16 Nov '09: After leaving our secure hotel The President in Budapest we took off for Vienna in Austria again. We had a bit of a late start for a change and as Vienna is only about 2.5 hours from Budapest over the highway we decided to leave the highway once we crossed into Austria and take the secondary roads instead so we could see a bit more of the countryside.
It was whilst still driving on the highway that Yvonne let go with another of her now famous 'Gems' that completely took our breath away but I'll leave that for the next edition of Evonka's Gems, .....Part 2.
As soon as we became close to the Austrian border our faithfull TomTom kicked into life again and proceeded to take us to Vienna. Unfortunately I had made a mistake and instead of taking us to the address of the Hotel we had booked the night before, it took us to the center of Vienna. after rectifying this error she took us en route once more and this time to the correct place.
After leaving the 
city center and getting closer to our true destination we were becoming a bit dissapointed by the surroundings and a few misgivings were setting in. This feeling of disquiet only increased when we turned into the final one way alley way in which our Hotel was located. Parking at the hotel was a nightmare, along the street was impossible and I had to put the car in a garage that was very small and had to be shared with 2 other cars. After shuffling the cars around I was finally able to ease our Mercedes into it without damage but there were a few hairy moments and I managed at one stage to have all the car's in build parking sensors scream at me at the same time.
city center and getting closer to our true destination we were becoming a bit dissapointed by the surroundings and a few misgivings were setting in. This feeling of disquiet only increased when we turned into the final one way alley way in which our Hotel was located. Parking at the hotel was a nightmare, along the street was impossible and I had to put the car in a garage that was very small and had to be shared with 2 other cars. After shuffling the cars around I was finally able to ease our Mercedes into it without damage but there were a few hairy moments and I managed at one stage to have all the car's in build parking sensors scream at me at the same time.We checked into the hotel at their miniscule reception and after the usual formalities were completed I asked for the internet connection that had been advertised on their webpage. I was assured that it would work but had to pay for the privilige of using it off course and a hefty charge it was indeed esspecially if you consider that most hotels let you use their internet facilities for free these days. The internet connection simply did not work no matter how hard I tried by changing this and that settings on my laptop even going through the whole process again with the receptionist who by then had all put us on edge as a 'nose in the wind snotty bitch'. The wireless internet simply would not connect and instead I was offered one of their own computers at, you guessed it, an extra charge for that particular privelige.
You might well ask why this internet was so important to us but it had become our tool to keep family and friends updated with our whereabouts, we checked emails with it and most importantly we used it to look for suitable accommodation at our next stop!
After the failure of our connection to the outside world we held a council of war and esspecially the ladies were quite keen to leave Vienna immediately the next day and not stay a second night as we had planned and booked. I listened to their discussion but did not take part straight away leaving them to vent their dissapointed in the quality of the hotel amongst each other first and waiting for a later opportunity to give my views on the matter.
We wondered through the surrounding streets a bit looking for a place to have something to eat and we found this very local and suburban cafe-restaurant where some local residents had gathered to play cards, chess or backgammon. We ordered our meals and became quite friendly with the waitress who fortunately spoke good English and serviced us very well. During this meal I raised the question of us staying in Vienna for at least a day as we had originally planned because I could not imagine that this city with its worldwide reputation could really be so bad as we were thinking at that moment and fortunately I was able to convince my travel companions to give this city at least 'a go'.
The following morning we had a good breakfast at the hotel and that was just about the only satisfactory point about it as I was pretty grumpy about the fact that not only the internet did not work in the rooms but I also had to press my private parts hard into the shower controls in an effort to catch some water to fall on the tip of my nose! This hotel was definetly the pits and best described as the next level up from a backpackers!
We had decided that we would use the Vienna Underground that morning to go and see the Lipizzaner horses http://www.lipizzaner.com/lipizzaner_frameset.asp at training...what an adventure that was, I nearly got arrested for fare evasion and that to the great amusement of my travelling partners...
