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Old 16th January 2012, 17:02   #16
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

Thanks Sam for sharing the wonderful snaps so far. Waiting to see the New Year street party. I am sure you must have had lot of fun.
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Old 16th January 2012, 17:17   #17
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Re: Our visit to Demel

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi View Post
I didn't know that and had to look it up. Thank you for that, so I am not the first Indian connection there, lol.

Yes, this little town is a spa town and the brothers Schumacher come here for Physio. Famous presidents and celebrities have been here. Elvis lived here for some years during his army days, he met Priscilla here.

Still, it is a small town by Indian standards. 30,000+ people.
I didn't know about it until yesterday either. I read it in a biography of JRD Tata. Perhaps he came there for the spa too.
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Old 16th January 2012, 17:18   #18
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fauji View Post
But where the people boy??
lol, Winter times are quiet times. And it isn't like you see a lot of people on the streets of BN anyway.

But this question has been asked before. Europe, especially Germany does not have a great population. And especially wintertime. Funnily, this question seems to be a natural question for most Indians. Log kahan hai bhai?

There's plenty of log in Wien though, tourists from everywhere.

--------------------------------------------------------

We walk though this stunning city, by lanes and back streets and everywhere, everything is RICH in detail.

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And what a STYLISH city indeed, there is some serious high-class shopping one can do here.

Wonderful!

Last edited by Sam Kapasi : 16th January 2012 at 17:21.
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Old 16th January 2012, 17:19   #19
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

Woderful travelogue with amazing Pics. Vienna, a must go place for most of us here.Waiting to see more and more pics of its historical beauty .
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Old 16th January 2012, 17:21   #20
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

Just couple of hours away from laptop and what i see, five star rated yetiblog already two pages with 18 comments!!!

Pics and the place is simply wow!!!!

Apna India aisa kabh banega?

Looking forward for fast updates with beautiful pics and trademark yeti-narration.

Last edited by ASHISHPALLOD : 16th January 2012 at 17:25.
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Old 16th January 2012, 18:26   #21
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

Past Demel we walk into the Hofburg palace, simply stunning.

Passing through the central courtyard, it is almost like days gone by, as we hear stories of the Kings and Jenny dreams of Sissy in her horse carriage.

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Kaffee?
Ja!

It's almost 4pm. Time to indulge in a typical custom.

Kaffee und Kuchen. Coffee and cake.

Now this may be special in Germany, but in Austria... it is a religion!

We are to visit the world-famous Cafe Central!

Last edited by Sam Kapasi : 16th January 2012 at 18:28.
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Old 16th January 2012, 18:53   #22
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

Awesome travelogue Mr. Yeti. I have always loved these small European towns. How I wish I could migrate there tomorrow with my family. Keep going.

BTW whats that place with INDIA written outside? Some store or the Embassy?
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Old 16th January 2012, 19:08   #23
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi View Post
We are to visit the world-famous Cafe Central!
A short walk and we are there.

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Here's what wikipedia says about Cafe Central

Quote:
Café Central (German: das Café Central) is a coffeehouse in Vienna. It is located in the Innere Stadt district at Herrengasse 14 in the former Bank and Stockmarket Building (Bank- und Börsengebäude), today called the Palais Ferstel after its architect Heinrich von Ferstel.
The café was opened in 1876, and in the late 19th century it became a key meeting place of the Viennese intellectual scene. Key regulars included: Peter Altenberg, Theodor Herzl, Alfred Adler,[1] Egon Friedell, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Anton Kuh, Adolf Loos, Leo Perutz, Alfred Polgar and Leon Trotsky. In January 1913 alone, Josip Broz Tito, Sigmund Freud, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Lenin, and Leon Trotsky (the latter two being regulars) were patrons of the establishment.[2]
Until 1938 the café was called the "Chess school" (Die Schachhochschule) because of the presence of many chess players.
The Vienna Circle of logical positivists held many meetings before and after World War I.
A well known story is that when Victor Adler objected to Count Berchtold, foreign minister of Austria-Hungary, that war would provoke revolution in Russia, even if not in the Habsburg monarchy, he replied: "And who will lead this revolution? Perhaps Mr. Bronstein (Leon Trotsky) sitting over there at the Cafe Central?" [3]
The cafč was the inspiration for The Chestnut Tree in George Orwell's novel 1984; among other things, it is recalled as having catered to prominent figures of the Ingsoc revolution (including one, Emmanuel Goldstein, who is himself generally regarded as being modeled after real-life Cafč Central patron Leon Trotsky), although it has since become "ill-omened" as a frequent haunt of those who've been convicted in regular government purges. [4]
The café closed at the end of World War II. In 1975, the Palais Ferstel was renovated and the Central was newly opened, however in a different part of the building. In 1986, it was fully renovated once again.
Today it is both a tourist spot and a popular café marked by its place in literary history.
Do you see it again? The depth of the history of things here? Amazing.

