von Trapp children who's names were all different to the movie. I was a little disappointed that there was no Lisel, Marta or Kurt! Photos of Maria Augusta & Georg's wedding in Nonnberg Abbey (not in the grand St.Peters as in the movie) showed the family in all their grandeur & photos of the family performing with musical instruments and audiences could be seen in the entrance hall. 
Other than its history as the Von Trapp residence, the house itself had another interesting story. For seven years, from 1940 to 1947, Villa Trapp became the summer house of Heinrich Himmler (leader of the SS army, military commander of the Nazi party and Hitler's right hand man). During WWII the house was was surrounded by guards & barbed wire. A barracks for the SS was set up in the garden. Here, there still remains evidence of the communication station that Himmler used to send information from Salzburg to Berlin. In 1947, a closed religious order took the residence back and the Villa remained off limits to the public until 2008 when it was rented to a company who were willing to restore & run it as a hotel - as it is today!
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The Hills are Alive (etc.)

2/9/2017

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Written by Her
Salzburg, Austria - 17th to 21st December 2016 

Salzburg through the eyes of Maria

As soon as we landed in Salzburg we realised that there was no escaping the legacy of Rodgers & Hammerstein's 1965 classic 'The Sound of Music'. Shops sell Von Trapp souvenirs, Café walls are adorned with images of Julie Andrews, and of course, our hotel's WiFi password was none other than ‘the sound of music’.
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Luckily for us, the movie is one of the main reasons we decided to visit Salzburg. RTE's regular Christmas scheduling of the musical means it has become mandatory viewing in our house at Christmas. So we thought, what better way to get in the Christmas spirit after the wedding than visiting the locations where the movie was filmed...ALL of them. For tourists visiting Salzburg for a weekend I would recommend taking the Panorama Sound of Music tour for just €40pp. In 4 hours a guide takes groups to all the key locations while singing do-re-me and wearing lederhosen. Since we had 4 days (and himself was allergic to singing) we decided to do it our way i.e. for free! 

Mirabell Palace & Gardens

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Mirabell Palace ("Mirabell" meaning admirable & beautiful) was built in 1606. It's gardens are divided into an orangery, now a palm house, a dwarf garden, with 28 funny looking dwarves, a rose garden & the Pegasus fountain. The gardens are designed in a geometric pattern and are lined with sculptures of Greek Gods. The Palace and Gardens the most popular tourist attractions in Salzburg and unsurprisingly considered the most beautiful baroque gardens in Europe. The most awe inspiring element, however, is the view of Hohensalzburg Castle - the fortress that dominates the skyline.
Mirabell palace & gardens were used as a backdrop for the movie when Maria & the children use the steps as scales when singing 'Do-RE-Me'.They dance around the fountain, pat the dwarf statues on the head and skip through the orangery. We recreated some of the scenes above :)
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Hellbrun Palace

Located about 15mins outside the city, beautiful Schloss Hellbrunn is the site of the largest Christmas market in Salzburg. Hellbrunn is its own little village, when you arrive there is a choice of visiting Hellbrunn alley, Hellbrunn Zoo, a smaller petting zoo with goats & rabbits, the trick fountains or just wandering around the market stalls while listening to Christmas carols. We decided on visiting all the above (except the zoo) while drinking our body weight in mulled wine, not a bad afternoon!
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At the end of a long walkway, the glass pavillion that was used in filming the Sound of Music can be found. Moved from Leopold Palace because of 'constant trespassing' by all those crazy fans, the pavillion is now hidden out of the way, behind a large wall overlooking a snowy field in Hellbrunn. The pavilion was used in some of the most memorable scenes in the movie, like when Lisel & Rolf sing '16 going on 17' and (spoiler alert) when Capt. Von Trapp proposes to Maria. In Hollywood, a replica pavillion was built to film the interior dance scenes. I guess Rolf and Lisel needed a little more room for all that twirling!
The Palace at Hellbrunn was designed to be an escape from reality, a pleasure palace. It's no wonder then that the trick fountains were one of the main attractions, and sources of amusement. Nothing is quite as it seems at the trick fountains, water spouts from the seats of the chairs, from the ground where you walk and from the centre of the table i.e. from the most unexpected places. The design of the fountains means that visitors are bound to get wet and have fun.

