Austria, Slovakia

After almost a year of Covid quarantine restraints I decided that I needed to get back to the UK.  However, the UK were slow at relaxing their quarantine requirements for vaccinated travelers so I looked at alternatives and found that I could travel to a lot of places in Europe without quarantine.  Vienna and Odessa were on my list so I decided to visit those countries before arriving in the UK, hoping that the UK entry would sooner or later open up.

On August 2, I flew from San Francisco to London and then immediately flew out to Vienna arriving there late in the evening of the next day.  There was no fuss with immigration.  I just showed a negative Covid certificate and proof of double vaccination and I was allowed in.  I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel, the quite luxurious old Hotel Bristol on the Ringstrasse.

The Opera House

The next morning I was up early for walk around the city.  My hotel was on the Karntner Ring right next to the most impressive Vienna Opera House.  After taking in the grandeur of the Opera House, I walked northwards towards St Stephen's Cathedral.  The Cathedral and it's square are one of the highlights of Vienna - a spectacular church in a spectacular square.  It was early in the morning and not too many people were around and surprisingly the cathedral was open so I got to go in when there were very few people around.  The interior, of course, was just as spectacular as the outside.

St Stephen's Cathedral

Interior of St Stephen's Cathedral

Back to the hotel for breakfast which was nice but perhaps not the best buffet breakfast I have had.  Then it was off again to see the sights.  The city, or at least this central part of the city, is one amazing building after the next - museums, palaces, churches, shops, even the regular office buildings - everything is a work of art. 

The Ferris Wheel in The Prater

I walked down to the Danube at Schwedenplatz and then walked on the north bank out towards the Prater, the big park where the giant ferris wheel sits.  The ferris wheel, of course, was made famous by the film, The Third Man.  There was quite a line to ride it so I didn't bother to take the trip. 

Hundertwasser Museum

After the Prater Park, I walked over to the other side of the river where there is the Hundertwasser Museum.  I was only a little bit familiar with his painting, and did not realize that he also designed buildings.  The museum is in one of his buildings - a colorful mosaic like building.  Inside was just as weird as the outside with floors sloping and rising and beautiful colored tiles everywhere.  Even the toilet was decorated in his characteristic style.

The Spittelau Incinerator

After enjoying the museum I set off to find another Hundertwasser house in the same neighborhood.  This one was not as dramatic as the museum but nevertheless quite nice.  I was so impressed with Hundertwasser that I set  off to find his other masterpiece in Vienna, the Spittelau Incinerator.  This was quite a way up the Danube but it was pleasant walk along the river.  The incinerator complex is quite amazing - an industrial waste processing plant that is a treat for the eyes and truly a work of art.

The Opera House Interior

I caught the very clean and very efficient subway back to the center of town and joined a tour of the Opera House.  The Opera House was not open for performances because of Covid but they were providing guided tours of the interior.  As expected it is just as amazing on the inside as it is on the outside.  Gustav Mahler was the director of the Opera for some 10 years.  He converted from Judaism to Catholicism just to get the job.

Cafe Sperl

That evening I dined at the Cafe Sperl (a recommendation of my friend Nico) and then went to look at some nice art nouveau buildings on Linke Wienzelle - the Majolikahaus of Otto Wagner and its neighboring buildings.

The Majolikahaus

The next day, Thursday, I decided to take a trip to Bratislava in Slovakia.  Ideally I had wanted to go by boat down the Danube but alas the boats only run at the weekend.  So it was the train - just over an hours journey with trains leaving every hour.   As the train left Vienna we passed the group of four gas storage tanks that had been converted into residences.  Quite a novel usage of these old relics.

It was a grey and damp day and as we neared Bratislava it started to rain.  It was not the best of times to see Bratislava but I donned my rain jacket and set out to walk into town.  The city did not look that inviting, particularly in the rain and particularly after the splendor of Vienna but I enjoyed the walk into the old town. 

The Primatial Palace, Old Town, Bratislava

In the old town one of the first things I stumbled across was the "sewer man" - a brass sculpture of a worker emerging from a manhole cover in the street - most interesting.

The Bratislava Sewer Man

The Main Square is old and very well preserved but obviously Bratislava was not as affluent as Vienna was.  I slipped into a coffee shop to wait until the rain abated which it eventually did.  Then I walked over to St Martin's Cathedral and took a look inside - a nice but relatively simple church at least by Catholic standards.

St Martin's Cathedral, Bratislava

I then walked down to the Danube where there is a modern bridge across the river.  At the far end of the bridge is a flying saucer shaped structure on top of a tower.  This houses a restaurant with nice views back over to the city.   Above the Danube by the bridge is Bratislava Castle up on top of the hill.  I didn't walk up the hill to investigate.

