Day 7 - 03 April 2019 Sarajevo

Breakfast in the hotel this morning as it is included as part of the tariff.  An interesting selection of tradition 'english breakfast' including fried eggs, but also the European style with cold meats and cheeses and also what I would call a middle eastern selection.  Understandably there was no bacon, but I did have a choice of chicken ham or turkey ham, but no ham ham.

By no stretch of the imagination would you call Sarajevo a pretty or attractive city. But, it certainly is interesting.  The cultural, religious, racial and architectural mix, plus the history certainly makes it interesting beyond its physical appearance.  The buildings range from influences of the Ottoman empire to Austrian (think grand Germanic) to communist minimalist, many of which still bear the scars of the war and siege of 1992 - 1995.  The various occupations by foreign powers and wars loom large in the Bosnian psyche and cant be separated from modern Sarajevo.  I am doing the Times of Misfortune tour tomorrow and hopefully have a better understanding of the recent history after that.

Ottoman style

Soviet brutalist with war damage

Austrian imperialist

Warning, some history stuff ahead.

I did the assassination tour today.  A young Bosniak by the name of Faruk was our guide and there was myself and an older Belgian couple on the tour.  The tour took in the major sites involving the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.  He also explained the incredible range of coincidences that led up to the assassination.  We stood at the corner where the Archduke's car attempted to right hand turn instead of going straight ahead.  When the driver realised that he had made a mistake he stopped the car and attempted to reverse back to the proper route.  However one of the conspirators, Gavril Princip, was having coffee and cake (possibly because he was diabetic and needed the sugar) in a cafe on the same corner.  Young Princip looked up and saw the Archduke's car stopped near where he was sitting, he seized his moment of opportunity, leapt up, approached the car and fired two shots from his pistol killing the Archduke and the Archduke's wife Sophie, and so history was made.  A string of events initiated by this assassination led to the TGW.  It is worth considering what would have happened if the driver had driven straight on as he was supposed to and driven straight past Princip sitting in the cafe enjoying his coffee and cake.  Would TGW with loss of millions of lives, massive amounts of property and the disappearance of great empires have still happened?  Obviously I have my opinion and I will let you consider yours.

The archduke's car was coming down the road towards us

The driver did a right turn into this street, Princip was in the cafe where the museum is now.

During our mid tour coffee (Bosniak style, hot, thick and bitter, sounds a bit like my first wife, as we all know that is a joke). Faruk was happy to talk about life in Sarajevo and its recent history.  He explained that unemployment was very high, particularly among the young folk, something like 60% unemployment for under 24 year olds.  A waiter would earn approximately E300 to E350 per month ($480 to $550 AUD).  Faruk also said that his grandmother, who is 73 years old looks back fondly on the old Yugoslavia days under Tito.  When I mentioned that Tito was an oppressive communist dictator who only stayed in power with the support of the secret police and the military and violently suppressed any political opposition he just sort of shrugged his shoulders.  I think that Faruk may also have longed for the Tito days even though he was born well after the death of Tito and the collapse of Yugoslavia.

I have located a nice little bar just around the corner from my hotel, hidden in one of th lanes of the Bascarsija (or Turkish quarter).  In my mind the Bascarsija is similar to the souks of Marakesh, although smaller, and as I have never been to Marakesh I am only guessing.  Anyway it is an area of small lanes with lots of shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, shishka bars and some doubtful looking characters hanging around on lane corners.  It was initially easy to get lost in there and difficult to find the same place twice.  Luckily I have been able to find my little bar more than once.

Meet me in the Casbah

Fun Facts: Baldrick's interpretation of the start of TGW is not correct.  I discovered today that a bloke called Archie Duke did not shoot an ostrich because he was hungry.

Number of Steps: 13,220 (if I keep this up I will return home svelte like a racing greyhound).

Observations: The street sweepers here still use 'switch brooms', like something out of the middle ages or a brothers Grimm fairy tale.

Day 6 - 02 April 2019 Vienna to Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina

Checked out of the Mercure in Vienna this morning and caught a cab to the airport, check in and security was relatively quick and painless.  

After an hour or so flight and a plastic glass of white wine we landed at Sarajevo, this was a bit like landing at Albury or Mildura airport as it had a bit of a regional feel about it.  Anyway they stamped my passport I got some Bosnian Marks from the ATM and was in a cab before you could say welcome to Bosnia.

