After leaving Salzburg I made my way to Vienna. Vienna is the capital of Austria and home to roughly 1/2 of the Austrian population. I decided to walk from the train station to the hostel I stayed since it was only about 4 kilometers. I like doing this because it gives me a better feel for the city and it's a good way to stretch my legs after a long train ride. Little did I know, I would spend an hour walking through the ghetto. My hostel, while next to a big shopping area, was certainly not in one of the nicer areas of town. I made it in one piece but for a while there I was beginning to wonder what I had got myself into.
My second day in Vienna I went to the Schonnberg Palace which is absolutely massive. The Hapsburg's who headed the monarchy for centuries lived there. Going through the palace wasn't terribly interesting but the history lesson that came attached was. I learned more about the Austrians than I ever wanted to know. The palace also affords some spectacular views of the city. Again, I wish I had a computer so I could share those views with you.
Schonnberg Palace
I found Austria by and large to be disappointing. Perhaps my expectations were far too inflated, but I feel I accomplished all there was to do in a few short days.
While in Vienna I decided to take a spontaneous day trip to Budapest, Hungary. Budapest was an interesting place with few tourists (which was awesome). You can clearly tell that the country suffered from years of communist occupation. I accidentally wandered by the police station at one point and it was riddled with bullet holes and shrapnel damage. The city is really two separate cities, Buda and Pest, conjoined by a bridge (first thing you need to know about Europe is that every city which borders a river has a famous bridge). The Buda side is full of hills while the Pest side is flat. There is a big castle on the Buda side that I climbed to and it gave a great perspective of the city.
Budapest
While there, I also had time to wander into the Terror Museum. The museum documents life under Nazi and Soviet occupation. It was really interesting. I think many people are unaware of the effects the Cold War had on countries like Hungary. While the US chose a hands off approach to the occupation (for lack of a better word) of it's post-war territories, the Soviets effectively enslaved millions of people in the race against the US in space, nuclear armament, etc. It's hard to imagine that only 20 years ago Hungarians lived most days in fear. Just another example of why I'm fortunate to live in the country I do.
Terror Museum
Perhaps the strangest thing I have seen on the trip so far also occurred in Budapest. While walking along the streets, there were huge piles of garbage that people had throw out (I think for renovation projects) and there would be tons of people rummaging through them. After a pile had been rummaged through, people would stand guard by their new found treasure until they could haul it away. It was truly bizarre.
So while Austria was a disappointment I give Hungary 2 thumbs up and definitely want to go back and visit again.
Until next time!
Prost!
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