We had purchased our tickets for the metro at a machine on the wall of the first station and had to wonder around 3 stations to get to, what we then thought, was the right train. Once the train was going and we were following its progress against a metro station plan stuck on the train's wall we realized quickly we were going into the opposite direction then we're supposed to so we got out at the next stop. We then moved up the stairs to get to the stairs to the opposite platform, came to the top, saw a wall of uniformed Vienna transit guards in front of us waiting behind the turnstiles, turned around to take the steps down to the next platform and then I was politely but firmly stopped by a young female guard who showed me her badge and demanded to see my Underground ticket.....
Obviously our action to go to the top of the stairs and abruptly turning around to go down the next step of stairs had raised her suspicion and she was convinced I was a fare evader. When I produced my ticket and the ladies showed theirs it became soon obvious that I was just a dumb tourist who had a ticket but failed to have it stamped before gtting on the first train we took. She took us to her supervisor who was part of the line checking for fare evaders, explained the situation to him and he showed us what we had to do in the Vienna Underground to be nice and law abiding tourist....
Through all this The Ladies thought it was all a bit of a hoot and hilarious and I wonder how hard they would have laughed if I had really been arrested, I must say that I was quite dissapointed in their reaction, obviously they did not value me as much as I thought....
When the ticket supervisor, who wasn't that proficient in the English language, had completed his explanation of the Vienna Underground Ticket system http://www.wien.gv.at/english/transportation/publictrans.htm The Ladies asked him what the best way was to get to the Lipizaner horse show. I must admit that I was pretty peeved off with that because I knew exactly where we were and how to get there as by now I had studied the map thoroughly and was ready to proceed on the right train. Our ticket supervisor then started waving his arms around and quoting train and bus numbers and before I could say my opinion on the matter 'The Three' were dissapearing in a direction of which I was convinced there could absolutely be no undergroung connection for a very simple reason.... the direction they took went up! Not only didn't they have any idea where North was but now they had completely forgotten that there is a very good and simple reason why a train system that runs below the surface of the planet is called an UNDERground!
In frustration I threw my arms up in the air and hurried after them but whatever groan and grunts I could produce they were completely ignored because that fine Austrian man had pointed them in a certain direction and had quoted them a number... 'one'... God only knows what he really meant by it...
After surfacing ABOVE the UNDERground station I was finally able to get my message across to my companions that it wasn't a very good idea to take a bus or tram in any city unless you damned well know which is the right one, where it is going and where it stops whilst an Underground train system usually is quite easy to follow if it is only for the fact that it runs on rails and can't really deviate from its track for the simple reason it runs through tunnels.
I've noticed now a couple of times on our travels that my darling companions tend to take o
ff on an excursion with full confidence in where they are and where they are going only to refer back to me after a while with the same question over and over again: 'Where do you reckon we are, Frans'.... usually when the wretched souls are once more lost again and I can start figuring out how we got into this situation in the first place.... If only they learned the first rule of navigating by a map: You do need to keep track on the map where you are actually going?!? ... but I suppose that's a bit much to ask if you just have to keep an eye on those shoe shops as well.....
ff on an excursion with full confidence in where they are and where they are going only to refer back to me after a while with the same question over and over again: 'Where do you reckon we are, Frans'.... usually when the wretched souls are once more lost again and I can start figuring out how we got into this situation in the first place.... If only they learned the first rule of navigating by a map: You do need to keep track on the map where you are actually going?!? ... but I suppose that's a bit much to ask if you just have to keep an eye on those shoe shops as well.....Anyway, after getting on the underground again we arrived at the area where the Lipizzaner horses are trained very quickly and when we purchased our tickets and found out the training didn't start for another hour we went in search for a local Starbucks for a well deserved good quality cup of coffee....only to find out that Karen and Yvonne couldn't find the way to their front door.... now I ask you.....
