TO VIENNA

Within 15 minutes of leaving the airport in Paris, we discovered that there was not one but two warning lights now visible in our vehicle. The original warning about turning on a fuse switch was still up and now we had another light as well. After about 20 minutes scouring through the manual which was all in French, of course, I discovered the new symbol was a warning for water in the fuel filter and since the car was diesel, we figured this wasn’t good. It didn’t take much longer for John to figure out that the car was not “gutless” as he originally thought, but that the light had triggered a limiter on its revving ability. No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t rev over 3 000 rpm. Since we had to be in Vienna on the 13^th, we only had 2 ½ days to get there. So we really couldn’t afford to go back to Paris and get mucked around again.

Well this of course made it rather difficult as we were travelling on the motorway and our fellow motorists had no tolerance for someone who was holding them up. Overtaking of course was a real problem and the whole situation was made worse because we were yet to work out the toll system. We eventually sussed it out though. You just have to make sure you have plenty of change (€1 & €2) and a credit card or notes as well. Some of the stops you must just put change into the slot and get a ticket, while at others you had to actually pay up front. The trick is to work out which bay to drive into. They offer several options e.g. cash, card, ticket or just a red or green X. We opted for the cash or green crosses but beware, it is difficult to read the signs and you have heaps of other vehicles all around you hustling you along. I can imagine it would have been a bit of an issue if you went into the wrong lane.

Anyway we managed to keep the car going and followed the A4 all the way to Strasbourg. As we crossed the Rhine, we were of two minds whether to find a Europcar office and try to get another car or persist with this one when all of a sudden the filter warning light went off and the car was running ok except for the weird things that were happening with the electronics. Sometimes the electronic key wouldn’t lock /unlock the car, and when you used the key in the door it triggered the theft alarm. What fun it was!

Well we were pretty frazzled by the end of the day and were really happy to find a lovely little gastof (guesthouse) called Gastof Linde southeast of Strasbourg outside a little village called Biberach im Kinzigtal.

The people here were really friendly and patient with our lack of German. We managed to get a lovely dinner (although the red wine we thought we’d ordered turned out to be a white). It was quite nice though.

John's dinner - pork fillet on potatoes and bacon. He really enjoyed it.

Next morning we set off in a much better frame of mind and continued south-east toward Lindau,  which is on Lake Constance and right on the Swiss border. The lake is very picturesque and reminded me of Flat Lake in the US with its acres of farms growing mainly grapes and other fruits.

All of the houses have window boxes full of flowers and we saw several of the large, decorated poles as we drove through Germany. Click here to find out more about this lovely tradition. It would be great to see such an event.

One of hundreds of beautiful little villages we would see in
Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

We ended our day at a lovely little village called Nesselwang and found a room at Alpenhotel Martin, where there was one lady who spoke some English, which made things a little easier. We had a lovely time strolling through the old town before another hearty dinner at a local restaurant. You certainly wouldn’t go hungry in Germany although it is hard to find alternatives to their beloved schnitzel, some of which can be a bit dry if overcooked, and sausage.

This stream and wading pool is in the middle of the street in front of our guesthouse in Nesselwang.

Making items out of hay seems to be a common craft activity in most areas we visited.

We were feeling great when we took off in the morning toward Vienna. Imagine how that changed when, not five minutes out of town, the fuel warning light came back on and again, revs were limited to 3 000 rpm. I think if John had had a bomb he would have taken great pleasure in blowing the thing up. Instead, we headed back to our hotel, jumped on the internet and with the help of some other German guests, discovered that there was a Europcar agent in Kempten, about half an hour’s drive back west of us. We decided to go there and try to get another vehicle.

