Intro to Prague

Our final stop takes up to Prague with a day-trip to Karlovy Vary

Welcome to the Czech Republic*

GEOGRAPHY

The Czech Republic is internally divided into two geographic and cultural areas called Bohemia, whose capital is Prague, and Moravia, whose capital is Brno.

Bordered by Poland, Germany and Austria, Bohemia lies to the west and is split by the province's primary river, the Vltava. Bohemia is characterized by low, rolling hills and farmland, but on its foreign borders it is almost entirely surrounded by mountain ranges. The rolling hills and thick forests in southern Bohemia, dotted with fairy-tale castles, typify the bucolic charm visitors imagine when they think of the area, and natural hot springs have made western Bohemia an internationally known spa destination. Northern Bohemia's mountains are studded by dramatic sandstone rock formations, canyons and caves.

Moravia, situated to the east, is bordered by Poland, Austria and Slovakia. Split by the Morava River, it is known for its highland areas and lower mountains. The fertile hillsides in southern Moravia are covered with orchards and the vineyards that have made this region synonymous with wine-making. The limestone caves of the area are spectacular.

WHY GO?

The foremost attractions of the Czech Republic are beautiful scenery, castles and quaint villages, skiing, health spas, limestone caves, beer gardens and beer halls, wine cellars, music festivals, fishing, hiking, mountain climbing, puppet shows, churches and monasteries, and folk costumes.

Prague is one of Europe's most enchanting cities. The city is very crowded during summer—visit during the off-season. If you have the time and mode of transportation, don't let the language barrier keep you from exploring the villages and castles that dot the countryside. You'll find them peaceful, and you will gain an understanding of the country that continues to elude those who never venture outside the capital city.

UNESCO has designated as World Heritage sites the historic center of Prague and the historic center of Cesky Krumlov among others in the Czech Republic. We are staying in the city center and yes, we are visiting Cesky Krumlov on our travels into Prague.

Recent HISTORY

With Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, his perestroika policy opened the door to reform and loosened the hold of the Communist hard-liners. In 1989, mass demonstrations shook the government and finally brought about its collapse in what was called the Velvet Revolution. The 1989 election of dissident intellectual, playwright and former political prisoner Vaclav Havel catapulted the new democracy to world prominence.

All troubles did not end with the ousting of the Communists. Tensions between Slovaks and Czechs led to the creation of two separate countries at the end of 1992. Re-elected president of the new Czech Republic, Havel served as the country's spiritual and moral leader in the face of widespread government corruption in the mid-1990s and guided the country to NATO membership in 1999. After two terms in office, he was succeeded by Vaclav Klaus in January 2003.

After an economic downturn in the late 1990s caused by corruption and lax financial regulation, the economy improved, and foreign investment brought new life to regions of the country decimated by privatization of state-run industries. High-tech firms cropped up rapidly, turning the Czech Republic—and especially Prague—into a prime technology center. Underlying all this revitalization was the government's push for entrance into the European Union, which became a reality in May 2004.

* info from Travel-42 A travel agent resource.

Enjoy these photos of Prague and Karlovy Vary (aka Karlsbad)

Inside the Spanish Synagogue



Prague Castle



Astronomical Clock


St, Vitus Cathedral


Day Trip to Karlovy Vary

Vienna - Our hotel: Hilton am Stadtpark (on the park)

HILTON VIENNA

AM STADTPARK 1, A - 1030, VIENNA, AUSTRIATEL: +43-1-717000 FAX: 43-1-71306

I'm delighted to present our highly rated (on TripAdvisor as well as Travel Agent review sites) hotel in Vienna.


Our hotel is a HHONORS reward level 6....their highest level if you were redeeming points.  Below is a description from the Hilton website.

Featuring contemporary decor, the award-winning Hilton Vienna hotel is one of Austria’s premier hotels. Set in the heart of Vienna. The main sights and most fashionable shopping streets are within walking distance.

HOTEL DETAILS

Set in the center of Vienna, just 16 minutes from Vienna International Airport via the direct city airport train, the Hilton Vienna hotel is the perfect base to experience everything that the Austrian capital has to offer. Take in the park or city views from a stylish Guest room at the Hilton Vienna hotel. Get to work at the large desk, surf the web with wireless internet or re-energize in the comfortable armchair. Executive Rooms and suites enjoy Executive Lounge access complete with complimentary continental breakfast, snacks and drinks.

Try modern Austrian and European à la carte specials in S'PARKS restaurant, or dine al fresco on the terrace in summer. Enjoy a fine glass of Austrian wine or a sophisticated cocktail and classic bar snacks at the Lobby Bar & Lounge. Maintain your fitness in the well-equipped gym, then take some time out in the sauna, steam bath or the relaxation area at the Hilton Vienna hotel.

