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Central Europe Part 2, 2024Central Europe Part 2, 2024
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My second solo holiday, travelling through Central Europe to visit cities in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Hungary. Read more
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  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 4

    Arrival in Munich

    April 30 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Munich is MANIC! 🇩🇪 It is absolutely heaving here. I believe the Bayern Munich football team is playing Real Madrid this evening and so the fans are filling the streets. ⚽

    The overall impact of this is that the Altstadt was filled to the brim with people and so it is very difficult to see the main sights, particularly around Marienplatz. Consequently I went to see a number of places dotted around some of the slightly less touristy areas.

    The iconic Frauenkirche is absolutely enormous, while the Asamkirche is extraordinarily ornate inside - everywhere your eyes rest there are more and more details to be found! ⛪

    I wandered past the Hofbrauhaus, where I'm hoping to have lunch tomorrow, outside of which there was a crowd of Spaniards chanting "Pedro Sánchez! Hijo de puta!" presumably in response to Spain's latest political debacle. I then headed down Maximilianstraße and to the English Gardens to enjoy the sun.

    After that, I headed to a small Bavarian beer hall for dinner, where I had Geschmorte Ochsenbackerl in Rotweinsoße mit Wurzelgemüse und Semmelknödel (braised ox cheeks in a red wine sauce), which was delicious!    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    1
    Day 5

    München Altstadt

    May 1 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    I woke up this morning eager to see as much of Munich in the morning as I could. Today is 1st May, Labour day in Germany, a national holiday. The sun is shining brightly ☀️ so I'm assuming today will be another busy day in the city centre.

    The streets were far quieter this morning and so I was able to see a lot of the major sights I wanted to check out while I was here - Marienplatz with it's two town halls, Odeonsplatz and the Munich Residenz, the Hofgarten and State Chancellery, and the Viktualienmarkt. Munich is a city filled with grand, impressive buildings marking its long and proud history and distinct regional identity.

    After climbing up the tower in Peterskirche for a panoramic view, I went on a walking tour of the Altstadt led by a very enthusiastic Nebraskan called Brett. He was very knowledgeable about three essential elements of Munich's history - beer, Bavarians and Nazis. The tour was very informative and particularly highlighted how Munich had rebuilt itself after the end of the second world war. Unlike cities such as Berlin, which opted to rebuild themselves in a very modern, forward-looking aesthetic, Munich rebuilt itself as close to its original specifications as possible. This even went so far as to rebuild St Peter's Church with a cannonball lodged into it which had previously become stuck there during the Napoleonic wars!

    After the tour I had to check out the Hofbraühaus, Munich's quintessential beer hall. It has a fun vibe, if a bit overpriced 💶 This afternoon I think I'll be heading to a few different beer gardens to take in the Labour Day atmosphere in different parts of the city and take a tour of the Neuerathaus or the Residenz.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 6

    Reflections on Munich

    May 2 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    I've visited Munich at a bit of a strange time - the combination of the football game against Real Madrid followed by the May Day holiday has meant that the city has been absolutely inundated with people for the duration of my stay here. Combined with what seems like neverending building works and road maintenance going on all over the city, including a huge construction site by the Hauptbahnhof, the city has felt overwhelmingly busy and very noisy - much more so than Zurich.

    That isn't to say that I haven't enjoyed my time here - I really enjoyed the walking tour yesterday and the many Bavarian beer gardens dotted around the city have been well worth experiencing - but I think my favourite moments have been early in the morning, before Munich has had a chance to wake up. These have included exploring the Altstadt yesterday, climbing up Peterskirche's tower, and strolling through the enormous Englischer Garten today.

    These moments have left me with a great appreciation for Munich's grandiosity, both in terms of its proud architecture harkening back to the days of the Electorate and then Kingdom of Bavaria, and in terms of the enormous swathe of land comprised of open meadows, huge lakes, clean rivers and gentle woodland preserved for public enjoyment and relaxation.

    Within Germany, postwar construction has been approached in many different ways. The philosophy of Berlin's reconstruction was to eradicate the past and rebuild from a clean slate. Munich's approach has been more nuanced, seeking to preserve what it can be proud of, erasing the physical manifestations of what it is ashamed of but trying to provide an honest education of both to its population and visitors alike. While I've yet to visit Berlin and other German cities that have taken the former approach, I feel the latter is more my style.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 6

    Festung Hohensalzburg & Petersfriedhof

    May 2 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    I was feeling in a hurry when I arrived in Salzburg this afternoon, my first stop in Austria 🇦🇹 I'm only here for 26 hours in total and tomorrow the weather forecast is looking horrendous so I felt I needed to see as many outdoor sights as humanly possible this afternoon while the weather was good! ☀️

    However, within an hour or so of setting off, my mood changed completely. Gone was the stress of finding the most strategic route to tick off everything I wanted to see. In its place a sense of tranquility emerged as I found myself in an absolutely beautiful city with awe-inspiring architecture, carefully curated gardens, the sounds of symphonies seeping into the streets, and simply stunning surroundings.

