Visit to Switzerland, Austria, Budapest and Prague Part 2

September 2019

We had heard so much about the Glacier Express! Imagine, it was first started in 1830. It pretty much snakes through a major part of the south of Switzerland making its way toward Austria. Our last destination in Switzerland was St. Moritz and that’s where we were heading. The journey itself was a full eight hours, but we also had to factor in about 5 hours of wait and a train change. Fortunately we could go into the small town of Brig and have our lunch and walk around a bit.

The Glacier Express

The Glacier Express must have, at some distant point in history,  gone through areas which included glaciers, but currently it was all pastoral scenery! There were mountains, lakes, waterfalls and interesting villages.  No complaints from me on that point because the famed fantastic views of nature was the reason I wanted to see this country. This was a great opportunity to soak in the scenery as they say! We were a captive audience inside that train, but what comfort even in the economy class! The seats faced each other with a small table in between conducive to opening up and distributing our snacks. We could even walk to the dining car and buy coffee there and to our surprise (or not!) we found some people of Indian origin working. We chatted with them. The scenery was spectacular and ever changing. Now some stark mountains, now meadows, cows grazing and the small towns with their nicely set homes and churches on the hillsides.

Outdoor in Brig, Gelato tasting

We got off the train at Brig for the long halt, leaving our small suitcases in the locker. As we walked up the old cobblestone streets, we met a nun with whom we took a picture. She said she had worked in India and was looking forward to going back. Since we had leisure time we chatted and later saw the outer courtyard of an old church and the palace. We were allowed into the gardens and spent time walking around and sitting on the parapet wall in the sunshine, truly enjoying the leisure time. The garden had some exotic trees and what seemed like a fruit equivalent of chow chow or chayote! We had several options for a vegetarian lunch and chose pizza again, it was safe and meat free. This time there was no talk of not sharing. We could do as we pleased and we sat at the sunny picnic tables on the sidewalk, watching the passing tourists and town people. After that we were all treated to yummy gelato by Shankar. Back at the station, we had some anxious minutes as our onward booking could not be located on their system But in the end, all was well and we boarded the scheduled train in time and continued our onward journey.

 

When we reached St. Moritz (could not say finally as no one felt the fatigue of the long day!) we got off the train quickly and were glad to see Madana Gopal!  No this was not a one man Indian reception committee but our driver, Milos, re-named.  After that the name stuck and we had ample opportunities to grumble about him.  Though he was a very good driver, never rash or speeding, he had a grumpy attitude now and then, especially when he had to do the job of the tour manager, figuring out where the Indian restaurants were.  But then we found some of the local guides to be of similar ilk!  After a Swiss dinner not worth remembering, we went to our Hotel, Crystal Hotel Superior in St. Moritz located on a slopey part of the town.   We were out early the next day and did a brief tour of Innsbruck, a picturesque town with colorful buildings and mountains in the distance.

Austrian Crystals, Glittering Swarovski Museum

After the tour we were taken to restaurant Nue Delhi restaurant for lunch.  This was one of the very best on our tour so far and absolutely delicious.   We were served well prepared vegetable dishes, fresh Indian breads, rice, yogurt and lovely desert of gulab jamun and mango ice cream.   We truly appreciated this meal and as it turned out, more of our coming meals were non-Indian .  We spoke to the owners who have been operating the restaurant over a long period of time and it was popular with the tours as well as locals.   We were now going into Austria and did not even notice we had crossed any border!  Our next big stop was the Swarovski museum in Wattens!  The outside displays were eye catching, with a huge face made with foliage on the mountainside and glittering eyes!  Their location too was very scenic with meadows and mountains.  Every group was sort of forced to see their displays, very grand but not really significant!   It had little to do with the kind of crystal they sell.   When we asked one of the sales people why there was no info on how crystal was made, they said they could not give away their secrets!  Like we were going to go home and start making our own crystals!