Public areas are 100% non-smoking.

And from my Travel Agent review site:

Lobby lingerers are treated to an airy natural glow from the atrium roof and a modern sculpture centering the space. Reception is staffed with a capable crew who rotate between the front desk and the executive lounge. Generally abuzz with groups, visiting tourists and harried business travelers, this space is marked with movement and vitality, making it an excellent base for people-watching.

A ton of colorful Murano glass provides a beautiful backdrop, in the main dining room, S'parks, though the seasonal terrace is the preferred place to sup. The clean-lined public areas have a good flow. The trendy bar off the lobby provides nightly entertainment.

The spa and fitness facility features a sauna, solarium, steam room, massage room and a compact gymnasium open around the clock.

TRIPADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE

This Hilton has received the 2014 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award. This honor is awarded to establishments that achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site. 

Guest Rooms: 291sq.ft room with separate working area. Convenient ergonomic chair at large desk, easy chair to watch a movie on the 40-inch HD LED TV. Special touches include fluffy bathrobe.

LOBBY BAR & LOUNGE

Enjoy weekly themed specials in this elegant Vienna bar while you sip on a cocktail or enjoy classic bar snacks. Or you could just relax over a beer among the sculptures and artworks that adorn this bar in the Hilton Vienna hotel Lobby.

S'PARKS RESTAURANT

Art-lovers will enjoy the Murano glass displays at the Hilton Vienna hotel's contemporary S'PARKS restaurant. Try modern European à la carte specials in this light and airy Vienna restaurant.

WIEN MITTE THE MALL

Visit the largest shopping center in downtown Vienna, “WIEN MITTE The Mall”, opposite of our hotel.

WIEN MITTE is ideally situated, right near the Stadtpark and Ring Road and just a few minutes walk from St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

WIEN MITTE is the most important central transport hub. 10 public transport lines intersect in WIEN MITTE, including the CAT (City Airport Train) and two subway lines.

For a list of the shops & eateries, click on this link.

Hilton am Stadtpark Vienna map: click here.

USA Today - in the news today....Vienna!

Greetings World Travel lovers!

I'm posting an article excerpt from USA Today's 7 AUG 2014 issue on Vienna written by Larry Olmsted.  The place to go! Lucky you....we'll be on our way next year!  This "not to be missed" event is on our itinerary. So pick up an issue or go online to read in its entirety.

In 1857 Austrian Emperor Franz Josef ordered the city walls surrounding Vienna torn down, an unprecedented move for a European capital. After eight years of construction, a grand boulevard replaced the former ramparts. On May 1, 1865, Josef presided over the gala opening of the Ringstrasse, today a loop just over 3 miles long that the Viennese proudly refer to as the world's largest open-air museum, thanks to its wealth of important buildings and cultural sights. For the 150th anniversary of "The Ring" next year, the city is once again undergoing transformation.

Almost all of Vienna's major attractions sit within or just on the edge of the Ringstrasse, a concise historic city center that is largely pedestrianized and offers one of the most extensive car-free zones in Europe, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is ideal for strolling, as virtually every major museum; the Hofburg Palace complex; Austria's grandest cathedral; the famed Spanish Riding School, home to the white Lipizzaner stallions; and the top shops, restaurants and world-renowned Viennese cafes are all close together and easily visited on foot.

It requires at least a long weekend to really appreciate the city, but longer if you like art, music and museums. The marquee attractions start with the Kunsthistorisches Museum, really several museums combined into one vast neoclassical building. Its heart is one of the world's great art collections, with an amazing collection of classical works from many countries and eras, including Rembrandt's famous Self Portrait. 

Other must-visit attractions include Stephansdom, or St. Steven's Cathedral, freely displaying its Gothic architecture and underground catacombs. The endless spiral staircase of the South tower rewards you with the city's best views, with the possible exception of those from the famous Ferris wheel in the Prater area. With large capsules like an early London Eye, it is a skyline icon so venerable it played an important part in the most famous novel and film about Vienna, Graham Green's Third Man, brought to the silver screen in 1949.

The indoor and outdoor Hofburg Palace complex sprawls over several blocks just north of Stephansdom, and includes the home of Austria's President, various government offices, gardens and several museums, and takes the better part of a day to fully explore. The liveliest parts of the pedestrian core are the interconnected plazas directly in front of Stephansdom, full of crowds and a litany of ice cream and gelato shops – everyone in Vienna seems to carry a cone. Running north from here is Kartner Street, downtown's longest broad boulevard, with outdoor cafes down its center and shops on either side, reaching all the way to the Ringstrasse.

