Roadtrip, Day 3 // Road-Trippin'. And Vienna.

Friday. Woke up in Czech Republic, had lunch in Slovakia, accidentally detoured through Austria, going to sleep in Hungary. Feeling lucky and exhausted.

 

Prague

Prague is loud, beautiful, diverse.  The grime and bustle of daily city life is overshadowed by stunning architecture, and overrun by several dozen nationalities.

Like other European cities, the streets are lined in cafes with outdoor seating, where the crowds comingle to the tune of wandering street musicians, or stand by with beer and ice cream. This should happen more often in the States. If nothing else, there should be more gelato.

We did our own private walking tour on Thursday, crossing the broad Charles Bridge and making our way up to the beautiful castle gardens, then down to an outdoor market with wine and cheese and handmade goods, live music, and oh, the food – big woks with oysters, fat pretzels and sausages, and cartons of mixed fruit so ripe you could smell it just walking by. We bought tomato and chorizo baguettes for one euro fifty and carried them through the park, across another bridge, and all the way to the Globe Bookstore, where they truly appreciate Hemingway, coffee, and spiral staircases. Which, in my opinion, is always a good thing.

We got lost. I think this is a good way to explore a city. I could be wrong.

At 8 o’clock, we joined the throng below the old clock tower, and watched the hourly appearance of the twelve apostles (while the skeleton rang a bell). I’ll admit I was a little disappointed when nothing popped out of the tiny door to announce the top of the hour, but it was fun standing there with all those people, waiting for something else to happen and then sheepishly disbanding when it didn’t.

… And then we had Chinese food. Odd as it may sound, we make a point to eat one meal at an Asian restaurant in all the European cities we visit. It’s kind of our ‘thing’. It started two years ago, in Paris, when we stumbled across this amazing Vietnamese restaurant where you share a table outdoors with the other diners. We loved it so much we went back two or three times … and apparently it was even more habit-forming than we realized.

Road-Tripping

Left Prague bright and early this morning.

The playlist: Tunng, Head and the Heart, Paper Kites, Bob Dylan - interrupted whenever we felt it necessary to yell out the names of street signs as if we actually knew what they said. Yes, with fake accents.

So far, Isaac’s proven himself to be a real trooper on the road. Makes me so proud, kid after my own heart.  

Bratislava

After endless cornfields and dried sunflowers with bent, brown heads, we stopped off for lunch in Slovakia. On first encounter, Bratislava seemed grimy and confusing, but hidden behind all that was a surprisingly sweet city center. We had risotto, Mediterranean salad, and flatbread while watching a percussion street performance, and then headed on our way.

And now I can say I’ve been to Slovakia for lunch. Never thought that would happen.

Vienna

Took a wrong turn when leaving Bratislava and accidentally ended up in Austria (which isn’t difficult, considering the proximity). Austria has the most windmills I’ve seen yet (Tim says we probably saw a couple hundred). They are breath-taking; simple, white, clean - planted one after the other in expansive green and golden fields.

Since we were already in Austria, we thought … what the heck, let’s go to Vienna – it’s only 35ish miles away. So we went to Vienna. Briefly, for drinks, and just long enough to see St. Stephen’s Cathedral (breath-taking). Incidentally, going to Viennna mid-road-trip is somewhat akin to crashing a classy party where you are regrettably (and unapologetically) under-dressed. Also, my shoes cost less than $900 (or fifteen, for that matter), so I was clearly out of place. 

Eh well. Nothing says roadtrip like Impromptu Detour.
Thank God Tim has innate navigational skills.
And yes, I do have the Billy Joel song stuck in my head. 

Budapest

Tonight we sleep in Budapest, and tomorrow is Tim’s 31^st birthday and a busy, busy schedule. 

I will post photos. At some point. Somewhere.

Goodnight, world.