Dresden with Paul and Betty Ann

After leaving Vienna, we had our longest train ride of all, all the way to Dresden, which took almost seven hours. Of course, we had Béla on the train to entertain us.
We also shared the compartment most of the way with an older Czech woman who spoke perfect German, as the region in which she lived was part of Germany until the end of the war, when she was about 13. I talked to her a lot, and translated what I could. She spoke some English as well, but wasn't so confident. She had a lot of interesting and incredibly sad stories about the time after the war, when the region suddenly became part of Czechoslovakia. The new government took everything from the former German citizens who lived there - property, money, possessions, and many of them fled to Germany, where things weren't much better. Her family stayed, and she learned Czech then, though she remembered having to draw pictures on the ground with a stick when she didn't know the word for something. Some of her stories were so depressing that I ended up crying while translating them for the others. She had been in Vienna visiting her son who has been working there for years, after her dog of 16 years died three weeks before. They wanted her to visit to get her mind off it, but she was still sad thinking about coming home to an empty house, without the dog. This story made me cry too...
Béla wasn't sad though, and slept well most of the way, whether in the sling, in someone's arms, or on someone's lap, as is the case here.
Once we got to Dresden, it wasn't far to get to our hotel. We were all a bit tired though, and didn't feel like going out to explore the city too much that night. Luckily, there was a grocery store nearby where we could buy food for breakfast, and there was a brewery right next door, with a restaurant in it. There we were able to order one of the "beer lanterns", which came in either 3 litres or 5 litres. Here are Paul and Betty Ann with the 3 litre variety.

The food was good too, and they had a special seasonal menu for fall, with lots of game. We were able to try rabbit, deer, and wild boar. Béla also enjoyed the restaurant.
It was a pretty cool place, and while it wasn't functioning as a brewery anymore, it had a lot of the old equipment still in place. This giant copper dome was over what was now the bar.
The beer was so good that we got a second beer lantern, and then we drank some more over cards at the room afterward. As such, breakfast was a little later than it might have been, but we all ate well.
After breakfast, we headed out to explore the city. After some coffee and tea en route, we all needed to find a toilet. The tourist map had public toilets marked on it, so we ended up at this little coin-operated toilet, which automatically cleaned itself between uses. It was pretty cool, but took a while as we had to go one at a time, with about a minute between us for the automatic cleaning cycle.
Then we did a little foot tour of the city, seeing all the major sites, including the Frauenkirche, which was destroyed in WWII, and recently rebuilt in all its former glory.
We then walked along the river Elbe, behind the Academy of Arts...
...along the fortified wall, the drainage area of which can be seen here.
This brought us to the cathedral which is attached to the palace.
The church was interesting enough in its own right, but our visit was made necessary by Béla's hunger. I wasn't completely sure that it was okay to breastfeed in a church that's open to the public as a tourist attraction, but it was too cold to sit outside on a bench comfortably, so I went for it.

In the meantime, Paul and Betty Ann had a good luck around the church, checking out the incredibly ornate pulpit, among other things.
Béla found the setting so relaxing that he decided to have a GIANT poop. Unfortunately the bathrooms were temporarily closed to the public, and they didn't have a changing table anywhere else. The woman at the information desk suggested that I try the palace across the way, but it was already starting to leak through his clothes, so we decided to change him right on the pew. As such, Béla ended up stark naked in the cathedral, but no one objected (or perhaps they just didn't notice).

Just around the corner from the cathedral is a long wall with thousands of tiles from the porcelain manufacturer in Meißen, the nearby city in which porcelain was first made in Europe. I'd seen this mosaic before, with a row of noble men on horses, and at that point I got the fact that it was a princely lineage, but it didn't really mean that much. However, in the meantime, I've read a series of historical fiction (in German) which is set in this area of Germany in the 12th Century, and I actually knew who a few of the noblemen at the beginning of the procession were, at least as characters in the book. (I was actually a bit bummed after I read all the names, as at the point I am in the series, after the third book, it's not clear which one of the Markgraf's sons will succeed him, but now I know. The fourth book hasn't been published yet, but I can't wait.) In any case, I was pretty excited by the mural this time around.From there we headed on to the opera house (the Semperoper) and the Zwinger, a palace complex that now houses several museums. Outside there were lovely gardens of densely planted chrysanthemums.
Inside the courtyard, Jeremi posed as the king of Poland, looking as regal as he could. (The crown was added to the palace after the conquering of Poland.)
Some views around the stately courtyard...