For those less inclined to spend the whole day walking, a whirlwind way to take in the best of the city is with the Ringstrasse Tram Tour, a hop-on/hop-off sightseeing tram that does the entire loop with 13 stops at key sights plus informational video and audio on board (about $10). Vienna also is renowned for live entertainment, with three famous attractions including the Vienna Boys Choir, which has been wowing audiences since 1498. Their normal venue is the Burgkapelle church during Sunday Mass from September to June, which requires tickets, along with special performances elsewhere. Another must is the equestrian dressage marvels performed by the white Lipizzaner Stallions at the Spanish Riding School, typically on Sundays from February to June, and late August-December, with less frequent shows other days. 

Vienna was Mozart's town, and opera here is huge. While some performances sell out in advance, you can usually buy tickets on short notice from one of the Mozart-attired reps working the sidewalk in front of the Opera House.

But the real specialty is relaxed lingering. The Viennese coffee house is such an integral part of the city's social fabric, UNESCO named it to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list, describing them collectively as a place "where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is found on the bill."

And for more weekly postings, LIKE my travel FACEBOOK page at www.facebook.com/Travel2Luv.

ko

Intro to Vienna

Sharing Information on Vienna in Anticipation of our Journey!

WHY GO?

Vienna today is robed in 18th-century charm and 19th-century grandeur. Its old-world ambience comes from the friendliness of its inhabitants as well as the history of its architecture. The Viennese invented the cafe society, and they continue to perfect the art of sophisticated relaxation.

Spend some time chatting with residents in a Vienna coffeehouse, or go to a concert of waltzes by Johann Strauss. Vienna is also where you'll find the fabled Spanish Riding School with its magnificent white Lipizzaner stallions.

Vienna is a safe, clean city, and it has an excellent public-transportation system. Use it to visit the many museums, galleries, parks and restaurants that make Vienna such a pleasant place.

GEOGRAPHY

Vienna lies in the northeastern corner of Austria, at the crossroads of eastern and western Europe. Nestled in the foothills of the Wienerwald (Vienna Woods), Vienna's city center is generally flat, although the terrain slopes higher as you get closer to the woods. The Danube (Donau) River of waltz fame flows through the city to the east, and the Danube Canal (Donaukanal), a tributary often mistaken for the Danube proper, runs closer to the city center.

The heart of the city is the ancient streets and hidden courtyards around the Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral). Karntner Strasse, a lively street lined with shops and reserved for pedestrian traffic, leads away from the cathedral and out toward the Ring, or Ringstrasse, a broad and grand curving boulevard. The 1-sq-mi/2.6-sq-km area within the Ring is the Innere Stadt (inner city). Within the Innere Stadt and along the Ring are most of Vienna's imposing and historic structures.

HISTORY

Vienna officially became a city in 1137, but its true historical significance dates from 1278, when the Bohemian King Ottakar was defeated by Rudolf von Habsburg, who made Vienna his capital. The resulting Habsburg dynasty endured until just after World War I.

Those intervening years were far from stable, however. Plague decimated Vienna's population in the mid-1300s, and various military sieges against the city were to come: the Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries, and Napoleon twice in the early 19th century. During the reign of Emperor Franz Josef I, Europe's longest-serving monarch (1848-1916), Vienna saw many changes. Walls surrounding the city center were removed and replaced by the Ringstrasse, fortifications along the outskirts were torn down to allow for the growth of suburbs, and the government changed to a dual monarchy with Hungary.

Austria became a republic on 12 November 1918, at the conclusion of World War I, and its former empire was dismantled. World War II was also turbulent for the city, marked by occupation, anti-Semitism and heavy fighting. But since then, Vienna has rebuilt itself and grown into a major cosmopolitan capital, as well as an increasingly popular tourist destination. In 1995, Austria united with other European countries and became part of the European Union, further securing Vienna's future as a flourishing European capital.

DID YOU KNOW?

The famous French croissant was actually invented by a Viennese baker who was inspired by the Turkish war insignia at the siege of Vienna in 1683, which showed a crescent. Marie Antoinette introduced it into France.

The first coffee in Vienna is said to have been brewed when the Turks left behind bags filled with green coffee beans in 1683, and only a Polish spy knew what to do with them.

Most parts of Vienna enjoy some of the cleanest tap water in the world: Since 1873, it has been piped directly from the mountains, to the chagrin of the mineral-water industry.

When Beethoven lived in Vienna, he changed his domicile dozens of times. The three most important houses he lived and worked in are the Eroica-Haus in Doblinger Hauptstrasse 92, the Pasqualati-Haus in Molker Bastei 8 and the Heilgenstadter-Testament-Haus in Probusgasse 6.

Are you joining me here May 2015?  See the last photo on this post for a view of our hotel.

ko

St. Stephan's

Karlskirche - baroque style

The State Opera House