At first, after we explained our situation to the receptionist, she started shaking her head and suggesting we would have to pay extra to deliver their car back from Paris etc. I think she could see John about to explode so she decided to consult a guy there with some mechanical knowledge. He took the car for a drive and came back shaking his head. He agreed with us that we had been given a dud. He mentioned that they have trouble over here with some bug which eats the electronics leads, causing all sorts of problems. He also agreed the car wouldn’t rev and we were extremely grateful when they offered us another car. I think we really lucked out with them as they could only give us an Audi. John was pretty pleased with the difference as soon as he started to drive it. I can’t imagine us ever driving the Kia up the mountain passes that we were to do later in our trip. It would have been a nightmare!

You can probably imagine our relief as we pulled up outside our pension in Vienna. We had discussed the difference in personalities between the German, French and Austrian people with an Austrian acquaintance in Brisbane, so we weren’t surprised when our hostess at Hotel Pension Bosch, Barbara, seemed a bit gruff. She had little patience for our “dumb” questions but when we went up to register she was really helpful, explaining the busses and giving us directions etc. She even had 24 hour passes available so that made it really easy for us to get around and it was only a short walk from the pension to the bus stop. By the time we left she was all smiles and really friendly. It seems to be true that Austrians take a while to warm to you but are then usually really nice.

That evening we wandered down the street to get some dinner, and were delighted when we discovered that there was a free open-air concert in the local square. The band was excellent and played lots of Rolling Stones covers as well as other rock and roll greats. We had drinks, ate sausage and really enjoyed the happy atmosphere. It was a lovely way to start our stay in Vienna.

I was more than a little excited next morning at the thought of actually going to see the Spanish Riding School. We already knew where to catch the tram and gave ourselves plenty of time to find the place, collect our tickets and have a look around. The Palace is lovely. We didn’t go inside the palace itself but the atmosphere around the whole area is lively and charming. Of course I loved the horses. The Lipizzaners are just beautiful animals and the skills and discipline displayed by both riders and horses is amazing. I think I got much more pleasure out of it than John as his interest and knowledge of horses is limited but he could still appreciate it for what it was. I was also absolutely stoked after the show when we were walking by the stables, as they were leading out the horses for the next show. It was lovely to get so close to them. For me it was a lifelong dream come true.

Hofburg Palace

The arena where the lipizzaners perform is quite elegant.

Beautiful horses

After the show we strolled around the old city, which I fear is slowly being swallowed by modern structures, before walking through the palace gardens toward the university area. 

John thought this sign meant No Prostitution allowed. Turns out it just means the end of a "Pedestrian only" area.

As in most of the old cities we visited, there is a huge emphasis on shopping and eating, all designed to separate you from your money.

Imagine our surprise when we started noticing people in rather lavish costumes. Then we heard loud music and discovered that we were about to experience the Rainbow Parade which was very lengthy but very entertaining. It has been running since 1969 and is basically a show of solidarity by the gay, lesbian and transgender community.The atmosphere was great and we really enjoyed it all, even though we had to walk quite a way to catch our tram home as the normal route was closed until 7 pm.

That night we caught the tram back into the city and explored more of the many side streets before dinner and a fairly early night before heading off to Hallstatt, our next destination in Austria.

PARIS

By the time we got off the plane and collected our baggage it was almost 8 pm. We managed to find our way onto the express train into the centre of Paris then had to walk a fair way to catch the Metro to Arts et Metiers where our hotel was located. We managed to find the correct exit and after a little looking around we found our hotel, Hôtel Ecole Centrale, quite easily. The guy on duty was from Portugal and he was really great, giving us lots of useful information and helping us get our bags up to our room on the top floor. The lift was quite small so it took a couple of trips. Our room however, was lovely – tres chic with lovely lighting and a spa tub as well. John was a bit shy though about the lack of a door between the bedroom and the bathroom.

 

As soon as we got settled in we headed off to find a restaurant for some dinner. We wandered in the general direction we had been told at the hotel and found a nice little sidewalk café. By the time we got back to our room it was after 11, so it was a quick shower then into bed. We didn’t expect the fantastic light show we were treated to through the open skylights. Horizontal lightning flashed across the sky for at least an hour and it was spectacular, especially since we could lay in bed and watch it. Even though we were both really tired we spent quite a while watching it.

