December 28, 2012

Surfing in Englischer Garten, Munich

Before I get into my current goings-on here in the Southeastern USA, I have a few more stories to share from my recent European travels. If you won’t mind taking a trip back in time with me, smack-dab in the middle of my East to West, European traverse, after an incredible 8 hour train exodus from Venice into the heart of Bavaria, I arrived in Munchen Hauptbahnhof, one of the most impressive train stations I’ve ever witnessed. A true testament to the renowned German engineering, the station was clean, bright, organized and boasting one of the best food courts for a transportation depot I’ve ever experienced.

After milling around the train station for a while, enjoying the free WiFi (kudos Krauts), I decided to head out into the city and find a place to shack up for the night. I didn’t have to travel far, within 100 yards of the station there were no less than 5 quality hostels to be found. After snooping around a few and checking the rates I settled on the Jager’s Hostel (not sure about the relation to the frat-boy party liquor) and checked myself into your typical 12 bunk, one bathroom, coed backpacker Hilton (I did opt out of the 40 bunk room).

Since the sun was shining and I was running on the adrenaline high that a new location sometimes brings, I set out into the heart of the city to try and see a few sights. My main destination for the day: Englischer Garten. Slightly north of the city center, Englischer Garten, is one of the worlds largest urban public parks, larger than NYC’s Central Park. The name is obviously German for “English Garden”, but this is in reference to the style of informal landscape gardening used throughout the 1.4 square mile park, not, ” bad food, worse weather and Marry Fu@?!&$ Poppins!”. It’s an easy walk to the park from historic Munich, just head north from the Glockenspiel and you will walk through some tight city streets and monuments before emerging into open public park space. It was at this juncture during my walk that the sun disappeared and a chilly rain started to fall. Dressed in shorts, a tee shirt and a thin raincoat, I soon realized that my attire was inadequate for the change in temperature. I tried to stay out of the rain as much as possible, but cover was sparse. I ducked under trees, tunnels and awnings until I reached the park proper. Once inside the park there was little I could do to avoid the precipitation, but the tree canopy at least turned the steady rain into a light sprinkle. Heading through the park from South to North, one of the first areas you encounter is the Japanese Garden, highlighted by a pond surrounding a Japanese style tea house. On this particular day, despite the rainfall, there was a festival taking place. I couldn’t quite make out the specifics of the festival, but from what I could gather it was a type of Japanese heritage event that was mainly attended by German youths in all manner of strange Anime-type dress. Many individuals were dressed as Japanese cartoon characters, both human and animal. Interesting to say the least.

After getting past the festival tents and traveling to the Eastern edge of the park I came upon one of the most popular attractions in Munich, “The Wave”. The small creek that fed the pond in the Japanese garden turned into a steady stream and then into a full blown torrent. Where the artificial river begins, from a culvert under a city bridge, a raised concrete slab creates an artificial wave that surfers from all around Europe come to shred.

Even in the cold rainy weather, there were no less than 20 surfers that day clad in full wetsuits, lined up for their turn to jump on the break. Below is a short video I compiled of the riders that day:

After being mesmerized by the surfers for over 30 minutes the cold became too much for me to handle, I had to find shelter and stop my teeth from chattering. I walked the Eastern edge of the park and I shortly came upon an oasis, a small shack selling food and drink! The shack had no obvious name or signage, but it reminded me of something from Hansel and Gretel.

I stepped inside the small building and bellied up to the counter to order a German specialty: Weisswurst. Literally translating to, “white sausage”, this is a Bavarian specialty that is usually eaten as a snack between breakfast and lunch. Most Bavarians eat their Weisswurst before noon because it is made early in the morning without preservatives and would typically spoil before nightfall. The sausage is made with a combination of veal and pork belly mixed with spices such as parsley, lemon, onions, ginger and cardamom. The sausage is usually served with sweet grainy mustard, alongside a soft salted pretzel. The sausage was light and soft to the taste and a bite with the sweet sticky mustard was a revelation. Since I was breaking the rules and eating my Weisswurts around 4pm, I also opted to add a German Radler to wash it all down. A Radler is a refreshing Bavarian creation of beer mixed with lemonade. I’m usually not the kind of guy to mix fruit in my beer, and I admit I was skeptical before trying it, but this particular blend is on point. Legend has it that it’s creation was a mistake, a sneaky bartender who was low on beer one day, decided to mix lemonade with his remaining brew in order to quench the thirst of the many parched cyclist that approached his tavern. To his surprise, the cyclists came back year after year to have another of these unique beverages and thus the, “Radler” (Cyclist), was born.

After filling my belly and getting as warm as I could, I set my bearing south and began to head back to my hostel. Due to my near-hypothermic state I decided not to explore the north side of the park, but I hear there is a fantastic Bier Garten in that section of the park called the Chinese tower. So if you are in Munich, I suggest that you don’t miss out on the Englischer Garten, it was definitely one of the highlights of my time in the city.

Posted in Germany, Munich, Sightseeing, Sporting, Surfing, Travel, Western Europe
Tagged artificial wave, Bavaria, Chinese tower, Englischer Garten, English Garden, Germany, glockenspiel, Jager's Hostel, Japanese Teahouse, Munchen Hauptbahnhof, Munich, Munich surfing, Radler, Weisswurst, white sausage, Wombat Hostel, Youth Hostel
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December 25, 2012

The Mayans Were Wrong

Happy Holidays! It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but a new year is upon us and a new commitment to the blog has been made. I admit it has been difficult to continue my writing habits, being back in South Carolina and not out in the traveling mindset make it difficult to continue to blog at the pace I once held. It is also a problem that my daily happenings are much less interesting to write about when it involves job searching, maintenancing my house and going to the grocery store. That’s not to say that I haven’t been doing anything interesting, I’ve got many great domestic adventures to share with you since my return to the USA. My home bound life has taken a bit more of a stable turn, so I can use the focus I had to devote to, “life issues”, back to writing and photographing the world around me for you to enjoy. My travels and stories may be a bit less exotic for a little while, but don’t be mistaken, there is probably a lot you don’t know about your own backyard. For starters, and to exercise my holiday spirit, here are my favorite snaps from this years Festival of Lights, in James Island County Park, right down the street from my house.

A traditional Charlestonian, grand Oak

The highly recognizable SC state flag

A pelican, sitting on dynamite

A holiday Unicorn

A blue raccoon

A squirrel and his spear

A pink fox, happy to be in his basket

Clarinet, the workhorse of the woodwinds

Our solar system (including Pluto)

Happy Hanukkah!

Dimetrodon, not a dinosaur, but a mammal-like reptile

a grazing Brachiosaurus

Clever girl…

‘merica!

