Author Archives: trickiedickny

  • Playing Nice!

    August 10, 2012

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    Budapest, Hungary…I covered this town today! I hit the ground running with ambition…

    Since Budapest is so spread out, I took it on recommendation, to employ the services of the dreaded open top tour bus! There are many different companies to choose from and they are set up conveniently all over the city…they include tours by bus and boat and are red, bright green, pink, blue, you name it…

    This really gave me the opportunity to see EVERYTHING from both sides of the Danube as well as actually from the Danube! It was comprehensive and a great way to capture the sights and history of the Hungarian capital. There is so much to see; the castles, churches, monuments, and bridges!

    I must say what struck me today: what is wrong with tourists? Why do people loose their manners and mind when traveling? Pushing, shoving, space invading…I really laughed many times today watching a little Japanese woman push aside a large German man, or a loud French woman knock a girl over for a seat, or the Swedish teen stepping allover this Italian woman who dropped her hat! What’s the problem? I think people are so fixated they forget we are all in this together! I am a New Yorker, so I get aggression, but this is vacation! I rarely do group tour activities but today gave me a better glimpse into people’s behavior!

    Slow down, take in the beauty…Chill and relish the culture…Relax, the sights are not going anywhere!

    I am loving Budapest, now I just wish everybody tried to love one another a bit more…

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  • Night Vision!

    August 9, 2012

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    Budapest, Hungary…the historic sights along the Danube are illuminated at night allowing me to do a double take at this wonderful city. The sound of live bands at cafes become the soundtrack for the amazing view and people waltz in the open air dance halls that some parks become after dark. I really am enchanted with Hungary and the traditional goulash, stroganoff, and strudel on every menu just adds to the appeal!

    I am sitting at an orange and yellow canopied cafe along the banks of Budapest’s prized river and soaking up the sights. My dinner of Sirloin Stroganoff with amazing dumpling like noodles brings me back to my childhood…delicious! It hits the spot like some kind of comfort food.

    A stroll allows me to thrill at the view and it’s all I need to end this first day in Hungary!

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  • Hungary for More!

    August 9, 2012

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    Budapest, Hungary…the morning should have been simple, but it was rocky…I bought a first class train ticket, but couldn’t find the first class car and was relegated to airless second class! Then upon arriving, I thought I should buy my onward train tickets to Krakow. The ticket office was packed with smelly back-packers and the wait was over an hour and half! What am I doing? Mini meltdown…Forget it…I stormed out!

    The taxi driver annoyed me too… oh, was Budapest gonna be a bust or did I just hit a wall from traveling 6 weeks? I think I was craving a switch from the series of small little towns with village squares and elaborate churches…

    Well, I peeled myself off that wall when I got to my glorious hotel, Zenit Budapest Palace! It’s fantastic and things are looking up! The day totally turned around…I love the vibe of Budapest…it’s not just castles and churches(they have them too!)… It’s youthful, has an energy to it, a bustle in it’s step…bigger than the other towns on this tour so far! It’s got fashion and style along with cafes in spades! People everywhere, chilling in parks or soaking in makeshift pools! I am totally responding to this change…

    It’s a large city spread out on both sides of the Danube…so my focus for now is just getting my bearings of what looks like a great place!

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  • Danube Dreams!

    August 8, 2012

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    The Danube River…Instead of another train ride, I choose to take to the famous Danube on a hydrofoil boat from Vienna to Bratislava. The two cities are extremely close and this was my way of getting the flavor of cruising this waterway into my experience!

    Lushly green, the banks of the river are laden with and abundance of trees that kind of hang over the water’s edge. We passed under bridges of all designs, from classic to uber modernist. Anyone expecting to see a blue hued Danube as described in the famous waltz will be surprised. Today, there is nothing blue about it! Nevertheless, it was fun seeing dogs splashing in the rocky shore, fishing nets set to score today’s prize, weird looking barges float by, and castle spires poke out from the passing forests. My pre conceived notion of some fantastical river that was lifted from a storybook were quickly broken!

    Upon arriving in Slovakia, the harbor was dotted with low riding river cruise boats set against a vintage skyline of castles and churches mixed with modern bland blocks of buildings.