​Hellbrunn alley, a 5km long straight alley connects hellbrunn palace with the residenz in the centre of Salzburg. The alley is the best preserved of its kind in Europe & was used as the driveway to the Von Trapp home in the movie. Children were swinging from the chestnut trees! 
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The Horse Fountain

Renovated in 1732, the horse fountain was built to provide water & a bath to the court horses. The fountain or Pferdeschwemme is built into the side of Monchsberg mountain & is adorned with frescos & stone statues of the horses that would have graced its waters. In the movie, the foundtain provides the backdrop to a scene where Lisel meets Rolf 
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The Rock Riding School (Felsenreitschule)

Probably the most unusual & instantly recognizable location in the movie is the rock riding school or summer riding school. We went on a guided tour (the only way to gain entry) of the festival halls. Carved into the cliff in 1693, the outdoor arena was used as a riding school. ​
In 1926, Max Reinhardt (remember uncle max) decided to use it as the stage for the Salzburg music festival. The audience sat in the 96 arches across 3 stories & the musicians played in the mud. The space, since completely renovated, now supports a retractable roof (only since 2011) and it opens twice a year for the Easter & Summer music festivals & seats 2000 people. In the sound of music, the rock riding school was used as the location for filming the performance of the Von Trapp family singers who sing Edelweiss before fleeing the Nazis. ​​
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Nonnberg Abbey

With its distinctive red domed roof, Nonnberg abbey is home of a closed order of Benedictine nuns and a UNESCO world heritage cite. Built in 714, The abbey exterior was used in filming but again the interior was a set in Hollywood. 'How do you solve a problem like Maria'. ​

Hohensalzburg Castle

The fortress sits on top of the hill festungsburg (alt 506m) and can be seen from all of Salzburg. Built in 1077, It is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe spanning 820ft. Seeing it looming over the city for a couple of days we couldn't but take a trip up on the funicular. Built in 1892, the funicular transports tourists from the base of the hill to the fortress in less than 60 seconds & gives an amazing view to boot(not that I was looking). ​
Once at the top, it was noticeably colder & we got our first taste of snowfall but it was absolutely worth it as we could see the whole of Salzburg at one side & a vast view towards the alps at the other. We wandered around the castle grounds, through Christmas stalls, puppet museums & torture rooms until we came to the restaurant with the best view & we paused for some schnitzel & bratwurst! The fortress is seen in the background of many scenes in the sound of music. ​

St. Peter's Cemetary

he oldest cemetery & located at the foot of the festungberg, St. Peter's clearly inspired the design of the Hollywood set for the Nazi flight scene in the sound of music, we all remember Rolf blowing that whistle right!  A quaint & very unique cemetery, some tombs are located behind black iron gates, while others are adorned with golden crosses & artistic sculptures. The oldest tombstone dates to 1288 & the catacombs are carved into the cliff face. It is also the burial site of Mozarts older sister Nannerl.  ​​​
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Leopold Palace (Schloss Leopoldskron)

A private residence/conference centre, we visited Leopold palace on the hop-on, hop-off tour bus. The Palace is built on a manmade lake, which was almost frozen & surrounded by snow when we arrived. The lake & the facade of the palace served as the back of the Von Trapp home in the movie. It was here that Maria & the children fell from their boat into the lake & here that Baroness Schroeder played ball with the children. ​
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Residenz Square

The largest square in Salzburg, residenz square was filled with Christmas market stalls on our visit. Right in the centre is the most impressive fountain in the city, partially covered because of the market, this was the square where Maria hopped off the bus & plashed water from the fountain singing "I have confidence".  We ate, drank & celebrated with the locals & visitors getting merry at 11am on alcoholic punch, gluhwein & shots! ​
Nazi rallies were also filmed in residenz square & apparently Salzburg city officials objected initially to flags with swastikas adorning the buildings, even just for the purpose of filming. That was until the producer threatened to include newsreel footage of the city welcoming Hitler in the 1940s
Surrounding the square is Salzburgs Dom quarter & St. Peter's Basilica. Carol singers serenaded our path through the Church doors into a dark aisle with 'no photo' signs everywhere. The pews lining the long aisle were filled with visitors, most staring at the decoratively painted ceiling. Inside the Dom quarter we took a brief tour of the residenz (I say brief because they told us to hurry as they were closing but when we finished in 20mins they were disappointed we went too quickly...some people are never happy)
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The Sacher Hotel

Famed for their chocolate sacher cake, the hotel was the residence of Julie Andrews for the 11 weeks of filming in Salzburg. We popped in for a look around and got pricey afternoon tea! Delicious apple strudel, sacher cake & homemade biscuits with apple spritzer. The dining room was filled with wealthy older Austrian couples.... we felt right at home!!