 

Next morning we were up bright and early and off down to the centre of Paris to take in the sights. We headed down Rue Beaubourg/Rue du Renard toward City Hall, passing the Pompidou Centre, which John assures me looks just like an offshore oil rig. It houses the Bibliothèque publique d'information, a vast public library, the Musée National d'Art Moderne which is the largest museum for modern art in Europe, and IRCAM, a centre for music and acoustic research.

 

City Hall itself (or Hotel de Ville) stands on the site from which Paris’ local administration has operated since 1357. The building which stands there now was finished in 1628. It was the stage for several famous events during the French Revolution (notably the murder of the last provost of the merchants Jacques de Flesselles by an angry crowd on 14 July 1789 and the coup when Robespierre was shot in the jaw and arrested in the Hôtel de Ville with his followers.  In 1871 the whole building was gutted by fire. Its reconstruction in its original French Renaissance style took 19 years (from 1873 to 1892)  and is quite impressive with it many statues and lovely fountains.

 

We then walked across Pont d’Arcole to Notre Dame Cathedral.

The River Seine from Pont d'Arcole

There was a bit of a line-up to get in (or so we thought). The interior of the cathedral is as beautiful as the outside and it certainly lived up to my expectations after all I had learnt of it in art lessons at school.

 

We also took a look at an extra exhibit inside the cathedral which houses all the holy treasures of the cathedral. Boy were they impressive! They must be worth millions.

 

On our way down to the Louvre we noticed several banners outside a beautiful old building and decided to investigate. The building turned out to be Hotel-Dieu, the oldest hospital in Paris and the banners were protesting its imminent closure because the building is too old and most of its services have already been transferred to other hospitals. It really is a beautiful building. Perhaps they will find another use for it.

The courtyard in l'Hotel Dieu

Our next stop was the Tower of Saint-Jacques, where we spent a while sitting in the lovely surrounding park.

Tower of Saint-Jacques

Then it was off to Pont des Arts, where thousands of “love” locks have been attached to the railings of the bridge. While we were there we saw several couples including a pair of newlyweds attaching their locks. We also noticed on section of the railings was missing, replaced by timber and plywood. That night on the news we saw that that section of the bridge had collapsed because of the weight of the locks. It didn’t surprise us. They are now very concerned for the safety of the rest of the bridge and there is talk of removing all the locks there.

Pont des Arts

 

From Pont des Arts it was just a short walk to the Louvre and its iconic glass pyramid. It really is impressive and obviously popular with locals and tourists alike. The latest craze is to stand on the special blocks provided and get your photo taken so that it looks like you have your hand on the top of the pyramid or are holding it up.

 

Beneath the courtyard where the pyramid is located is an enormous shopping centre which was absolutely crowded with people. We ran the gauntlet though because here were the only toilets we knew of in the area. As in Liverpool, the toilets were tended by a “looky, looky man/lady” and of course you had to pay. It was quite strange because they went into every toilet after it was used to check it was clean and you had to wait in line until they ushered you in. Very different to what we are used to in Oz!

We really enjoyed our stroll down the obelisk at Place du Concord and the Avenue des Champs Elysees. The gardens, fountains and statues were totally different to what we usually see in good old Bowen and there were lots of people about. We later learned that it was a public holiday which probably explained why there were so many people about.

 

 

The Eiffel Tower was easy to see in the background but we decided that we were too tired to walk there and it looked like rain, so we headed home and managed to get there without getting wet.

We could see rain clouds looming in the background as we headed back.

