Europe 2010
Wednesday 12 May –Thursday 13 May: Munich to Salzburg
Left Dayton in the rain. Air Canada is using the 18-passenger Beachcraft prop planes for this run. Fortunately we were up front. Unfortunately the weather did not clear until we were almost in Toronto, so no view of the Falls.
Much shorter layover than last year on the trip to Israel so we grabbed a couple of sandwiches before the flight. The newer AC 767s have a/c power even in coach and a wide selection of movies.
All flight were on time. Temps in Munich made me glad I had worn my fleece – 50 deg F. Also cloudy and light rain. Ick. Made a bad choice to switch lines at the car rental desk. Everyone, including us, had things to discuss. I felt bad for the people behind us. Fortunately, Michael remembered to ask about the GPS so we got a free upgrade to a larger car. The system comes with a set of 4 CDs to be inserted, based on the country you need. The one thing I could not figure out what how to get it to display in English instead of German. Hoping the KIA dealer here in Salzburg can straighten it out tomorrow morning.
After spending a few minutes trying to figure out the GPS, we decided to head out using the google maps Michael printed out at home. They worked fine. Once we had a 111km stretch with no turns, I spent more time with the Nav system and finally figured it out – at least I got the hotel address into it and it got us to the hotel. (It’s built in Indianapolis. The display is ¾” x 5/5 “ – Basically 3 lines, one of which is icons.)
GPS display
We knew we needed a sticker to drive in Austria. Avis said to stop at “any” gas station, so we stopped at one near the Austrian border. For 7.8E we get to drive in Austria for 10 days. Beats stopping at toll booths. Oh, and on this highway, there is no border between Germany and Austria. We didn’t even see a “Wilkommen nach Oestreich” sign. Probably will be more formal with Hungary tomorrow, but who knows.
This hotel is very nice. It’s in the new town, but a short walk to Old Town, even in the light rain. Most of the shops were closed – we found out later that today was a holiday. It’s been 40 years since I was last here. I was able to shoot some pictures, even in the rain, but we decided not to go up to the Fortress because of the low ceiling, not much of a view.
River in Salzburg
Found a nice Italian restaurant near the hotel with no smokers. Salads and 3 kinds of fish. This smoking issue is going to be a challenge on this trip. Back to the hotel where our intrepid receptionist had tried to find info on how to change the language to English on the GPS. The instructions seemed reasonable, except they started with a main menu I have not seen and had no idea how to get to.
Friday
Michael managed to find the instruction manual for the GPS in English. Yay! We were able to get the system talking to us in English. However, there are several districts in Budapest and we’re not sure which one the hotel is in. We entered the address and are hopeful it will get us there. Still raining.
The Austrian countryside is pretty, even in the rain. We saw several wind farms, both in Austria and Hungary.
Figure 2 Wind farm in Austria
Driving is a challenge. The speed limit is 130 kph and there are many driving faster than that. Left lane is strictly for passing and you have to be careful when you pull out. Most drivers are polite and let you in, but I did get honked at once. The Kia is comfortable and has more get up and go than I expected from a diesel. Even at 70-80 mph we went about 600 km on a tank of diesel. European cars may be small and get good mileage, but the speed they drive at eats up some of that advantage.
The sun came out late in the day, which was nice. Turned out we got the wrong district and the GPS sent us out to a suburb. We entered a museum near the hotel to get back to Pest.
Figure 3 Crossing the Chain Bridge
Once we crossed the Danube, the GPS tried to take us in a direction that did not make sense so we tried working with the map. I grew up in Boston and am used to one-way streets and cities that don’t have a grid, but Pest is crazy. After a few wrong turns we finally found the hotel, but nowhere to stop in front. Michael pulled into a delivery zone and I walked back to the hotel. The receptionist was helpful and showed me where to find a garage within a few blocks. We got there on the first try and found a spot. Yay.
When I first went back to the hotel I had to wonder whether it was the right place and whether we wanted to stay there. The first 2 floors are pretty scary. However, the room was fine. Great view of the bridge and surrounding buildings.
Figure 4-View from hotel in Budapest
After a couple of false starts we found one of the restaurants recommended by Rick Steves and had a really nice dinner – Michael had lamb chops and I had a wonderful duck breast with mushrooms. Even found a way under the busy street by using the Metro tunnel. More rain forecast for the weekend, but we are hoping that if we use the Metro and go to museums, we won’t get too wet.
The lower floor is all food -butchers, bakers, green grocers and the like. Not as varied as the market in Jerusalem, but interesting. There is also a balcony that runs around the outside that has lots of tourist items for sale. Embroidered tablecloths and blouses, felt work, T-shirts, souvenirs, leather goods, etc. I bought a felt box and a small embroidered mat. 