The Bristol Hotel

Across the road from Mozarts residence and around the corner from the sacher hotel, the Bristol is where Christopher Plummer stayed while filming. I'm sure there's a story there?
The Sound of Music was a huge success, not with critics but with the public. It was loved across the world, everywhere except Germany & Austria where it was a total flop. To this day, many Austrians have not seen the film!  Following the steps of the sound of music meant that we got to know the city back to front. It is a small, walk-able old town, with a simple layout. It is 2hr 10min flight from Dublin. The airport is a short 10 min taxi ride from the city centre & Salzburg station can have you in Munich within an hour, Vienna within 2 hours or across to Budapest in just 5 hours! Highly recommended for ease of access & relaxation but be willing to part with your cash. Hotels & food are not cheap. For sights, invest in a Salzburg card - €40 for a strict 72 hr period but it gets you in free to ALL the key sights & public transport - a steal.
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City Highlights...

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Thailand's Hidden Gem

9/1/2015

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Stop Twenty-One, Ayutthaya, Thailand - 13/08/2015 to 16/08/2015
(Written by Her)
Unlike most we intended to stay a few days in the small town of Ayutthaya, 2 hours North of Bangkok. Once the ancient capital city of Thailand, Ayutthaya is now a recognised UNESCO site with ruins that could keep any traveller happy for at least a week. We left Kanchanaburi at 6:30am on a 3 hour train journey back to Bangkok where we changed train stations and inevitably trains, onward to Ayutthaya. When we arrived at our small guesthouse above a café we had been travelling for 7 hours in 3rd class on wooden benches with air being generated solely from open windows in the cabin, not the most comfortable but certainly fun.
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After getting freshened up, we wasted no time in locating ourselves a tuk-tuk that we could use for our entire stay. We ended up booking a middle-aged couple who drove around all day together. We were taken with the idea that the two wanted to work together, her speaking broken English with the tourists and he driving around to various sites. It was very sweet. We thought, if ever we find ourselves disillusioned with life, perhaps we will move to Ayutthaya, buy a tuk-tuk and drive around all day together in a little cabin made for two... 

On our first day we decided to hit the most popular sites. Wat Maha That is the most famous site in Ayutthaya as its home to one of the iconic images of Thailand, the image of Buddha in the tree. The story goes that the head fell from a sandstone sculpture of Buddha and landed at the base of the tree, where it grew in amongst the roots. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if it has some help!
Next we went to Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat Yai Chai Mongkol. There were signs everywhere asking tourists to refrain from standing on or sitting on Buddha statues out of respect for Thai culture. Nevertheless, we saw one young girl sitting cross-legged in Buddha’s lap posing for her boyfriend snapping photos. One local man got so mad her screamed at the girl to get down and don’t do that again. It’s the most angry we have ever seen a Thai person, and given her lack of regret, he remained very restrained. 
Finally we visited the reclining Buddha (Wat Lokkaya Sutharam), a giant Buddha statue lying down at the edge of a lake. There were shrines for local Buddhists to pray and an older woman selling flowers to lay at Buddha’s head. We bought a bunch, before taking some photos and chatting to an Italian couple who had also made the journey. 
We walked around the sites, amazed that this place is not advertised more as a prime tourist destination in Thailand. There is so much to see, much of it within a small, manageable radius. Sites are relatively cheap to visit, averaging at about 50 baht or $1.5 per temple. Our hotel was very clean, although the only available option was a shared bathroom. We found some nice restaurants and we really enjoyed the people. 
