Monday May 25 Memorial Day at home…for us it’s on to Austria

We had a lavish buffet breakfast with everything from fresh fruits, cereal, eggs, cold cuts, etc. Joy just had no idea how to make toast. Then we were off for our 3 hr. City of Bratislava tour with our guide, Luba. The minibus picked us up at the hotel and drove us all around the city…from the wealthiest to the poorest sections of Bratislava. There are a half a million people in this capital city and 95% now are Slovaks. It wasn’t always that way – before WWI, the city was 50% German and 25% Hungarians, as the city was the once the capital of Hungary (during the Ottoman occupation of Hungary) and the Coronation City of the Habsburgs (of the Austro-Hungarian empire). Since the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1919, the Germans, Hungarians have gradually returned to their own countries.

Our first stop on our tour was the New Bridge over the Danube River, which we could see from our room, and was built in 1972. The flying saucer at the top of the bridge is a revolving restaurant and viewing tower. Up on the castle hill, we could see a small portion of the original wall around the city. Bratislava is the political, industrial, and cultural center of this country. There are three universities in the city, all of which are free of charge. Therefore it is known for being the city of young people. We saw the lavish home of the Slovak President, who has no power as the Prime Minister runs the show as well as the home of the American Ambassador whose home looks like a miniature White House overlooking the Danube…beautiful! From this height you can see Austria to the right and Hungry to the left.

This used to be a very famous wine making country…they even produced wine before Christ. However, since independence in 1991 and the onset of global warming, the wine growing regions have become less economically viable. All the children must learn English from either the first or the third grade.. The unemployment rate is 10% and the average salary is only 700 euros per month whereas in Austria, the average is 1400 euros per month so many commute the 10 miles over the border for higher wages. 41 euros a month is deducted from their salary for health insurance and 70 euros per month is deducted for social security.

Because we were in a hurry, we decided to violate our principals and committed the cardinal sin of having lunch at the local McDonald’s. At least they had a terrace on the square, so we didn’t feel totally guilty. We were in a hurry to move on to the next stop – Caranthum, a Roman ruin halfway between Bratislava and Vienna. Our principle goal was the Heiden Gate (pronounced like Joseph Hayden), which was the primary entrance into the ancient Roman legion city on the Danube in this area.

Back to the car, we moved on to Vienna – another wonderful hotel organized by Kelly Steward with giant beds and a refrigerator. Here we had a our next public transportation experience, buying tickets for the tram, and getting into the central city at the Steinbergerplatz – the square with a giant monument commemorating the Soviet led liberation of Vienna in May 1945. We walked up the main shopping street, looking for souvenirs, as our time here is limited. Joy got another souvenir for her quilt, and David forced some Mozart balls (Mozartkügel) and marzipan for everyone to try. We headed to the Stephansdom – ground zero of Vienna – a gigantic Gothic cathedral at the heart of the old city of Vienna. Around the corner, we found the Apostelskeller – a traditional Viennese “heuringa” restaurant, located in a cellar (think of a beer hall) of a building originally built in the 1500s. Great traditional Viennese food – even though Mary kept calling Vietnamese schnitzel (instead of Wienerschnitzel) – go figure!

The local violin player and accordion player came around the corner to us and sang New York, New York and several other Frank Sinatra numbers, which set Mary off to dancing in the aisles! Then back to the hotel for our well deserved night’s sleep. Tomorrow the Viennese city tour (or is it Vietnamese city tour?) The famous T-shirt ? “there are no kangaroos in Austria” - can you figure it out? (Mary couldn’t – answer tomorrow)