The drive in was, as they say interesting.  Through what appeared to be some of the poorer parts of the city.  Many of the buildings are still damaged or only half rebuilt from the war and the siege.  I may talk about the siege on another occasion, when I have had a bit of a chance to come to grips with it.

The economy here is really battling with high unemployment, low GDP, low wages, high levels of organisational inefficiencies and corruption at many levels.  But apparently it is gradually improving.

My hotel is one of the newer ones in Sarajevo and is on the river and on the street that the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were driven down before their cruel assassination.

My hotel room

View from my hotel window

This is a very exotic city with a mixture of religions, muslim approx 50%, orthodox 30% and catholic 20%.  I am having a beer in the hotel bar and looking across the river at a mosque and minaret.  My room also faces in that direction so I am a little worried about what time in the morning is going to be the call to prayers.

I am doing a couple of tours over the next two days which will hopefully fill in some of the blank spots about the history of the city and of which I shall share as much as possible with my dear readers.

I had dinner this evening at a restaurant behind the hotel.  I tried one of the local delicacies which was a bit like a beef stew with potatoes and carrots, accompanied by a couple of the local beers.  The local beer is Sarajevsko and is either bottled or draught, served cold and very drinkable.

Where the Archduke and his wife were shot

A bit arty from my hotel window

Fun Fact: A 1/2 litre of beer in Sarajevo is 4 Marks, about half the price of the same beer in Vienna.

Number of Steps: 6911

Observations:  Vienna airport still has a smoking room.  It appeared that most of the people on the plane were young things working for various NGOs.  

Day 5 - 01 April 2019 Vienna

Last day in Vienna and the good weather continues.

Easy day today and I decided to do the extended Danube canal and Danube river cruise.  The Danube runs along the northern edge of Vienna, however it used to run through the old northern suburbs, it used to also flood a lot.  When the flooding only affected the poor folk living on the river flats nobody used to worry about it too much.  However the river flats became prime real estate and the rich folk moved in, couldnt have flooding then could we.  Huge works were undertaken to control or prevent the flooding.  This comprised of turning the original river into a canal and diverting the river a bit further to the north and building a huge barrage across the river.

I boarded the boat in the Danube canal we then proceeded east and into the Danube river, heading west we came to the barrage and a lock.  The barrage and locks are amazing engineering structures.  Our boat was raised about 10 metres to the level of the river behind the barrage and when we entered the canal at the other end another lock lowered us about 10 metres to the level of the water in the canal.

The boat trip was fun, upon boarding the waiter came around taking orders for drinks etc, including beers, being only 10.30 in the morning I said 'a bit early for me old chap'.  The Germans & Austrians showed no such restraint and were into it, man and woman.  I thought, well, when in Rome or Vienna or whereever and ordered a frosty one.

Fun Fact:  Did you know that Kapitan Von Trapp of the Trapp family singers of Sound of Music fame was a U-Boat (submarine) captain in the Austrian navy in TGW.

Step Count: 8,270 (not bad seeing how I spent 3 hours sitting on a boat)

Observations: Lots of Chinese tourists.  Cigarettes E5.20 a packet from street vending machines, about $8 - $9 AUD.

Local cruise boats early morning Vienna

Lock gates closing prior to raising boat to higher water level.

Day 4 - 31 March 2019 Vienna

Daylight saving started last night so all watches etc put ahead one hour.  Even the Europeans are ahead of the Queenslanders.

Beautiful spring weather again today, the people in reception at the hotel were telling me that this time last year the temperature was around freezing through the day and in the minuses overnight.  

A little about the hotel.  I am staying at the Mercure Hotel Vienna First, which is part of the Accor Hotels chain.  It is a nice hotel with friendly staff and the location is excellent, very close to the middle of the old part of the city which is where most of the touristy attractions are located.  Also close to a decent selection of restaurants and bars, which is also attractive to the hungry, thirsty tourist.  The hotel also has a bar/restaurant but typical of hotel bars this lacks a little character but is fine in an emergency.  

