Moving on and on...

I was able to buy a new battery for my camera in Vienna and a new charger (complete with car adapter!)in Prague so suddenly I feel a lot better. I missed out on a lot of pictures that I otherwise would have loved but at least I can keep going now.

Our train from Vienna to Prague was to leave just before one, so we spent the morning looking for some of the sights we hadn't caught the night before. Stevie was hoping to make it to the zoo, her being a big animal lover and Vienna's zoo being the oldest in the world. We got to the zoological gardens and looked around for a while, but the entry for the zoo itself was a little out of our price range so we settled for staring at the Japanese garden just outside and relaxing for a while. A few more shopping streets and another park later we were off for Prague.

It was about a four and a half hour ride, so I napped most of the way. We got in at 5:30 and headed for the underground and then a tram for our hostel. It's a nice little place, well kept and not in the centre of town but still easy access to everything. We explored a little bit after dropping off our bags, first popping into an electronics store to look for a charger; they didn't have the right kind, but the way the guy was poking around and testing different cords kind of reminded me of someone... We walked toward Namesti Miru, a beautiful church near our hostel, on toward the museum street, and eventually found a Chinese restaurant where we had a real dinner for the first time in what felt like ages - buying food at markets is nice on the wallet but occasionally the stomach just cries out for more.

We slept in a bit in the morning before heading out for the day. We had a small tourist map of the centre of Prague, and we were determined to hit everything on it. We started out walking down the main road from the museum, which at the end was home to yet another Easter market - that time of year, I guess. Prague is full of medieval churches, plenty of photogenic buildings, castles, monuments... Suffice it to say without my camera I probably would have died a little inside. We walked up and around both sides of the river, sitting for a while near the senate building, seeing palaces, monuments... You get the idea. After a while it's hard to remember and describe everything because we're seeing so much! But I suppose that's what pictures are for.

One thing I did remember my grandma mentioning from when she'd been to Prague is the Infant Jesus of Prague, a memorial statue in one of the churches, a very religious monument. Today being Holy Thursday and all, I knelt down in front of it and prayed for a little while, hoping everything goes better for me and everyone I know. The whole world, even.

Detour

Since Stevie was able to get a rail pass of her own, we decided to take advantage and spend a few hours in Slovakia on our way to Vienna for the evening. We walked from our hostel in Budapest to the central station, about a 45 minute walk, when I realized I had left my camera's battery charger, complete with the battery, at the hostel. As you may imagine from how my posts are arranged, I usually take a ton of pictures, and since we didn't have time to go back before our train I was absolutely devastated. Luckily we got in touch with the hostel and they found my charger, willing to mail it back to France for me. But of course this means I can't take nearly the amount of pictures I had hoped for! Stevie was kind enough to let me use her camera to take some pictures today (we luckily use the same kind of memory card, and I have a lot of those still) so all was not lost. Still, I'm a bit upset.

In any case, we got on the train for Bratislava, a journey of about two and a half hours, arriving around noon. Not too much to see, sadly, so we just wandered around the city for a few hours. At least now we can add another country to our list!

We got on the short train ride for Vienna in the afternoon, arriving at the south train station and making our reservations for Prague the next afternoon. We then got on a tram and met up with Heather, a girl from Colorado, with whom we would be spending the night. She's lived in Vienna for a little while now, so after we dropped off our bags she took us out for a tour of many of Vienna's famous sights.

We of course had to see the Easter market, but then we found many of Vienna's famous buildings, most of which were churches or music halls. This made perfect sense to me, since the place I remember hearing about Vienna most often was orchestra in junior high and high school - many famous composers lived or spent time here so the stars on the street all bear their names.

Apparently the big Viennese intellectual tradition is to sit in a café sipping coffee and discussing revolution, so we went to the Central Café, a renowned gathering spot for centuries, and sat chitchatting and sipping espresso. It was nice to sit and relax, trying to take my mind off things that had gone wrong and focus on what good things are yet to come on what is sure to be an amazing adventure for the rest of break!

And who knows, I was thinking of getting a second battery for my camera anyway, so I may not be totally deprived of my photographic addiction for the rest of the trip - I'll see what I can find!

Österreich

We got into Innsbruck just after one o'clock Saturday afternoon, and after lunch across from the station we headed into town to wander. There were plenty of old monuments along the way, notably the arc de triomphe and several statues, and of course, mountains! The scenery in Innsbruck is absolutely breathtaking. We walked as far as the University before turning toward the river. There was a plaza that had been set up as a finish line for some sort of race, with a concert in the background. I was quite shocked to hear them playing country music! We listened for a while then headed into the tourist area.

There are plenty of year round shops filed with decorated eggs and ornaments, but being so close to Easter there was a special market set up in the street, selling mostly handmade bunnies and eggs painted with chicks and ducks. This same area was also home to some of Innsbruck's well known sights, including the golden roof and the birthplace of Leopold Mozart, father of Wolfgang Amadeus and a talented musician in his own right. In the area I also saw a traditional looking band, completed with tuba and playing something resembling polkas... We sat and listened for a little while before moving on. Plenty more statues and nice sights and we moved in to settle for the night.

Night time in Innsbruck let me accomplish one of my life goals: lying in a field there and staring up at the stars. I was hoping maybe it would inspire me like it did this guy...

Sunday morning we got on a train headed for Salzburg, hoping to spend a few hours there before heading to Budapest for the night. Salzburg is well known for being the birthplace of the younger Mozart, as well as the location where the movie The Sound of Music was filmed. We got there around 9:30 and tried to see as many of the sights as we could before leaving at one. We went through the Mirabell palace and gardens first, absolutely gorgeous and apparently used in the movie. Throughout the town we saw fountains, churches, gardens, squares, so many places that were not only beautiful and old but well known.

We went into the catacombs behind St. Peter's cemetary after wandering about near the fortress, a very solemn and moving experience. They were built into the cliff face, so it gave a clear view of many of the surrounding churches and monuments. Unfortunately, there was a lot of construction and maintenance work in the city, including on the Residenz fountain which was one of the main sights I'd wanted to see, after seeing photos my mom had taken when she went to Salzburg in 2000. I was a bit disappointed, but still managed to see a lot and have a good time.

We got on the train to Budapest later in the afternoon, first changing trains in Vienna. We got in a little late in the evening and had a hard time finding our hostel... But everything we've seen of Budapest so far has been amazing! The Danube river is just beautiful, and I can't wait to get up tomorrow and do some exploring!