    It also helped that I had bought a Salzburg Card before coming here which let me skip every queue of tourists, filling me with an incredibly gratifying sense of smugness! I used the pass to head up to the fortress overlooking the city, which provided a succinct history of the city that gave an overview of the city from its time as an Archbishopric in the Holy Roman Empire through to the end of the First World War. It also provided some incredible views of the city and surrounding countryside from the top of the Prison Tower. Admiring the surroundings, I couldn't help but think back to The Sound of Music, which I watched before going on holiday.

    I've only been here a few hours now but already Salzburg is quickly emerging as one of my favourite cities! (Or should I say, one of "my favourite things"! 🎵)    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    1
    Day 6

    View of Festung Hohensalzburg

    May 2 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    After devouring a schnitzel for lunch, I headed over to a viewpoint from which to see Hohensalzburg Fortress from afar. I hadn't realised quite how much of a hike it would be to get there, climbing up flight after flight of stone steps to essentially exit the city vertically, followed by an uphill trek through the forest! However, I think the view was worth it.Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 8

    Viennese Vineyards

    May 4 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    After arriving in Vienna on Friday evening I met up with Haji, who I'm staying with while I'm here. It was great to see him and he was very happy to have a friend from home come to visit!

    On Saturday he and his girlfriend Amanda took me to the vineyards in the hills on the outskirts of the city. Visiting these vineyards is a common weekend activity for the Viennese - hundreds of tables are laid out for visitors to sit at and enjoy the views, the sun and of course the wine!

    In possibly the most civilised twist on a pub crawl ever conceived, the three of us made our way through each of the vineyards starting from the top of the hill and making our way down. It was all very pleasant up until Haji wandered off to go to the toilet and promptly fell asleep, leaving Amanda and me with no idea where he'd gone! Eventually we found him and picked up where we left off with another bottle of wine.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 9

    Schönbrunn Palace

    May 5 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Following the previous day's wine-fueled escapades, Haji and I were in a fairly delicate state on Sunday morning. Given our raging hangovers, we reasoned the best course of action would be to catch the metro to the other side of Vienna, stagger over to an 18th century palace, and immerse ourselves in some Habsburg history!

    The Schönbrunn Palace was built as the Habsburgs' summer residence ☀️, as opposed to the Hofburg which they lived in during the winter months ❄️. I visited the Hofburg last time I was in Vienna in the winter of 2023, so it seemed very fitting to visit the summer palace on a sunny Sunday in May.

    The scale of Schönbrunn is simply enormous! Putting aside the mammoth building itself, the over 1 km² of grounds are filled with huge, incredibly ornate structures including a fountain of Neptune, an obelisk depicting key moments in Habsburg history, and an immense gloriette on top of the hill overlooking the estate.

    The whole grounds were very impressive, and demonstrated vividly the might of the Habsburgs at the pinnacle of their power.

    We also visited inside the palace, learning particularly about how the palace was used by Empress Maria Theresa and by Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Sisi.

    On top of being an interesting and impressive place to visit, the trip to Schönbrunn also completely alleviated our hangovers!    Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 9

    Kapuzinergruft (Capuchin's Crypt)

    May 5 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    After lunch, Haji and I visited Capuchin's Crypt, where the bodies (but not hearts or entrails - these are buried elsewhere) of the Habsburg emperors and their families are interred. ⚰️

    Four centuries of Habsburgs are interred in the sarcophagi in this building, notably Maria Theresa in her enormous double sarcophagus decorated ornately with notable events from her lifetime, Emperor Maximilian who was assassinated in Mexico, and Franz Joseph & Empress Sisi, Austria-Hungary's beloved equivalent of Princess Diana.Read more

  • TravelerCentral Europe Part 2, 2024
    Day 10

    Arrival in Budapest

    May 6 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    After saying goodbye to Haji, I caught a late morning train from Vienna to Budapest 🇭🇺, the last stop on my trip. I have to say, it feels a little strange going back to travelling solo and staying in hostels after staying with Haji for the past few days!

    While the cities I've visited so far this trip have felt firmly Western European in culture, I definitely feel like I've entered Eastern Europe in Budapest. However, compared to Bratislava and Targu Mures, the other main Eastern European cities I've visited, the soviet ⚒️ legacy here feels a lot less prevalent.

    In the afternoon I went on a walking tour led by a Hungarian guy, who took us round the major sights in Pest including St Stephen's Basilica, the Hungarian Parliament Building and the controversial Nazi and Soviet war memorials. He re-affirmed a lot of what I had learned from the book on Budapest I'd read before coming to visit, particularly around Hungary's unique history and culture in the region, as well as Hungarian identity partly being driven by fighting (and most of the time losing) innumerable battles for independence.    Read more

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