Anyway it was a fun outing on a crisp end of summer day and when we were let into the salesroom, everyone went beserk!  For one thing the prices were more reasonable than what we expected, though not dirt cheap.   The main reason for the shopping spree was that these were cute well made momentos in silver and crystal that we could easily carry for our family and as predicted they were loved by the younger generation who seem to be “allergic” to gold jewellery!  There was an equally long line for the coffee which was mediocre but gave the shot of caffeine much needed after the heavy lunch and hectic shopping spree!  After a quick inspection of the grounds we were ready to board the bus.

The hotel was quite a drive away at night  and the dinner that preceded was not worth remembering.  The usual soup and strudel.   But those who were nearly dozing off had a rude awakening!   Our destination was Salzburg, the hotel Sommerhof.  We got off the bus, noisily trying to identify our suitcases from which we had been separated for a few days and figuring out who we needed to talk to regarding our rooms when a lady came out and yelled at us.  It seems we were at a family hostel with young kids sleeping and were creating a racket past 10 p.m.!   The manager’s anger was justified but she need not have shushed us like anyone would a bunch of toddlers.   Appears that no one had contacted her about our delay in arriving and she had to make several long distance calls to no avail.   The next day many in our group made it their duty to speak to the lady and tell her that her rudeness was unacceptable.  The bonus with the family style living was that we had very spacious quarters, rustic Swiss furniture and a different ambiance.   The down side was that we had to drive back to Innsbruck,  the route we had travelled the previous night, for 45 minutes!

Sound of Music Legend,  the “You are sixteen” Gazebo               

With the weather so nice, we did not care about the additional drive.  Everyone was excited about the Sound of Music displays which is what Salzburg is remembered for.  However it did not really live up to my expectations.  I would rather have seen the mountains where the “Hills were alive” song was picturized,  but we were shown some gardens and the famous original Gazebo where the romantic songs were sung including “You are Sixteen going on Seventeen”.  It had been moved there from the sets.  Our tour guide told us that the famous Edelweiss flower (recall the beautiful song  of the same name from the movie) had become so rare that it was grown in special areas and only used for proposals!   He also spun off a long story about the real Von Trapp family who it seems later moved to the United States, had three more children and went through the vicissitudes of fortunes, he went to prison and finally she opened a bed and breakfast or restaurant.  Maria lived for 40 more years after the Captain died as she was 25 years younger than him.

We went on a fairly elaborate walking tour into the city of Salzburg where famous areas were pointed out to us.   Doppler (who is now famous for medical photography) and of course the inimitable Mozart both belong to this  town.  In fact we were outside the house where Mozart was born.   Everything was named after him, most famously some ball chocolates with marzipan centers that everyone was hunting for, but tastewise it was mostly sugar!  On the other hand, sitting in a café in the town square and sipping coffee on that sunny day was what our trip was all about, enjoying good company and relaxing.

Vienna, Mozart & Schonbrunn Palace

Next on the itinerary were three very impressive cities, Vienna, Budapest and Prague.  We were given enough of a break in each destination and had a relaxed time at the same time covering the important landmarks.  Our guide told us that Vienna itself had walls to protect it from the Turks at one time.  The Danube river  ran through the city and sometimes flooded it so the city centers were located away from it.   The Alps also ended here and this phenomenon was actually visible in the topography!  We saw the curved UN building.  Our lady guide, Giuseppina herself explained that the locals had “a bark that was worse than their bite” and her own behaviour made this obvious.  She made the poor injured ones in our group walk a lot without really spelling out the distances.  The highlight of Vienna was the impressive Schonbrunn palace. It featured the life of the queen Maria Theresa who ruled the land while she bore 16 children. The palace itself was in mint condition.  The gold trim work was constantly being renewed and there were beautiful huge paintings on walls and ceilings, reminiscent of the Vatican city. One mural in particular caught our attention, for as our guide explained, Mozart had been photoshopped (painted in)  as being present in an event that occurred where he was not present.  He was shown as a four year old but he met Maria Theresa only when he was six!   We marvelled the portraits, parlours and glass panels and gilded work, so much to take in.   Furniture from the days of yore were also saved.  The gardens outside were  so symmetrical and beautiful and there was even a zoo there possibly designed with the view of keeping all the children who lived there entertained.   It is rumoured that all but one daughter had a marriage of convenience to expand the empire.