Posted in Charleston, Housekeeping
Tagged Christmas, Christmas Lights, James Island, James Island County Park, James Island County Park Lights, New Year
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October 17, 2012

Beyond the Galaxies

Greetings followers, friends and family, I know it’s been a hot minute since my last post and for that I do apologize. I have been absorbed in the housekeeping and general busybodyness that accompany the adjustment back into a stint at home and I don’t want to sacrifice the quality of my blog when I can’t put the time and thought into my posts that I’d like.

Now I normally stick to posting about my travel experiences and general musings, but today I am making an exception to tell you about something along the lines of, “Human Interest”, that I find incredibly exciting. My father, Jim Coddington, is not only the provider of my Y chromosome but also a lifelong musician, and this week I am proud to announce that he has released his latest magnum opus, an Album entitled: Beyond the Galaxies.

Check out his Splash Page at JimCoddington.org

The 9 song release can be described as a mix of folk and rock inspired music and reflects my Dads life experiences and relationship with God. You can download the entire album or individual songs from iTunes or contact me directly if you are seeking a hard copy CD (Vinyl not yet available). If you click on the link I provided above you can get quick access to the iTunes downloads and read up on his Bio.

My father has always been a musical influence in my life and inspired me to play/learn music as well as open my ears to all kinds of musical genres. I hope you take the time to listen to a few of his tunes and hopefully download the album if you feel so inclined.

Posted in Housekeeping, Human Interest, Music, Religion
Tagged Beyond the Galaxies, Father Daughter Dance, James Coddington, Jim Coddington, Music, Roman Road, Splash Page
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September 20, 2012

Venice the Menace

You’ve got to marvel at the engineering of Venice, an entire city built on the water. You also have to hand it to them for their vast city state that lasted over a millennium. But to be honest, present day Venice left me quite unimpressed. Maybe it was the hoards of tourists or perhaps it was the overpriced and lackluster service industry (cover charges at every restaurant?). I have to be honest and say that while Venice is a cool concept it was definitely a disappointment to me. Expensive, crowded and full of stupid people; if I wasn’t annoyed at the fat American tourist family clogging the middle of a tight alley, it’s was the greased up Italian trying way too hard to be bohemian chic. So it is my conviction to not only report on my good experiences, but also my bad ones. Honesty is a policy I have no shame in displaying (as a relatively faceless blogger) especially when a destination is frequently over-hyped. There were still moments of awe in the face of some beautiful canals, or when I got lost enough to find myself alone in a narrow street or miniature piazza, but there was simply not enough good to counterbalance the bad. Before the tirade launches into full force, here are some quintessential Venice photos I took:

To begin with, I should do my duty as a good travel blogger and give some useful info for any first-time visitor to Venice arriving at the airport, which is not in Venice proper but on the mainland. Judging from past history, you may know my unfortunate luck with foreign airports and Venice was no exception; it is crowded, confusing and laden with scam artists. Somehow I wandered my way into the right decisions and made it without incident, so here’s how I did it: First, out of the airport, take a left and walk a couple hundred yards to what appears to be a dock. Bypass the boat taxis advertising for 110 euros, unless you have a big group that can reasonably split the cost (more than 7). Walk to the next ticket stall which is white and blue and buy a 15 euro pass for the public boats. They are the bigger ones with the yellow hulls. The Blue line takes you to most places you want to go in Venice proper and you may have to wait a minute for the boat to come.

Simply deflect or ignore any private boat-taxi driver that may approach you at the docks. While there privately owned speedboat may be a luxurious ride to the island, it’s heinously overpriced and he knows it. Once the public boat arrives, try and get a window seat, it is a beautiful 30 minute ride to the island and even though the windows are smudged and splashed with water, it’s worth trying to take some pics. Pay close attention to the names of the piers as the boat makes its stops, they are not always announced publicly. The good thing is that if you get off on the wrong stop, it’s easy to walk to wherever you need to go, but do expect to get lost frequently in the tight streets of Venice.

The typical first-time visitor to Venice (like myself) is expecting only the romance and flourish of Italian engineering and culture, but as I came to find out those feelings are a bit more short lived that I would have liked. The history and architecture are undeniable, but it’s a lot of the same over and over again. The reality is that you can expect plenty of shopping for overpriced international luxury goods, expensive hotel rooms with little value, average pizza, lots of interestingly bad smells (I am used to this in Charleston), no toilet seats in the bathrooms (weird), boats not obeying the 100ft rule, too many popped collars and frustratingly hard-to-find WiFi that produces only enough signal strength to drive you mad. Well, at least the gelato lived up to expectations.

To avoid the pains of overpriced hotel rooms, I chose to seek out one of the very few hostels in Venice, Hostel Ostello Venezia, which is practically the only one you will find anything about online. It certainly gets my award for grubbiest hostel, and I stayed in my fair share of low-rent establishments in Southeast Asia. Hostel Ostello Venezia is filled with the types of backpackers that they make bad movies out of. The epitome of people that just don’t get what backpacking is all about; novices, whiners, complainers, amateurs and downright idiots, not to mention a good spattering of bed bugs and rats.

Venice is a very photogenic place, but be ready to snap your pictures quickly, your scenic view is typically short lived as you get elbowed to the side so someone behind you can take a group shot. When in Western Europe, more often than not, that elbow belongs to an American tourist, and I’ve come to discover that most American tourists lack patience. They want special treatment, they want the world to behave like their personal Disneyland. I think it’s due to our lack of socialization with other cultures and that when we do go on a typical, “one weak”, vacation we are conditioned to require far too much from a service standpoint. The standard American tourist does not know how to plan and entertain for themselves and this leads to frustration when they aren’t comfortably nestled in an all-inclusive resort. The impatience we show snowballs and we become divas, basking in our own impertinence and throwing outright temper tantrums, largely due to our own inability to handle the daily life of cultures other than our own. These effects are compounded when in a country that prefers to not speak English, in which case Americans like to do what I call: speaking forceful English. That is, insisting on speaking English first and foremost, and if the recipient dosent understand, you proceed to repeat yourself louder and more condescendingly. This strategy does not work, just so you know. When I travel, I’m always surprised how people can instantly tell I am an English speaker. I feel like I dress inconspicuously enough and I don’t go around broadcasting my Anglo-ness. However a stranger on the street in a foreign land will approach me directly out of a crowd and begin asking me questions in English. This happens with both foreigners and fellow English speaking travelers in my experience.
Ok, I realize I am being quite the Negatron here and it’s generally not my style to go on such rants, so, to make us all feel better I can tell you about one great experience I had while in Venice. After a long hard day of walking (getting lost) around the city, I was determined to have a nice dinner. After a bit of window shopping I settled on a nice local looking place with a quiet courtyard. I arrived around 7 and I was one of the few patrons in the restaurant at that time. I was in no mood to make further decision, so I requested that the waiter bring me his suggestion for dinner and drink. I shouldn’t be surprised that i was served a traditional spaghetti with a deliciously crisp white wine, capped off with a traditional Italian Tiramisu. As dusk faded into night and the stars came out, so did the town. As per Mediterranean dining form, the restaurant doors blew open at 8pm and the locals started flooding in. By the end of my dinner the entire restaurant was a madhouse of sprinting waiters and reveling guests. The experience left me with a fully belly and a much better feeling. Wobbly from the wine, I boarded a night boat and enjoyed the long cruise along black canals back to my hostel.

