Our Big Four…..

The four main Central European cities (some call them Eastern Europe) on our itinerary have had an amazing shared history.  The cities of Vienna, Prague, Krakow, and Budapest all have had been ruled by the Habsburgs, invaded or occupied by the Ottomans, have a bloody history with the Nazis, and have either lived under communist rule or been effected by it.  With all this shared history and closeness in proximity, we wanted to see these cities for our ourselves and interact with the people making their lives there today.  We found in each fantastic and unique architecture, medieval castles, and hard working individuals.

We were astounded at how elegant and romantic Vienna felt.  Building after building was decorated to the hilt.  We hiked and biked all around the streets to see these masterpieces.  The people looked equally classy.  Even in the tourist zones we felt a little too casual.  We were definitely not in Portland any longer!  The Viennese make denim sophisticated.  High heels and button down shirts were the norm.   So, what does one do to be entertained in this city of culture?…..attend a free outdoor Opera, of course. 
We discovered an outdoor venue for watching classic operas, on film.  That was the only way we’d attend an opera.  Not only was the venue, free, it was very impressive.  We joined several thousand people in watching Carmen on a gigantic screen next to Vienna‘s historic City Hall.   The food court was amazing as well.  We indulged in upscale fast food on ceramic plates and real wine glasses.  Although the opera is a taste we haven’t quite acquired yet, it was great to experience a typical Vienna summer evening. 

 

 

   

Prague is one of the most crowded European cities we visited and after our 6 days there we understand it‘s attraction.  As we mentioned in an earlier post it‘s a beautiful city with it‘s 100s of spires.  We had a surprising treat as we descended Castle Hill.  Fire works lit up the Prague skyline and Vtlava river.  No one we asked could explain the cause for the celebration so we assumed it was because we had arrived in town!  We were lucky to meet up with a woman through Servas who just happened to be a professional tour guide.  She took us on a personalized walk through the old town and as a bonus told us about her participation in the Velvet Revolution in 1989 (more to come on that later).  We also celebrated our wedding anniversary by ’dressing up’ and going to a jazz club.  We sat with 3 guys from Oslo, Norway in the big city of Prague for the weekend to unwind from what they described as ’shit work’ of cleaning concrete forms.  They admitted within minutes of meeting us that they were really drunk and were in a hard core punk rock band as a hobby.  They were hysterical and somewhat pathetic, but entertaining.  Once the music started, they left.  No mosh pit!  We stayed and completely enjoyed listening to the extremely talented jazz no-names from Prague.

 

 

 

Rumor has it that Krakow is going to be Europe’s next Prague.  It, too, has a really great historic old town with many squares for just hanging out.  The café culture of grabbing a drink and watching the world go by (smoking) is alive and well here.  We found Krakow to have some of the best old town walking areas.  Where the towns protective walls once stood is now a circular park.  With it’s paths, fountains and statues, it’s was the perfect place for us to step up the pace from the tourist shuffle.  We thought it was the best reengineered medieval fortification; now a place for people to get together rather then a wall to keep people apart.

   

 

Budapest is going through major rebuilding and updates; there is construction everywhere.  One person we talked with laughed about all the ‘improvements’ and said it’s the new government in office trying to make themselves look good by starting a bunch of construction projects.  She doubted that many of them would ever get completed.  She also showed us an area that the locals call Budapest’s National Hole.  It’s a gathering spot with an underground café and outdoor seating all around the perimeter of the hole.  Originally it was designated as the site of the National Theater and was completely dug out and the foundation was being poured.  Then a new political party was elected.  The new administration didn’t like the location of the Theater and halted construction.  Our Budapest friend said it’s very typical for her city but thinks what they did with the area turned out pretty good.  We agree.  We sat near Budapest’s National Hole and pondered governments.  They seem to be pretty much the same around the world - inefficient and always trying to look good.

It doesn’t matter to us if they’re considered in Central or Eastern Europe (it’s just semantics), we’re so glad we visited these four magnificent cities.  It was enlightening and saddening to learn more details about each.  Even though they share pretty brutal histories each has a unique vibe, look, culture.  We made the most of our time in each city and think they are all worthy of a visit.