All in Travelopes
SALZBURG, AUSTRIA. Salzburg, Salzburg. I did not know much about it prior joining the tour aside from the fact that it is in Austria and is the birthplace of the classical icon Mozart, which is kind of weird, really, as I do not know how I was able to retain that bit of information given I am neither a Mozart follower nor a pianist learning his works. Evidently, I must have picked it up somewhere.
VIENNA, AUSTRIA. Vienna is the epitome of sophistication. I immediately saw it the moment I stepped inside the Hilton Vienna Danube Waterfront and saw the Danube River flowing gracefully and calmly at the back of it. Furthermore, I felt it the instance I laid down on their firm and huge bed and rested my head on the bed's soft and amazing pillows. The combination rendered me lazy and motionless. It was as if I just want to stay there and take in the comfort I had been snatched with the last few days that I had been travelling.
VIENNA, AUSTRIA. After our sumptuous meal in Pizza Bizi, we headed on towards Kursalon Hubner, which was just a kilometer-walk away from the restaurant, for some classical music appreciation. Based on Italian Renaissance architecture, the Kursalon Hübner was designed by Johan Garben and built during the years 1865 to 1867. Adjacent to it is the 6-hectare Stadtpark (City Park) which opened in 1862. During those times, the Kursalon (or rather, the land where it is now standing) only served as a place where visitors can get mineral waters to drink. After its construction, the Kursalon started seeing better days. In 1868, the first concert by Johann Strauss took place in there. Since then, it had become a venue for meetings and concerts
GYŐR, HUNGARY. A quiet little place in Hungary, this city lies halfway of Budapest and Vienna. Even though it is relatively small as compared to the other cities in the country, Győr is still considered to be the most important city of Northwest Hungary. Since it was New Year's Day when we arrived in the city, the place was literally quiet. Almost all the shops were closed which contributed to the nice feeling of having the city all by yourself. Nothing much happened actually when we were there since we only stopped over for an hour on the way to Vienna.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY. Our 2nd day in Budapest had been a wonderful one. We had not seen the sun shine like that the past few days that we were in Europe. It was at its peak, shining like an emotion kept for so long and then vented out to the atmosphere
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY. If there was a city that we went to during our Europe tour last December that best exemplified the magic and joy that a Christmas market brings, it would definitely be Budapest. I was already told before our trip that we might not have the chance to see a Christmas market that was still buzzing the moment we arrive in Europe and this is for the reason that Christmas markets in Europe, in general, close down and pack up before Christmas eve.
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA. Other than it was once known as the better half of Czech Republic when they were still Czechoslovakia, I absolutely know nothing about Slovakia. That's why when we visited Bratislava, the capital of the country, I immediately succumbed to the idea of traversing it using the older but more effective method of walking endlessly to cover what we can given our limited time in the place.
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC. One of the things I adore about Europe is that wherever I go I am sure to find something that would catch my attention. Well, Prague is no exemption, if not more! Here are some of the interesting things I have seen during my walk around the city! I bet these just compose a small fraction of the totality but they were already enough to keep me revelling about the fact that this city is just downright quirky and charming.
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC. It had been snowing hard the second day that we were in Prague. Actually, it was snowing hard then in most parts of Europe. Our tour guide said that Stuttgart even reached -38 during the early part of the morning. Good thing we were not anymore in Germany by then!
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC. Our tour guide has not yet experienced snow in Prague. It is actually unusual especially since she always visits the place during the peak of the winter season. So when she told us this fact, we were more than happy to hear it. At least we get the chance to escape the snow even just for a few days and enjoy better the city without being distracted by the snow.
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC. Prague is a city like no other. This little surprise is as quirky as it can get. With controversial artworks and statues scattered around, this city would not bore you even just one bit. We roamed around Prague after eating at the lovely and antique-filled U Císařů. It had been a cold night but we just endured it by snuggling more of our body under our coat, our bonnets and our scarves.
DACHAU, GERMANY. When your hotel is just around the corner of the Hauptbahnhof, itchiness to travel far constantly get to you. It is a nice and cold winter morning when we thought of going to Dachau. A 30-minute ride through S-bahn from the city center, this charming little town in Upper Bavaria is a popular residential area to those working in Munich and a popular attraction for the tourists because of its proximity to the infamous Dachau Concentration Camp.
REGENSBURG, GERMANY. A picturesque little city, Regensburg is a city that should not be missed when you are in Bavaria for it houses a UNESCO World Heritage Site: The Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof. Located along the Danube River, the medieval town has many pretty buildings and shophouses of great quality that gives proof of it being an influential trading centre before.
GERMANY. I have been going through our holiday photos earlier and I still could not get over the fact that I had been here and I saw firsthand the magnificent views. It had been my first time to experience snow and seeing how it was able to transform a place to something magical was beyond any description or adjective I could think of. It was love at first sight with Germany.
NEAR MUNICH, GERMANY. Running out immediately of things to do may be impossible to happen when you are in Munich but if ever that happens, here is a day-trip idea that may catch your fancy.
MUNICH, GERMANY. It was not a spur-of-the-moment decision that I was in Munich during Christmas Day. I was there because Munich was the starting point of the 2-week tour that my family and I joined in. Anyhow, I will discuss more about that as we go along!
MUNICH, GERMANY. With a distance of 36 kilometers, getting to the Munich city center is still a 30 to 45-minute ride from the airport. There were a lot of transportation options available to get to the city center. There's the bus, car rentals, hotel shuttles which you can request from the hotel where you will stay in, taxis (which cost about EUR 70 for a 33-kilometer ride) but we chose the most economical of all without taking too much time and without being so tedious to use: the S-bahn.
DECEMBER 24, 2014 (MANILA, PHILIPPINES)
9:20 PM - Fifteen minutes after we requested a car through Uber, the drivers were already texting us that they were already near our place. We went down the elevator and wheeled our big luggages out of the cold, December evening excited for the next days to come. It was our first trip ever as a family outside of Asia and we could not be more excited about it!