It’s always the greatest feeling when you escape somewhere that you don’t like or are tired of. A renewed energy lifts you up and gets you even more psyched about the next destination.
For me it started on the train ride out of town. As soon as I booked a ticket north to Munich the good vibes started flowing. Before leaving, I found a nice quiet cafe with serviceable wifi and panna cotta (perhaps my favorite desert). I then caught a train car with 2 awesome Swedish dudes and we chatted agreeably about politics, police and travel plans. As the train progressed northward through the mountains of northern Italy I found myself incapable of keeping the conversation moving, my attention was more than divided by the picturesque scenery outside the train car. My eyes were glued to the peaks and valleys, a castle here, a vineyard there. The entertainment was non-stop and breathtaking. I began to notice the red tiled Italian roofs changing to the distinctive brown thatch and decorative wood carving of the Bavarian countryside and the vineyards shift to vines of hops. The travel adrenaline was in full force, I was headed to the land of beer, brats and busty tavern wenches. The bitter taste of Venice was overpowered by the malty and meaty deliciousness of Germany.

Posted in Italy, Rants, Travel, Venice, Western Europe
Tagged boat-taxi, Canals, Guidecca, Hostel Ostello, Hostel Ostello Venezia, Italy, Mediterranean, Piazza, San Marco, Spaghetti, Venezia, Venice, Venice Airport, Venice Airport Transit
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September 6, 2012

Central European Eats

WordPress statistics show that my posts regarding food are by far the most popular and most frequently visited, consequently, they also require the least bit of writing on my part since they mainly consist of pictures. So, back by popular demand (and because it’s easy), I give you more food porn.
My journey through Europe began with Kiev and ended with Helsinki, in between were 2 months of some of the most incredible food I’ve ever tasted. Central Europe may be best known for its hearty meat dishes and fresh pilsner beer, but I can vouch that there is much more to offer. Since I covered the full longitude of this part of the world I got to sample the changes in flavors that climate can provide as well as differences in land locked versus seafaring countries. Below is a showcase of some of the many different dishes, drinks and delicacies I got to gorge myself on throughout my travels in Central Europe.

The roasted pork knee, a Czech specialty. A reasonable meal for 2 people, the knee joint is slow roasted and traditionally served on a spit over pickled vegetables with fresh horseradish and mustard on the side. This particular knee was consumed in a restaurant below my Prague Hostel (Hostel Orange) off Wenceslaus Square.

Dalmatian Ham, a signature dish of southern Croatia. Despite the name, this ham is indeed made from pig, not from the dog of Disney fame. The ham is simply named for the area of Croatia referred to as Dalmatia. Usually served as an appetizer, the ham is very thinly sliced and has a smooth oily texture. Very similar to Italian Prosciutto, but with a more noticeably smokey flavor. Accompanied by pickled vegetables and washed down with the local pilsner, Karlovacko. This plate was ordered while staying on Vela Luka, an island off the southern coast of Croatia. Not pictured, but also worth trying is the Croatian Pag Island Cheese, as it goes well with the ham.

A classic Croatian dish called Cevapcici, imported from the medieval Ottoman empire. Widely popular in the south of Croatia these finger length sausages are made of seasoned minced meat and served with onions and a red pepper paste. Since this is a fairly representative of Croatian “fast food”, this dish is often accompanied by French fries.

This was an epic Croatian meal that I received at a local kitchen in Vela Luka. On recommendation from my dive master I ordered the “mixed grill”, which, at a modest price of less than $10, provided me with way too much food. There were at least 4 steaks, some beef, some mystery meat. Chicken kebabs and more Cevapcici sausages. The grilled meats were served alongside some grilled veggies and more of that bitter tasting red pepper spread.

What you see above is simply a british style IPA, but what makes it unique is that it was served in a Prague monastery. It is neigh impossible to find a classic IPA in the sea of delicious lagers you find in central Europe, so this hoppy malt beverage was a welcome refreshment. The monastery is the Strahovy Monastery in Prague, situated in between Petrin Park and Prague Hrad. Its quite a hike up a steep hill to get there, but totally worth the effort since I hadn’t had an IPA in over 2 months.

Typical Central European street food, a brat with coarse ground mustard. This little guy was my lunch on a cold rainy day in Old Town Prague. Over 6 inches long and less than $3, it can’t be beat for any other fast food.

This is considered the most typical Czech dish, Roast Pork with dumplings and sauerkraut, or as its called locally: pecene veprove s knedliky se zelim or colloquially vepro-knedlo-zelo. I had this dish most often in Czech Republic, but I found variations of it all over Central Europe. It is essentially a slow roasted meat (beef or pork), smothered in a brown gravy and served alongside sauerkraut with rye seeds and Knedliky which are steamed and sliced bread like dumplings. The Knedliky are everywhere and certainly didn’t fit my idea of a traditional dumpling, these dumplings are more like undercooked bread and can be made from potato or wheat.

This is a chicken and cheese dish traditionally served in Czech Republic. The cheese is a gravy-like concoction and is used quite liberally over the chicken and French fries. Czechs love their cheese. Alongside the esophagus clogging portion of protein and starch were some fresh veggies and raw cabbage. This was served to me in a hole in the wall cafe in Ostrava and I garnered some dirty looks from the waitress/cook/owner when I couldn’t finish the gigantic portion I was served.

Goulash originated in Hungary, but it’s an extremely popular dish all over Central and Eastern Europe. A strange bit of trivia is that the name Goulash means “herdsman” in Hungarian. This pic is goulash from Krakow, Poland, and it was decidedly more tomato based than the beef based goulash I often ate in Czech Republic.

This is more typical street food, sausages and fries. I got this plate in Zakopane, Poland, on perhaps the coldest day of my entire journey through Europe. Zakopane is small skiing village in the southern mountains of Poland and even though it was mid-summer, it was cold and raining. The sausages were welcome nourishment along with the fries, carrot salad and grilled onions.

This is another style of roasted pork with dumplings and sauerkraut, in the Austrian variety. The pork is similarly slathered in gravy and the sauerkraut has the distinct rye flavor and bitterness, but the difference lies in the dumplings. The Austrian style is typically more spiced and textured than the pure white potato dumplings of Czech Republic. I was in Vienna for this meal, at an outdoor cafe while I waited on my clothing to dry at the laundromat next door.

