Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, is a 1 hour train ride from Vienna. The distance between these two capital cities is suppose to be THE shortest distance in the world but I have read contradicting evidence so I don’t believe it. The close situation of these cities means a great day trip from Vienna. Take bus X13 or 93 to get closer to the Old Town. If you buy your Bratislava ticket from Vienna, the ticket includes free public transport usage in Bratislava.
The Old Town can be easily covered in a day plus maybe a museum as well. Taking a “hike” up to the castle grounds will reward you with sweeping views over the Old Town, Danube River and the ‘burbs (suburbs).
It’s a small Old Town but many different buildings to feast your eyes upon. There are plenty of outdoor cafes, cute stores and amazing historical buildings although some are time-worn.
Vienna is just alittle bit of a dashing city. Historical buildings ornately decorated, some even with gold, adorn this city which I would like to describe as the chic cousin of Prague. Despite the historical buildings somehow Vienna feels more like a metropolitan city than Prague did for me. How terrible am I, already comparing cities? After my early departure from the Alps, I had a week to explore Vienna. I know alot of people like to pash n dash a city whilst on holidays (and I completely understand it, I have had trips like that in the past), this trip was starting to become a nice ‘hang around for a while’ trip. I was concerned about what I would fill my week with in Vienna, there weren’t as many free tours available or cheap tours but I think you find more to see after marinating in a city and having the time to see or do all the little things that you might’ve passed up otherwise.
The city centre is easily navigated and public transport made up of the train, tram, bus and metro networks makes it easy and fast to get around. When I say easily navigated, ticket machines and maps are plentiful. The Viennese are a happy bunch and I found myself quite at home with the availability of international cuisine. I even got to satisfy my Pho craving (Vietnamese beef noodle soup, perfect for cold weather).
One of my favourite places was at the Deli in the Naschmarkt. This food market is located at the metro stop Pilgrimgasse on the U4 line. This turkish cafe has been running for 15 years and service is nice and quick. After eating supermarket breakfast for a few days, I thought I’d maybe pay more than 3 euros for breakfast. I was not disappointed at the Deli! There are alot of restaurants in the Naschmarkt that will make it difficult to decide which international cuisine you want and a stroll through the Naschmarkt will take you past spice shops, fruit and vege shops and heaps of middle eastern stores selling falafels and spreads.
Vienna is a huge city that can be explored by foot and all the historical sites tend to be situated quite closely. Even the museums have their own quarter (named Museumsquarter) so you can get museum-ed out in one go. I found Vienna to be a very safe city even at night. I was very thoroughly impressed.
Situated in the Austrian Alps around Hallstat lake are the towns Hallstat and Obertraun. Hallstat is the more famous of the two and is the main tourist destination mostly as a day trip. I thought however, being in the mountains might be nice and I could plan to do some outdoor activities to pass my time. How wrong was I! I stayed in Obertraun which is the more budget friendly of the two towns. There are restaurants around, a supermarket and the Obertraun Resort which is like a park/beach and has bike rentals as well.
Handy tip: local buses between Hallstat and Obertraun run about once a hour in each direction and none over lunch so take a picture of the bus timetable (I found the pamphlet so hard to read) and plan your day around the bus times.
To say that this area of Austria is picturesque is a huge understatement. One of the main attractions outside of the Hallstat city centre is Dachstein Mountains and in particular the Five Finger viewing platform. There are a few different viewing platforms dotted along the mountains but the Five Fingers is the most popular because they are literally platforms jutting over the edge of the mountains. As I am terrified of heights, I took in the sights from a nice stable grounded area. Speaking of heights, to get up to the top of the mountain involves 2 cable car rides. Again, I found them terrifying.
It is worth the few minutes of sheer terror in the cable cars though to get views like this! I as wondering why people were going into the cable cars with huge backpacks and thought they were going camping but alas, they were actually parachuters. You’re high up so make sure sunscreen and a hat is brought as well as water. I didn’t do all the different viewing platforms but bring lunch and you could easily spend almost 5 hours up here. Also up here are the Dachstein Ice and Mammut Caves. You can buy a combined ticket for all three things. It would be a tiring day but great for the kids in my opinion. Bring lunch!