Paul and Jeremi, imitating one of the goofy satyrs who are holding up the building.
There was also a carillon with ceramic bells, which plays complex tunes on the hour, or so I thought, but we were lucky enough to hear it at the quarter hour, at 2:15.
After leaving the Zwinger, we passed by the more modern arts centre in the centre of town, which has another historical mural on it, though this one is dating from the more recent communist East German period...
Before our train we had time for a late lunch, and after checking out what we thought was a goose restaurant (with very little goose on the menu), we opted instead for the Vietnamese restaurant across the square. It wasn't as traditionally German, but it was delicious, and everyone enjoyed it. Here's a look at Betty Ann's dish...
...and Paul's dish was decorated by a lovely little rose-shaped carrot.
After that it was time to head to the train station again, to end our trip with the final journey to Jena.

Vienna with Paul and Betty Ann

After the sight-seeing in Prague, we got back on the train to Vienna, our next stop. At the train station in Prague we got talking to some American guys who were going to school in the Netherlands, and making a similar trip. The guy from Wisconsin had a hilarious accent.

The ride was a bit shorter this time, only 4,5 hours. Here is Béla chilling in our train compartment.
The train was mostly empty for this leg so we had a six seat compartment ourselves. Here is Dad with Béla and his soother.
Once we got to Vienna and found our hotel rooms we went to the much renowned Figlmüller's schnitzel restaurant. Here they serve Wiener Schnitzel pounded flat and bigger than the plate it's served on, with a slice of lemon. We also got side salads, topped with oil from the green pumpkin seeds grown in the Styrian region of Austria. Look at the determination with which Paul is attacking his giant schnitzel!
Yup, that's all veal.
After the meal. Don't we look satisfied?
On the way back to the hotel we took a scenic tour through the city, going by the Hofburg palace (our destination the next morning), by the city hall, and through the Marie Theresa square, to see all the buildings we would see the next day, but lit for night.
And then the next morning, on the way to the palace, we passed by the same buildings again (here is either the Natural History or Art museum, twin buildings which flank Maria Theresa square). We tried to walk by all the major squares, as Betty Ann was trying to find a particular square, which is featured on a program on PBS with an orchestra playing and people dancing, or something like that. The description was pretty vague - there were people sitting, and standing, and dancing... There might have been horses... At each square we asked if this were the one, but there was always something wrong - maybe it was too small, or had a statue in the middle, or too many plants. After seeing pictures of Schönbrunn palace on the edge of town (we didn't go there this time), she thought it might have been there, but then, it might have been in Salzburg rather than Vienna. Betty Ann, let us know if you find out where it is the next time you see it on TV!
Here's the grand old lady, Maria Theresa herself, on the statue in the centre of the square.
Mozart was also in the square, and Betty Ann was lucky enough to get a kiss!
Here is hero's square, which also wasn't quite like the one on TV.
Betty Ann, about to enter the Hofburg palace.
In the palace we went to see three of the museums - the Silberkammer, what was left of the collection of silverware and dishes that belonged to the Hapsburgs; the Sisi museum, devoted to the unhappy life of Empress Elisabeth; and the royal apartments. The collection of silverware and dishes was much more interesting than it sounds, and gave some insight into the enormous amount of work (and money!) that went into running such a household, which served dinners for up to 5000. The historical information about the dishes, and the changing styles was also really cool - they ate on dishes made exclusively of silver or gold until well into the 19th century, when ceramic became more popular. Even then, it was only used for dessert plates at first. The metal dishes would periodically be melted down in times of war though, and would be melted down and recast when styles changed, such as when serving à la russe replaced the fashion of serving à la française, which required a different selection of dishes. I was also amazed that they used to colour the silver plates with saffron when they didn't have enough gold plates for a given number of people.
After visiting the three museums we were good and hungry for a late lunch. We ended up going to the same coffee house that we visited when in Vienna with my parents and Baba, which is conveniently located right next to the palace. The food was great, and we shared a bunch of different kinds of cakes afterward, which were uniformly delicious. The meal was a bit of a fiasco though, not least because the table was tiny. This made it hard to accommodate all the dishes, particularly the silver platters with a glass of water that accompanied every coffee. While trying to fit something else on the table, Jeremi accidentally knocked over one of the glasses of water, which soaked both me and Béla (who I was carrying), and the plush bench on which I was sitting. Luckily it wasn't anything hot, but it still got him wailing, and we had to change him and try and calm him down and get him warmed up again. And of course, it being a Sunday afternoon, the place was packed, and we were the ones with the screaming baby. He was pretty good about it though, and I managed to feed him into submission. Finally, after everyone else ate, I got to enjoy my meal.
Here we are outside, after having survived the experience.
Of course we didn't get to see them practice or perform, as the tickets are booked up months in advance, but we did manage to see some of the famous Lipizzaner stallions when we walked by their stables.
Paul and Betty Ann were amused by the giant doors, but with giant women like these four ladies, I guess they're needed!
We had floated the idea of going to the opera by Paul and Betty Ann before they arrived, and they seemed pretty interested, but then when we were there that day they weren't as sure. I thought we should stop by the opera house anyhow, just to see if there was something playing that night (there was), and to see if it would still be possible to buy standing room tickets (it was). They still weren't sure, so we kept walking back toward St. Stephan's cathedral, which we'd only seen from the outside the night before. On the way we passed by a ticket office, and Jer and I went in just to inquire if there were any seats left (there weren't), and how much the standing room tickets were. When we found out that they were only 3,50 €, they couldn't really say no. Even if their feet were too tired and they wanted to leave at intermission, the price was certainly right! (I say "them" and not "us", because the opera isn't really a place to bring a baby, and Béla and I headed back to the hotel room for the evening while Jer and his parents enjoyed the show.) And so they went to see Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera. It also gave them a chance to see the impressive interior of the opera house!
And a grand time was had by all. Unlike when I brought my parents and Baba to the opera in Dresden, here they were able to read the libretto in English, which made it much easier. Rather than projecting it in one location that everyone can read, there were little screens on all the seats (and even on the standing room spaces, which you can see in the photo above), and they were able to choose from a few different languages.
After they were done, they gave me a call, and we decided to meet up for a late supper at a pizza restaurant right next to the hotel. I was also the hero of the night, as on the way home I'd found a sort of convenience store that was open (on a Sunday evening no less!), and I'd picked up some beers, so we were able to have a few beers afterward while playing cards.
And so ends our time in Vienna - next, on to Dresden!

