Autumn 2021. In theory we could travel to other continents, but destinations we had in mind such as Japan or the United Kingdom were impossible to plan ahead. Instead we organised a rail trip to Eastern Europe, travelling to Berlin, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Karlovy Vary, Pilsen, Bratislava, Poprad, Vienna, Linz and Salzburg. By travelling to Germany, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Austria, we explore an area which was in the (not too distant) past bonded together by the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and by Austria-Hungary.

Vienna. When I hear friends and acquaintances about Vienna, I hear mixed feelings. Some love the city, some really dislike it. Some are disappointed. 

On our our busy 2021 Tour of Imperial Europe, we only planned a day and a half in Vienna. We had booked Schönbrunn Palace and the Hofburg. But we did make time to do a bit more sightseeing.

We passed by the Belvedere, built for Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano on the first day. We also took a look at the Karlskirche and the Soviet War Memorial. 

On day 2, after our Sisi Deluxe Ticket trilogy, we went to the Prater park to take a photo of the ferris wheel. We returned to the InterContinental by tram, via the Ringstrasse. 

Impressions of Vienna

Vienna seemed quiet to us. Nor the palaces, nor the city, nor the public transport were really crowded. We could sit on the metro and the tram, even during rush hour.

COVID-19? Perhaps. 

Speaking of the pandemic. We had to show our vaccination certificate often. At Steirereck and at the hotel. But when geimpft, we could leave the face mask off.

But whén you need(ed) a mask, on public transport, in shops and in museums, it had to be FFP2. A surgical mask was not okay. 

After two weeks in former East Europe and especially after Czechia and Slovakia it felt odd being back in a buzzing city.

2021 Rail Tour of Imperial Europe

1. POTSDAM 2021 | Schloss Sanssouci.
2. 1945 Potsdam Conference’s Cecilienhof Palace.
3. Potsdam 2021.
4. REVIEW | InterContinental Berlin.
5. BERLIN 2021 | Pergamon, ‘Das Panorama’.
6. BERLIN 2021 | Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace.
7. BERLIN 2021 | The Bundestag in the Reichstag.
8. Berlin 2021.
9. By train from Berlin to Gdansk via Szczecin.
10. Stopover in Szczecin.
11. REVIEW | Restauracja Ritz in Gdańsk.
12. REVIEW | Holiday Inn Gdansk.
13. GDAŃSK | Museum of the Second World War.
14. GDAŃSK | European Solidarity Centre or Europejskie Centrum Solidarności.
15. A walk through Gdańsk.
16. Gdańsk 2021.
17. POLAND | PKP Intercity Gdansk to Wroclaw via Warsaw.
18. Wrocław Museum of Architecture.
19. The Dwarfs of Wrocław.
20. Wrocław.
21. Poland 2021.
22. By train from Wroclaw to Karlovy Vary.
23. Karlovy Vary.
24. REVIEW | Hotel Imperial Karlovy Vary.
25. Czechia’s Great Spa Town of Europe Františkovy Lázně.
26. CZECHIA | Pilsen Historical Underground Tunnels.
27. CZECHIA | Pilsner Urquell Brewery Tour.
28. CZECHIA | Pilsen.
29. CZECHIA 2021 | Cheb and its castle.
30. Hotel room for one.
31. By train from Karlovy Vary to Prague via Pilsen.
32. Czechia 2021.
33. RegioJet from Prague to Bratislava.
34. Bratislava Castle.
35. REVIEW | Crowne Plaza Bratislava.
36. Bratislava on a rainy Monday.
37. ZSSK Fast Train Tatran from Bratislava to Strba.
38. The Tatra rack and electric Railway from Strba via Strbske Pleso to Poprad tatry.
39. SLOVAKIA | AquaCity Poprad.
40. REVIEW | Hotel Seasons AquaCity Poprad.
41. Slovakia 2021.
42. Poprad – Bratislava – Vienna with ZSSK’s intercity train.
43. VIENNA | Restaurant Steirereck.
44. REVIEW | InterContinental Wien.
45. VIENNA | Luxury Sisi’s in Schönbrunn Palace.
46. The Hofburg in Vienna.
47. Vienna’s Furniture Museum.