Visited some of the major public buildings today.  These tend to be previous Habsburg palaces that are now used as public buildings, universities, museums and so on.  The Habsburgs ran this place from 1273 until 1918, so they had a bit of time to build some palaces.  One of the Habsburgs had the bright idea that they didn't need the city walls any more so he had them torn down and replaced with a ring road.  Most of the most impressive of the palaces and public buildings are on the ring road which makes them easy to find.  This should also make it easier not to get lost but this hasn't really been the case.  Another bright idea a Habsburg had was to initiate the round of events that led to the start of TGW, more on that to come, much more.  Oh good I hear you all say.

I should at this stage remind previous readers and warn new readers that there may be a little bit of history thrown into the blog, but only stuff that I think is really really interesting.

Being Sunday a lot of the cafes and restaurants were closed so choice was a bit limited for dinner.  But I persisted and found an Irish bar called Pickwicks that served a good burger and even better pints (1/2 litre) of Guinness.  A 1/2 litre of Guiness was E5.20.  I also found the grumpiest host that I have come across so far.

I have been researching a boat trip on the Danube for Monday.

A walk in the Vienna woods

I thought that I might take up dancing lessons with the good Herr Professor

Another Habsburg palace

Step Count Today: 11,279 

Observations: Shops and lots of other businesses closed on Sunday.

Day 3 - 30 February 2019 Vienna

Part of the deal at the hotel I am staying at is a free two hour walking tour of inner Vienna.  This started at 10.00am and included the older parts of the city including the Jewish area.  Vienna still has a Jewish population and my hotel is close to a synagogue.  There is a continual police presence at all of the Jewish buildings in the city.  The guide also told us about an area near my hotel that is known as Bermuda.  It is called this as it is full of nightclubs and bars and once people go into this area they tend to disappear and are never seen again.

Laneway in Vienna

Baroque Catholic Church
(obviously it wasn't only the aristocracy that was ripping off the peasants)

I had lunch in one of the older traditional cafes in the city.  Bratwurst sausage, fried potatoes and sauerkraut (no scurvy for me) and beer.  

After lunch I decided I would visit the Prater amusement park and take a ride on the big ferris wheel.  This ferris wheel featured in the movie the Third Man and has been a feature of the amusement park for many years.  I went on this ride in 1986 when i was last in Vienna.  The carriages are like an old fashioned railway carriage and take about 15 - 20 people.  The rest of the amusement park is a bit old fashioned with dodgem cars and ghost trains plus some very very scary rides involving heights and sudden drops.

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Dinner tonight was at a nearby bistro/restaurant and being Saturday night was crowded and busy.  I was lucky to get a seat as usually they don't like single diners on busy nights.  I don't know why they don't introduce the American idea of seating single diners at the bar, I think that is a great idea. 

Anyway, I was sitting there eating my dinner and having a drink when two well dressed young women sat next to me and with the tables being close I could hear a bit of what they were talking about.  They obviously knew each other well and were chatting away in accented English indicating that they weren't Austrian and weren't from the same foreign country.  I ordered a strudel for my dessert and it came in the form of a large pizza, and although delicious it was far too much food so there was a little left on the serving plank when the waitress took it away.  When the waitress took it away one young lady said to her friend (in English) , 'that man didn't eat all of his food, think of all the hungry children in Africa'.  I assumed that she was having a go at me and didn't realise that I spoke English.  Anyway as I stood up to leave I had to squeeze past their table, so I said to them 'I apologise for not eating all of my dinner but there was too much'.  With that they looked at each other and started laughing.  It turns out one of them is Tunisian and works for a NGO an the other is a diplomat from Lebanon.  They speak about a dozen languages each and speak to each other in English, French, Italian, Arabic, whatever.  The lady who made the comment explained that this was what her mother used to  say when she didn't eat all of her dinner, and they weren't being rude to me.  (A bit like when I was young my mother saying any food not eaten would be given to the starving children in China). 

Step count for the day 10,009.

Observation; Electric scooters everywhere.  Particularly the public share ones that are currently being introduced to some cities in Australia.  I wonder if people are throwing them in the Danube.

Day 2 - 29 March 2019 Vienna

Beautiful spring day in Vienna, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the locals and the tourists (including me) are out and about.  Probably only about 14c through the day and cooler in the morning and evening but very pleasant weather for being out and about.  And out and about I was, my watch has told me that I did more than 16,000 steps today.  I reckon 6,000 were finding my way back to the hotel after finding myself a bit geographically embarrassed.

