European Vacation--The Wurstelprater, Vienna. And Yes, I'm Scared of Heights

Tonight, I feel the need to post more of the over one thousand of photos I took in Europe. Oh how I miss you, Vienna!On our last night in Vienna we made our way to the Prater to take a gander at the giant Ferris Wheel. The Prater is a huge park in Vienna and within it is the Wurstelprater, an amusement park.

We arrived when it was just getting dark, so we didn't get to visit the park but we did wander around the Wurstelprater for quite some time.

The park has been described on a couple of Austrian websites as being "seedy" "scruffy" or "filthy". I didn't see that at all. The place was most assuredly neat and tidy and I never felt unsafe or that I was in some seedy part of town.

At the Prater is one Vienna's landmarks and one of the destinations I was most excited about, the giant ferris wheel. As I mentioned it was growing dark as we approached, making my photos a bit on the dark side, but here's a link to a daytime photo.The ferris wheel, or Wiener Riesenrad as it's known in Austria, was originally built in 1896 and is one of the oldest(that's still running) in the world. During WWII it was bombed but rebuilt between 1945-1947. There is a small museum at the entrance which houses several of the gondolas and has historical information about the ferris wheel. Here's the official site for the Riensenrad. It's in German, but there's a link for English....and some more photos from around the park...
Because it is not a Vienna landmark, has no history behind it and is too freakin' tall, I had no desire to ride THIS ferris wheel. But it did make a purty picture.After all my wanting to see it and ride, I almost didn't get on the Riesenrad. I have a slight problem w/heights as in I am scared. of. heights. but I realized I would probably never have the chance again and it was either Jackie or Scott who told me I'd regret not riding. SO I rode.

It wasn't bad, really! See, I'm smiling! Note the absense of my sister? She's even more afraid of heights than I am. The views were amazing! Well worth the fear.

The Subways

I haven't rambled on about my Europe trip in a while so I thought tonight was a fine time to do so.

Among my many firsts in Europe was riding the subway. I was expecting the subways to be dirty, stinky, and scary. I guess I've seen too many movies depicting subways in NYC as being dark dirty pits where the dregs of humanity hang out. Even though Jackie told me they were fine, that's kind of what I was expecting. Despite my less than stellar expectations I was excited by the thought of riding the subways.

I've mentioned how neat and clean Vienna was...the subways there were no exception. Very orderly. People got on and off in an oderly fashion, and kept to themselves. If an elderly person got on and didn't have a seat, younger people would immediately 0ffer up their seat. (They did this on the trams in Poland too). Not too much difference in Prague, although the subways were more crowded there.

I never once got a creepy feeling or saw anyone who I'd deem a "dreg of humanity" in either city and we were on the subway late many nights.

Only twice were we approached for money. Once by a drunk guy and again by some teenage girls who were dressed in more expensive clothes than we were. They came up and said something to us (I think we were in Vienna and I'm pretty sure they were speaking German)which we didn't understand...then in giggly broken English they said "Do you have any money to give us?" Sure! Take our hard earned money, girls! Go back to the mall and buy more Chuck Taylors and chunky plastic 80's jewelry! Are you kidding me? Sheesh.We laughed about it, of course.

But yeah, I completely was taken in by the whole subway experience. I got a kick out of not only the ease of getting from point A to point B quickly, but also...

• People watching. Lots of it.
• The rush of wind as the trains sped by.
• The atmosphere...very metropolitan and hurried.
• The lights, the colors and the noise.
• The way you could feel and hear the train coming before you could ever see it.

OK, I know what you're thinking. "Quit yer mindless blabberin' and show some photos, will ya?" Yeah, yeah.

I only exaggerate slightly when I say the escalators in the subway stations in Vienna went straight down and traveled at approximately 172.8mph. You had to be fast to get on and off and if you have a problem w/heights DON'T look down!
Subway stop in Prague. Staromestska is where the Old Town Square is located.
I have no idea whose random European legs those are.
The trains speeding by made for really cool photos!
SO that's my experience with subways. I'm a fan. I wish my hometown had 'em. Of course if we did there would only be four stops...
Lowes
McDonald's
WalMart
Our crappy excuse for a mall
The folks riding would not budge from their seats for old folks and pregnant ladies...and they'd probably blast really bad country-pop music and it would most likely smell like cigarettes and Old Spice. blech. I've changed my mind. I don't wish my hometown had subways.

Ah, Vienna...

While I enjoyed and was blown away by every place we visited in Central Europe, I must say that if I could only visit one of those cities again, it would be Vienna. Both old and new, quaint and metropolitan, relaxing and exciting, it is truly an incredible city.

Here are some random impressions a month later. Why did I not keep a journal while I was traveling??? Anyways...