This was perhaps the fanciest goulash I was served, I was at the Pilsner Urquell restaurant in Prague, immediately after my tour of the Staropramen brewery next door. As you can compare with the Polish goulash above, the Czech version is darker in color and served with the traditional Knedliky dumplings, garnished with raw onion. The spicy fresh red pepper bits were a nice touch to the dish and the dumplings blurred the lines between Czech and Austrian dumplings.

The all too typical, liter of beer. This was a small brew-pub next door to my hotel/dorm in Vienna. Great brewing operation and fantastic beer in a city known for its white wines.

This is one of the mainstays of Croatian coastal cuisine, the seafood risotto. This particular risotto was mainly shrimp and mussels in a tomato base. Despite the fact that they always leave the heads on their shrimp, I felt closer to my second home of Charleston than ever with the flavor of local seafood.

Wrapping it up are a trio of lagers from the Staropramen brewery in Prague. Staropramen was by far my favorite beer in Czech Republic and it was awesome to tour the place where it was made, also the second largest brewery in Czech Republic. The tasting room offered fresh cold glasses of all type of lagers they brew. The three pictured are the Dark Lager, the Unfiltered Lager and Granat (special) Lager. Some of which you can only drink at the brewery itself.

Posted in Central Europe, Croatia, Czech Republic, Food, Krakow, Ostrava, Poland, Prague, Vela Luka, Vienna
Tagged Central Europe, Cevapcici, Croatia, Dalmatia, Goulash, Helsinki, Knedliky, Krakow, Ostrava, Pag Island, Pork Knee, Prague, Smoked Dalmatian Ham, Staropramen, Vela Luka, Zakopane
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August 25, 2012

Croatia Divers

A good chunk of my stay in Croatia included a weeklong trip to Korcula (core-chew-la), a small island just south of Split in the Adriatic Sea. In Korcula is Vela Luka, a small harbor town on the western end of the island. With a population of just over 4,000 Croats, Vela Luka is the second largest place in the Adriatic Islands. I journeyed to this small town in order to fulfill a “bucket list” experience – diving in the Mediterranean.

Getting There: I took the Jadrolinja ferry service from Split to Vela Luka for a surprisingly low cost of around $11 (70 Croatian Kuna). Having come from using Thailand’s ferry services rather extensively, stepping into a Jadrolinja ferry ship was the lap of luxury. Upon entering the great hull of the vessel (used for car transport) you take an escalator up to the passenger deck…that’s right, an escalator, stairs are for losers. Once on the passenger level one can choose from a variety of seating options inside the carpeted, teak-wood, air-conditioned interior. There are leather booths, group tables and even massage chairs. There are also several restroom options and a copious snack bar where I ordered 3 too many espressos during the 3 hour voyage. If you’d like to take in the views from outside the air-conditioned comfort there is also a multi-leveled outside viewing/seating deck with shaded areas and picnic tables where you can take in the spectacular island scenery as you cruise by.

Checking In: The Jadrolinja ferry pulled into Vela Luka harbor right on schedule. The next task was to get across the harbor to my destination, Croatia Divers. As I walked along the bay, I encountered the “water taxi”. For 5 Kuna, the water taxi took me and several other travelers across the bay, which was a superior alternative to walking the entire circumference of the bay in the early morning heat. The aquatic taxi dumped us off at its only stop, the Posejdon Hotel and I fixed my gaze on the sign adjacent to the hotel for Croatia Divers. Upon approach it seemed the early morning divers were just getting back in and use of the word Hectic would be an understatement. I walked in the open garage bay door to what appeared to be a counter. People in half stripped wet-suits were buzzing around carrying boxes of gear and rolling carts of oxygen tanks. After standing conspicuously in the middle of this mess for a few minutes, someone finally took note of my existence. Hard to tell of that someone was an employee or client of Croatia Divers seeing as how everyone is either half naked or wearing a salt stained tshirt. My greeter turned out to be Billy, brother of the owner and the general manager of activities during the day. Billy got my info, checked my diving credentials and informed me that since the Posjedon hotel had run out of rooms, I would be put up in a studio apartment one street off the bay. What Billy lacked in hosting ability he certainly made up for with efficiency and a humorous grin. Next on the agenda was getting my equipment. The only piece of diving equipment I carry with my while traveling is my own mask and snorkel as this is commonly the most frustrating (and defective) piece to borrow and its also easy to pack. This means, however, that I do need the rest; regulator, BCD, tank, fins and wetsuit. The only surprise here was getting fitted for a full 5mm wetsuit with hood and booties, which did not give good indication that the water would be warm, contrary to the 90 degree heat of the air.

Staying There: After the rigors of getting checked in and fitted for diving, the studio apartment was a pleasant surprise. Situated on the second level of a local home, the room had air-con, kitchenette and a sizable balcony overlooking the bay. After talking with some of the divers staying in the Posjedon hotel, the private apartment was a much preferred option. Since the only drawback was no easily accessible food option (rook service didn’t extend across the street unfortunately) the next task was to do a little grocery shopping. Another 5 Kuna water-taxi ride and I was back to the busy side of town and easily found several options for groceries. The combination of some local produce stands and a Konsum market proved sufficent for my culinary needs, the only negative being that i couldnt find any eggs…my search for a high-protien breakfast in central europe continues. Since my first dives started early the next morning, I spent the rest of my afternoon relaxing, writing and reading on my porch as the sun set.

Diving There: 7:30am, out front of the Croatia Divers HQ, the sun is already beating down on me and my new dive group; 2 Swedish, 2 Finnish and myself (much smaller groups than in Thailand). The Croatia Divers staff seems busy enough, buzzing around stacking gear and wiggling into wetsuits. The whole scene is a bit of an unorganized mess and I start to get the feeling that this is the norm for international diving operations. I begin to organize my own gear into staging and ensure its all working properly (much of the rented gear from CD is well worn). I experienced one of the regulator hoses explode as a Swedish dive partner turned on her air pressure, it nearly took my eardrum with it, luckliy this is why we check our gear before getting out on the water. After another hour and a half of delays, we were loaded into a rubber raft boat and shot off across the bay to begin a busy day of diving.