Prague with Paul and Betty Ann

On the Thursday after they arrived in Jena (October 15th), our trip began! We'd waited awhile to book anything, to be sure that we'd be up to another trip, but Béla travelled so well that we decided to go for it. We ended up doing a similar tour to that which we brought my parents and Baba on the first time that they came - Prague, Vienna, and Dresden. Here we are at the station, bright and early, as the train was pulling in for the first leg of our adventure.
We only purchased reservations for the longer legs of the trip (Dresden-Prague, Prague-Vienna, Vienna-Dresden), as the trip to and from Dresden was broken up over Leipzig, and each train ride was less than two hours. We did, however, manage to get seats in the compartment devoted to small kids and their families, which was conveniently empty. These compartments are great, and usually come with a sort of motorcycle toy in the corner to ride, a change table, another table, and they often have ikea carpeting with roads on it. Some have even more toys built in. But most importantly, especially when travelling with a baby this young, they're dedicated to families with kids, so you don't feel guilty when your baby's crying and the guy in the next seat is trying to work on his laptop while talking business on his cell phone.
Here Béla's getting changed at the fold out change table. This also has the benefit of smelling a lot nicer than the bathrooms, which sometimes have change tables as well. Especially if I'm feeling a bit nauseated from motion sickness, it can be unpleasant to spend too long in the smelly bathrooms.
Béla kept us entertained most of the way.
He loves the train!
And we all love him!
Everyone got a chance to hold him for a while.
Once we made it to the train station in Prague, which isn't right downtown, it took some time to figure out exactly how to get to the metro, get cash (in the right currency), buy tickets, and get to the hotel, but it all went smoothly enough.
We got to our hotel by around 2:30 or so, and got settled in, and checked out the money, before heading out.
From there we walked toward downtown, enjoying the sights along the way, including the powder tower:
...until we made it to the old town square.

