Two new countries in one day

Yes that’s correct, it’s a first for both your author and his lovely travelling companion - never before has either of us been to two brand new countries on a single day (airport stopovers don't count).  The tour passed through Slovakia en route to Hungary on the same day which were countries neither of us had visited before.

Although Slovakia actually shares a border with Ukraine, it’s quite a long narrow country east to west and we were well away from trouble, passing through the western side and stopping for a couple of hours in Bratislava.  The most famous landmark in that town?  A bronze ‘statue’ of a helmeted man poking his head out of a manhole cover!  A lovely little city which only became the capital of Slovakia when they split from Czechia in the early 90’s.  Imagine all that’s involved in creating a capital city – you're going to need a parliament and a load of embassies for a start!

We arrived at Budapest in the evening and it was straight onto a Danube dinner cruise.  Lit up at night, it is a truly spectacular city – this blog will be quite photo-heavy because there were just so many amazing sites, headlined by the houses of parliament and hilltop castle.  Hungary was founded in 896AD when a horde of invading Magyar horsemen arrived from the east.  The main square in town has the most magnificent bronze statues, they’re a truly frightening lot those Magyar!  The town was originally settled by the Romans and is actually an amalgamation of settlements on either side of the river - Buda and Pest.

Both Czechia and Hungary are former eastern bloc communist countries and there remains much evidence of that era.  In particular row upon row of drab utilitarian apartment blocks - previously grey but at least now repainted to give a bit of variety.  Both countries also had anti-Soviet uprisings (Hungary 1956 and Czechoslovakia 1968) which resulted in Russian tanks rumbling into town and much bloodshed.  There are many memorials to this time and also some buildings bearing the scars of gun battles.  The Hungarian language is unique in Europe and is nothing like you will ever have heard or seen before.  The language of other countries we have visited have had some commonality however there’s not a single word that looks even vaguely familiar, and the same applies to the written version.  And apparently it’s one of the hardest languages to learn.

The tour seemed like it was one highlight after another because next stop was Vienna, headquarters of the Hapsburg dynasty and former capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  Growing up in New Zealand, one has a reasonable amount of exposure to British and American history however a great deal less for other parts of the world.  One of the aspects your author was looking forward to was learning more about the history of other cultures, royal families etc.  And this trip so far has not disappointed!  By most learned opinions the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna is in the top three royal residences in Europe (the other contenders being Versailles and St Petersburg).  What’s different here is that, when the Hapsburg reign ended in 1918, they pretty much walked out, locked the door, and the palace became the property of the state.  Unlike Versailles which was looted during the revolution, this place has all the original furniture and fixtures exactly as it was.  One of the most remarkable of the Hapsburgs was Maria Theresia who was one of the first female rulers of any European royal family.  She was also busy in other respects, giving birth to 16 children and marrying them off to the nobility of various other European countries.  One of whom came to a sticky end during the French Revolution – yes, we’re talking about Marie Antoinette!

Vienna is a stunningly beautiful town although sadly the Danube was diverted around it in the late 19^th century to prevent flooding.  Our bus drove right around the ring road with commentary from a local specialist – just too many highlights and your head is permanently on a swivel!  One evening we had a meal at a restaurant called Marchfelderhoff that neither of us will ever forget.  It’s almost impossible to describe accurately so you’ll have to look at the photos, but our tour guide said it reminded him of an explosion in an antiques factory!  If you take all the stock from the 10 largest antique shops you’ve ever been in, and then double that a couple of times, you’d have some idea of the amount of memorabilia in this place.  Every wall, ceiling, nook and cranny (including the loos) was decked out with every imaginable artifact. Over the years it has been visited (with thousands of photos as proof) by a who’s who of the European rich and famous.  Quaint? Yes. Eccentric? Definitely!

If one is ever inclined to take in a chamber orchestra performance, Vienna is the one place where such an undertaking would be most appropriate.  We were treated to not only the most amazing music but also ballet dancing and opera singing to go with it!  And, surprisingly, with a good sprinkling of humour thrown in for good measure.  At least it made a change from endless piano accordions. 😊

OK, let’s play the word association game.  I’ll say Salzburg and you tell me what springs to mind.  Ah yes, I thought you were a pretty intelligent audience – of course there are two correct answers - the first is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the second of course is The Sound of Music!  Firstly Mozart - the man started life as a child prodigy, playing piano competently as a 4 year old and touring Europe to entertain the wealthy long before his first pair of long trousers!  Although he passed away at only 35 years of age, it was so interesting to hear more about his life and legacy and see the house he was born in etc. 

We’ve had amazing weather this trip, the exception being our day in Salzburg which was cold and wet.  However we were still able to stop by several of the sites where Sound of Music was filmed and again hear plenty about the back story of the Family Von Trapp and the famous film of their life.  The scenery around the alps is breath-taking: mountains, lakes and loads of cute little villages.

