European vacation (post 4)

All in all, we had a good trip. Not spectacular, not terrible, just good. A short summary follows. As you'll see, we didn't follow the script very well.


Vienna highlights:

• We saw the Venus of Willendorf, maybe the oldest piece of art in the world. I've been eager to see it since I first heard of it five years ago. I can't explain why I'm so fascinated by this thing, but I can report that it didn't disappoint.
  
• The "Long Night of Music," an annual event, presents lots of different kinds of music in dozens and dozens of venues. We especially enjoyed some young performers at the von Karajan Institute playing Mozart as we've never heard him before. We also enjoyed a long, liesurely walk up Kartnerstrasse to St. Stephen's Cathedral for a little bit of a Mozart string quartet.
• We're glad we got to see half a dozen Pietr Brueghel paintings, including Hunters in the Snow, at the Kusthistorisches Museum.
• We had a good time at the Belvedere Palace, where we saw an excellent exhibition of Schiele, Kokoshka, and Klimt (two of whom were previously unknown to me; the third was much better than I expected); we also enjoyed an oompah band and some folk dancing.

Vienna not-so-high lights:

• We didn't get tickets to the Staatsoper (La Boheme) or to the Vienna Boys Choir.
  
• We did wind up at a performance with musicians in 18th century dress playing one movement from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, one movement from The Four Seasons, the schmaltziest Strauss waltz you ever heard, and so on. It was awful. Of course they received a standing ovation. (OK, I admit it: I'm a snob.)
  
• Most days we got a late start on our sightseeing, which meant we missed a lot of the things I had hoped we'd be able to do; it also meant that we rushed through some of the things that we did do. Among the things that we didn't do enough of: relaxing in coffee shops and eating pastries in cafes.

Prague highlights:

• Attending the opening concert of the Prague Autumn music festival -- the BBC Philharmonic playing Smetana, Dvorak, and Martinu.
• Walking along the river and through the old town late at night when the buildings are illuminated and the place looks like the Magical Kingdom.
• Walking through old town during the day and admiring the wonderful mix of building colors, styles, and ages.
• The chandelier in St. Nicholas Church, the side altars of Tyn Church, and the flying butresses at St. Vitus Cathedral
• The Pinkas Synagogue memorial to 80,000 Jews killed by the Nazis
• Czech goulash with dumplings, smoked pork with potato pancakes and "white hot cabbage."

Prague not-so-high lights:

• The city is geared to tourists and just seems too artificial -- again, like the Magic Kingdom.
  
• Too many tourists.
• Too many G**d*** tourists.
• The place is overrun by these #$&*% @#(*(#$)%* tourists!!!

Bratislava highlights:

• Getting to know Katerina's parents
• Touring the old town
• Dinner -- begin with Slivovice, proceed to goose and pork. How can you go wrong?
• Sampling the young wine at a grape harvest festival in the little town of Pezinok
• Drinking a beer in a village pub
• Did I mention getting to know Katerina's parents?

Bratislava not-so-high lights:

• (none)

Budapest highlights:

• Strolling along the river at 10 p.m. after a folk music concert, enjoying the lights on the palace, the bridges, the parliament, etc.
• Strolling through a street fair on Sunday afternoon, enjoying the music, the magicians, and the sweets (somebody's got to bring kürtőskalács to the U.S.).
• Hungarian goulash with dumplings; cherry strudel with vanilla sauce.
• A pleasant 4-hour guided tour of the main points of the city.
  

Budapest not-so-high lights:

• Cheating cab drivers.
• We didn't hear any Mozart or Bartok. (Pardon me for mentioning them in the same breath.)