Sunday, May 10, 2015

And We're In Europe...

The last couple weeks have been hectic. Scrambling to finish work projects before taking nearly three weeks off, planning out the last minute details of our trip, and, of course, there's the packing. It is amazing what can be accomplished with a hard deadline. Parkinson's Law at work.

Anyway, last Thursday we woke up at four a.m., and swindled a ride to the airport for my wife and I, along with our couple friends who will be hopping around Europe with us, and before we knew it we were in the air. I still truly love flying. It takes so little to make me happy in general, that the reality of flying through the air in a metal tube is something of a small miracle to me. Like a small child, I still don't get how there are windows in planes. How do they not break from the air pressure? Why aren't we sucked out into the atmosphere? Our engineers are incredible. Plus, if you ask nicely, the flight attendant will give you a  whole can of free soda that can be enjoyed thousands of feet in the air. We live in an amazing time.

En route, we got to try out the American Airlines lounge in Paris, again for free thanks to that credit card hack that Brad from Richmond Savers told us about. The spread, even early in the morning, was definitely fancier than our normal breakfast. Charcuterie and croissants and a full bar, too. We took advantage of all of them. I've always wanted to drink champagne in and eat croissants in France, and now I have. Again, it takes very little to make me smile.



After a short hop, we were in Vienna, which is maybe the cleanest city I have ever seen. It's as if there is a small army of very sneaky maids making sure there is no garbage, graffiti, or even a 'city smell' anywhere we go. Or maybe Austrians are just very clean. It helps that the city is so beautiful, and my guess is that no one wants to ruin that. Just look:

Stephansdom

Vienna's State Opera

The Museum Quarter

The Habsburg Summer Palace

The Metro

Despite the crazy beauty of everything here, my favorite part of Vienna is the transit system. The city has, by far, the most efficient light rail system I've ever been on. Every train is on time and comes regularly every couple minutes. The trains move quick, too. Even the doors close quickly (and seemingly hard enough to take off a limb if you're not paying attention). The crazy part is that, besides us, no one seems to have paid for a ticket. Perhaps the tourists are the ones who subsidize the system. Living in Phoenix, which has a light rail that goes in one straight line and is paired with inefficient buses that one gets to wait for in triple digit heat, without shade, I am deeply envious of their public transportation.

We lucked out and happened to be here while they were celebrating the seventieth anniversary of European Victory Day in WWII. My general ignorance of the country is showing, as I wonder aloud whether the Austrians were fighting with or against Germany back then. I cannot remember my high school history. Either way, I assume it's all water under the bridge now as, at the free symphony concert, politicians speak of this terrible chapter in our past, and the importance of freedom from oppression. At least I think that's what they were saying; none of us speak German. Still, the music they played, leading up to Beethoven's ninth symphony, was beautiful in a kind of incomprehensible way: at least for someone like me who has never even been to the symphony.




Like it always is with traveling to a place we haven't been before, it feels new and exciting, and there is a nagging feeling that we might be undeserving of the experience. Which we are, I think. I know we are lucky to be here, to be able to afford to go abroad in a metal box that flies through the air, to see a foreign country without worry of being profiled or harassed, and to sleep in a hotel bed with soft cotton sheets that was, somehow, free. We have definitely won a lottery of sorts. I suppose all that's left to be done is to feel grateful that we were the lucky ones, and to try to make sure we don't waste any of it. Today we're off to Bratislava, and we'll do our best. Talk soon.

38 comments:

  1. Sounds amazing! I've been to Paris but not Vienna. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

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    1. Thanks, Tonya! We haven't been to Paris, but it's going to happen someday. I'll have to hit you up for tips before we go. :)

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  2. Sounds like a great trip. Hope you continue to have a wonderful time. Vienna is definitely on my places to visit, hopefully in the next two years.

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    1. It's a great city, Jason, if a little on the pricey side. We love it though.

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  3. Safe travels my friend! The transit systems in Europe are amazing in general - at least that was my experience 30 years ago when I was there several times. Your post reminded me of the summer I spent in France with my college choir. We were touring with the Leon Symphony orchestra singing Beethoven's 9th. It was quite an experience and I think I still have that thing memorized. Freude, schoener Goetterfunken Tochter aus Elysium...

    Hope you have a fantastic rest of your trip and I'm glad that there is someone who actually enjoys the experience of flying, because I HATE it! If I ever go back to Europe, I think it will be on a boat! :-)

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    1. If it makes you feel any better, I get seasick on something as calm as a ferry. Boats are not my thing.

      That's so cool that you got to see France while touring and singing. What a unique experience!

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  4. I think of the same things when I'm flying. It's absolutely incredible to me that we can just hop on a plane and be at our destination in record time. I've never been to Europe, but it's on my list and it looks beautiful from your pictures!

    I would argue you're deserving of the experience, of course. I also wouldn't say it's luck - you're resourceful enough to take advantage of the awesome perks that travel hacking has to offer. Anyone can do it if they have enough financial discipline. =) I'm looking forward to flying for free in a few months as well. I hope you all enjoy your time over there!

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    1. Thanks for that perspective, Erin. I suppose Iwe're as deserving of the trip as anyone. I've heard that, ironically, people in Europe can't travel hack as the offers are only given to Americans. Go figure, right?

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  5. I recently returned from a long trip to Germany. Always a pleasure going to Europe.