The UFO Bridge across the Danube

Bratislava Castle

I walked down Hviezdoslavovo Park (named after a poet) and then on to the Blue Church - a beautiful Catholic church in a nice pale blue color.

The Blue Church

Back towards the center of town there were several nice murals.  Something I always enjoy stumbling across.  As I moved out of the old town I became aware of a demonstration going on.  There was lots of speeches and cheering and as I reached the Presidential Palace I saw quite a crowd in the square in front of the Palace.  The riot police were also present, looking very threatening with their helmets, shields and batons.  I asked a passerby what was the demonstration about thinking it must be some kind of anti government thing but actually no, it was an anti vaccination demonstration.  

Protesters Outside the Parliament Building

The Police at the Demonstration

I watched the demonstrators for a while before walking over to the Freedom Square - the dry fountain and lake makes Freedom Square look a bit sad.  Further on there is the rather interesting upside down building of Slovak Radio - most peculiar.

The Slovak Radio Building

A Colorful Motel

Back at the railway station I had time before my train to explore a bit more.  There is a rather interesting looking hotel behind the station.  Not a place I would necessarily stay at but quite the colorful curiosity.

Back in Vienna I again walked through the old part of town.  I visited the Am Hof, a square surrounded by wonderful buildings.  Mounted to the outside of one of these buildings is the Turkenkugel, a cannonball fired the building on this site back in the Turkish siege of the 1680's.  The cannonball has been gilded and mounted to the wall.

I again marveled at the buildings and sculptures outside of the buildings of Michaelerplatz (possibly the Spanish Riding School).

One of the sculptures on Michaelerplatz

I happened upon a plaque on the wall of a coffee shop that recognized Franz Kafka and his friend Max Brod had stayed there.

The Plague Column

I passed by the weird and very ornate Plague Column, built to commemorate the 1679 plague epidemic.  

The Ankeruhr Clock

There is a wonderful clock outside the old Anker Insurance building, the Ankeruhr clock.  Built in 1914 it has 12 figures that rotate around one per hour throughout the day.  At midday all 12 figures appear.  Like everything else in this city it is a wonder to behold.

The Kunsthistoriches Museum

The Natural History Museum

The next morning, Friday, I made an early morning walk around the Ringstrasse, the road that runs around the historical center of the town.  It is one wonderful building after the other - the Opera House, the Kunsthistoriches Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Parliament Building, the Rathaus (City Hall), the University, the Votivkirche.  The road runs down to the Danube and runs along Franz Josefs Kai along the river before turning south back into the city once more.  There was a wonderful art deco post office building in the middle of being renovated.

The old Post Office

After breakfast I went out to explore a few museums and art galleries.  First there was the Clock Museum - a small museum dedicated to timepieces.  They had some wonderfully old clocks as well as a display of more modern pocket watches and wristwatches.  Apparently there was a period when paintings of churches and the like would have clock mechanisms in place of the clock embedded into the painting.  That's one way to spoil a nice painting.

The Clock Museum

After the clock museum I went over to the Globe Museum.  There they had a collection of ancient globes, the earliest from around 1536.  There were globes from a little later by Coronelli and Mercator.

The next place was the Esperanto Museum.  As you can imagine there is not a lot to show in a museum for a language that is not anyone's native language.  It was basically a series of posters and photographs from the annual Esperanto Congress, a meeting that is still held today.

The National Library

The National Library

A more spectacular museum was the National State Library in the Baroque State Hall.  Never mind the books which I am sure were treasures by themselves, the building itself was a work of art - beautiful painted on the ceilings, marble columns, carved statues and ornate wooden bookshelves.  The most beautiful interior that I visited while in Vienna.

The next stop was the Albertina, the home to an immense collection of prints and drawings - possibly the largest in the world.  It is also the home to a significant collection of Impressionist paintings and that's what I was interested in.  A wonderful museum and because of Covid it wasn't too crowded.  I can only imagine how busy it must be in non-pandemic times.

The Museum of Modern Art - Mumok

One of the fine (?) exhibits in the Mumok

I took in one more museum before I called it a day, the Museum of Modern Art or Mumok a very modern building in the Museum District.  Sometimes I don't quite get some of the modern pieces but it is always good to examine what we are creating these days.

Vienna School of Art

After  a day of museums I had reached my limit so I spent the rest of the day walking around.  There is always something interesting around every corner - the Mozart statue, the Art School where Hitler was not accepted as a student (a shame, it might have been a different world now), the pedestrian traffic lights that show two people holding hands (with hearts), the business man standing on the edge of the roof.

Romantic Pedestrian Traffic Lights

Man on the Roof

The next day Saturday, I left Vienna for a short flight to Lviv in the Ukraine.  What a remarkable city Vienna is.  I am sure I only scratched the surface.  Certainly I only really saw the center of town.  It deserves more time than I gave it.  I will try and return.

