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Trip to Europe - Sept -Oct - 2023

 Trip to Europe - Sept - Oct - 2023


<< TO BE UPDATED ... initial notes during trip >>


Cities I stayed in for at least 1 night during my 40-day trip to Central-Eastern Europe.  This was my personal 3rd trip to Europe.

  • Vienna
  • Bratislava
  • Kromerz
  • Rzeszow
  • Krakow
  • Venice
  • Rome
  • Preganziol
  • Ljubljana
  • Salzburg
  • Munich
  • Prague
  • Berlin
  • Luxemborg
  • Brussels


Sept 03    Sunday    Leaving HNL 



United Airlines   ;  conf # IB5MVP  ; 


UA 214   HNL  11:23 pm  SFO 7:38 am (San Francisco) 4th Mon  morning

Wait 7.17 hrs

UA 968   SFO 2:55pm   AMS 7:20 am   (Amsterdam) 5th Tue morning

Wait 2.05 hrs

OS 380  AMS  12:25   VIE  2:15  (Vienna)




Sept 05 - Sept 08  : Vienna , Austria   -3  nights 5th,6th,8th    ; 


Airport commute - city airport train CAT $12 and 16 mins or public Schnellbahn $7 of 25 min,   :: Take the train S7 to Wien Mitte  ( city Center)   ;Change to subway U4 direction Hütteldorf; Get off at Kettenbrückengasse and take the exit “Kettenbrückengasse”;Cross Kettenbrückengasse and Rechte Wienzeile;Turn left and walk the last 100 meters to wombat’s at The Naschmarkt“


Local rail  pass :​​   https://homepage.univie.ac.at/horst.prillinger/ubahn/english/fares.html  ; 48 hrs $14.10 ?


Stay : Hostel Wombat's Vienna Naschmarkt   Rechte Wienzeile 35, A-1040

Tue 05/09/2023 ‐ Thu 07/09/2023 ;  Conf # WVN-485135    ; +43 1 897 2336


TO DO:   

Schönbrunn Palace

Historic Center of Vienna   

Kunsthistorisches Museum 

Belvedere Museum   paintings

The Hofburg   ( palaces museums)    - Rick Steves   shorter tour 

St. Stephen's Cathedral       - Rick Steves Gothic church in center stephan’s dome human bones

Schonbrunner Gardens

Albertina ( palace museum )

Wiener Staatsoper  ( opera)

  Rathaus  ( city hall gothic bldg)


Academy of Fine Arts

Secession Building

Karlsplatz Karlsplatz 


Walk the Ringstrasse

Explore the MuseumsQuartier MQ

Sigmund Freud Museum

Hang out in the Neubau district

Have a coffee at Café Central

Rick Steves:

Finest chocolate cake Sacher torts at Demel 

Old Town shopping streets

Buffet Trześniewski sandwiches  and tiny beer Pfiff

Tram #1 and #2 around Ringstrasse Boulevard

Subway to Danube beach

Vienna's City Park, in the Kursalon,  – classical music concerts 


  • Easternmost city of the west; bastion against Turks/Islam; East -West Europe; Habsburg capital; 


Bought OBB 48 hours pass at airport.



— st Stephen’s cathedral 

— state opera house 

— Volksgarten 

—- museum area 

—  Hofburg palace?


Bought train $8 day metro pass ( as hostel lady said obb not for metro)


— Schonbrunn palace outside , gardens etc 2 hours 

— Hofburg Palace  outside 

— belvedere museum and garden 

— demel - baguette and sachertorte

— graben -walking and shopping area


Evening 

— Thaliastraße  under old railway bars

—  Tuchlauben ice cream

— cafe central  long line 

— walk graben area exclusive shopping

—




1 hr train ride Vienna to Bratislava  $12 or so

Sept 07 - Sept 08  :  Bratislava , Slovakia    ;     -1 night 7th


Stay: Patio Hostel Bratislava ;  Spitalska 35 811 08 Bratislava Slovakia  ;  +421 2 52925797

Thursday, September 07, 2023 to Friday, September 08, 2023 ; ref# IKGJ98 ; pin 51629  ;  


TO DO: 

– walk  Bratislava Old Town - Opera House - House of Reduta -continue to the Main Square -Franciscan Square,- St. Martin's Cathedral   ;

