![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Brief Austrian Impressions
Mar. 31st, 2006 01:26 pmVarious conclusions after several days spent in Austrian trains, Austrian hotels and Austrian cities for purposes that have nothing to do with skiing or tourist activities:
1) Austrian railway stations rock. Each seems to have an internet café.
2) Austrian trains, otoh, are late, like German ones, which can be troublesome if you have another train to catch and only a few minutes planned switching time.
3) Vienna is as charming as ever. However, visting the Naschmarkt (= huge street market) means you get addressed as if you were in a Mediterranean country with the vendors trying to sell you something.
4) Linz has the book-friendliest crowd. Alas, when I was there it rained all the time, so I couldn't get any sight seeing done. Which means I still don't know much more about the city than that it has the dubious honour of being Hitler's sort-of-hometown (he's actually from Braunau, but Linz is the next largest city).
5) Graz, on the other hand, might be Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown but has lot of attractive sights to offer as well. The first violets in bloom I've seen this year - outside of a flowershop, I mean, lots of Austrian baroque, and a great view from the top of the Schloßberg over the red roofs and pastel-coloured houses of the city centre. Also, the hotel I was staying at had a tremondously nice employee who saw with a glance that I had had the most horrible day (don't ask, it involves several late trains, much running and one ruined pair of jeans) and offered tea. Tea makes everything better. Especially when served with Austrian chocolate.
7) German when spoken by inhabitants of Lienz (not to be confused with Linz and in another region altogether) sounds as if they have a permanent cold; however, they don't mind staying up late to serve one hot soup, plus they have a nifty Roman museum (Lienz being located where the Roman town of Aguntum was) where aside from local findings they have copies of artifcats painted like they were supposed to be 2000 years ago. Looks fascinating.
8) Hotels in Innsbruck don't mind telling you they're overbooked and have taken the liberty to book you a room elsewhere, even if you have booked months in advance. This means another hour through the Innsbruck traffic. However, the sun is shining and Innsbruck is pretty!
1) Austrian railway stations rock. Each seems to have an internet café.
2) Austrian trains, otoh, are late, like German ones, which can be troublesome if you have another train to catch and only a few minutes planned switching time.
3) Vienna is as charming as ever. However, visting the Naschmarkt (= huge street market) means you get addressed as if you were in a Mediterranean country with the vendors trying to sell you something.
4) Linz has the book-friendliest crowd. Alas, when I was there it rained all the time, so I couldn't get any sight seeing done. Which means I still don't know much more about the city than that it has the dubious honour of being Hitler's sort-of-hometown (he's actually from Braunau, but Linz is the next largest city).
5) Graz, on the other hand, might be Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown but has lot of attractive sights to offer as well. The first violets in bloom I've seen this year - outside of a flowershop, I mean, lots of Austrian baroque, and a great view from the top of the Schloßberg over the red roofs and pastel-coloured houses of the city centre. Also, the hotel I was staying at had a tremondously nice employee who saw with a glance that I had had the most horrible day (don't ask, it involves several late trains, much running and one ruined pair of jeans) and offered tea. Tea makes everything better. Especially when served with Austrian chocolate.
7) German when spoken by inhabitants of Lienz (not to be confused with Linz and in another region altogether) sounds as if they have a permanent cold; however, they don't mind staying up late to serve one hot soup, plus they have a nifty Roman museum (Lienz being located where the Roman town of Aguntum was) where aside from local findings they have copies of artifcats painted like they were supposed to be 2000 years ago. Looks fascinating.
8) Hotels in Innsbruck don't mind telling you they're overbooked and have taken the liberty to book you a room elsewhere, even if you have booked months in advance. This means another hour through the Innsbruck traffic. However, the sun is shining and Innsbruck is pretty!