Hallstat is a lot bigger than I thought it was. Salt stores and cafes make the bulk of the so called ‘small town’. It’s easily crossed in about 20 minutes. There is a salt mine across the road from Hallstat (so I guess it’s still in Hallstat) that I quite enjoyed as I had never done anything like it before and takes approximately 2 hours to go up and down and do a guided tour.
I arrived here using CK shuttle (from Cesky Krumlov) but Hallstat and Obertraun each have their own train station and can be used to travel to and from Vienna or Salzburg. Interestingly, Hallstat train station is situated on the otherside of the river from Hallstat town (weird!) and any trains you do catch out to Salzburg or Vienna will require a train change at Attnang-Puchheim station. It’s the last stop so you won’t miss it!
Depending on what you want to do, a day trip or a few days here would work. There is one thing in common in coming here though and it’s to enjoy the view.
Is Cesky Krumlov worth visiting? I would say the answer is yes.
Cesky Krumlov is in the South Bohemia region of the Czech Republic and is around a 2.5hr bus ride from Prague. Alot of people do this as a day trip but I’m here to tell you no! Stay at least one night. It’s a VERY touristic town and I get the feeling that the town thrives off that. It’s simply an Old Town but it will charm your socks off. It’s a very pretty town that will make almost every picture you take instagramable.
I arrived in Cesky Krumlov by local bus from Ceske Budejovice and was so anxious about not knowing where to get off! I made it, 40 mins later with the ride only costing about $2-3 aud. I stayed just outside the main town area but CK is small so you can easily walk everywhere. The town is a scene from a fairytale surrounded by rolling green hills. I did a free walking tour ( free Wiseman’s walking tour ) later that afternoon. The free tour is a great introduction to the town’s layout and also the town’s history. I think it was the best place for town information and also showed us all the sights and perfect town viewing locations. Some of the buildings date back to the 18th century and are still standing today. How did they even built the castle so high?! Of course, you need to hear about the walking ghosts and all the cursing that went around back then. The main attraction in town is the Castle which will give you a sweeping views of the town.
The Vltava river snacks through CK and it is no surprise that there are a number of rafting companies. The place I was staying at recommended Malecek which I think also had some of the better prices around. You can choose which route you want to take that have an approximate duration time. I had wanted to do the 3-4 hour route but as it was mid afternoon already, the 1-2 hour route was the one to pick instead. The river isn’t deep so if you manage to not make a weir in the upright position, it’ll be ok. You need a minimum of 2 people for a raft which is recommended over a canoe for those of us who are novices as it’s more stable. The only capsizes I saw were from canoes. It was so tranquil on the water gliding past forest. The ‘stops’ are well marked so you can just pull over on the bank At the end point of the 1-2hr route, there was even a bar so we treated ourselved to some local beer afterwards. The rafting company brings you back into town from the stopping points.
I know there are many options to day do trips from Prague but CK is a great option to just revel in and enjoy the scenery. During the day, it is filled with tourists and tour groups so it’s nice to wonder early morning or evening for some more peace.
How did you like the town? Is there anything else that you would recommend doing?
I have officially left Prague and am now in the South Bohemian region of the Czech Republic. So I thought it would be nice to reflect what I had learnt in Prague and the feels that I got whilst there. I’m not the one to be giving a history lesson but if you don’t know the history I can give you a brief run down. Formally known as Czechoslovakia, it was one of the most strongest European countries economically up until World War II where it was taken over by Nazi Germany. Hundreds of thousands of Czechoslovakian citizens and their jewish populations were sent to concentration camps, interrogated in prisons and/or were forced labourers. It wasn’t until 1945 before Soviet and American armies arrived to liberate the country from German rule and is now known as the Spring Uprising. The country was then a communist state up until 1989 when the Velvet Revolution occurred, where the country became a democracy peacefully in that year. History lesson over.
The 2 images above are of the John Lesson Wall, which is located in Lesser Town just off the Charles bridge. This wall was like your average everyday other wall until 1988 when the youngsters decided that they weren’t happy with the communist country and how it was being run. Apparently, authorities had tried cleaning the wall only to have it become graffiti-ed over again and again with world loving messages. Today, it is a vibrant addition to the city and is changing everyday judging from the people drawing with pen on the wall. I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I stood there looking at the wall. This is the sign of unhappy citizens in a country who wanted to be heard and change their country for the better (I hope). A country that had gone through so much from being one of the strongest countries in Europe to one whose Government was exiled during World War II. It gives me hope! So much so, it was making me teary.