—    Devin castle  ;;  Cumil ;; Modry Kostol  ;; Bratislava casle ;;



Went to::

—- old town 

— main square 

—- st Martin cathedral 

— b castle 

— river bridge 

— blue church 

— pubs areas


Sept 8 -  9 :  Vienna  (again)

Stay : Hostel Wombat's   Bed in 4-Bed MIXED Dorm with PANORAMIC VIEW; Fri 08/09/2023 ‐ Sat 09/09/2023; Confirmation #WVN-486088; $44.66



→  Freud Mueseum   ; Summer Stage by the river ;  



Train on Sept-09 :  3 hr  train ride  Vienna to  Otrovice Czech

Reserved -   Train   Vienna  Wien  Meidling   via  stop Brzeclaw   to    Otrokovice ( Czech ) 

  12:57  to 14:04  change trains  14:35 - 15:41     ; ticket + seat reservation E8K2E5XM

   E8K2 E PLN 236.xx  ; check email 8/17 gmail





Sept 09 - Sept 11  Otrovice Czech   -2 nights  9th,10th



Address:     David  house 


TO DO:   

 Sept-09

→  Yoga Teacher friends ( David and Patrycja) picked me up from the Otrakovice train station.  Was driven to Kromieryz  Kroměříž ; had lunch at Indian/Nepalese   on the way 

→ Music-Yoga workshop  was at David’d house in evening 6:30 till about 8:30 . 


  Sept 10 

→  went to the  downtown walked around with David and Patryc , Archbishop Castle , beautiful park ; tower

→ evening had dinner Sushi/Thai restaurant





Travel to Rzeszow   on Monday 9/11

  • Train took 6 hours via Katovice, Krakow,Rzeszow


Sept 11 - Sept 19 - Poland  ;     -8 nights -  11th thru   18th


Address:     Yoga teacher friend   in Rzeszow?  


  


11-Sep Mon -  Patrycja friend  Voitek  drove from station ; went to Indian restaurant called  Hindu 


12-Sep Tue -  Went to downtown walked around ; attended  her Yoga class in eve ; life discussions


13-Sep Wed -  Stayed home most of the day. In eve went for a walk nearby.


14-Sep Thurs - Rainy day . Went to visit castle at Lancut. About 30 min drive from Rzeszow. Had lunch nice fish grill restaurant Gryle Rybe (Grill Fish).Lunch for 3 (Voitek , Patrycja) $50.


15-Sep Fri -   Took uber like rideshare Bolt to city center Plz 20. Met Indian desi guys restaurant Bollywood Masala..

Lunch at Dara Kebab. Greek Salad .

Met Nepali and Indian folks plus couple of local women at the square singing near public piano.

Evening met with Patrycja brother Conrad and cousin Natalie and friend Arek?

Nice dinner at a big restaurant with spa


16-Sep Sat - Went to the local lake beach. Evening went to a Jazz concert. Violin lead. Adam ? . Quarter.  Afterwards had dinner in Main Square. Later met few Patrycja friends from high school.


17-Sep Sun – Stayed home in morning;  Afternoon 5 pm -  Yoga Music Workshop in Afternoon ; 4 other participants ; some photo video clips


18-Sep Mon  — stayed home in morn. In afternoon took Bolt (rideshare) and went to DownTown(MainSquare)


19-Sep tue — travel to Krakow. 10:30 am train ..reached around noon.


   Krakow ; -1 night  19th


Hotel reservation : 

Booking.Com:  1 night ;   DreAm Post; 18 Mikołaja Zyblikiewicza, Old Town, Kraków, 31-029, Poland;   +48 733 333 750 ;;

TO DO:   

  • City sightseeing  - Ryneck Glowney central square, Stare Miasto  ,   St Mary’s basilica,   Oskar Schindler's factory,    Wawel hill,  Hero's Square and the former Jewish Ghetto , Kazimierz jewish qtrs,




Flight to      Katovice to  Venice    

RyanAir   PNSKNH      USD $317.79

FR2382    9/20/23   KTW  16:05 pm     -    TSF   17:40 pm   

Seats 6A,6B



20th September Wed:


  • Breakfast on top of the Art School in Krakow main square.