For a change we had lunch at Rani Restaurant, another of the tour group caterers, but I guess it was good to our palates hankering for Indian food.   The drive after Vienna was so different, land was flat, gone were were the sloping meadows and greenery.   Corn, it appears was one of the few crops grown.  Out hotel was located in a prime main street of Budapest,  but the downside was that we had to drag our suitcases for a block on the bumpy sidewalk as the bus was not allowed to stop in front of it.  Reminded us of many other tours where we had to do this at least once! Budapest we found was actually two cities, one on the flat land and one in the elevations.  Buda seemed to have all the important official buildings.  We were to take a cruise on the river Danube and due to the traffic in Buda, our driver was almost an hour late.  We grumbled at first, but later on the cruise realized it was really a blessing – we could view the beautiful city by the evening daylight as well as by night when the glorious lights came on.   It was a gorgeous, unforgettable sight, it totally spoilt us for any other city.  In fact I for one was  not even that  impressed with Prague after seeing Buda and Pest. 

Beautiful Pest part of City

The next day we were driven by bus to see the Pest part of the city and with its high elevation, fabulous views and the castle like structures,  old church and buildings totally won us over.  By request we also drove to the nearby location of a statue that had intrigued us earlier (it could be seen from Buda).  It was of a lady carrying aloft a palm frond, signifying liberty.

                         

In Budapest we were taken to many Indian restaurants for lunch and dinner, probably because the local food did not lend itself to vegetarianism.  The approach to many in small lanes was difficult as the bus could not go in and the walk was long, hard for those with leg pain, but we somehow managed.   On the last day we also were taken to the countryside for a Hungarian horsemanship show, okay but not nearly as interesting as the elephant show we saw in Thailand.  We went for a ride in a horse buggy as well.  Later the driver dropped us off at a shopping plaza and those who had not had their fill of chocolates or Swarovski crystals made a beeline again for those stores.

Horsemanship Show and Last of the Alps

Next morning we were off to Prague by road with a stopover and lunch at Bratislava.  Since Czech and Slovakia have now been separated, we got a glimpse of both.  Thanks to a guide who knew exactly what to tell us (and briefly!) we saw things of interest to us like the plaque put up in downtown to commemorate a visit by Nehru and Indira Gandhi even before the Indian independence when they visited many countries to study their political systems.   This was a Kodak moment all right!  Next we had lunch in a former palace known as Hradna Hviezda  (strudel had now given way to risotto!)  The pumpkin risotto was akin to pongal and the puliogare mix did help to spice it up!  We had an area to ourselves with a large table and enjoyed the ambiance.

 

By nightfall we arrived at Prague and of course had to go straight to dinner.   The location of the restaurant however made up for our complaints.  Right by the river the walk was glittering and glorious in the dusk.   The climb down to the riverside restaurant was fairly steep but we made it.  The dinner?  Risotto again!  But with a not so pleasant surprise – each pile of rice had a poached egg on top sunnyside down.  At first we thought it was cheese but to our dismay it was discovered to be egg!   Some ordered pasta instead (why they did not give us that in the first place is a mystery!) but the rest of us ate around the egg and called it a day!

The bus tour of Prague and the visit to the castle is all a vague memory now.   There were parts of that castle that were relics from olden times.   We did not really go into the proper castle, just outside it.   Later we visited the town square where among other things we were shown the beautiful astronomical clock as it struck 12 noon.  Quite a sight as the picture will testify.   This was followed by a chocolate shop visit (again over-hyped and priced but taste wise nothing spectacular!).  But we gave enough business to the owner and probably a nice cut went to the guide.  Again we spent some time in the shopping districts but no significant purchases were made by and large. Our next two meals were at Indian restaurants.

The trip was over the next day as we proceeded early to the airport to catch our flight back to the USA and all in all it was a pretty perfect trip with enough mix of countries, cities, impressive and world famous mountains, countryside, meadows and plenty of train and bus rides.