We have been meaning to visit a floating market since our days in Bangkok but never found the time. We made a special effort to get up early on our second day in Ayutthaya to attend their local floating market. Our friends collected us and we travelled across town. To us, floating market means people selling their wares from a boat on the canal – like in the Mekong. This was less of a floating market and more of a river side market, where vendors sat in boats that were docked, or even built on dry land. Nevertheless, it was very quaint and picturesque. We walked around buying some local snacks, watching children feed the fish with 10 baht bags of fish food. 
Afterwards, we headed to another temple. The heat in Ayutthaya was very intense, we felt the sun was particularly strong and when walking around ruins, there are few places to go for shelter. Our drivers lent me an umbrella to use as a parasol like many of the Chinese tourists. It helped…a little. 
More than anywhere else in Thailand, we noticed that Ayutthaya was full of trekking elephants i.e. elephants that you could rent to ride around the temples or the floating market. The elephants were significantly larger than those we saw in the Elephant sanctuary (maybe a different breed), and were donned with red cloaks, gold colour saddles and a parasol to keep their riders cool. This was exactly the kind of situation that is bad for the elephant. Walking around the roads, carrying a load too heavy for their backs and freaked by the passing traffic which reverberates through the soles of their feet. Having spent the day in the elephant sanctuary we felt very bad for these poor Ayutthaya elephants and vehemently rejected the many offers of a ride. 
Before leaving the city, we were advised by our guesthouse to visit the night market for dinner. The nightly market is a regular hangout for locals so we went along for an hour or so. We were really surprised by the variety of food on offer (very little else mind). We were able to feed ourselves for less than $5 each including a drink and dessert. There were women grilling skewered meat, and barbecuing seafood. There were people making Thai-style spring rolls, and sushi. There was fruit slices, waffles, ice-cream and smoothies. There were even corn fritters and stir fries. I settled for some sushi and fruit while himself was in his element, trying this and that. Sometimes not even knowing what he was eating –a risky little game if you ask me!
Our time in Ayutthaya was laid back and relaxed except for one element – the train to Chiang Mai. Given that it is rainy season in Thailand (i.e. low season), securing sleeper train tickets 2 days before your travel date should have been no problem. Not so! We tried to book our tickets when we arrived in Ayutthaya, to be told that the train was booked out for the next 2 days. Damn! The guy on the desk wasn’t very helpful suggesting that maybe we could try a different date, take a bus, or fly. I didn’t fancy 15 hours on a bus and flying meant returning to Bangkok first was really was a pain since we were already on route to Chiang Mai. 
We figured the best thing was to wait and see if we could get something in a couple of days. We returned to the train station for the second time the following day at 11am, this time the desk clerk said there may be a cancellation so we should check back after 12! We returned for the third time after 12pm the following day to find that there were an abundance of cancellations. The way the rail booking system is set up in Thailand means people can book tickets 60 days in advance without paying and if they are not paid by 12pm on the day of travel then the seats are put back in the system….annoying! It meant that both travelling to and from Chiang Mai we were not able to purchase tickets until after 12pm on the day of travel. Its fairly risky if there aren’t enough cancellations for everyone but it worked out.
At 8pm (1 hour delayed), we said goodbye to Ayutthaya and boarded the sleeper train to Chiang Mai. 