It is almost 4 and the line to get in is growing rapidly

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One step inside the warm interiors and my breath is taken away

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We hang up our winter coats and proceed inside.

We're to be seated in the inner room. Fantastic. As we climb up and inside I see the others choosing their cakes.
That's the way it goes.

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You sit. Unwind. Then walk over to the cake counter and drool. For as long as you want. Excuse me, if you have finished drooling there, I'd like to cut in.

And then when you're done salivating over these works of art, you do youe damnedest to memorize the name of the cake. lol
Then you walk back to your seat and order one of the dozens of coffee (these Viennese are crazy!!!) and the cake you memorized. You may also get the opportunity to watch the extremely polite waiter/waitress laugh into a cough as you try to pronounce it right.

If I thought the outside was stunning, the inside is unbelievable. I cannot believe how beautiful this place is.

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Shall we go choose our cakes?
Yes please!!


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That's right ladies and gentlemen. Say it with me.
O.M.G.

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No visit to Wien would be complete without a stopover at Central Cafe. I recommend it highly.

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Last edited by Sam Kapasi : 16th January 2012 at 19:11.
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Old 17th January 2012, 10:35   #24
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi View Post

And yeah!!! The Yeti wears jeans, a coat and shoes!!! Where are your red flip-flops Sam.


Can't stop drooling over the cakes.
Huh!! I wish...
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Old 17th January 2012, 11:45   #25
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Madness at the city centre

We continue walking from the cafe past the palace and into the city square.

We walk into the palace courtyard

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and out into the central courtyard and out into the main road

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where I turn left to the palace, oh WOW and then turn right into....

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Holy crap


I don't know where to look, what to take a photo off. Worse, we're in a group of friends and everyone is talking and walking and waiting patiently for me. And I don't know what to do, where to look.

Shall I pause and take it in?
Shall I just shoot like crazy all around me and study it later?
How long can I make people wait for me?

How could I have come to Vienna just for a few days? How stupid is this?

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You will now begin to notice the haphazardness of the pictures. I was, as they say in German, flashed. Overwhelmed at the number of things to see and what little time I had.

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Sam!!
Sam??


I can hear people calling me and I must rush. Oh I should have never come here.... How I wish I had a few days at this square.
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Old 17th January 2012, 14:40   #26
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The walk continues

It is about 3.30pm now.

We walk up to the parliament. Strangely, it looks extremely Greek to me. Ah well.

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Hey, it IS cold. And everyone's ears feel cold! Why should they be an exception?

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And finally back to our friends car at the parking lot. Not the friend who lives in Wien but another one who has travelled to visit us.

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A short drive to another parking lot (Parking is a MASSIVE problem and an EXPENSIVE affair in Vienna, especially in the historical quarter) and we cross the world famous Hotel Imperial.

World famous, but still not as famous as the super famous Hotel Sacher, famous for the Sacher Torte and more.

We're going to park and take an evening walk through Wien next.
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Old 17th January 2012, 16:53   #27
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

All historic places in Vienna(the entire historical district infact) is well connected by metro. 4EU buys you a 24 hour pass. Thats the best way to see vienna. Over 2-3 days you can cover all the cathedrals and sites. Cars usually waste time in this area.
That said, did you try the ice-cream
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Old 17th January 2012, 18:11   #28
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

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All historic places in Vienna(the entire historical district infact) is well connected by metro. 4EU buys you a 24 hour pass.
Most of the district is coverable by foot. Our friends live in Austrian villages many hundreds of kms away.

Ice-cream wallah was shut for Christmas holidays.
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Old 18th January 2012, 13:15   #29
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Evening in Wien

It is about 5pm and we have a strange twilight time. The sky hasn't made up its mind about light or dark and has ended up being a mystifying inky blue. In the next half hour or so it will be dark already.

The city has wrapped itself up in lights, to celebrate Christmas and to celebrate the New Year party which will be tomorrow.

I am literally in awe of the place, this time of the year and everything around me.

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The opera house of Vienna. It is not unusual to find opera shows here almost daily and in many locations, mostly for the tourist's benefit. The Nutcracker Suite will be played on New Years night of course and a large LED screen will relay it for the benefit of the people on the street.

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The building with the Casino sign is the world-famous Sacher hotel, also famous for the world-famous Sacher Torte.

I'd give you more info from Wikipedia, but they've blacked themselves out today.

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Another view of the Opera House

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Till we finally return to the same place where we started.

Whew!! What a day. And it was cold but overall pretty clear. Tomorrow is the 31st and the forecast says that it will be FULL sunshine.

I can hardly wait.
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Old 18th January 2012, 14:52   #30
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Re: YetiBlog® - Weihnachten 2011 und Silvester 2012

Did you hit the Wald - plenty of nice eating places?

Schoenbrun Palace is also a delightful place
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