 

We were going to have dinner at one of the many Chinese restaurants which are prevalent in this part of Paris. However, we quickly changed our minds. John sat down while I ventured into the toilet, only to discover a tap which had no water and toilets which were far from hygienic. We decided to go elsewhere and found a nice little bistro not far away. Walking through the little side alleys here is a real eye-opener. You never know what you will see and the buildings themselves are interesting to say the least. None seem to be in alignment, with peeling plaster, crooked windows and wonky roofs.  It is amazing that most of them are still standing. It is apparent that lots of the infrastructure in Paris in at breaking point and we noticed that many of the locals were not particularly excited by the influx of Chinese in particular to this particular area of the city.

 

One thing we couldn’t help but notice was the proliferation of graffiti here. Almost everywhere you look, there it is. Not even vehicles are safe.

 

We really enjoyed our spa tub that night after our day exploring the sights of Paris.

 

On Tuesday we caught the Metro to Denfert Rochereau station where it was just a short walk across the road to the entrance to the famous catacombs. We though we were being clever by getting there right on 10 am which is when they open. However, we arrived to find a line 200 metres long which stretched right around Square de l’Abbe Migne, where the entrance is located. 2 ½ hours later, half of which was spent standing in drizzling rain, we got to the entrance and began our tour. I have to say it was worth the wait although I think they really should do something about the long wait.

The Catacombs are only a small part of what were originally the quarries for Paris, formed during the quarrying of stone from which the buildings of Paris were constructed. There is no definitive map of the underground quarries, but it is estimated that there is about 300 kilometres of galleries.

The bones of generations of Parisians have been stored here to solve the problem of overcrowding in the cemeteries. The relocation of bones began in 1786, just as momentum for the Revolution was building in Paris. Land was becoming increasingly scarce and at the same time the cemeteries were becoming overcrowded. So the government of the time decided to move the remains of the dead to the empty limestone quarries, so freeing up the land presently being used as cemeteries for other use. Engineers were assigned to excavate and sure up the tunnels, each leaving a plaque indicating what section it was, the name of the engineer and the year the work was done.



Engineers plaque



These scenes from a port in the Mediterranean were carved from memory by one of the workers excavating the tunnels.

A cast of one of many pre-historic fossils found during excavation.
It was about 500 mm long.

While moving the remains from the cemeteries, no attempt was made to identify or separate individual bodies, but each section of bones was marked with a plaque specifying the cemetery they came from and the year when they were moved. The work was completed in 1860. It is estimated that five to six million skeletons had been relocated.

Some of the workers relocating the bones got very creative.

Plaque indicating where these bones were relocated from and when.

This archway was built to sure up the roof of an area
which had begun to cave in from above.

We seemed to walk for ages in the tunnels and we only saw a very small fraction of the bones deposited in the catacombs.

On our way home we again explored some of the backstreets and discovered lots of very interesting and unusual shops. John was particularly taken with the Leather and Rubber shop but he wouldn’t let me go in for a look. Spoil sport! It also started raining again and we were both a bit wet and bedraggled by the time we got back to our hotel.

 

That night we decided to look for an Indian restaurant and with a little research on Tripadvisor we discovered Passage Brady. We thought there was one Indian restaurant here but we discovered that this one lane had about a dozen of them and the whole area was full of restaurants including hallal, and other middle eastern cuisines. We had a hard time deciding which one to go to but I think they would all have been much the same. The meal was OK but nothing to rave about and not nearly as good as the Indian meal we had had in Moffat in Scotland.

Scenes encountered while walking back from Passage Brady.

 

We were scheduled to pick up our hire car at Charles de Gaulle airport on Wednesday morning but our plan to take the airport express train were foiled because there was a strike by all train workers so we had to take a taxi which fortunately we had ordered the day before. It took us almost 1 ½ hours to get to the airport and then we had a further half hour wait at the Europcar desk for our car before we could set off on the next part of our European adventure.

While we really enjoyed our sightseeing in Paris, it must be said that most of what we have been told about the attitude of the French is unfortunately true. Most have an arrogance about them, as if they are doing you a favour by serving you (forget about the fact that tourism is probably one of the city’s most important industries). We were to discover that this arrogant, laissez faire attitude can also come back and bite you, even after you have left the place.