The water was a revelation, crystal clear, some of the most incredible visibility I could imagine underwater. If only there was any sea life to see! Despite its awesome visibly and unique underwater geography, the Mediterranean surrounding Croatia is relatively devoid of much life. I did encounter a spattering of fish, mostly smaller than my hand, a few lobsters and a few Octopi. The Octopus was probably the most interesting sea creature to encounter, I would find them hiding in the seabed with only their bulbous heads sticking out. After poking at this protrusion, the Octopus would pop out, squirt some ink and elegantly float away. Perhaps the coolest aspect of diving in Croatia was the underwater geography. There are numerous caves, cliffs and overhangs of rock that really give the diver a sensation of flying. Nothing like coming over a ledge drop-off to look down into a clear blue abyss. Another surprise (to me at least) was the temperature of the water. I mentioned getting fitted for a 5mm wetsuit with all the trimmings, but when I first jumped in, the water on the surface was as warm as the air. Even through my first dive of up to 18 meters the temperature didn’t change all that much and I found myself suffocatingly hot. It wasn’t until my second dive of the day did I realize the necessity. 20 meters and below you reach a thermocline that drops the temperature of the water dramatically. It goes from bath water warm to ice cold immediately. It created an interesting spa-like sensation when you are floating over rock formations, dipping into and out of the temperature change and having your body freeze and thaw repeatedly. During one of my dives I was able to tag along on an extra deep dive of 40 meters (I’m only certified to 30m), after spending 20 minutes at 38 meters, I was frozen solid, but it was an incredible feeling to rise back to the warm water and sun above…or maybe I was just slightly Narced.
I got to dive in a variety of locations, such as St. Ivans, Papillion and the Saddle, but there were several dive sites (mainly the caves) that I had researched beforehand and yearned to visit. Unfortunately dive sites have to cooperate with the weather and just like my time diving in Thailand, Croatia also experienced some unusual winds and stormy seas. I tried to inquire (politely) about extending my diving experience with Croatia Divers, if I was able to visit a few of these aforementioned sites. Billy beat around the bush for quite a bit, but ultimately I came to understand that the chances were slim to none, because of the weather history. I appreciate that no false promises were given, but he could have been more direct about it.
All in all, my experience with Croatia Divers was a good one. Despite what some people may have written on sites like TripAdvisor, I found the staff to be kind and welcoming. In fact, almost every night of my stay in Vela Luka I shared either a meal or drinks with members of the staff. The equipment was well worn, but also well loved, of course you are welcome to bring your own. As for their knowledge of diving and instruction, I didn’t find a shortage. Each of my instructors (I worked with almost all of them) gave me the essential rundown and answered any technical or naturalistic questions I asked. The instructors also provided me with a great deal of autonomy, from my equipment to my dives, which was great for me as I learn better by experience. It’s always a pain to have dive instructors looking over your shoulder and scrutinizing your every move. The price was indeed negotiable and I felt I got a good deal, including a great place to stay for the week. I did my negotiating online through email with Marjolein, one of the owners. I highly recommend this method, emailing and requesting a package deal. I would totally reccomned diving the Med to any avid diver, despite its lack of sea life and its chilly depths, it’s an awesome experience to behold. As for Croatia Divers, it’s a mixed bag, I enjoyed my situation, but I can understand a beginner having a rough go of it. If you are an advanced diver with a good attitude, you will have no issues, only a great time.

Eating There: When I wasn’t living it up with my dive team, I spent my evenings walking the tight tiered streets, lined with white stone houses filled with local Croats having dinner on their porches, talking and laughing. It was really a unique experience to see the island life played out in a small town. Locals living off the land or the sea and having their family vacations together just as we do back home. I was lucky enough to befriend the dive boat operator, a Vela Luka native named Bruno. Bruno enthusiastically showed me around the small town in exchange for workout tips (he was an aspiring fitness guru). Bruno introduced me to numerous residents and the local club scene (3 bars). I also have him to thank for one of the most satisfying meals of my life. When you wake up at 5am to get ready for a morning dive, a wholesome breakfast is generally pushed asunder, and after a rigorous day of hauling equipment, sucking canned air and baking in the sun, I can assure you that you will want to eat your weight in calories. After a few days of near collapse from starvation as I searched for a lunch big enough to quench my ravenous appetite, Bruno directed me to an innocuous looking cafe (aka someones house) filled with locals only. Once seated, the waitress didn’t hand me a menu or ask me what I wanted, the food just started coming out. First: A gigantic bowl of soup, literally a serving for a family in a huge salad bowl. It was mainly broth, but lurking at the bottom were deliciously al-dente spaghetti noodles. After polishing off the soup, I was the served the customary liter of Karlovacko along side a big bowl of sliced cabbage in vinegar (same as cole slaw) and a plate of tenderized pork chop with mashed potatoes slathered in gravy. To top it all off, the entire meal (including beer) was only 40 Kuna ($7). This meal definitely makes my top 10 all time.

I’ll say it again: forget Italy, head straight to Croatia.

Posted in Central Europe, Croatia, Diving, Food, Sporting, Travel, Vela Luka
Tagged Adriatic Sea, Croatia, Croatia Divers, Croats, Diving Croatia, Hrvatska, Jadrolinja, Karlovacko, Korcula, Kuna, Mediterranean, Mediterranean Octopus, Narced, Papillion, Posjedon Hotel, Split, St. Ivan's, Vela Luka
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August 25, 2012

Pardon the Interruption

Sorry for the interruption in posting, truth be told I needed to take a little break from blogging for a couple weeks. I suppose that just like any task, it can become taxing and more of a burden than a pleasure and I didn’t want that to happen. I started to worry that I had completely lost the muse and my blogging had reached a brick wall, fortunately, it was only a speed-bump and a little time away was all I needed. I will have to catch you all up in the happenings, but in the mean time, the next post will be more Croatia goodness. Thanks for bearing with me

Posted in Housekeeping
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August 7, 2012

Meet Croatia

Just as I was beginning to fall for Vienna, I leave to continue on my jouney south. While vagabonding, I’ve often found it to be the case where as soon as I get a handle on a country’s currency, language and customs I decide to bound off somewhere new to repeat the process all over again. Comfort and familiarity are always a fingertip away from this travelers reach, but that is the key to much of the excitement I get to experience. I do think I am getting better at the adjustment period with each successive place I visit. I like to think its a bit like the technological progress of mankind: with each new development the next comes exponentially sooner. This day, I start my adjustment to Croatia, or as the Serbo-Croats call it Hrvatska.

Inside a cramped but interestingly retro (a nice way of saying old) sleeper car, with 2 British travelers, the bittersweet memories of Vienna faded quickly when I awoke at dawn to the gorgeous scenery of the Croatian countryside gliding past my train car. I found myself glued to the window from the moment I wiped the sleep from my eyes and adjusted to the misty daylight. Piney green rolling hills gave way to mounds of arid Balkan splendor. Soon the deep blue, crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean came into view and squat towns filled with red roofed homes gained in frequency as my train approached the city of Split, Croatia.