• The city was extremely clean and neat and orderly.
• We were out fairly late and rode on the subway quite often and I never once got a creepy or unsafe feeling. I get those feeling in the parking lot at WalMart here at home.
• I did a lot of people watching on the subways and I think(or perhaps want to think) I was pretty good at distinguishing folks from Vienna vs. the German folk and tourists. Austrian people are pretty people y'all.
• GREAT food!
  
• Expensive. Expensive. Expensive.
• Cultural experiences are literally around every corner.
• Some of the most beautiful architecture I've ever seen was in Vienna.
  
• A day and a half is not nearly enough time to experience this marvelous city.

Despite the fact that ours was a whirlwind tour and we saw only a fraction of the city, I was completely taken in by Vienna and if I could, I'd be back there tomorrow.

Now, for some photos. Waaaay too many to photoshop and straighten. Just tilt your head slightly if they look a little crooked.

This is one of my favorite photos...I have no idea what this building is, it looks like a hotel to me...we were waiting to catch the bus that goes around the Ringstrasse when I snapped it.A film festival was going on while we were there. We meant to go back and catch a least a bit of it but got completely distracted by the Wurstelprater. Which was AWESOME. Photos to come...
Parliament building. Absolutely gorgeous.


Taking a break from sightseeing on the Parliament stairs.

One of Vienna's most famous residents. When I make it back to Vienna, I'd love to visit the home of Mozart.Speaking of Mozart...Jackie and I had a full body shiver inducing conversation w/a creepy man who was most likely NOT Viennese(dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes) in a Mozart costume outside the Vienna Opera House. His wife(also dressed as Mozart) was equally creepy. I won't go into details but let's just say this guy was into "open marriage". Blech...there I go full body shivering again. Let's get that whole scenario out of our mind w/a nice photo of the four of us as we approached a palace, shall we...OK. That's enough for one post. I have a ton more photos from Vienna, but I'll save those for another day.

Smocza Jama!

In my last post, nearly a month ago, I posted some photos of the Wawel(Va-vell, not Wa-well as I mistakenly called it to some students at school--such a dork) Castle in Krakow. While there, we discovered the dragon's den or smocza yama was available for public viewing. SO view it, we did!

The story of the Wawel Dragon goes something like this.

Many years ago a nasty dragon flew into the city of Krakow and inhabited a cave beneath the castle. When he wasn't inhabiting his cave, the dragon was wreaking havoc on the town. The townspeople were terrified and distraught due to the mean and nasty (dare I say dragon-like) demeanor of the dragon. So much so that at the advising of the king's royal council, they began to offer up sheep and goats as a sacrifice and to prevent the dragon from turning on and gobbling up the townsfolk. This satisfied the dragon, but not for long...he began to peruse the royal fields for dessert. The king sends out his bravest knights to try and kill the beast, but none are a match for the dragon. Just when the king is at his lowest and fears nothing can be done, a lowly cobbler knocks at the castle gate. The cobbler convinces the king to trick the dragon rather than try and defeat it by force. The cobbler takes a sheep as offering the next morning...but not just any sheep...this sheep is made from tar and sulfur. The dragon gobbles up the sheep and suddenly feels a horrible burning in his stomach...he flies to the Vistula and begins to drink from the river. Unable to satisfy his thirst or stop the burning, the dragon drinks so much that his belly grows bigger and bigger and bigger until.....you guessed it...he explodes into thousands of pieces. The king and the townsfolk rejoice, the cobbler is greatly rewarded and of course, the king gets a brand spanking new pair of dragon skinned boots.

This is the version I've been reading to the students at school anyway...in other versions of the story not only livestock but also townsfolk especially young girls are the dragon's food of choice so once per month a virgin is sacrificed to the dragon. Ends up the only one left in the town is the king's daughter and she is promised to anyone who can rid the land of the dragon. The cobbler prevails and ends up marrying the kings daughter. For the kids at school, I've been sticking w/the first version.

The entrance to the dragon's den was about a million extrememly narrow stairs leading straight down a winding staircase into the cavern.I ask you, is it possible to visit a Dragon's Den and NOT ham it up a little? For some of us, it is impossible.
This is our dragon, Smok Wawelski.The kids at school were especially in awe of this photo of the dragon statue breathing fire. They did a lot of "ooohing and Awwwwwing"!
Now, I tend to have a runaway imagination and I absolutely love books and movies in the fantasy genre, so it was extremely easy for me to imagine that this cave was the home to a nasty, fire-breathing dragon once upon a time! While I did see some absolutely amazing and breathtaking sights in Europe, I will say that visiting the Smocza Jama at Wawel was one of the coolest things I've ever done.