There are more photos of Vienna here and more of Bratislava here.

Boston, Portland, New Hampshire

In Late July Mary Ann and I went for a little vacation over to the East Coast.  Mary Ann's brother, Alan, lives in Boston so we landed there for a couple of days of sightseeing then we went up to Portland, Maine for a couple of days before heading into New Hampshire for some hiking.

We flew into Boston and caught a taxi to our hotel, The Revolution on Berkeley Street.  After settling in we walked around to Tremont Street where there are many fine restaurants and dined at the Black Lamb.

The Salada Tea Doors

The Armory

Next morning we were off on our walking tour of Boston.  The John Hancock Hall is just down the street with a fine painting of the Continental Congress in the entry way.  Then the very ornate Salada Tea Doors that commemorate the tea industry on a building down an adjacent street.   Further along there is the Armory of the First Corps of Cadets - a well fortified looking building.  Next was the statue of Edgar Allan Poe who was born in Boston near Boston Common.

Edgar Allan Poe

We then walked past the Central Burying Grounds on Boston Common.  This is an old cemetery dating back to the 1750's and that is quite old by American standards.  We wondered around looking at the old gravestones.

The Central Burial Grounds

We walked on to the Brattle Book Shop.  This is a well known and quite large second hand bookshop.  It was certainly very large but I didn't quite need another book and the organization was a bit strange.

We then walked around Boston Common.  There is a statue to some ducks from a children's book called "Make way for Ducklings".  Since that wasn't a part of my childhood it didn't move me in any way.

The Gardner Museum Interior

The high point of the sightseeing day was the visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  This museum was built by Ms Gardner to house her art collection.  In the late 1800's Isabella started collecting art with a Vermeer being her first major purchase.  Over the years she amassed a significant collection of art from the US and from Europe not to mention enough statues and furniture to fill out her purpose built Venetian mansion museum.  The museum is famous for an art robbery in 1990 where 13 pieces, including the Vermeer, were stolen.  The crime was never solved and the art works never seen again.  The empty frames of the stolen pieces still hang on the walls.

The Frame of the Stolen Vermeer

In the evening we went over to Mary Ann's brother, Alan's place.  A truly interesting character who can play piano to an exceptionally high level (he has a Steinway Grand in the condo) and who is now a court reporter of some renown and in high demand.  We had appetizers and were treated to a recital of some quite wonderful music (Chopin I think) before we went out for dinner. 

Next morning as I walked over for coffee at the nearby Caffe Nero (a UK Coffee chain) I noticed the Cyclorama Building.  Nothing too amazing about the building which was built to house a large painting of the Battle of Gettysburg (the painting resides in Gettysburg now) except it was in this building where Mr Champion invented his spark plug.

In the morning we met Alan again and caught an Uber over to the Institute of Contemporary Art.  This was a modern art gallery on the edge of Boston Harbor.   I don't remember too much about the main exhibit - something from Virgil Abloh.  Not really up my street.  I did learn that Mr Abloh is the artistic director of Luis Vuitton - reinforcing the fact that it is not really up my street. 

The ICA Watershed Installation

We then took a ferry boat to the other side of the harbor where there was a second ICA exhibit space called the Watershed.  Here was an installation by Firelei Baez.  This was a little more interesting - something about an ancient Caribbean ruin that is submerged in the sea.  Interesting to look at but I don't know if there was a hidden meaning that I missed.

Shepherd Fairey Mural at the Aquarium

After returning on the ferry to the other side of the harbor again we walked around the city some more.  We saw the Aquarium where Shepherd Fairey had just completed a mural.  Alas it was not as impressive as the one he did for Sacramento (the Johnny Cash one).

That evening we took the subway over to nearby Cambridge where we had dinner with some friends of Alan's.  They had a wonderful old house in Cambridge and we dined outside in their back yard.  Our host Steve and his wife had the most amazing collection of kitchen tools (like the Inuit's Ulus) and fishing lures - entire walls were covered with them.

Next morning we checked out of the hotel early and made our way to the train station for our Amtrak train to Portland.  The weather was a little grey and damp but it was a nice trip up into Maine.  We arrived in Maine under grey skies just before lunchtime and we walked up the hill (who knew Portland had such hills) to our B and B, The Chadwick.  It was too early to check in so we left the bags and walked into town.

TheCustoms House, Portland

Portland is a relatively small town that can be walked quite easily. We headed down to the harbor searching for a lunch spot.  That was easier said than done as everywhere was full of tourists like us.  We did manage a seat at the bar in some bistro and I had a reminder that I don't really like lobster all that much.  It's fine but it's not great but it appears to be the thing to eat here.