Hopping off at the Split train station at 7am, energized by my new surroundings, I headed off to the waterfront to find food and my requisite daily caffeine dosage. I’ve come to terms with the fact that it is incredibly difficult to find a decent high-protein breakfast in this part of the world, so I find myself sitting in a seaside coffee bar listening to Bob Marley and eating a breakfast of Americano and croissant. Entering into the, “coffee culture”, part of Europe, starting in Vienna and now in Italian influenced Croatia, there are always outdoor locations with loads of patrons sitting outside in lovely cafes, but no one is eating, only sipping piping hot espresso and nibbling on a biscotti or two. This can be immensely frustrating when you have a growling belly and each cafe looks like a shining oasis to your hunger.
Many people (especially Americans) ask me, “why Croatia?”. Easy answer: culture, language and currency. It also helps that the city of Split is the San Diego of Croatia, lots of sunshine with a high of 86 and predictions of less than 2″ of rain in July. In comparison, many of the seaside towns of Spain, France and Italy have been culturally decimated by tourism. It’s difficult to find an ounce of authentic food or craftsmanship amidst the hoards of cruise boat tourists and gypsy vendors trying to appease them with unauthentic imported crap. While Croatia hasn’t entirely flown under the radar of the tourists and gypsy touts, they still remain a pleasant minority. I imagine that the Croatian coast is what Italy used to be 10-20 years ago. Split goes by several local nicknames; “the most beautiful city in the world” and “city of champions” to name a few. The latter name stems from the numerous athletes that call the city home. The city is drenched in the colors of the local soccer team, Hajduk, and murals to the team are painted around every corner of its cramped streets.

Many in my generation may recall the championship Chicago Bulls teams of the 90s, which included one of my favorite role players of all time, Tony Kukoc, also a Split product and also a Champion.
In southeast Asia, no matter what area I found myself in, my eardrums were always bombarded by the same techno-pop top-20 playlist, I was relived to discover that the Croats of Split seem to enjoy 70s easy listening music and a variety of shag-similar beach music, instead of the pulse pounding house beats I was so tired of hearing in Asia. The language is Croatian (obviously) and is a typical Slavic language, but this also meant that many of the words I learned in Czech Republic and Poland were applicable here (or a close variation), so I wasn’t completely lost in translation. It can also be noted that since Split is a beach town that many non-western tourists frequent, many of the essential signs and menus are translated. As for my third reason listed above, currency, Croatia isn’t using the Euro, they stick by their own mint, the Kuna. The exchange ratio is favorable to the USD which makes my budget happy. Coming from Euro dominated Vienna, it was like going outlet shopping for everything from sunglasses to food.
Another aspect of the culture is the food; a unique mix of Italian and Greek influence, judged by my western palate. Dinner is typically eaten very late, usually 9pm or later, I found myself sitting alone in deserted restaurants around 7pm on more than one occasion. After a few nights of adjustment, I realized that this schedule meshes with the eating habits bestowed upon me by my family. Back in the US of A I usually took my supper at 10pm. An important part of the Croatian dining experience are carbs, lots of em’. They force bread on you at every meal, I made the mistake of turning it down once, only to receive a confused scowl in exchange. In short, I’m eating ice cream, bread and pasta every day, a far cry from my usual eating habits, but hey, it’s all locally sourced and organic so it can’t be all that bad. The “must try” dishes in Croatia are Gnocchi and Risotto, I had the best Gnocci I’ve ever tasted at Bon Apetit, an eatery located within the Diocletian Palace walls of Split.

Handmade nuggets of gnocchi pasta slathered in a gorgonzola cheese sauce and accompanied by a bowl of fresh black olives. I could eat this dish once a week for the rest of my life. The risotto of the Croatian coast comes in many varieties, including the famous Black Risotto, usually served with puffer fish. My personal favorite was the shrimp scampi risotto, the only drawback being that Croats prefer their shrimp with head and exoskeleton intact. After the first few I just decided to go with the crunchy flow and wash it all down with the cold Karlovacko.

For a Latin geek like me, Split is also a visual gold mine. Split was originally an ancient greek colony called Aspalathos in the 6th century BC and later became known more famously for the retirement palace of Diocletian in AD 305. The palace and its walls still stand today, built from local limestone and marble of high quality, and they surround the many shops, eateries, hotels and monuments of the city center. In old town Split, restaurants and hotels leave their walls exposed in order to showcase the white stone and mortar of the ancient Diocletian palace. Archways adorn almost every entryway and window and the white cobblestone has become slick as glass due to heavy foot traffic for centuries. The palace was constructed to be Diocletian’s retirement home, after he almost died of an illness, making him the first Roman Emperor to voluntarily remove himself from office. The palace is rectangular in shape and surrounded on all sides by 70 ft walls. Over the centuries the interior of the palace has been built to house more and more tightly constructed buildings, making way for cramped but romantic streets for foot traffic only. At one point, the walls of the palace enclosed a population of 10,000. Of course these days the palace marks the center of a much more sprawling city of Split and is the epicenter of tourism and cultural heritage, making it a UNESCO World Heritage Monument.

The last two photos above show the Emperors apartments and religious buildings, including Diocletian’s mausoleum, now transformed into the Cathedral of St. Domnius. The stairs of the bell tower of the cathedral can be climbed (for a small fee) and it reveals some incredible views of the surrounding palace, city and ocean.

Next to the cathedral is the Peristyle, a monumental court that gives central access to the Emperors religious buildings. The Peristyle is also home to a couple of authentic sphinxes, imported from Egypt by Diocletian.

Of course this area is now the center tourist attraction and meeting spot for all tourist activity within the palace walls, however, I was surprised to discover how alive the palace seemed to be with local activity of residents pruning their gardens, tending to their homes and attending local fish markets. Even with the periodic influx of tourists, life goes on as usual within the palace walls for many Split citizens, as it has for centuries. From togas to t-shirts.

Not far from the palace is the recreational park of Marjan Hill, established by Diocletian for the many residents and servants of his palace grounds. Still a very important cultural and recreational landmark for Croatians. I took on the steep climb on a hot day in order to soak in one of the best vistas in Croatia.

In the evenings, the palace is tastefully illuminated and walking the tight streets sometimes transported my imagination back to the Classical times.

It also helped that I experienced one of the coolest hostel experiences in my travels. I stayed at the Diocletian Palace Hostel, built into the ancient limestone walls and just a couple hundred feet from the Peristyle. The hostel lobby and restaurant are fashionably modern and the staff extremely friendly. The rooms, however, depend on your co-occupants. As you can see below, my lodgings were a bit unkempt due to a rambunctious group of young Austrians.

All in all, Split was awesome. One of my favorite travel spots and a place I could seriously consider long-term. The only thing I wouldn’t recommend….don’t get an I heart split t-shirt…for obvious reasons amongst English speakers.