When my parents originally booked this bus tour (see the previous blog for further explanation) the Passion Play at Oberammergau was their raison d’être however we didn’t really know what to expect.  I’ve got to say, it was a truly amazing experience on a few levels so… stay with me here…

Firstly the history.  In the year 1633 Oberammergau was beset with a plague or pestilence of some description and the townsfolk promised the Good Lord that should he deliver them, a Passion Play would be regularly performed as a gesture of thanks from that point forth.  So, believe it or not, this play has been performed in every year ending in 0 (apart from a 2 year Covid delay and a handful of other exceptions over the years) for almost 400 years.

Secondly the logistics.  The show is performed 5 times per week, the season running continuously from May to October, the covered open-air theatre seats 4500 and it’s always sold out!  The town itself only has a permanent population of just over 5000 people of which around 2000 are involved in the production.  Everyone involved is required to grow their hair long for a year prior to the event and you must be born in or have lived in the town for at least 20 years, to be an actor, chorister or musician.  The cast itself looked to number 200-300 when everyone was on stage, in addition to a choir of 64 and a live orchestra.  All hotels in town (and other villages within approximately an hour’s drive) are ‘commandeered’ by the organising committee and beds are allocated by them, as are restaurants for the intermission meal.  It boggles this correspondent’s mind when one considers what’s involved – one also wonders whether anyone other than the Germans with their penchant for efficiency could actually pull it off.  To remind you, that’s cycling 4500 people through hotels, restaurants and the show itself 5 days a week for 5 months.  Then for the other 9 years in the decade it goes back to being a sleepy little alpine village.

And finally the show itself.  We’re talking about a monumental undertaking given not just the size of the cast mentioned above, but also that the show runs for more than 5 hours!!!  Yessir, 2.30-5pm then a 3-hour break for dinner, then 8-10.45pm for the finish.  It’s all in German however you’re given a booklet with the entire script translated into English for you to follow.  The show is truly moving and the quality is just excellent – it’s really no wonder it’s so popular!

So finally we were back in Munich for a farewell dinner (which of course included a few of the more hardy souls pushing on to a nearby beerhall).  Your author also managed to fit in a visit to the 1972 Munich Olympic Stadium and the nearby BMW headquarters including massive showroom and car/motorbike museum.

This blog has been written today en route from Munich back to Newport where we’re scheduled to collect Harvey and be on our merry way.  Latest update from the fixit guys is we should be all sorted later this week.  Let’s blimmen hope so!!!

Thanks for sticking with us – there’s been a fair bit to cover today.  With much love…

The travelling Woodies

Video notes:

1. Hungarian dinner complete with Gypsy band and dancers

2. Your author being roped into participation in 'the broom dance'

3. Anita being seranaded at Marchfelderhoff

3. Sunday morning at Oberammergau and we find the organist practicing - what a treat!

We had 3 or 4 days in a row with top temperatures of 36deg - these water sprayers are a welcome relief

loads of bronze statues in Bratislava

this guy is the most famous of them all (appears in many of the souvenirs)

Slovenské národné divadlo is the Slovak national Theatre in Bratislava

too much choice in the pretzel department!

on the Danube with Budapest Castle in the background

the Hungarian Houses of Parliament...

...and in the daytime

imagine being confronted by a hoard of these guys riding into town!

view of Budapest from the castle

the Fountain of King Matthias on Castle Hill, Budapest

spotted on the side of a truck driving down the motorway

one of us (no prizes for guessing who) visited the marzipan museum in Szentendre.  as well as these tiny models there were life sized models of Michael Jackson and Princess Diana. who knew you could make so much stuff out of icing! 

Hungarian cuisine is generally defined by one thing - paprika. apparently the average Hungarian eats more than 1lb of the stuff per year!

even the photos don't do justice to just how eccentric and cool the Marchfelderhoff Restaurant was!

memorabilia everywhere!!

sadly no photos of the interior were allowed inside the Schönbrunn Palace but this postcard gives you an idea what the interior is like

time was short and it was over 30deg but my fast march up the hill was worth it for this pic!!

an evening at the chamber orchestra in Vienna, complete with opera singers and ballet dancers

apparently Mozart was short, had a hunch back, and wasn't the most good looking chap ever born.  maybe the sculptor was being kind (and check out our ponchos - the temperature there is about 14deg after being in the mid 30's the previous day)

sunflowers!

your faithful correspondent managed (with reasonable success) to stream AB's vs Ireland while we were driving on the bus

Oberammergau is a picture postcard village in the alps

and back to warm, sunny weather after our Salzburg precipitation

there isn't enough accommodation in Oberammergau for everyone so some people stay in nearby villages (for us it was Ettal).  this was the view we woke up to the morning after the show

over the road from our hotel was a huge monastery and brewery (which was sadly closed at the time)

inside the church at Oberammergau

back to Munich and your faithful author needed to visit the 1972 Olympic Stadium, also the venue for the final of the 1974 Football World Cup final

just over the road from the stadium is a BMW's headquarters, showroom and museum.  Here's the history of the 3 series

your blog author just hanging around as usual :-)

cheers guys - a few of our favourite new friends from the coach tour having a quiet beer on our last night (yeah right😊)

yup, that's me dancing with a broom!