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Giving Back - One Day in Elephants World

8/28/2015

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Stop Twenty, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
(Written by Her)
A whole day with elephants in Kanchanaburi...like the animals themselves, we will never forget this experience. 
Picked up by an open back truck with bench seats we bounced the 45 minutes into part of the most rural area of Southern Thailand. By the time we arrived at 9am the heat had already penetrated the dirt track outside the sanctuary building such that it radiated like a furnace under our feet. Today was going to be a scorcher!
After a very informal introduction by the long-term elephant volunteers, us day-visitors were asked to sign a waiver along the lines of "wild animals can injure" etc. We were also given some rudimentary safety advice from a local "mahout" (or elephant handler) in bad English, "No pull tail, no shout ear." After the preliminaries we headed over to the food stores to help with the morning feed. 
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We had been asked to bring one bunch of bananas each but once we saw how much each animal received for breakfast our offering seemed like a drop in the ocean. Along with a Spanish couple we were assigned one elephant, Johnny and a 20kg basket of fruit which included whole watermelon, whole ears of corn, bananas (skin on), pumpkin wedges and raw turnip. The whole basket was enough for just one elephant. Johnny was the youngest of the group and apparently the most troublesome. His mischievousness was immediately evident when he investigated the other elephants' baskets while scoffing his own as well. It was amazing to watch Johnny eat, he would take handfuls of fruit in the curl of his trunk end and deftly flick them into his open mouth. The trunk operated exactly like a hand. His powerful jaws crushed through the hard turnip and whole melon as if they were toast. We could hear the loud pop of the larger fruit as it broke in his mouth and then as quickly, it was gone. 
These elephants are fed up to 200kg of food a day. Their diet includes mainly fruits, veg and greens – such as banana tree trunks and leaves. Elephants loose their teeth at about 65 years old and as a result will often starve to death in the wild. Here in elephant world however the gummy ones are sustained on balls of cooked, soft veg mixed with sticky rice, protein powder and crushed elephant feed pellets. 
One of our tasks was preparing these "meals-on-wheels" style snacks. After we had fed the younger ones we headed to the ‘kitchen’. This open hut consisted of a fire pit upon which was placed a giant wok and a long wooden table where we were all handed some cleavers – no safety instructions here! We spent 30 minutes chopping and de-seeding pumpkins, shucking corn cobs and adding these to the rice over the heat. The pumpkins were rotting and filled with wiggling maggots that jumped around our hands as we worked. We all took turns stirring the wok contents with long wooden paddles until the rice had given up its starch and took on the runny consistency of porridge. It was tough work in the heat but with some hungry elephants standing watching from outside we were under pressure. 
The elephants in the sanctuary are all rescue animals brought here to recover from injuries and to avoid previous abuses & neglect. Many had worked as loggers where their size and strength was used to fell and carry trees. Such work is not just strenuous but also increases the risk of blindness which can easily occur if a stray branch connects with their face. The elephants often had punctured their skin and ears working in the jungles with the scars still visible. Other jungle work includes trekking where tourists ride in seats secured to the elephants back. An elephant's back is its weakest body part, the strongest being their head and neck. In fact an elephant can hold just 100kg on its back, any more does permanent damage. The seats often used for for trekking are large wooden frames weighing 50kg. Add 2 to 4 people and the elephant is in severe pain. One new arrival who had been rescued from trekking still showed the deep puncture wounds of the wooden frame which needed to be swabbed daily to prevent infection.
Other elephants worked with beggars as street performers, being made to walk around the city and pose for photos or do tricks. Elephants are not built for cities where the pavement damages their feet as they feel the aching vibrations of constant traffic=. Elephants can sense ground vibrations from up to 16km! Still some of these elephants are afraid of vehicle sounds and we witnessed one elephant pull away from his mahout and run when a tractor in a nearby field passed by. 
After our own lunch we watched the elephants bathe in the mud pool. They clearly loved it, flicking the mud along their back and belly to protect themselves from the sun. The smaller ones even rolled around in the mud, pushing with their shoulders and sitting on top of each other. As we stood on the over-looking wooden bridge we were reminded just how close we really were when a blast of mud from a nearby trunk covered half the group including ourselves.
After the mud bath we needed to gather tomorrow's green foods for the elephants. We piled into the back of some pick-up trucks – standing holding onto the searing hot bars and took off about 5km into the jungle where our driver spotted some banana trees. One of mahouts, armed with a rusty machete, merrily hacked away at the base of the trees. No safety pointers, no call of "timber"– just make sure you get out of the way was all that was implied. Indeed some people were quite lucky! Once felled, the trees were cut into two more manageable pieces to be dragged back to the pick-up trucks for transportation. Of course the trees did not just have bananas living on them with many of us encountering enormous red ants, unafraid to dig their visible pinchers through the skin of our exposed limbs. Ouch! The tree felling routine has to be completed everyday. 
Back at the ranch we had to return to our sticky rice – now that it had fully cooled and the maggots had been cooked off we had to mix in the crushed elephant pellets and roll them into balls big enough for the elephant to hold and put into its mouth. Each ball was rolled in protein powder before serving. These older elephants will eat 30 balls of sticky rice per day. By the end it felt as though we had been feeding them all day and yet they were still hungry.
With the rice balls digesting we were brought to the veterinary area where we met the Thai owner / sanctuary vet. She explained that many of the elephants developed ulcers, skin fungus and other debilitating conditions because of prior neglect. As well as those injuries mentioned above we were introduced to an older elephant suffering from lock-knee. Because she can’t bend her legs she can’t walk to the river to wash and bathe. Our task was to bring pales of water from the river and wash her. She enjoyed it so much we gave her a bucket of water to hoover up and throw over herself as well. This elderly giant was placid and very happy. The other elephants could wash themselves in the river and for an hour or so, we were allowed to join them! With up to 10 adult elephants and 2 babies our group waded in to splash and play with these amazing creatures. It was a complete once in a lifetime experience to be so close and to interact so much with Asian elephants enjoying their natural habitat. The mahouts kept a close eye on everything that was before walking the elephants in to dry off before dinner. 
We ended our day by – you guessed it – feeding the elephants again with each getting a second full basket of fruit. More melons, pumpkins and corn disappeared into these eating machines. As we hopped back on the truck for home we were covered in mud, ant bites, trunk slime and yet thoroughly satisfied. Money well spent!
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Bridge Over the River Kwai