The Lipizzaner training was a dissapointment, I can't say anything else about it. We had expected a full blown training with a lot horses where things weren't going smooth but where you would still get a good idea what the show would be like but it wasn't anything like that at all. All it was were a group of about 4 or 5 horses that were walking or ambling around the ring and who were taken through some paces but nothing really spectacular and there certainly wasn't any interaction between the horses themselves like formation riding and the like. The biggest dissapointment for me was the fact that there was no explanation given on what the training was about in particular or the Lipizzaner horses in general, the only public announcement that was made over and over again was the warning that no photography or filming was allowed.... they obviously were very keen to protect the DVD sales in the local shops!
After watching this training for about half an hour my neck was getting sore from looking around a stone pillar, my bum was getting cold for sitting on a wooden bench and my bladder was telling me it wanted to go to another place so I got up and we went to our next attraction. On the way out I did buy a DVD about these horses and what they did do because I certainly didn't get a half decent impresson from it sitting in this enclosure and watching a couple of them going around in circles.
From the Lipizzaners we went directly in the 'Sissi' exhibition. For those who are not familiar with Sissi, she was the last empress Elizabeth of Austria and a very popular one at that. Everywhere you looked there was impressions of 'Sissi', on keyhangers, cups, shopping bags, glasses, etc.. Everywhere you looked you saw 'Sissi'. Now I remembered the 'Sissi' television series and films from a long time agao and I'm sure that the European followers of this blog can remember the beautiful Romy Schneider in the elad role. I think the whole of the male population of Western Europe and a big chunk of Eastern Europe were madly in love with her.
The 'Sissi' exhibition took us through the silver and dinnerware that was used by the Habzburg imperial family during their lavious banquets, the imperial palace where they lived and a special exhibition on 'Sissi's' life as it is now seen in modern times. It was quite eerie to have such an insight in someone's life with not only the knowledge on how she lived and felt but also having her dresses and personal belongings in full view as well.
Photo's were once again not allowed to be taken so I bought myself another DVD with a compilation of the three Sissi movies that had been made and another one containing a documentary that was compiled recently on her life and sad assasination which threw Austria and Hungary in mourning. I suppose that Sissi and Lady Di had a lot in common....
The walk through the Sissi exhibition had taken the best part of two hours so we were ready for lunch which we took at the royal palaces and we had a look at what else we could achieve in Vienna that afternoon. We decided to taek another bus tour of the city as this would give us a good general impression of Vienna and would show us the most important attractions whilst giving us a running English commentary..
In the afternoon we wondered around the city and as this can be quite thristy work we c
ame accross this cute little pub where two Australian girls were working as bar maids. The pub served its own type of brewed beer but was very smokey as patrons were freely smoking in the bar whilst it actually did have a seperate smoking area in the form of a small wooden box where two people could just fit in but which came with the warning there was no room to hang your coat. Obviously there were more smokers then non smokers amongst the patrons and they would not fit into this little cubicle.
ame accross this cute little pub where two Australian girls were working as bar maids. The pub served its own type of brewed beer but was very smokey as patrons were freely smoking in the bar whilst it actually did have a seperate smoking area in the form of a small wooden box where two people could just fit in but which came with the warning there was no room to hang your coat. Obviously there were more smokers then non smokers amongst the patrons and they would not fit into this little cubicle.After quenching our thirst we went in search for the lcoal casino where Maxine wanted to spend some Euro's. Karen and Yvonne joined us just 'for the experience' and we gambled away for a little while without improving our own budget balance but instead generously contributing to the general economy of Austria.
Dinner was held that night at another Nord See outlet with which we had a good experience in the one in Salzburg but this store was not quite of the same standard, I thought....
When we arrived back in the hotel the wireless internet had as by magic come back 'on line' but it had nothing to do with their system, it was all on my laptop... Yeah right, all I did was trurn it on and by magic it connected to their network. This is the only hotel that did not receive our prized Koala award simply due to a lack of service, placing deceiving information on the internet and leaving a sizeble imprint of their shower handles on my private parts......
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