At the Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper) ticket counter, we checked out the schedule for the opera of the day. Everyone has been saying we must visit the Opera House for an opera in Vienna, it’s world famous for operas. The ticket officer was very helpful. He recommended us some of the performances and from him,…
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Vienna sightseeing
During our final stay in Vienna, we visited The Prater, Vienna’s most popular fun fair with a giant Ferris wheel and many rides. First time to see such a slow-moving “merry-go-round” with real ponies. Cute. The Prater is small and old, yet colourful. The Hundertwasser House is a funny looking apartment with large trees growing…
A Journey on the Night Train, from Vienna to Venice
The four of us occupied the whole cabin in the train when we were still in Austria. A cabin had six seats; three seats in a row facing opposite the other three seats. All the seats could slide down so that we could lay down to sleep. Not too comfortable, but cheaper than buying a…
Magical Venice
We disembarked the night train at Venezia Mestre station at the Italian mainland and took another train to cross the Venetian Lagoon to central Venice. The Grand Canal is the most important canal in Venice that forms a major water-traffic corridor to the city. A canoeing competition was going on, so it was not possible…
Camping in Florence!
We stayed at Michelangelo Campsite , the cheapest stay in our trip, only around €10 per night. per person. There were no light and electricity in the tent, only two single bed. We used our mini torch to shine at our bags to get clothes for bathing. The bathrooms were some distance away from our…
Florence is a great beauty
The next morning, we headed to Ponte Vecchio. Our tents were nestled among the olive trees in the campsite. On the hill overlooking Florence in the daylight is mysteriously enchanting; it was like being brought back by a time machine to centuries ago. We passed by Piazza Michelangelo, a statue of David on the hill…
The String Puppet Trickster
We walked along the historic buildings and naively believed in a trickster who looked like a South American. He showed us that by waving the paper doll in front of the speaker, the paper doll would dance. Seeing is believing, but not always! We tried to spot the trick; we tried to see if he…
Pisa, the leaning tower that tilts heads
We left Florence to Pisa by train. It was a short ride of about one and a half hour. We walked into yet another famous postcard scene again – the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square), one of the main centres for Medieval art in the world. The square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site…
Rome is not built in a day; we combed it in a day! [part 1]
In Rome, we stayed in Pensione Ottaviano Hostel, which is only a short walk to St Peter’s Square. We got ourselves a six-bedder dorm in this pleasant hostel occupied by youths from all over the world. An American youth told us she worked in the hostel to make some money to tour in Europe. Perhaps…
Rome is not built in a day; we combed it in a day! [part 2]
Leaning Tower is to Pisa as Colosseum is to Rome. The mighty Colosseum is the largest elliptical amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire and one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. When we think of Colosseum, we think of the brave gladiators who fought for their lives. Admission to Colosseum is…