  • Krakow train station to Katovice  -  1 hour train ride

  • Katovice train station to the Airport by bus 1 hour ride

  • Flight from Katovice to Venice Treviso

  • Airport bus from Treviso to Vencie Mestre

  • Tram from Mestre to Marghere , Aurora hotel 



Sept 20 - Sept 27 Italy   - 7 nights - 20,21,22,23,24,25,26



Venice:


Reserved -  Booking.com    ; Email from August 12 

Hotel Nuova Aurora in  Venice ;

 Via Fratelli Bandiera 194, Marghera, 30175, Italy ;

Wed 9/20 - Fri 9/22 ;   2 nights  - 20th, 21st   

Paid Euro  132.48 


20th evening:


Treviso Airport..

Small …

Shuttle to Mestre station 1 hr Euro 10

Tram 2 to Marghera… lots of immigrants Bangladeshi..

  

Marghera 


Dinner tratorria pzzeria - 3 course dinner for 20 euros 



21st Sept Thursday:

  • bus 53e to Venice from Hotel. Marghera. Mestre.

  • St Mark’s basilica 

  • Bridge of Sighs 

  • Dodge’s palace

  • Rialto bridge 

  • Lunch fish pasta, bangladeshi servers

  • Walks around canals


22 Sept Friday:

  • breakfast and check out of Aurora hotel 

  • Venice area walks after luggage storage 

  • Libraria aqua book store 

  • Pizza lunch

  • Dinner at Orient Experience





FlixBus Bus from  Venice-Rome -    -     9/22 night




Rome:       -    nights   23rd,24th,25th


Stay : 

  Appartamento Elena & Chiara   ;   49 Via Cincinnato, Appio Latino, Rome, 00175, Italy    ;phone +393922944388

  booking# 4103319333 ; pin: 9356

  1 Two-Bedroom Apartment; 10 % VAT is included. ;€ 50 Cleaning fee per stay is included.;  Price   € 378.32




Places Visited   -


23rd: Sat

  • Trevi fountain  fontana de Trevi

  • Pantheon

  • Navona square

  • Spanish Steps 

  • Dinner vegan - bengali kolkata guy



24th : Sun

  • Vatican Museum

  • Sistine Chapel

  • Collosseum

  • Roman Forum

  • Palantine hills



25th : Mon

  • Vatican St Peter’s Bascilica

  • Bascilica of Santa Maria Marionne

  • Villa Borghese gardens and gallery , arab expo

  • Piazza del popolo ,  flaminio



Train during 9/26 day time from Rome to Venice , Preganziol near Treviso



Venice:


Trevi


Reserved - Booking.com  ; email from

B&B Ca' Rina  Via Tagliamento 2/F, 31022 Preganziol, Italy

Tue 26 - Wed 27th  Sept 2023   ; 1 night  - 26th

Paid Euro $75 /    USD $81



9/26 Tuesday : 

  • Took train from Rome Termini to Venice Mestre -  4 hours

  • Took train from Venice Mestre to Preganziol   small town 30 mins

  • Was picked up by B&B owner Karina ;  really  small town  



Flight to    Venice to   Katovice     

RyanAir   PNSKNH  9/27/23   

FR 2383     TSF   14:05 pm  - KTW    15:40pm   RyanAir

Seats 6A,6B


⇒> not availed… wasted…





Sep 27 - Sep 28    Katovice/Krakow   -  1 night  27th

Stay :  The Little Havana Party Hostel; conf#  96090-556350579    ; 9/27 -28  1 night ; PLN 85.00 due PLN 72.25 ;

Address:   Jagiellońska 10 ,Krakow ,Poland     Phone: +48 660 562 400 ; havana.hostel.krakow@gmail.com

  

CANCELED on 9/26 via email



28th TO DO:   

  • Auschwitz   :  booking without payment at    https://mrshuttle.com/

Email received  on    9/15.   Zloty 249 to be paid.   ref# : #MR2337249253 


CANCELED on 9/26 via email



On 9/27—

FlixBus -

  Venice Mestre to Ljubljana  -  11:10 am to 14:30pm

Ref 310 928 3877

Venice Mestre (Stazione FS)  ,  across  Plaza Hotel  and Namaste India


Ljubljana   -  2 nights  9/27 and 9/28

HostelWorld ref 91865-556566960

Hostel Vrba

Gradaska ulica 10, Ljubljana, Slovenia   ; 

ph +386 593 55555  

Total Paid: €8.10, balance of €52.16 is payable on arrival at the property,

 

9/27  Wednesday 

Ljubljana 

-4 pm walked around most of the touristy area, castle, skyscraper top

- took 48 hours touring pass €44


9/28 Thursday Ljubljana 

  • Breakfast at la petit.

