To recap a bit, we left Dresden Tues, April 28th. It was cold and rainy and we were walking to the train station. The G had brilliantly fashioned some bag ponchos out of plastic bags we found at her cousin's home, and with our rain jackets on we wandered out till we saw the tram then decided that was the smarter way to go. Even with that it was cold, and with not much for leg protection my knees felt like they would freeze right off my legs. After a nice train ride to Prague, in one of those trains with separate compartments for 6 people which we were the only one in ours, we found our AirBnb in Prague. After an internet search I found a restaurant with a gluten free menu where The G got her first taste of gluten free schnitzel (and now is deteremined to find and eat it wherever we can), and I had some overcooked goose. The next day we did two short bike tours, a general city tour then the Prague Castle tour.
I'm proud to say we have biked in every country we've been in. Usually with a tour but in Amsterdam we rented bikes on our own which was a stressful experience. The Praha Bike Tours was nice enough but the city tour felt more like an architectual tour and felt like it spotlighted less history than tours we had taken before. Though we did stop at the Lennon wall and the tour guide offered up markers where we got to contribute our own artwork. And one of the highlights for me was all of David Czerny's artwork around the city. That guy is twisted. The Castle tour was beautiful, and I wish my camera could have captured the breathtaking views along the way but it didn't do them justice. The cathedral within the castle was one of the most grand structures we've seen yet, but with Italy being next I'm sure I'll say that about a lot of buildings.
During the castle tour I started feeling stomach pangs. Thinking I was hungry I started to munch on some Haribo gummy coke bottles (Germany has practically a whole aisle of Haribo products) but the pangs started becoming more like cramps and I realized something was off. The G and I decided to call it a night and went back to the AirBnb. The cramps continued and then the chills came and I took a nap, fully clothed with beenie on, under the comforter. I am a very warm blooded person. Usually I can barely sleep with a shirt and shorts under a comforter without sticking my feet out for a bit of cool air. To relieve my parents, I feel better now, but we're pretty sure I had a fever that night. We spent our only other full day in Prague resting indoors while the cramps and cold sweats came and went. The next day was the 5 hour bus ride to Vienna, which was ok. It was nice to have free movies in English to keep my mind occupied. The next few days was more naps and trying to find foods that wouldn't upset my stomach, which had taken a mind of its own. Yesterday was the first day where we decided to venture out. I have to say, I really appreciate The G taking care of me, making sure I was comfortable and hanging out with me indoors without complaint. It's not fun getting sick, and even less in another country, but having her here was a comfort.
So far we like Vienna, the bit we've seen. Yesterday we walked to the nearby Augarten which was beautiful. We did walk through a gate for cars into the grounds of what I think was the Austrian Film Archives, the gate closed shortly after we walked in and the doors next to it didn't open so the Girlfriend thought we were trapped in there. We caught the end of a family festival and saw this behemoth of a thing:
It seems to mar the beauty of the park. It's a flak tower, an anti aircraft gun blockhouse used by the Germans in WWII. It's fenced and the entrances are blocked by huge piles of dirt and debris. Part of me is curious what it was like inside as it used to house thousands of people during air-raids. (all of this according to wikipedia)
I'm hoping to get out and see much more of Vienna today. There's many museums and palaces and seems like more to cover than the time we have left here. Tomorrow night we take a night train to Florence. It's crazy how many cities we've been and I'm starting to miss having roots somewhere. We also miss our dogs. But here's to the next month of exploring!