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    1. Hi, James. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. We need to make it to Germany sometime, too. So many countries on this continent...we'll have to do it one bite at at time.

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  6. Love the pics! Enjoy the rest of your trip.

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    1. Thanks, Andrew! We have more to share...now we just need to think of another post to write. ;)

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  7. Great photos and the trip sounds amazing. Enjoy!

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    1. What a great name for a blog, Martin! Thanks for coming by and commenting.

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  8. Sounds SO fun, DB40! Friends of ours lived in Austria for a year for a work project, and loved it there. Have a terrific trip!

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    1. Thanks, Laurie. We both needed a vacation dearly and are trying to enjoy every bit, though admittedly we're burning the candle at both ends. We are only six days in and we are pooped.

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  9. Sounds fun have a great time on the 3 week Euro trip!

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    1. Thanks, Even Steven. We're a bit shy of a full three weeks, but still, we feel very lucky to make it happen.

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  10. I feel you on the triple digit heat, though Arizona is posting an incredible month of May in the weather department.

    Credit Card hacking for travel is somewhat of a final frontier for me. I really need to jump on the bandwagon, though. Awesome pics!

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    1. We heard that AZ is having great weather, Danny. Does it make us bad people to wish we weren't missing some unseasonably great weather?

      When we get that beer/lunch, we'll have to talk some travel hacking.

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  11. Sounds like a fantastic trip. Enjoy!

    I'm a bit undecided on travel hacking.

    On one hand you are kind of profiting from folks being in large amounts of credit card debt, otherwise the rewards on offer wouldn't be so great.

    On the other hand, it's not your fault those people have made such unwise decisions, oh and FREE Flights and hotels of course!!!

    Luckily (?!) for me I don't have to face such a moral conundrum add the travel hacking options in the UK are a load of crap :)

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    1. Those are excellent points, FIREstarter.

      Having worked for a credit card company, I feel similarly conflicted. We are, in a way, benefiting from the profits of the card companies.

      The real rub is that merchants are charged higher rates for these cards, which are then passed on to all consumers, not just card consumers. Ultimately, those who don't use cards (say, cash only folks or, worse, folks with very little income or otherwise have no access to credit) end up paying the higher prices.

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  12. Have fun in Europe! Vienna is one of my favourite European cities.

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    1. Thanks, Tawcan! I know you've traveled a lot so we're glad to hear it's one of your faves.

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  13. Hey DB40, it all looks amazing, hope you have a wonderful time! And I feel the same way about flying - I'm always astonished at how it all works, and can't stop grinning and smiling whenever I'm on a plane that's taking off :)

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    1. It's really a miracle of engineering. I hope I never get used to these sort of things, Jason.

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  14. Oh Vienna, I would live there in a heartbeat. I spent a week exploring all around when I was there for a conference a few years ago... I want to go back so badly, even though I did cram a lot of stuff into those evenings.

    Re: the metro system, and not paying. We thought we were so sly as well. Essentially it's on the honour system, but they do random checks. My friend and I had an old ticket and the metro security staked out the metro stop right in front of the conference centre, to catch all us silly people who were trying to save, what 2 euros? We played dumb, that we didn't know our 24 hr pass had expired, and they let us off with a warning. It's pretty much a "play and display (if asked) model. But I felt pretty sleazy over a few euros after that :)

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    1. I know what you mean about being penny wise, Alicia. For what it's worth, we bought the 48 hour metro pass...but have yet to see anyone else buy one. Go figure!

      We'll have to trade Vienna stories when we get back.

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  15. Oh how wonderful! We were in Vienna and Bratislava (and a few other spots) several years ago and just loved it! Enjoy it. I confess I'm a bit jealous right now... ;)

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    1. That's rad! We're taking a similar path, I think. We left Bratislava earlier in the week and are in Budapest now...will head up to Krakow over the weekend.

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    2. Yay!! Budapest is awesome and Krakow is our absolute favorite! Now I'm really jealous... ;)

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  16. I love Vienna (although I do really like the mountains of Austria better - Salzburg, etc)!
    In general, I love the European trains/metros/buses, so much more efficient than almost anything we have in the states - the NYC Metro comes kinda close, but almost nothing beats the Germans, Swiss and Austrians for on-time trains.
    Enjoy the rest of your trip!

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    1. We really wanted to get outside the major cities but time just didn't permit. As always, we tell ourselves well get there 'next time'.

      The regularity of the transit here is another engineering marvel. No matter the traffic, weather, or the number of passengers getting off and on, every train's on time.

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  17. How can you not know which side Austria was on in WWII? That's like not knowing whether the USA was on the same side as Japan in WWII ...... ! Austria was on The Wrong Side. By the way, Adolf Hitler was an Austrian - from Linz. But yes, Vienna is a nice place to visit (and I hope you managed to have some of their famous patisserie).

    From: a European (of the British variety)

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  18. Vienna does look beautiful - it's definitely on our list!!! Hope you're having fun.

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  19. Awesome! I love Europe. When I was in Austria I had the best roasted duck I have ever had. It was amazing!! I think my favorite city in Europe has got to be Prague though. That place is simply amazing. You should check it out if you ever go back to Europe.

    Cool blog by the way.

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  20. Great post. :) Have you considered Portugal? That is where I plan to retire by 33 ;)

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