Vienna, Austria – 28 June – 2 July

After bidding farewell to Sabine and Terry, we boarded Air Berlin for the 90 minute flight to atmospheric Vienna, the city where you feel and taste the culture.  Maybe Graham Greene’s “Third Man” is sitting in a café.  Haydn, Schubert, Strauss and Beethoven continue to be great favourites together with jazz, modern rock and art festivals, all make this city arguably the cultural centre of the world.

Shopping mall Vienna

We were met at the airport by our very good friend, Josef who we first met in 2002.  At that time Josef was serving in the Czech Army.  He now works for the Czech Defence Ministry and has been posted to Brussels.

Josef had driven two hours from Brno, in the Czech Republic, to meet and have dinner with us for our first night in Vienna.  We appreciated this very much.  After booking into the Mecure Secession Wien; a perfect location,  we had hearty traditional Austrian meals of pork, wild boar, German sausage and sauerkraut, all washed down with local dark beer to help us on our way.  After a very pleasant evening catching up with all the news, we walked back to our hotel and bid farewell to Josef, who had a long drive back to Brno.

View from our hotel room

For our first day in Vienna, Regina and her Mother, known as the Great Lady, met us at the hotel to show us around this beautiful city.  We first met Regina on a flight from Paris to Vienna in 2002 and have kept in contact ever since.  We went to the top of the Bahnorama tower (www.hauptbahnhof-wien.at/de/bahnorama  ), which overlooks one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe, the rebuilding and relocation of the Vienna central station, which will be an international traffic hub and controlling centre for Austria’s rail network and is due for completion in 2014.  It will also include green space, apartments, offices and a state-of –the art education campus.  Reaching the top of the tower was picnic time and Regina and the Great Lady had prepared some typical Viennese delicacies for us together with a bottle of cold bubbly; a great welcome to Vienna.  The weather was perfect and with breathtaking views of the city and this huge construction site. 

 The Great Lady, Phil, Regina, Marilyn - top of the Bahnorama

Picnic time

The construction site

After the tower, we travelled the clean and efficient underground rail system and took our time wandering this beautiful and relaxed city.  It was terrific having Regina and the Great Lady show us around the lesser known parts of Vienna.  This city is impressive, with its fantastic shops, food, cultural activities historic buildings and friendly locals.  We visited city supermarkets, which stocked an unbelievable array of produce from around the world, including Vegemite.  It is also a chocoholics and coffeeholics heaven and we were treated to both.  For chocolate lovers, try the Wiener Schokoladekonig located on Freisingergasse. 

Vienna deli

Spot the Vegemite

Vienna deli - Juilus Meini

Lunch in Henry's Deli

Chocolate Shop

A calorie-boosting Vienna Coffee

 

Another great spot was the Naschtmarkt.  This kilometre long market with over 120 stalls was about a five minute walk from our hotel and sold a huge array of produce interspersed with bars and cafes.  This was another favourite spot for us.

 

Naschmakt

Naschmarkt

A guided tour of the famous Vienna Opera House was a must;  one of the many highlights of our visit.  This magnificent building holds over 2,000 people and is full house every night.  For us poorer folk who cannot afford a ticket to the opera, a huge screen shows the full performance outside the Opera House. We were very fortunate to go backstage and view preparations for the final night performance before the summer recess. 

Inside the Opera House

Backstage reshearsal

We also visited the magnificent St Stephens Cathedral and the St Charles Church near our hotel.

St Charles

On our final day in Vienna we travelled by tram to meet our hosts and then a bus trip to the Vienna Woods, on the outskirts of the city.  This area is also famous for its vineyards on the doorstep of a major city and still produces magnificent wines. 

The Danube

Vineyards

We walked to the highest point overlooking the city and the Danube and another delightful picnic at Leopoldsberg and then to Kahlenberg for a short rest before heading down to Grinzing and the famous cosy wine bars to sample the local produce, which of course we did.

Regina and Marilyn at Kahlemberg

Wine Bar

Outside the wine bar

A street in Grinzing

At the end of the day we sadly bid farewell to Regina and the Great Lady.  Again, the time flew, it was not long enough to do justice to this beautiful city.  To our Viennese friends Ist goot ja.

It was an early departure from our hotel to catch the U bahn and our train from Wien Meidling to Ljubjlana, Slovenia.

Schleswig, Germany – 21-28 June

It was a short walk from the bus station to Aahus railway station and the Danish Rail first class lounge before departing for Schleswig. 

Waiting to catch the bus for the start of our journey to Germany

There were two train changes, the last one being a rush between platforms with about two minutes to spare.  We crossed the German border about three hours later and it was another 30 minutes to Schleswig, where we were met by Sabine and Terry at 2.30pm.  It was great to see them  after three years since our last trip to Germany.

Schleswig is a beautiful area on the northern German coast, not far from Kiel.  Sabine and Terry welcomed us to their home in the village of Selk, about 5 km from Schleswig, with a bottle of German bubbly followed by a stroll around their magnificent garden.  What a beautiful location.

The Rose Garden

The perfect spot for breakfast

Part of the beautiful garden - view from kitchen window

Sabine and Terry’s house overlooks a glorious lake and is surrounded by pine forest and well-tended pastures.  This area of Germany has a distinct Danish flavour as it was once part of Denmark and many Viking remnants are still evident particularly around the lake area.

