Prague, Budapest and Vienna

Well here it is the first of September and we are off on our Fall trip.  We decided to do a 3 city train trip to Prague, Budapest and Vienna.  For the first leg of our trip we flew into Prague, Czech Republic.  After settling into our apartment at the Royal Route Mansions, it was time to find some lunch. 

 We found "The Pub" around the corner from our place.

We had a tap at our table and enjoyed pouring our own Czech beer.  After lunch we set out to explore the city.

The Prague Astronomical clock, is a medieval clock first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.

The next day we walked across the Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava River.  Czech legend has it that construction began on Charles Bridge at 5:31 am on 9 July 1357 with the first stone being laid by Charles IV himself.  This exact time was very important to the Holy Roman Emperor because he was a strong believer of numerology and this specific time, which formed a numerical bridge (1357 9, 7 5:31), would instill Charles Bridge with additional strength.

The John Lennon Wall 

 Since the 1980's it has been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles' songs.

We Continued up the hill to Prague Castle.

Prague Castle is the official residence and office of the President of the Czech Republic.  The Guinness Book of Records lists Prague Castle as the largest ancient castle in the world, roughly the size of 7 football fields.

St. Vitus Cathedral is situated entirely within the Prague Castle complex.

On our way back down the hill we stopped off at  St. Wenceslas Vineyard for a cool refreshment. 

Legend has it that it is the oldest vineyard in Bohemia, founded by St.  Wenceslas at the beginning of the 10th century. 

 We then met up with our Florida friend Alanna, whom is now living in Prague.  We met at Riegrovy Sady Park and grabbed a drink at the Beer Garden.  We enjoyed a beautiful view as the sun was going down over the city skyline.   

We had a fabulous dinner at the OBLACA restauant in the Žižkov Television Tower.

The tower stands 709 feet high.

The next day we spent enjoying the city centre, browsing shops and meeting up with Alanna for dinner and drinks.

The Powder Tower is one of the original 13 city gates in Old Town.  Construction began in 1475 as an attractive entrance into the city.  While it was being built, it was called the New Tower.  In the 17th century the gate was used to store gunpowder, hence the name Powder Tower or Powder Gate.

The next day we hopped the train for the 9 hour trip to Budapest, Hungary.  

 La Prima Fashion Hotel. 

(A gorgeous hotel in a great location.)

The next day we set out to see the sights of Budapest.

We enjoyed the views, sunshine and a great lunch aboard a floating restaurant, The Spoon.

 After lunch we took a river boat tour down the Danube.

The Chain Bridge and Buda Castle

Margaret Bridge              Fishermans Bastion

Gellért Hill Cave             St Gellért Statue

Hungarian Parliament Building

After our boat tour we continued on to enjoy the sights of the city centre.

We toasted the end of our night drinking Czech beer, eating  Hungarian Pizza (the best pizza ever) and watching American Football.  A great way to end a great day indeed!

The next day we took a tour on the hop on hop off bus.

Liberty Statue                Chain Bridge

Buda Castle                    Fisherman's Bastion

Stunning view from the top of Castle Hill 

Heroes' Square

We ended our bus tour, had lunch and headed on to our next adventure.  We had booked an escape game at Trap.  It is based on the online Escape games.  You are locked up and have 60 minutes to escape from 2 tricky rooms.  In order to find your way out, you need to solve various puzzles, using creativity and common sense.  We had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed the unique experience. 

We continued on and found ourselves in an ice bar enjoying vodka cocktails.

Everything was made out of ice, the glasses, bar, artwork and sculptures.

We ended our night with a walk on the waterfront to enjoy the lights and a full moon.

We got up the next morning and hopped the train for the 3 hour ride to Vienna, Austria.  We settled into our apartment at the Adagio Aparthotel.  

The next 2 days we took a tour on the hop on hop off bus and river cruise to see the sites.

Vienna Opera House 

Rathaus (Town Hall)

Austrian Parliament Building

 

Wiener Riesenrad

Constructed in 1897, it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel from 1920 until 1985.

The Danube Tower opened in April 1964, is the tallest structure in Austria, at 827 ft, and among the 75 tallest towers in the world.

After the bus tour we walked through town exploring the sites. 

 St. Stephen's Cathedral 

The Museum of Military History  
 It claims to be the oldest and largest purpose-built military history museum in the world. 

One of the most notable parts of the museum's collection is located in the First World War hall, and relates to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. On display are the car in which the Archduke and his wife were riding when they were assassinated, the uniform he was wearing, the pistol used by Gavrilo Princip to shoot him, and the chaise longue on which he was declared dead.  The assassination of the Archduke and his wife is considered by many to be the key event that sparked World War I.

Belvedere Palace and Baroque Park

No trip to Vienna is complete without seeing an Opera.  

We went to see La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West) by Giacomo Puccini.  The opera house was absolutely stunning and it was quite a unique experience to check off of our bucket list.


Well our trip has come to an end and we settled in for a 5 hr train ride back to Prague for one night before flying back home.

We really enjoyed travelling by train and will definitely be making plans for another multi-city train adventure.

"It feels really amazing to leave your footprints in areas of the world you never expected to stand."

Sending much love to all of our family and friends,

John and CJ