Spring travels to Salzburg, Bratislava & Vienna

A few weeks ago, we travelled by train with friends (Pyatts and Ballards) from Stuttgart to Salzburg, Austria.

The hills are alive with the Sound of Music

Sasha & John Pyatt are wonderful travel companions for many reasons, especially their stellar photography skills and gear.

Pyatts setting up their tripod

Tripod group pic in front of Austrian palace

Scoots posed like strange statue

Salzburger Dom where Mozart was baptised

Mozart chocolate ball and Scoots

The Hohensalzburg Fortress is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe.Hohensalzburg Fortress fittingly translates to High Salzburg Fortress as it sits high atop a hill 

The next morning, we took a train to Bratislava, Slovakia.  Slovakia is not on any "must see" Europe travel list but my maternal grandfather was part Slovak so I have always been intrigued by these roots.  

We stayed at the Botel Gracia in the heart of the city near the Old Town on the Danube River.  

It was not the most elegant lodging but we enjoyed it for the short 1 night stay.

We had a great view of the UFO Observation Tower from our cabin window.   

 The UFO structure was declared Slovakia's building of the century and is the world's 7th longest suspension bridge. 

Many locals consider the UFO structure a hideous architectural reminder of the oppressive Communist era.

View from the Bratislava Castle - our Botel sits in the Danube River near the bridge

We went on an "Iron City Bike Tour" with authentic Slovakian guides.

Scoots and John hydrating before our bike tour

 Mirek and Brano, our local guides, gave us bikes and led us all over the city and along the Danube river.

Pyatts, Shanks, and random pleasant girl from Hamburg

Street art along the bridge

We rode to the Austrian border and Brano told us heartbreaking stories about his childhood during the Communist era (which ended fairly recently in 1989).

Bunker from the 1930s that the Nazis commandeered over during WWII

Brano explained how his grandfather was an educated lawyer and forced, like many intellectuals, to work on the railroad, during the Communist regime. 

Abandoned tire factory from the Communist Era

We went to beautiful beaches along the Danube and enjoyed marvelous views of the bridges we crossed. 

At this point in the tour, I was ready to start singing Lee Greenwald's "I'm proud to be an American..."

Sad Janka Krala (below) is a structure from the top of an old Gothic cathedral that broke off and was later placed in the center of a large public park.

Sasha & Megano in biker gear

The Slovak Holocaust Memorial is on the site of the former Rybne' Square Synagogue which was demolished in 1967 to build a highway.  Brano and Mirek seemed specifically perturbed by this example of socialist demolition.

The Memorial was erected in 1996 to commemorate the memory of 105,000 Holocaust victims from Slovakia.

We stopped for refreshments and the Slovak cafe luckily had a translated menu.

"Gypsy" with chop onion, bacon and french fries

Scott decided to order the pheasant instead of the gypsy.

Pheasant stuffed with plums and cherries and served with delicious tater tot style discs

 Halusky (shockingly does not translate to "healthy"), potato noodles (like gnocchi) in a creamy sheep cheese sauce with crispy onions and bacon was my favorite Slovak specialty.

Sasha ordered a coke and was served Kofola, a Slovakian cola drink with a citrus tang.

Kofola is considered Communist Coca-Cola since it was created when the Soviets were determined to keep ALL Western influences out of Communist Europe

St. Elizabeths (Modry Kostolik), also known as Blue Church, was a glorious building with it's unique Art Nouveau style. 
A church for smurfs!

Bratislava Castle (Hrad) provided splendid views of city.

Scoots sporting new hemp hat (from the military PX store)

Scoots and Slovakian Goddess

Cahsew at the Jewish Museum

We took a ferry from Bratislava to Vienna along the Danube River.

Bratislava in the background

We enjoyed perfect sunny weather and a light breeze as we rode along the Danube.

Botel Gracia (where we stayed) across the water and Bratislava Castle in far background

The ferry went by ancient ruins of castles and forest hillsides.

Devin castle (above) was once part of the Roman border in the first century A.D. and later became the seat of the Great Moravian Empire and a strategic post during the Turkish Wars

In college, Scott took an entire semester on the topic of Vienna to complete his German minor so we were excited to finally see the city.

Happy 1st impression of Vienna: riverfront bars and paddle boats

It started pouring rain a few minutes after my brilliant idea to rent a small boat so we found a Spanish bar to take cover and watch the storm.

Oh boy, the perfect place to practice mi espanol (notice sign above)

We enjoyed delicious coffee at a few Viennese cafes including famous Cafe Central where Sigmund Freud and Leon Strovsky used to hang out.

Famous Sacher-Torte (decadent chocolate) and other treats 

The majestic Vienna Opera House was a beautiful sight even on a dreary day.

Pic courtesy of John Pyatt

Anothony Bourdain inspired us to check out the Vienna Nashmarkt (open air market) with 120 market stalls and restaurants.

This guy is probably named Igor and he seems to have ingested one too many handfuls of Sauerkraut 

After hand sampling lots of sauerkraut (barrell aged for 9 months), we purchased a large bag o' kraut.

Bacon and cheese wrapped bread - They should sell this at Panera

Vienna has many museums to explore and we decided to visit the MUMOK.

MUMOK is Vienna's Museum of Modern Art

One of my favorite pieces of art on the 1st floor of the museum

Scoots admiring massive painting and smelling of sauerkraut (stinky BO)

Driving high speed winds and cold rain did not stop us from walking many miles around spectacular monuments and gardens.

Scoots eating fresh sauerkraut straight out of the plastic baggie

BRRRRRR

In order to get warm, we went to 7 Stern Brau and ordered Chili Beer.