    A small yet simpler version of Prague, Bratislava’s Old Town was easy to walk without the crush of tourists found elsewhere. The palace was patrolled by costumed guards, yet I have seen grander homes in East Hampton or Beverly Hills and overall it all felt still undiscovered by mass tourism. After days of churches, castles, and cobblestones it all starts to blur, yet it was nice to just stroll without being concerned about hitting a list of big sights.

    Far from a must stop on any itinerary, it’s still fun experiencing a place that most people will say “where?”…I can say I’ve been to Slovakia! Plus, I can now spell Bratislava…

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  • The Hills are Alive!

    August 7, 2012

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    Salzburg, Austria…pretending to don my best Lederhosen, I headed on a day trip to the home of “The Sound of Music”…

    The 2 1/2 hour train journey cut through some very scenic parts of Austria and seeing the rolling hills and gingerbread houses that dotted the countryside really set the right note. I was singing all the Von Trapp tunes to myself the entire journey!

    Blue skies disappeared after arriving, but the cool 60 degree air was a joy after the relentless heat of Vienna. I feel like I just stepped into make believe…Salzburg looks like an Alpine movie set…like a postcard of what you think it should look like! But it’s all very real…I immediately start imagining how magical it must be after the first snow or the joy when Christmas carols fill the streets! It’s that kind of place, where you are drawn to fantasy and your mind races…

    It’s a small and quaint old town…music is an important part of life here…concerts occur daily and today is no exception! Girls walking around in dirndls, men in Lederhosen, and skilled violinists mix among tourists in awe. Many just linger at picturesque cafes for hours just taking it all in!

    I walk to the perfectly manicured Mirabell Gardens, where the Von Trapp children learned to sing, and then along the ritzy shopping street Getreidesgasse admiring Christmas decor and Easter ornaments. I look up and see the castle-like fortress, Festung Hohdnsalzburg…from where you can see the famous nunnery from the film as well.

    What a joy! To make things even better, Salzburg is home to every imaginable pretzel! Huge pretzels: traditional, chocolate, cheese, you name it…I end my storybook day with a huge cheese pretzel…I hear the horse drawn carriages tap by and the sounds of music in the distance and call it a day…a very magical one!

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  • Works of Art!

    August 6, 2012

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    Vienna, Austria…I am blown away by the art, but the museums themselves are masterpieces! Smartly, a large group of museums are built together around a modernist central courtyard, called Museum Quartier. It’s as enjoyable hanging out there as it is to admire the exhibitions inside! This planning also makes museum hopping very easy…

    Away from Museum Quartier, the Secession Building is a sight to behold on its own with it’s ornate gold ball top and Klimt murals adorning the facade…literally, it glistens under the sun! All that before you get a sight of the magnificent work on the inside!

    The grand museums of Belvedere and Upper Belvedere are connected by an elaborate garden…the whitewashed interior of Upper Belvedere leading to that chandelier strewn great room is more than an opening act for the great artwork collection inside!

    Beauty to behold on both the inside and out!

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  • Me & Klimt!

    August 6, 2012

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    Vienna, Austria…Vienna is celebrating it’s acclaimed artist, Gustav Klimt’s 150th birthday this year with special exhibits allover town…His work along with his turn of the century friends Egon Schiele and Koloman Moser define an era and secessionist period. Their influence on Austria and the Art Nouveau period is huge!

    The Leopold Museum’s exhibit focused on Klimt the man…entitled “Klimt: Up close and personal”. Showcasing his love of travel; the exhibit displays hundreds of postcards he wrote while traveling and how creative he felt and became when traveling! I can totally relate! It was a great way to learn about the man behind the art…ultimately, I found that we share the same love to be so inspirational! Leopold also houses the largest Schiele collection and lesser known Moser. Schiele, referred to as more of a bad boy, his art had a more erotic and dark feeling. He was tapped as an art genius at an early age and him and Klimt were friends.

    The museum at Upper Belvedere holds the largest Klimt collection in the world and didn’t disappoint with famous works such as “The Kiss”…but it’s the behind the scenes that excites me…seeing that every work had a series of studies and sketches and a mini pre-painting before the final work! Looking closely I see the huge impact he has had today on fashion. Dries Van Noten and Marni collections jump from his artwork! Look at his portrait of Johanna Straude in a 1910 Martha Alber design: it could be a Marni lookbook!

    Art is amazing…but it’s the artist that defines the art! A reminder to myself to be thankful that I am gifted with creativity and also the ability to travel the world for creative inspiration!

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