Eurolanche.com

• Trip of US fan to Europe: The Flight
• Trip of US fan to Europe: Slovakia
• Trip of US fan to Europe: Romania
• Trip of US fan to Europe: Czech

It’s funny, I think, I’ve now been to Vienna 5 times and this is the first time I will actually get to spend some time in the city. I settle in for a quick rest and beer at their place, then, it is time to head out to see things.

We head to Vienna city center and to the Schweizerhaus after strolling through the amusement area of the park. Upon arrival I enjoy a Rotes Zwickl beer and Cevapcici, my first meal in town. How I enjoy these biergartens outside with the trees and packed tables. We make an early night of it, knowing it’s going to get shy on sleep the next few days.

Friday morning, we get in the car for a trip to Budapest, traffic in Vienna tries to stop us from departing, but after a breakfast of cheese strudel and Red Bull we will not be stopped!  A couple hours and some minutes later we arrive in my fifth country of the trip, in Budapest, Hungary. We wander the Vace Utca, once again in the delicious heat and humidity. We make a stop for refreshments followed by a dash by me to get a few small souvenirs on the other end of Vace Utca. A trip to the Parliament Building, a truly impressive structure along the Danube follows in early afternoon.

Then our trip to Budavar and Halászbástya for a cool overlook of Pest and the Danube as evening approaches. We saved some steps by taking the elevator up into the castle at a cost of 100 forints, which we were led to believe also included a return trip…but on return to the bottom found there was also another turnstile requiring additional funds, which only accepted 100 forint coins…a bit of a problem since remaining funds equaled a 200 forint coin. 

The guy who ran the turnstiles and elevator was apparently not in a generous mood after we pointed out that we had asked on the way up about the return trip.  So we checked our options…fortunately, we did not have to become outlaws as someone arrived in the next few minutes the other direction with appropriate coins to exchange. Still, that other guy is off of both of our Holiday lists for gifts this year. 

Our escape managed, we made the return journey to Vienna. Back at about 8pm, we get ready for the Donauinselfest, a music festival and carnival on the island that runs for miles down the center of the Danube. 

It is worthy to take note that one really does not want to imbibe precociously and then decide to take a swim in the Danube, this river moves. On our arrival someone has already decided to try this it seems, as there are boats searching the water. 

This is the place to be this night, everyone is here for the music, food, entertainment and beer. After some wandering we settle on the main stage of FM4 where the crowd is big and having fun. Downside, the wait for beer is excruciating. To make up for this we encounter a bachelorette party, a good start to the night. Then of course, I must make my way through the crowd to the front just to have the full experience. Great! Then I partake of a Vienna favorite, a cheese filled frankfurter wrapped in dough and deep fried, great for late night.  Along the route, a couple of Czech girls help me to fill the long walk to the U-bahn station. Děkuju Monika and Lucie.

We take a short ride to the Bermuda Triangle area, a collection of bar/night clubs that allows one to sweat into the early morning hours while trying to move through the wall to wall crowds.

The next day I get a visit to the hot spots around Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace, a nice little cabin. Then down to Stephansplatz for a view of the cathedral and a run past all the shops. Where do you ladies keep all those shoes?

Return for a bar-b-que at Norbert and Tina’s place, and maybe a maß while we are at it? Ja, danke. Cheese filled, bacon wrapped frankfurters…can there be any better grill item than this? I think not!  The chicken rib meat and salad is also satisfying, and I finish with pork spareribs. Again, I do not go hungry when my friends produce a feast.

A short nap to refresh the energy level, and then we are on our way to Passage, where we will spend the rest of the dark hours dancing. Sunrise comes earlier when you are on vacation…

Next morning we head back to city center where I get dropped off to explore the city on my own for a few hours while Norbert must put in some hours at work, sad for him. I wander to Franziskaner kirche for no other reason than the name matches that of one of my favorite beer makers, ha ha ha, and then through side streets which are mostly empty. I decide it is time for a return to the Donauinselfest to see what today has in store. Sunday means people are enjoying the sun all along the Danube today, but it appears that no one has chosen to go for a swim in the main river so far this morning; it’s still early so I expect we may see some entertainment before long.

Of course, I have to enjoy another frankfurter while I check out the scene.  Masters of Dirt has a bmx and skateboard show going on so I check that out for a while. Then I take a break in the shade to hear a traditional Austrian band on a smaller stage. Okay, there may have been some girls involved in my decision to linger here too… The bigger stages do not seem to be running yet, so I wander and take in the sights. Just like everywhere, the warm weather really brings the people out.

Now I find the metal stage and they are ready to roll, so I grab a beer (okay, maybe two, three…) and settle in for a bit of louder fare from two local bands.  Half in German, half in English seems to be the typical product. Good stuff, Robert, you would have enjoyed it.

Toward evening I manage my way back to Stephanplatz to meet up with Norbert, we then head to Ambulanz biergarten in advance of the Italy/England matchup for a big cordon bleu and beer…but the soccer game is not on our agenda, so we take a drive up thru the Vienwald to Kahlenberg to have a view of the city from above, managing to arrive just before sunset has completed. We return home just in time to avoid the thunderstorm, we think of the folks watching the game outside at Ambulanz and think: hey, that must suck. 

We make a fine whiskey toast to my time in Austria to finish the night as both of us have an early departure.

Morning comes early and I find myself again on the way to Vienna airport for the fourth time in 12 days.

Andy is a huge Avalanche fan since their moving to Denver in 1995. He co-operates with the Eurolanche since the Eurolanche Invasion II in 2009. He lives in  Denver, Colorado. You could see him on the picture above (on the right) with the Austrian member of Eurolanche Norbert Gruber.