Posted in Central Europe, Croatia, Food, Sightseeing, Split
Tagged Balkan, Black Risotto, Cathedral of St. Domnius, Croat, Croatia, Diocletian, Diocletian Palace, Diocletian Palace Hostel, Gnocchi, Hajduk, Hrvatska, Karlovacko, Kuna, Marjan Hill, Mediterranean, Peristyle, Scampi Risotto, Sphinx, Tony Kukoc, UNESCO World Heritage site
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July 27, 2012

Schonbrunn Palace and Zoo

During my stay in Vienna, I knew I wanted to take a day (or two) to visit Schloss Schonbrunn, one of the most important cultural monuments of Austria. The palace and it’s gardens were constructed to the be the summer home (and recreational hunting grounds) for successive Hapsburg monarchs. The Hapsburg monarchs are best known for providing all the elected Holy Roman Emperors for over 3 centuries and for a time they could claim true, “world power”, due to their vast territories along with fairly undisputed political and religious control. Of course all this stuff about arranged marriages, family trees and church hierarchy would be well and interesting for you to learn about, but what I feel was the true fruit of their 600 year dominion over Austria is what now has become the Schonbrunn Tiergarten (Zoo). The majority of my venture into Schloss Schonbrunn turned out to be a meandering circuit around this zoo, which, founded in 1752, claims to be the oldest zoo in the world. So just like a good children’s book, this post will now be more about the pictures than the words:

The fist challenge is finding the Zoo. Once you enter the walls of Schonbrunn gardens there are miles of gravel paths through rows of trees and mazes of shrubbery. It’s a truly beautify walk, but can be frustrating when you are looking for something specific. Being my typical wandering self, I accepted the fate of getting a bit lost and enjoyed a warm summer day exploring the massive gardens until I came upon the surprisingly non-ostentatious entrance to the Zoo. The Zoo was originally opened to the public in 1779 and initially entrance was free, but of course there is no opulent monarchy keeping the animals fed these days a pass for the day was only 12 Euros, a bargain compared to some zoos and aquariums I’ve visited in the states. If I’m not mistaken, it costs at least $15 to get into the Charleston aquarium.

The zoo was constructed in 1752 to be the Imperial Menagerie for the Habsburgs and upon entering you are confronted with the baroque architecture of the central pavilion, known now as the Kaiser Pavilion, which served as the center of the menagerie and the location for imperial breakfasts. Even with some of the newly added modern elements, there is still a great sense of the 18th architecture all around the zoo.

Inside one such menagerie-style building is probably the most famous inhabitant of the Zoo, the Giant Pandas. Schonbrunn Tiergarten is one of the few places in the world to house and successfully breed Giant Pandas. Get on with your bad self Panda, you are black, white and asian.

Many of the animals in the zoo were obtained through expeditions to Africa by the Habsburg royalty. Giraffes were brought in in 1828 and consequently inspired a whole line of Viennese fashion.

The most recent modern addition to the zoo is the Orangerie, which doesn’t make OJ, it houses a family of orangutans

Radiating from the Kaiser Pavilion like slices of a Viennese cake are the many sections of the old zoo. One such section houses the big cats. Lions, Tigers, Cheetah and Jaguar/Leopard. Unfortunately in 2002 a young caretaker was attacked by a jaguar during feeding, killing her in front of zoo visitors. The zoo has been plagued by several such unfortunate incidents, but I saw nothing of the sort during my visit.

Much more docile than the big cats were these lazy-ass koalas.

The Hip-hopopotamus, his lyrics are bottomless.

Prairie doggin it.

Rockhopper penguinos, hoppin rocks during feeding time.

Sea lions posing for my shot.

Monkeys of various shapes and sizes going about their monkey business. No poo was thrown in the making of this blog post.

Baby wolf and big-arse white Wolf (aka Ghost). Jon Snow represent!

Rhinoceros with a bad case of mudd-butt. Are rhinos just fat lazy unicorns?

Tortoise.

My self-proclaimed spirit animal, the ring tailed lemur.

Inside the simulated jungle habitat. Just like in a jungle, you can’t see anything.

Piranhas in 3D.

Awesome bioluminescent jelly fish. Neither jelly, nor fish.

Striped horses.

Lawn ornamentation.

The Schonbrunn Tiergarten has experienced an interesting (if not trying) history in the past century. The two world wars took a tremendous toll on the animal life. World War one resulted in major food shortages causing a decline from 3,500 specimens to only 900. World War two was much more devastating since Vienna was the site of multiple bombing raids. When the bombs fell over Schonbrunn many buildings and animals were destroyed, bringing the number of specimens to a lowly 400. More recently there was the aforementioned jaguar accident and another trainer being crushed by an elephant, this placed a lot of strain on the directors of the zoo and initiated a carousel of new leadership that left the zoo on shaky financial ground. Things are looking up for the zoo now, after seeing an increased interest in sponsorship from companies and steady leadership at the helm. After seeing almost every animal in the zoo and fulfilling my daily requirement of childish wonderment, I finally made my way back into the gardens of Schloss Schonbrunn to peruse the rest of the royal grounds and palace.

My next visual encounter was the picturesque Palm Pavilion, in full bloom.

I then made my way through the rows of greenery until emerged in the grand french garden of the palace itself. To my left was the gigantic 1,441 room yellow palace and to my right was massive hill and Gloriette. Despite the heat, I decided to hike the 60 meter high hill to the Gloriette.

The Gloriette is kind of a random structure built by the Habsburgs to commemorate their greatness and have a neat spot to chill out-max and have tea parties. The structure was built using all recycled stone and has many Roman motifs scattered about it.

The view from the Gloriette was really stunning, with the palace and it’s gardens below and the cityscape of Vienna in the background.

After descending the hill and walking through the gardens, I came around to the front entrance of the palace and got the full frontal money shot of the imperial greatness. Easily realizing how this site made it onto the UNESCO World Heritage list as a stunning example of baroque splendor.

In summary, If you find yourself in Vienna, be sure to hit up the Schloss Schonbrunn, it’s worth the U-Bahn trip.

Posted in Animals, Sightseeing, Vienna, Western Europe
Tagged Austria, French Gardens, Giant Pandas, Gloriette, Habsburg, Habsburg summer home, Holy Roman Emperor, Kaiser Pavilion, Oldest Zoo, Orangerie, Schloss Schonbrunn, Schonbrunn Palace, Schonbrunn Tiergarten, Schonbrunn Zoo, Vienna, Vienna Zoo, Wein
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July 23, 2012

Vienna: from Wirst to First

From its beginnings as a Roman encampment along the Danube, Vienna (Wien as most of the world calls it) has sprung into a sprawling metropolis with an international appeal. The city is rich with opera, symphony, balls, white wine, schnitzel, coffee and cakes. Many would consider the Viennese culture as opulence at its height, but for me it just highlighted the drastic differences between central and western European cultures. Strolling around the city I noticed an amazing confluence of modern and historic architecture, paired with a cleanliness and knack for sensible urban planning. The language is German but French, Spanish, Italian or English are never far from your ears. There is also globalized signage, which was a definite relief after the likes of Ukraine, Poland and Czech Republic. I got lost far less often and it’s never too hard to find someone who speaks English when needed.

