When One Day Isn’t Enough

OK, so we really didn't give Vienna the time it deserves. What a stunning city! We arrived here mid afternoon yesterday and had booked in to see the Spanish Horses training session at 10am today and had a train leaving at 5pm. 

We quickly realised our mistake when on the tram to see the horses, everywhere you look there are amazing buildings and statues. The horse training was fun for people who like and appreciate the training that must go in, but it really wasn't for me! Donna and Alyssa loved it though so I guess we are even for the BMW Welt day...

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon exploring the central city in Vienna, including the Parliament buildings, Botanical Gardens and the flash shopping area. The kids and Donna picked up a few souvenirs and I enjoyed a nice Austrian beer over lunch before we had to get back to the train and head for Budapest, where we have just arrived.

Rich

Today we woke up in Austria. Traveling is so weird. We got up and ate breakfast, it was really nice to have enough space to walk around in the hotel. After breakfast we were off on the tram to visit the Spanish horses. To be honest I was expecting a little more from these horses. Although we went to a training not a show I still wasn't satisfied with it. I would strongly recommend going to a show not a training if you are ever in Austria. And if you do please tell me if it's awesome. All of the photos in the reception room were of horses rearing but in control. I was expecting this but I never got it. 

After the horses we walked around aimlessly for a bit. Or in Dads words we weren't walking around aimlessly we were walking and exploring a new city. After exploring aimlessly we found some souvenir shops. I got a cap while Alyssa got a magnet, she also got a necklace from the horse place. While we were shopping Dad found a cap he liked, but did his signature move and said he didn't want it. Later that afternoon he decided he wanted to get it. Unfortunately there weren’t any souvenir shops in the train station. Anyway after exploring aimlessly for about 2 hours we decided it was time to go and hang out back at the apartment building. We played pool at the hotel for a bit then we headed off to the station. We got linner at the station. If your wondering linner is it is between lunch and dinner. Guess what? I got a sausage and fries. After dinner we hopped on a train to Budapest. When we got to Budapest we walked a bit to our new house/ hotel and realised just how cool Budapest is. You will hear all about that tomorrow. On that note…. See you tomorrow (well not really, but you will get another installment on here from me!)

Max

 

The Unexpected Challenges Of Travelling

Today was uneventful, we said goodbye to Germany and made our way to Vienna. The tiredness levels were high, so once we got to our apartment we just chilled out. 

So I thought I’d  share some of the challenging aspects of travelling as a family for such a long time. 

The biggest challenge by far is laundry! 

Only one place so far has had a washing machine and dryer. We decided to travel light (only one tramping pack each). These two facts has meant either taking a stinky washing bag on our travels or finding Laundromats. Not as much fun as you might think! And working out how to use different machines in different languages is next level frustrating at times. Google translate is not exactly helpful. 

Another hard part is the lack of space, both physically and mentally. Travelling as a family challenges you daily and as the parent staying positive with less sleep than you would like is a battle at times. In saying that I’m extremely proud of how the kids have coped. The never ending questions is sometimes too much, especially when it’s obvious I don’t have an answer, so I’ve taken to playing a game where I just make something up. This has been entertaining seeing the reactions to my answers, and now watching the eye rolls when they realise I’ve made up the answer. What is extra amusing a month in is the fact that now the kids have discussions about if my answer is true or ridiculous. I feel like I may have already shared this game, but wanted to record this game and how it had evolved. 

Donna 

Hop On, Hop Off

Today we got up nice and early 8:00. That is early for me now. We had seen that the food options in the train station were delightful so that’s where we went today for breakfast. Dad, Alyssa and I got a roll from a bakery for breakfast while Mum got a yoghurt thing. Me and Alyssa also got this, but I wasn't a fan what so ever. 

After our breakfast we got on our first hop on hop off bus. We had 3 routes to go on. Our first choice was called the city tour and it took us to all of the main attractions. Unlike Paris this tour did not have one big famous attraction, but it did have lots of attractions on it. On the city tour we saw a huge fountain, a town square and a clock tower that told a story. These were all very entertaining and unique. 

After we had finished our city tour we then got on a bus towards Olympic Park. This was very very cool. On the way the bus stopped at an awesome palace. Believe it or not (I didn't) the royal guys over here had a summer and winter house. This was only their summer house. We stayed on the bus at Olympic Park as we saw it yesterday. As we arrived at the end of the tour a helpful yong man told us that the next bus wasn't until 40 minutes. Luckily for us our hotel was nearby so we went and chilled for a bit. In this time Mum lost her key card behind her bed, we also got a free Fanta from downstairs. We caught the last bus to English Park. Here we got a pedal boat that me and Dad had to pedal. Little bit unfair, but oh well. After our fun experience on a pedal boat we headed for dinner. Suprise suprise I got a sausage and so did Alyssa. Dad got his regular half chicken. Mum went a bit out of the ordinary and branched out from her vegetarian and got chicken nuggets. After dinner we returned home and did some washing before going for a shower in the stink room (men’s communal bathroom) and going to bed.

Maximilian 

Munich Driving Experience and dinner at the Hofbrauhaus

Today we headed back to Munich for two more nights to enjoy some sun in the city and check out some sights. 

Had to give the rental car back today, really enjoyed the driving experience in Germany after the initial nerves with driving on the left of the car and the right of the road. 1910km covered in the last week or so at some quite exciting speeds, great fun on the safety of the Autobahn. 

I did note a couple of things about German driving habits:

1. Despite the huge speeds some of them reach on the Autobahn, they are awful at looking ahead for potential hazards or needing to switch lanes to pass. They seem to get right up to the hazard before noticing they need to react to it. For example, road works will give 6 or 7km of warning that a site is coming up, the last 3km will have frequent signs showing that traffic needs to merge to a single lane. There will be 2km of no movement while those in the outside lane try to push into the single lane in the last 200m before the roadworks.

2. Again, despite the speeds on the Autobahn those merging from the on ramps will not accelerate and merge onto the main lane at motorway speed. Instead they indicate to move from the merge lane to the main lanes and slow down, then try to merge into 120km/h ++ traffic at around 60km/h, then accelerate up to 170, cut across 3 lanes and pass everyone else. Weird.

3. I've found the 3 lane Autobahns to be the best ones. Right lane is for trucks, slow vehicles and nervous mergers. Middle lane is for those who want to cruise at approx 130 to 140 (speed limit signs are generally 130km/h), and the left lane is for the lunatics that want to try and beat the speed of sound.

That said, it was a cool experience to drive these roads and I found the German drivers to be very courteous on the regional and city roads. Just need some merge like a zip billboards on the big roads and they will be sorted!

Rich 

Dinner out tonight at the Hofbrauhaus followed by dessert at the Hard Rock Cafe.