In the afternoon we walked back towards our B and B and visiting the Portland Museum of Art on the way.  This is a great little art gallery with some interesting pieces.  Just the right size too - a couple of hours takes in everything.

Peeks Island

Peeks Island Ferry

The next morning we had a fine breakfast despite what our grumpy fellow guest said about it.  We then walked on into town to catch the ferry out to Peeks Island.  Peeks Island is one of the islands off the coast of Maine, quite close to Portland.  It was a little misty on the ride over but it made the coastal walk around the island all the more beautiful.  The island is full of vacation homes and boat loads of tourists like us who are visiting for the day.   Well worth the trip however.

Victoria Mansion

Victoria Mansion Interior

Back on the mainland we visited the Victoria Mansion on our way back to the B and B.  This wonderful old house was built by a Ruggles Morse who made his money in hotels (New York, Boston, New Orleans).  This was his summer retreat.

In the evening we dined at a restaurant called Fore Street.  This was one of the best meals I have had for a long, long time - really, really good.  It is good to splurge on food every now and again.

The next morning we caught an Uber over to Portland Airport where we had a car reserved.  We picked up the car and drove over to New Hampshire.  The drive was relatively unremarkable - nice countryside, lots of small towns but nothing particularly of note.

The Albany Covered Bridge

Mary Ann had discovered a hiking trail that looked interesting so we made for the trailhead which just happened to be downstream from the Albany covered bridge.  There are lots of covered bridges in this part of the world and they are quite amazing structures.  They are presumably built to protect the wooden bridge floor from getting too weatherbeaten and rotting.  

The trail was called the Boulder Loop Trail and it was a loop trail from the river up around 1000 ft to a nice lookout area on top.  The view was from an open cliff area called the Ledges that looked out over the surrounding forested landscape.  Everything was so green after the so very dry Californian landscape that we are used to.

The Ledges on the Boulder Loop Trail

Lots of Tripping Options

Our accommodations were at the Inn at Ellis River just outside the town of Jackson.  That evening we went out to dine in a restaurant just down the road from the Inn - the Red Fox Bar and Grille.  There was a long wait for a table as the place was quite popular and perhaps the only decent place around.  We eventually got seated and then proceeded to have the worst waiter experience of our lives.  The poor girl that served us was just plain incompetent.  Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong for her and for us.  Slow service, incorrect orders, missing cutlery, lack of subsequent attention.  Adjacent tables were also suffering the same treatment too.  The manager apologized and offered a free desert but the only desert I found attractive was sold out so even that didn't work.  As we left we passed the waitress rushing past us, perhaps crying, I am not sure.  I think we probably got her fired that evening.

The Bemis Creek Trail

The Arethusa Falls

View from Frankenstein Cliffs

The next day we had another hike planned.  The Arethusa Trail to the Arethusa Waterfall with a return loop to the Frankenstein Cliffs.  We took a sidetrack on the Bemis Brook Trail which was quite beautiful though a bit of a challenge to get out of the stream bed and back up to the main trail.  The Arethusa Falls were quite spectacular and well worth the effort.  The whole area is beautiful hiking - shady in the trees with occasional views over the forested hills all around us.  The trail constructors here in Maine did not seem to be too fond of switchbacks favoring the more severe direct ascent straight up the hill.

The Bretton Woods Hotel

After our hike we were driving around the area and what should we stumble upon but the Bretton Woods Hotel near Mt Washington.  From my economic history days I knew this spectacular hotel was the location for the Bretton Woods Conference that set up the IMF following the Second World War.  It is still a fine hotel and golf resort.  We had to go in and have a cocktail on the veranda.  

At the Bretton Woods Hotel

The Creation of the IMF

That evening, despite our bad experience with the Red Fox on the previous night, we returned again.  It was the only place in near proximity that could reasonably seat us.  We had much better service and quite reasonable food so we were happy.

Mt Washington Railway

Mt Washington Railway

The next morning, the last one of our trip, we had tickets to go up Mt Washington on the cog railway.  The old steam engine was all fired up and ready to take us to the top when we arrived.  It is around a 1 hour trip to the top, polluting all the way. We had an hour or so to wander around on the summit and then a slightly faster trip down the hill.  It was certainly quite brisk on top even though it was still mid summer.  Mt Washington, of course, is the location of the highest recorded wind speed in the USA (231 mph).  It once held the record of the highest wind speed on the planet but that record has now been superseded by some place in Australia.

Mt Washington Summit

MA on Mt Washington Summit

Mt Washington Summit - Appalachian Trail

We walked around the summit, visited the museum, took photos and then boarded the train for our descent.  A nice little expedition.

We had an afternoon flight from Portland so after the train trip we drove back to Portland airport and our flight home.   All in all, an excellent East Coast Adventure.