There we were able to see the astronomical clock, which we saw chime on the hour.
Inside the municipal building with the astronomical clock and the observation tower, there were lots of beautiful doors. Here's Betty Ann framed by a lovely one in a small, mosaic-walled chamber...
...and Paul in front of an ornate wooden inlay door, acting like he owns the place.
Finally we made it to the top of the tower, which provides a lovely view over the city. Unlike the past three times Jeremi and I have visited Prague, the statue in the square, seen below, wasn't covered up this time! After leaving the tower, we headed down Pariszka street, the tree-lined avenue that you can see at the left side of this photo, and which houses the most expensive boutiques in Prague. While gawking in the window at Cartier, we noticed the security guard outside staring at us. He didn't speak much English, but had to stop Jeremi to ask if there was a baby in the sling. He thought this was really, really cool. In general, people think the sling is really cool, though people do ask sometimes if he isn't cold in it. I usually explain that next to Jeremi, no one is cold, and Jeremi often invites them to stick a hand in to see how toasty it really is.

From there we headed to the old Jewish quarter. Here's the old Jewish town hall, which has two clocks, one with roman numbers, and one with Hebrew numbers. Because Hebrew is read from right to left, the clock also runs counter-clockwise. (You can see that both clocks are reading about 5:27, but that they're mirror images of one another.)
After wandering around the city some more, and walking along the river in the cold rain, we decided to find a cozy place for some warm food. We ended up eating in the cellar of a restaurant, with live music, and good Czech beer. (Pretty well all Czech beer is good, so that's a bit redundant.)
Here we are enjoying some traditional Czech fare.
It was there that we discovered that Béla's cute little carrot hat fits him because it's stretchy enough to fit on my giant noggin as well. (Jeremi commented that I looked like an adolescent Sikh boy in this hat.)
Béla enjoyed the meal as well, and showed as much by sleeping through the whole thing.
Upon getting back to the hotel room we had a few beers and played some cards, and Jeremi determined that another one of Béla's hats fit on his head. Here he's doing his best crying baby impression.
The next morning I wasn't feeling great, so Béla and I decided to sleep in while the rest of them headed out to explore the city a little. Jeremi brought them to Wenceslas square, with this impressive museum and its fancy fountain at one end.
And of course, the giant statue of Wenceslas on his horse. Paul and Betty Ann were able to see this statue from afar from the window of their hotel room, so it was good to see it up close as well.
When I finally got up, I called them, and came to meet them for lunch.
After lunch we again walked to the river, where we admired the decorative cobblestones...
And this Gothic fountain, that looks like it's lost its church.
Then we crossed the river, going over the famous medieval Charles Bridge (Karlovy Mast), which is covered in statues. Our destination, Prague Castle, can be seen up on the hill behind them.
Jeremi and I (and the well-wrapped Béla) on the bridge.
On the way, we stopped at a deli which has the most delicious garlic potato chips in the world. They are so strong!!! The deli also features some unusual taxidermy, as seen here behind Paul.
After a long walk up lots of steps, we made it up to Prague Castle. But the view is worth it!
Unlike the two other times that Jeremi and I have been up at the castle, St. Vitus' cathedral was not closed for an event this time, and we were able to go inside.

My favourite part was this art nouveau-style window by Alphons Mucha.
This was a pretty cool wooden relief showing the city of Prague, with the castle at the lower right.
This enormous pile of decoration was built on top of someone's grave inside the church, but I can't remember whose.
This is the cool knocker on one of the doors to the chapel which contains the body of King Wenceslas.
And then, when we left the church, it was like a miracle - the sky was blue!!! It was still good and cold, but it wasn't raining anymore at least.
After stopping in a little shop for some mulled wine to warm up, we started to head down on the other side of the castle. Here I am next to one of the brick walls, which must have been two feet thick.
That night, after walking back to the river, and checking out the dancing buildings, we found ourselves a bit south of downtown, and hungry. Luckily we were near a seafood restaurant that we'd previously visited with my parents, and decided to go there again. Béla put on a little show during the supper, being ridiculously cute as usual.
Here Paul and Betty Ann are being shipwrecked in the giant waves seen behind them. (This makes a little more sense if you remember this post.)
But not to worry, they were rescued by their adorable grandson.
And then we headed back to the hotel room to play some cards and get a good night's sleep before the long trip to Vienna the next morning.