This is a picture of the Zizkov TV Tower aka one of the world’s ugliest towers, which was built by the Nazi German’s to block radio signals from the east. I stayed close to this tower so got to see it lit up at night (Czech flag colours). War bunkers and communist-styled buildings dot this city. Adding something to the Gothic, baroque and cubic architecture. To me, it’s a blend of their history into the modern day Czech Republic and a reminder of their past so evidently everywhere. It makes me want to play a lament to the country and I hope they see additional good years to come.
Karlovy Vary (or Carlsbad) is approximately a 2 hour drive west of Prague. It’s known as a spa town and I’d seen pretty pictures of that town so that was enough to get me to book a day trip out. I went with Prague Sightseeing Tour (booked through Viator) for the 10 hour day trip.
It’s a scenic drive out of Prague past hops plantations and fields of green and forest on each side. We passed through the Moser glass factory to learn about glass blowing before setting foot in the Old Town of Karlovy Vary.
One of the first things you will notice is that there are small kiosks selling really weird looking cups where you drink from the handle. With the town sitting on a number of hot springs, there are drinking fountains across the town where you can use your new niche cup to taste the assorted mineral water flowing from each tap.
Incase you had forgotten, let me remind you that mineral water contains more minerals than the average drinking water from the tap so let’s just say there were a lot of faces to suggest that the mineral water did not have a nice taste. Perhaps, it’s an acquired taste.
Unlike the mineral water, I quickly fell in love with the town’s architecture and pastel buildings and is a telling of how rich this town could become as a holiday spot for Europe’s aristocracy and celebrities from the late 17th century.
Other things that originate from Karlovy Vary are the Czech liqueur Becherovka and the Carlsbad wafer (Karlovarské oplatky). I have not tried the liqueur but you can buy it there (or any liqueur store in Prague) but I can tell you about the wafer. You can find them in boxes being sold on the promenade, you won’t miss it. Just look for the hoards of people infront of boxes. You can also buy them individually to eat straight away if you want to taste it first. Personally, I would get flavoured ones unless you like plain original flavours. It IS just a wafer. You have been warned. I would also stock up on it because since returning (a whole 24 hours ago), I have tried to see if I could find it in the local supermarket but have been unsuccessful. If anyone knows where to get them from in the city centre, let me know!
The town is very picturesque and I would recommend it. Personally, unless you want a spa treatment, the one day trip of the Old Town is ample to get a snap shot of Karlovy Vary.
One of the ‘must see’ trips when in Victoria, Australia is to see the 12 Apostles along the Great Ocean Road. The 12 Apostles, for those who have never heard about them, are limestone structures off the coast of the Port Campbell National Park. As they had been formed naturally, the very elements that had created them are also eroding them. Currently there stands 7 left.
I was looking for a city getaway and had decided that this trip would be so much more relaxing and a la naturel if I had done it as a road trip but things didn’t really work out and I took a 1 day tour with Melbourne Coastal Tours instead (which was excellent, you can find their website here*). It’s a long day, we were whisked away in the 7th hour of the day and didn’t return until 9:30pm that same night. Between the towns, you are met with hills dotted with livestock as far as the eye can see, this was a welcoming sight and exactly what my soul needed. There is something about animals just grazing and greenery as far as the eye can see. Our tour also stopped off for the Maits Rest Rainforest Walk which offered a contrasting view of trees that are some thousands of years old.
The Gibson Beach Walk was a highlight for me, climbing down (and unfortunately back up) the steps that offers breath taking views on every step down to have the cliffs towering over you, bringing you as close to natural wonders as close as you can get. The Apostles main viewing path and deck is well built to accommodate all the tourists and allows ample viewing space.
Every picture turns out postcard perfect. Depending on when you visit, make sure you’ve adequately dressed for the wind chill/have protection from the great Australian sun as you spend most of your time outdoors. I get so upset about how our modern lifestyle is at the expense of nature so to be in a place that is as close to be untouched as it can be gives me the air to keep going. You are so marvellous Mother Nature.