I arrived in Vienna via train (certainly my favorite method of transportation), I took the 10:30am EuroCity train out of Ostrava and arrived in Vienna around 2pm. The EuroCity train was top notch as always, fast, comfy, clean and efficient. After taking a moment to orient myself around the Vienna train station I consulted Google Maps on my phone with the free WiFi provided by the station (kudos Wien). I pre-booked my hotel this time (the night before) and noticed that it was quite a hike from the Wein Meidling train station to where my digs were located. No problemo, I simply walked 20 paces to the nearest subway (U-Bahn) kiosk and purchased a 72 hour universal pass for around 19 Euros. The U-Bahn is directly connected to the train station, a testament to sensible city planners and Austrian ingenuity.

Now I like to believe that my travels have allowed me to gain a better sense of direction and analysis of subway maps, but it’s one thing for a small town guy to navigate the subway system of a US city and an entirely different struggle with an international city. Much is based on instinct and gut feelings, along with an overalls sense of spatial awareness (and it dosent hurt to have the satellite GPS on your iPhone, so long as it feels like working properly). luckily, Vienna’s subway is one of the best performing public transportation systems worldwide with maps that are relatively easy to comprehend. The main difficulty is remembering the names of the station stops, since the German language seems to have some of the longest nouns I’ve ever seen. Therefore, I made it to my hotel without much ado.

Now the word, “hotel”, is really an exaggeration for where I stayed. Once one enters the countries controlled by the Euro, you experience an incredible jump in accommodation prices. So instead of going the hostel route, one can choose to book a room in the many student dorms that have been converted into makeshift “hotels” for the summer. I happen to think that it’s a rather sensible option after my stint in a student dorm in Krakow, so I had no qualms booking a room online with “AllYouNeed Hotel 4″ in Vienna, I guess the name should tell you all you need to know.

There was sufficient space, handy shelving, free breakfast and even complementary (and nutritional) Jago juice. However, I quickly realized the drawbacks of the dorm-hotel, specifically: no air-conditioning. I realize that most European countries don’t have much in the way of A/C, but this was July in the city and it was hottt. Coping with the heat in Vienna was tough, I didnt expect to be more uncomfortable in a European country than in Asia. In Asia I at least had the luxury of a fan, apparently Europe has yet to figure out the benefits of circulating air…after a few sweltering nights in my dorm room, my inner MacGyver kicked in and I realized that I could fashion my own, “cool zone”, using the shower. By turning the cold water on full blast and cracking the shower door, I created a respite from the heat, provided that I was ok with sitting on the toilet seat for long stints.
To escape the unbearable daytime heat of my room, I spent many of my waking hours walking the city. Now I’ve already gone on the record in stating that Prague is the most beautiful city I’ve seen, but I’ve got to say that Vienna runs a close second. Not being know for as much tourism as Prague, one can certainly tell that Vienna is more business oriented, with lots of infrastructure lending towards the locals. Almost any touristy area is shared by visitors and locals alike. One such location that I really enjoyed was the Naschmarkt, Vienna’s most popular street market.

Over a kilometer long, the Naschmarkt has existed since the 16th century and plays host to many vendors and cafes. In its early history the Naschmarkt was famous for selling milk bottles that were then made from wood from the Ash tree, which led to the name Aschenmarkt and then later mutated to its current name. In present day you can buy any number of fruits, vegetables, exotic spices, fresh fish and raw or cured meats. It’s truly a kaleidoscope of colors and smells as you walk the narrow alley.

As you can see from above, I was able to procure quite the scrumptious lunch from my wanderings in the market. It’s also worth noting that in a city bent on the inflated Euro, the market is one of the cheapest ways to get a good meal and stash a few dry goods for snacks later on.
Continuing my walkabout around the spotless streets and manicured parks of Vienna, I ran into many a statue or monument to famous residents. The city is famous for its great composers, thinkers and artists. A culture that is still dominating in present day with elements of artistic influence found all over and with students that fill the streets with their own music and art.

Making my way to the historic city center, I started to encounter the typical traditional sights of the many great European cities: giant catholic churches, elegant squares and the wonderful mixture of architecture that can only be found in places this old.

Touring a city by foot can work up quite the appetite, so I began a search for the traditional cuisine of Austria: Wiener-schnitzel. My quest lead me to rather residential part of town and a small restaurant named Gassner’s Wirsthaus. On a cool night that was sputtering rain I was apparently the only hungry individual frequenting this particular Wirsthaus, however this was not a reflection on the quality. I had, without a doubt, the best Wiener-schnitzel I’ve ever tasted. Two golden heaping portions spritzed with fresh lemon and stacked on top of plain potatoes boiled to a soft perfection and seasoned with a bit of dill. This feast was washed down with 2 glasses of delicious Viennese white wine. I highly recommend this joint to anyone visiting Vienna, it’s worth the trek and was also very reasonably priced.

Once I got my hooks into the city and obtained a solid feel for my surroundings I took to more domestic ventures. After hanging with friends for the past few weeks in Warsaw and Ostrava, it was nice to get some alone-time and take care of some much needed bidness. I was able to get some laundry done at a local laundromat (totally guessing at the German wash settings), go grocery shopping and revive my declining fitness level. I spent several days following in the footsteps of the former Austrian Governor of California and working out at John Harris Fitness.

One of the nicest gyms I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting my swell on in, but also the price for one day was what I pay for a month back home at Golds Gym. At least this place had an Olympic pool and self-service tanning beds (not that I indulged). Getting all Hans and Franz was a nice to counteract the litany of meats, cheeses and cakes I was consuming on the daily.
By the end of my week, Vienna went from simply a waypoint on my journey south to Croatia to being one of my favorite cities so far. I really enjoyed the culture, language, food and (grudgingly) the climate. If it wasn’t so darn expensive I would love to spend more time there.

Posted in Food, Sightseeing, Vienna, Western Europe
Tagged AllYouNeed Hotel 4, AllYouNeed Hotel Vienna, Aschenmarkt, Austria, Danube, Euro, Gassner's Wirsthaus, German, John Harris Fitness, Naschmarkt, U-Bahn, Vienna, Viennese, Viennese white wine, Wien, Wien Meidling, wiener-schnitzel
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ZachCoddington

Every day is Saturday