The Lake with Schleswig Cathedral in the background

Our seven days in Selk was a great relax after our busy time to date.  Sabine and Terry’s garden is a wonderful mix of informal cottage and vegetable gardens together with little nooks, formal and informal to soak up the sun.  Bird song would serenade during the day, including the elusive cuckoo bird.  Sabine and I would visit the greenhouse in the late afternoon and pick fresh beans for the evening meal.

Prost!

Sabine's beans

Again, Sabine spoilt us with her cooking and we spent happy evenings soaking up the hospitality and, of course, the occasional wine or two.  With the late twilight, it was still light around 11.00p so, we enjoyed the late night conversations and a morning sleep in.

We very much enjoyed checking out the prices in the local supermarkets and shops.  Prices were very cheap in Germany and Phil’s eyes lit up at the range and price of single malt scotch.  “Might as well give them away” he said.  Phil picked up a couple of pairs of Myer trousers for about 20 Euro, which were 90 pounds in the UK.

Between walks around the lake and through the local forests, Sabine and Terry took us to Eckernforde, a lovely seaside town where we had afternoon coffee in a traditional and very cosy coffee house, the Café Heldt.  We also had a beautiful meal in Schleswig at the Famileie Hahn restaurant.  It was a great menu with fresh fish a feature.  After a walk through the old town and a visit to the very beautiful cathedral where a recital of Mendelson’s Messiah was underway, we returned home.

Coffee in Eckernforde

Dinner in Schleswig

Schleswig Cathedral

Dusk with Schleswig Catherdal in the background (10 pm)

Sunset

Dogs must read this

Our very restful few days came to an end much too soon and Terry and Sabine drove us to Hamburg airport for the flight to Vienna.  Terry and Sabine Auf wiedersehen and prost from Winnie the Pooh and Phil, it was “a craaaacker” staying with you.

Goodbye -  Hamburg Airport

Skagen/Healenges – 16-21 June

Today we farewelled Odense and it was off to the station for our four and half hour train trip to Frederikshavn in northern Denmark.  It was another great rail journey across gentle Danish countryside.

On the train to Frederikshavn

 We were met at the station by Hanne and Christian, who then drove us to their friend’s summer house in Albaek, about 30 km south of Skagen, the most northerly point of Denmark.  The summerhouse was located in a pine forest and, like most Danish summer houses, had everything we needed and was very cosy.  We explored the local area and went for a walk along the pristine beach.

Our little summerhouse in Albaek

Inside the main summerhouse

Sea meets sky - an artists delight

The next day, which was wet and cool we drove to Skagen, and walked 30 minutes along the beach to the most northern point in Denmark.

Appropriately enough for such a neat and ordered country, Denmark doesn't end untidily at its most northerly point, but on a neat finger of sand just a few metres wide, known as Grenen.  We stood at its tip where the waters of the Kattegat and Skagerrak clash and we were tempted to put one foot in each sea- but not too far. Bathing here is strictly forbidden because of the ferocious tidal currents and on this wild and blustery day the -angry seas collided to create mane-tossing white horses.

Grenen - tip of Denmark (Phil, Marilyn, Christian, Hanna)

Phil at the tip

The tip is the culmination of a long, curving sweep of sand at Grenen, about 3km northeast of Skagen.  In the town yachts and blue water make an irresistible postcard image, and Skagen's light comes into its own here as the earth, water and sky combine.  It is this spectacular light that has attracted painters since the late 1800’s and the town continues as a centre for artists and artisans.

The beaches here are beautiful and unspoilt with long stretches of soft sand.  The Danes are very proud of their natural environment and take great care to ensure that development is kept to a minimum.  We visited the famous Skagen art gallery/museum, which is one of the most interesting small galleries we have seen.  It has a wonderful collection of seafaring paintings and portraits.  The town is the home of the famous Skagen watches and jewellery.  This area is also a seafood heaven, so it was lunch in a typical Danish seaside tavern/restaurant and of course the obligatory Danish beer.

Keeping a watch on Skagen

On Saturday, we headed to Hanne and Christian’s village, Stodov, which is on the peninsular of Healenges, Jutland and stayed in the family summerhouse, very comfortable and cosy.  We enjoyed the daily 2km walk to Hanne and Christian’s house, their hospitality and Hanne’s wonderful meals.  We were also reunited with the family Labradors, Labby and Viva and the new canine addition, Mila. The next three days were spent walking the coastal countryside and relaxing. On Sunday we joined Hanne at the local Lutheran church for the morning service.  The church was built in the 11^th century with the tower being added in 1793.

Summerhouse - Stodov

The road to the summerhouse 

Hanne & Christian's house - Stodov

Phil, Hanna and Viva

Lutheran Church - Stodov

The afternoon before we left Stodov, Hanna took us to the lovely coastal town of Eleltoft, which is also known for its beautiful glass making.  After a stroll around the old town, a coffee and cake at one of the many coffee shops we headed back to Stodov.

Old Town - Ebeltoft

 The Northern Light Stodov - 11pm on the way back to the summerhouse

On our last day we caught the local bus into Aahus, the second largest city in Denmark and then the train to Schleswig in northern Germany.  Here we bid farvel to our Danish friends and wonderful Danish hospitality.