8/28/2015

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Stop Twenty, Kanchanaburi, Thailand 10/08/2015 to 13/08/2014
(Written by Him)
Just three hours West of Bangkok lies the quaint little town of Kanchanaburi. We hopped on a local train from  outside Bangkok which had two available classes - wooden benches or 'soft' seats. Air-conditioning is rare on local trains, instead the windows of every cabin are opened for the entire journey. It's a sticky, loud but fun way to travel. At each station vendors sold food and drinks from baskets that they carried up and down the train or from outside the window. Of course we had to try some of the local delicacies, herself stocked up on pineapple, melon and wonton style dumplings, I had beef with rice and pigs skin with spices. Delicious!
Kanchanaburi was originally a defence outpost established to protect against attacks from Burma, the town is most famous for its military history. Kanchanaburi stretches along the banks of the River Kwai.... of bridge fame! In 1942 the area was occupied by the Japanese, then allies of Germany at the height of WWII. To transport troops and supplies across Thailand, the Japanese instigated the construction of the Burma railway built in just 18 months by mostly British POWs. Almost half of these prisoners died from malnutrition, exhaustion and disease. Today the town remembers those who died with a specially designated cemetery and museum. The railway bridge, still in use, is Kanchanaburi's primary tourist attraction.
We had set aside 3 days and 2 nights for KB, including getting to and from. We in-fact spent an extra day & night, so taken were we with the charm of rural Thailand. The monsoon season in Thailand was also particularly heavy this year with extreme flooding in neighbouring Burma. This rain made it difficult to do much of anything in the afternoons and we were restricted to morning activities only. Our first day itinerary consisted of the World War II museum, the bridge, Burma - Thailand Railway museum and the POW cemetery. We set off early in the ply-board "side-car" of our new driver's scooter. 
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The WWII museum is actually one family's collection of artefacts and memorabilia from the era. Naturally the focus is on the Japanese role during the war. As a somewhat unofficial exhibit the displays are fairly rough-and-ready, dust covered and badly lit. For example, there are numerous billboards displaying printouts of Wikipedia articles. However, the main building's roof-top does offer excellent views of the bridge and river.
Almost next-door to the museum is the large black railway bridge over the River Kwai. With only a few vendors situated at the entrance it is a relatively understated attraction. None-the-less there were visitors dotted along the length of the stretch. Of course we had to walk it, one by one across the sleepers, trying not to burn your ankles on the searingly hot tracks. Apart from a few photos and a quick walk, there wasn't much else to do at the bridge itself. We purchased a t-shirt before speeding the 8 minutes across town to the railway museum and adjacent cemetery. 
The statistics are stark, one man died for every sleeper laid in the railways construction. This museum's modern exhibit does a great job of describing the railway in its wider geo-historical context. With interviews from surviving POWs and a number of sophisticated models displaying the extent of the line it was a great way to learn more about this famous track. The most spectacular part of the line is called "Hell's pass" located about an hour away where the line clings to the steep of a sheer rock mountainside. The cemetery was as you would expect of a military graveyard, pristine in its up-keep with tidy, uniform plaques adorning each plot.We wandered along the rows, reading the names and ages. The vast majority of the graves were those of British men in their early twenties when their life was abruptly ended. Herself got upset at the thought of these young chaps buried here, so far from home, although she found some solace in the fact that they are united together in this peaceful place. As we walked, the rain began to fall.
We hopped back on our MDF steed for the trip back to the hotel. A police check-point came into view on the main road. Unflinching our easy-rider pulls over a mere 20 feet from the cops, puts his helmet on over his baseball cap and drives through slowly before immediately removing the helmet again. "Helmet, very important," he says with a straight face, stuffing it into his side pouch, one hand resting on the handlebars as we speed along.
That evening after dinner (thai curry of course) we stopped into the "Bridge over the River Kwai Bookshop". Owned and run by an English ex-pat in his 60's with his Thai wife the guy is pure character. Within 10 minutes of entering the shop we hadn't managed to browse one complete shelf but had instead been serenaded with a self-authored song about timber logging followed by a rendition of the Sally Gardens. In the end I had to leave herself an audience of one so that I could get around some of the sections in relative peace. A gentleman by every account however and I popped into him again before we left to pick up a few more paperbacks. I spotted a London post box style piggy bank on the counter with a picture of a young Thai girl about 5 years old. When I asked he told me he was collecting for his granddaughter's third level education and when I heard that she wanted to learn guitar as well I was happy to donate my change.
On our last evening we were lucky enough to hit on a really authentic Thai gem. Well.... I was delighted, herself was patient. "BBQ pigs tongue" to start followed by "fried pigs stomach" sticky rice and local beer. Herself settled for a plate of fried rice and a side of French-fries, despite all my generous encouragements for her to share my feast. Guilt ridden I was happy to purchase an ice-cream on the way home.

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