"The spiciest beer on the planet"- MPS  "painfully delicious"- Scoots Shank

Just one page from a unique beer menu:  hemp, chili pepper, and smoked beer

The Brewery even had a vending machine selling their house brewed creative beers.

Scoots buying some chili beers for the road

St. Stephens Cathedral was gorgeously lit up at night.

Ginormous Cathedral

Later that evening, our crew went out and found a fun hookah bar with a DJ.  

Pyatts dancing to Snoop Dog

Pyatts busting out moves they learned growing up in North Charleston

We met Austrian friends as we searched for a Karaoke Bar.

Scoots sharing schnapps with the Austrians as I yell "Hasta la vista baby " and other Shwarzenegger classics

 Success = Karaoke Bar in Austria

Scoots and Joe performing Genesis "I Cant Dance"

Laura & Carson's 1st German Beer Fest and Castle Country

Spring is "fest season" and a glorious time to live in Stuttgart!   Laura, a friend from Charleston, and her fiance Carson recently came to visit us after running a marathon in Vienna.  

We drove to the medieval town of Tubingen and to see historic buildings and have a local feast.

Laura (aka "Tomko") & Carson 

This was Carson's first trip to Europe and he had been passionately studying German prior to arrival.  He proclaimed, "Iche habe braune harre!" to every German he encountered.

Carson has brown hair. Here he sits with his lentils & wurst (aka Frank & Beans)

Stuttgart is considered a part of the Swabia region.  Swabia's traditional cuisine is maultaschen, a homemade ravioli (stuffed with meat or veggies).

We dined at Mauganeschtle (above) because of its reputation for over 20 kinds of homemade maultaschen

Veggie maultaschen sampler platter- pine nuts & herbs, roasted eggplant, white asparagus and goat cheese, fried onions

We played "snack, snack, pass" (sharing our massive meals). The group favorite was the daily special: spargel & shrimp maultaushen. 

It's spargel (asparagus) season in Stuttgart and Germans eat it with almost every meal (in fact, I am eating some now as I type)

Next stop was the Hohenzollerm Castle, which dates back to the 13th century and was renovated by Prince Frederick William IV of Prussia in the 1800s.

Hohenzollern Castle "rises majestically on the mountain peak of the Swabian Alb"

We hiked up the path and paid a small fee to enter the castle grounds.

Laura, Carson, Megano & Scott enjoying a brisk day at the castle

Laura's knees were not in great shape post-marathon

Tomko and her knight in neon sneakers

We celebrated Easter brunch at our favorite neighborhood Argentinian cafe.

Traditional breakfast- eggs, prosciutto, cheese, potato omelet, olives, fruit and quark (like a cottage cheese & yogurt hybrid)

After brunch, we brought "Larson" to Fruhlingsfest (Stuttgart's Spring Beer Fest).

Scott and Carson appear to be dressed the same but Carson is wearing a t-shirt that resembles German leather lederhosen 

We shared a table with a friendly group of French fellows.

I forgot their names but I invited them to come back and stay with us anytime

At Fruhlingsfest, wild debauchery (and cleavage) is encouraged!

Friendly police lady holding a breathalyzer (I bet her name is Helga)

Scott inquiring about the breathalyzer (turns out this "polizei" charges 3 euro to measure your blood alcohol level)

Baby Germans (I could not believe they were old enough but the legal age is 16 so perhaps I'm the old one... OYE VEY)

Amazing pic shot from Tomko's GO-PRO camera while it was submerged in a giant mass of beer!

Bear hug while dancing to the Dirty Dancing theme song

Matching hats and future hangovers

True LOVE (sad to be missing their upcoming wedding) & notice Laura's gorgeous t-shirt (aka dirndl knock off)

Our delicious meal eventually arrived at the table and was quickly devoured.

Chicken galore, salad, and cheese spatzle (my favorite - like homemade mac n cheese topped with crispy fried onions)

Carson shouting "Ich haber braune harre!" while Scoots clenches

Carson's German vocabulary became more limited as the afternoon progressed and eventually he just yelled "ausgezeichnet" (English translation= "excellent") as he lifted tiny German boys onto his shoulder.

Frightened German lad pointing to the ground but Carson holding on tight

After this pic, we left the fest tent and went to ride bumper cars

We are so thankful that Laura and Carson included a visit to us in their pre-weddingmoon! 

Scott has been working out of town a lot but at least this comes with a few perks.

Perk #1- Energy efficient chick magnet

I didn't want Scoots to get to lonely so I took the train and met him at the Ramstein Air Base where he was working. We enjoyed an All-American night (shopping, movie and Mexican food) at the huge base shopping mall. 

 The next day, we drove to the Romantice Rhine River Valley.

The legendary Romantic Rhine Route is a 586 km stretch following the Rhine river.  

The windy road passes almost 40 castles and fortresses along the hilltops.

Ferry boats run from town to town making this an easy place for tourists to travel

The Rheinfels Castle (below) was built in 1245 and was once the largest and most powerful fortress along on the Rhine. 

Napoleon had Castle Rheinfels blown up so now only 1/3rd of the original structure remains

Castles and vineyards surround the river as far as the eye can see.

Next time, we shall ride the ferry and sample some local wine

We even found a beach but it was no Sullivan's Island.

Scoots at the forest beach where we enjoyed a peaceful stroll along the river

Everyone in Stuttgart seems to be uber excited about the World Cup.
They even have soccer balls on their yogurt jars.

Germans love yogurt and soccer but Sangria flavor might not be ausgezeichnet