Purchased my 72 hour public transport pass this morning for E17.00 and caught my first train out to the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, known to you and me as the Austrian Military Museum.  (The Austrian language is a slight variation on German and like the Germans they just keeping adding words on until they get to the word they want).  This isn't a bad museum however a bit old fashioned with lots of things in glass cases, however they have spent some money and updated their The Great War (TGW) exhibitions. However given the Austrians were on the losing side they probably don't think of the 1914 - 18 war as TGW.  I got in for E5 instead of E7 by flashing my Victorian seniors card.

The pride of their collection, in my eyes anyway, is the car that the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were in when they were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia on 28 June 1914.  Standing looking at this car, including the bullet hole, it was amazing to contemplate the repercussions and consequences of this action, in the Balkan back blocks, on the rest of the world. Including my then 15 year old grandfather in far away Tasmania and also his slightly older brother, my great uncle.  Bismark, the great unifier of the German nation once stated that the Balkans weren't worth the bones of one Pommeranian grenadier.  Unfortunately it cost them lot more than that.

Entrance to Military Museum

Archduke's car with bullet holes

After morning tea at the museum, coffee and cake in the Viennese tradition, I started back into the city.  Part of this walk was through the Belvedere Gardens and past the Belvedere Palaces.  My word the Austrian ruling family, the Hapsburgs, knew how to build a castle and gardens, would give the French a run for their money.

Schloss Belverdere  

The rest of the day was taken up with lunch (sausage wrapped in bacon, chips, salad and beer) watching the world go by in outdoor restaurant.  And then a long walk taking in some of the sights and working off my jet lag.

Some observations; people can still smoke in restaurants, gentlemen still smoke pipes and dogs are allowed in restaurants.

Day 1 - 28 February 2019 Melbourne to Vienna 

Some of you may have been aware that my flight to Europe was scheduled to depart from Tullamarine at 6.00am (that’s six o’clock in the morning!) which meant having to be at the airport at 3.00am which meant getting picked up at 2.00am! Anyway my limousine arrived at a bit before 2.00 and I was at the airport at 2.45. The Emirates check in was open and using my Business Class priority bags were promptly dropped off. However security and immigration didn’t open until 4.00 so I had an hour to kill with nothing open, couldn’t even get a coffee or a beer!

 (And before you all start to shout ‘capitalist pig dog’ travelling business class, I am doing it on frequent flyer points, so there).

It took a little while to clear security and immigration and I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t get a chance to experience the Emirates business class lounge. Anyway the travel gods smiled on me and I had time for a glass of Verve and a little sausage and hash browns.

So I am typing this somewhere over the Indian Ocean at nearly 35,000 feet travelling at 580mph (946kmh or mach 8.1) with an outside temperature of -40c. I have had breakfast on the plane and for those of you who are interested I had scrambled egg with truffle served with a potato scone, hot smoked salmon and roasted cherry tomatoes accompanied by fresh fruit and yoghurt. I am now about to decide what I will have for my lunch. (Flashy, I had a V&T down the back of the plane, a couple of the flight attendants asked after you.)

After a 3 hour stopover in Dubai my anticipated time of arrival in Vienna is 8.00pm this evening. Of course there was much excitement with the crossing of the equator. Fortunately the clouds cleared and we were able to see the equator spanning the globe far below us.

Sitting at the airport at Dubai waiting for my connecting flight to Vienna and watching the trains coming and going to and from the airport station and wondering why it is going to take 10 years for Victoria to get a train to and from Tullamarine. As you can see, I am a bit bored.

On the flight from Dubai to Vienna, late afternoon early evening. Flying near some interesting places, Basra, Baghad, Mosul etc. The mountains to the north east have snow on them, not sure what mountain range it is, will check it out once I’ve got wi fi. Just about to serve dinner, seems like I have been eating and drinking all day, and there is nothing wrong with that, you might say.

Safely arrived in Vienna at about 8.00pm, a little bit knackered, crikey it is a long way.  Why didnt Captain Cook discover somewhere a bit closer to Europe?

And before anybody starts whinging, photos will be on their way shortly.