Being in science means that there are countless of Nobel Prize jokes going around so when I was in Scandinavia a few years ago, visiting every possible Nobel related venue was on my list of things to see (nerd alert).
First stop was the Nobel Museum in Stockholm located in Gamla Stan. The museum is a great starting point as it goes through the history of the prize and all the previous winners. The museum is a mix of objects previously owned by Nobel Prize winners and touch screens (quite cool) if you want to read up on winners. There’s also a movie room that runs short clips about the life of different Nobel Prize winners. Probably not that best suited for younger children but definitely for everyone else.
Next, Stockholm City Hall where the Nobel banquet. You can only visit inside with tours. Tours are run throughout the day and I think it’s worth the price because the interiors are amazing and the tour was very informative about what goes on in each of the different rooms. The Gold Room was such a sight and my favourite. You can also take another tour up the City Hall Tower, I didn’t get the change to do this but the views would probably be quite nice. Also, you can even have your wedding ceremony here!
Stockholm Town Hall
The Stockholm Concert Hall is where the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony is held and unfortunately I was only able to see it from the outside as it wasn’t open.
Jump to Oslo, Norway and there is the Nobel Peace Museum. What’s cool about this museum is that there’s the permanent exhibition but there’s also a changing exhibition which at the time was well laid-out. There’s a lovely museum store attached as well.
Last stop is the Oslo City Hall where the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony is held. Here it was tour free and you could wonder around as you please. In my opinion the Stockholm City Hall is a lot fancier but both are quite different in terms of interiors and are both worth checking out!
Have you been into any of these places associated with the Nobel Prize? Which was your favourite?
Home to the Bun Festival, my visit to Cheung Chau did not even scratch the service of what this island has to offer. Every time I go on family trips, I feel like I’m not as prepared as I would normally be if I was travelling alone. So this was a day trip on a whim and was just to see something different in Hong Kong. Once you arrive, you will see just how much seafood is around! Whether it be street vendors selling it, or layers out drying in the sun, there is just no shortage of things to eat here.
We did see buns the size of human faces and I wanted to try one but the having lunch bit and getting lost meant that I didn’t have the opportunity to try them. There are bucket loads of sea food is to be had in one of the many seafood restaurants lining the streets. I couldn’t get my hand on a physical map but, on the island maps located around, there looked to be beaches, temples, hikes, caves and pavillions dotted around. My family member and I ducked into this food court for some delicious seafood noddle soup.
I think if you want a thorough exploration, you will need at least a day. Bike rentals is also a big thing on this island but beware, there are also a lot of pedestrians (until you get away from the shops and then it seems like bikes would be handy to get you around faster). To get here, work your way to the central ferry piers to take the ferry to Cheung Chau. There are alternating fast and slow ferries. The fast ferry will get you over in approximately 40 minutes.
Have any of you been to Cheung Chau? What did you think?
I had always pictured Hong Kong to be a concrete jungle but, it certainly has more to offer. Located on Lantau Island, the fishing village of Tai O is the home of the Tanka people where the iconic traditional stilt houses lie. It was on my list of things to see and also a nice change from the bustling city.
Tai O is a great day trip from the city which also offers hiking trails for those interested. Along the main street, there were many vendors smoking squid and stalls selling dried seafood. You can see the traditional wooden stilt houses here still.
Barrels containing shrimp pasteBaskets to dry out the shrimps
As you walk towards the Old Tai O Police Station following the water (now converted to the Heritage Hotel, which HINT: has an nice balcony to look at the above view from), you are met with the smell of shrimp paste (in those blue barrels) and open houses allowing you a peep in, before you are offered beautiful coastal views by the hotel. It was nice to be surrounded by such a contrast of the green hills, water and residential houses.
Boat rides to try and catch sights of the pink dolphin are also offered where the bus terminus is if you want to do that as well.
You will need a whole day here and maybe more if you wish to hike and to get here, take the MTR to Tung Chung station and then take the number 11 bus to terminus, which is about 50 minutes. It’s a nice day out particularly if the weather is good to have a break from the skyscrapers of down town.
Lingo in Transit 
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