  • Used the pass for museum, walking tour, boat ride

  • Walked around city … small.



——-


Ljubljana  -


Castle

3 bridges

Museum

Walk tour

Boat ride

Night life open air concerts at pubs

Zoo

Street fair

—/-


Castle

3 bridges

Museum

Walk tour

Boat ride

Night life open air concerts at pubs

Zoo

Street fair



—/-


 booked Fluxbus to Salzburg at 1 pm on 9/29 fri

 Booked hostel in Salzburg 





Salzburg  -2 nights

————-

Mirabelle gardens

Mozart residence

Mozart birthplace

Getreidagasee  street walk

Linzer gaffe platzl

Salzburg cathedral

Fortress Hohensalzburg




Oct 03     Prague??    -   3 nights ? -  10/3,4,5

 

Stay :  Russian guy

Local rail  pass --



TO DO:   

Most beautiful city in the World!!!the only Central European capital to escape the large-scale bombing of the last century's wars — is one of Europe's best-preserved cities;offers tons of cheap Mozart and Vivaldi concerts, and brews some of the best beer

Charles Bridge  vendors, artists, tourists, 

Old town square ; jewish quarter;  havelska market ;

Vltava river    cruise

Museum of Senses

Prague Castle

Wenceslas Square ( architecture ; shopping)

National Theatre

Lucerna Music Bar


Staromestske namesti  square

St. Vitus Cathedral


Boat trips

Pubs tours


https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/czech-republic/prague


~1

Palladium mall

Powder tower

Municipal concert hall smetana hall?

Old town square

Astronomical clock

Charles bridge

St Nicholas church

Petrin park

Kampe park

,,

—2



Prague Castle

Kafka museum

Vysehrad castle

Dancing house rooftop

Lennon wall

Museum street fountains Area

~~~



Oct 02 - Oct 05  Munich    -  3 nights    2,3,4


Stay :  Hostel




Munich  2 nights

—————


Oktoberfest. Theresienwiese


Marienplatz


English garden


Olympiapark


Bmw museum



Travel to Berlin  - FixBus




Oct 06 - Oct 09 Berlin  - 3 nights  -  October  6th, 7th, 8th

Stay :     Hostel.



-

East side wall

Berlin wall memorial   136  people 61 and 89

Alexander platz museums area - light show


-

Brandenburg gate

Holocaust Memorial to murdered jews

Soviet war memorial

Reichstag building  - parliament building

Zoo area - bikini Berlin mall- europa center- einstein cafe-

Bombay street food

Berlin cathedral

Alte national gallerie - didn’t enter $10

Pergamon museum  


Clubs in Warschauer strasse

-

Checkpoint Charlie

Topography of terror




Mon, 9 Oct;      Travel to Luxemborg :

  Flight Purchased:    Reservation No. XEMHXY

  RyanAir : FR42   BER   10:55 -   LUX  12:20 ;  Berlin Brandenburg to Luxembourg

 ;  USD $60




Oct 09 - 10  Luxembourg - 1 night -  9th Oct 2023


Stay :  Hostel World Hostel



Old town center

Le place d’armes

Castle / fort

Cathedral Norte Dame


Pfaffenthal - panoramic lift


Travel to Brussels  Train : Oct -10 - 




Oct 10 - 12  Brussels   -  2 nights  -  10th, 11th Oct 2023

Stay :  C-Surfing guy Genghiz



Manneken pls - boy pee statue


Grand place - gothic town hall


Pierre  marcolini ?


St Michael st Gudula cathedral


Atomium -1958 - metal industry- international expo


Mont Des Arts


 



Oct 12 Flight back to US/Hawaii ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~