I had to get up at the crack of dawn on Thursday, June 26th to take a plane to Austria. Wouldn't you know it, the one day I have to be up I over sleep and have 5 mins to shower and meet the taxi? Yep, it happened. Thank God I had packed the night before.
So at 7:45AM my travel buddy and I flew Austrian Airlines (which is not in my top 5 of favorite airlines) and flew into Vienna. Our soul purpose for this leg of the trip was to check out a printing facility. The printing guys (Steve and Shrek - I will tell you why we call him that later) had actually been to our tradeshow in Amsterdam so it wasn't like we were meeting anyone new. Steve, the sales guy, picked us up at the airport and we drove for another two hours to Gratz where the facility was. The drive was amazingly beautiful. Remember the movie THE SOUND OF MUSIC? Well, it was like I was watching that movie for two hours. Austria seemed to have lots of space land wise. I saw nothing but green hills with grass sweeping in the wind.
I won't bore you with the details of the tour other then to say, they had lunch and a presentation waiting for us. Shrek, the owner guy, (Steve's wife had told us at dinner that she had always thought Stephen looked liked the animated character Shrek and since her comment we couldn't help but refer to him as Shrek). Stephen was a jolly ogre type of guy who at 28 owned a very successful business that started in his family 33 years ago. More impressively he knew a lot about printing and was very good at it. Shrek and Steve gave us a tour of the facilities, which were modern, and then Steve drove us back to Gratz to our hotel at about 2:30PM.
We arrived at the hotel which accoding to the brochure said it was five stars (I would have to debate that) and were shown to our rooms. You know the place is old when they don't give you a plastic key card but rather a 5-pound key chain with a huge gold medallion on it. I wouldn't lose this thing unless I threw it in the river next to the hotel. It's not like I stay in super nice hotels all the time but after entering and smelling the smoke and seeing the twin bed I was a little disappointed in the place. I could forgo the luxury but the smoke was a problem. My travel buddy's room was smoky too. I was going to ask to change but as the hotel was old I figured all the rooms were pretty much like that and decided to suck it up.
Even though I was tired and wanted to sleep I decided to walk about town by myself. We had until 7PM before dinner. Figuring I may never get to see Gratz again (unless the printer flies me out for press checks hum??) I put on my favorite tank top and headed out the door. I walked up and down the streets and found the place where everyone goes. I tried to do some shopping but nothing looked interesting and I couldn't stop doubling prices in my head long enough to by something. I was glad to have gotten out for a while.
I came back and once again lost track of time taking a soak in the tub. My friend knocks on the door and for the second time that day I said "Oh Shit!". Luckily time doesn't seem to be a problem in Europe so I finished up my bath and went downstairs to the bar. Steve had a Jack Daniels waiting for me. I guess he wants my business. hehehe. The cool thing about Steve, granted he was a sales guy, was that he wasn't pushy. He was the type of guy I could be friends with. He was a great guy who knew a lot about the city and had a ton of stories to tell. I was quite glad he was our tour guide. Shrek and let's just say Fiona, because I can't remember her name, met up with us in the bar and then we walked to dinner.
Dinner was on top of a mountain! We walked to this glass elevator that was inside this cave. The mountain had been cored out so the elevator could be put in. We rode to the top of the mountain and there was this outside bar overlooking the city. Instead of stopping for a drink we continued to walk and climb up the mountain. Wheeler wondered why they elevator had been put in a different spot so that if could truly take you to the top of the mountain! The walk certainly gave our legs some exercise but I didn't mind, as I was sure I needed to lose some calories. We finally make it to the top of the mountain and there is a gorgeous restaurant on top. As it was hot and most places in Europe don't have air conditioning we opted to sit outside under a tree. We still had a lovely view of the whole entire city of Gratz. We had a lovely dinner with course after course, wine after wine and we were forced to eat dessert. It was a pleasant evening under the stars. We learned all about Shrek and his accomplishments. For a guy of 28 he sure had done a lot in life.
The next day we awoke early and had breakfast in the hotel before driving two hours back to Vienna. Vienna was my kind of city and somewhere I could definately go again. There were the old buildings but with tons of shopping, opera houses and museums. The town was alive because the big Euro Cup game was being held there. We arrived just in time for the second to last game. The last game would take place between Germany and Spain on our last day. As the Euro Cup was the hottest ticket, everyone and their brother were in Vienna.
Steve took us around shopping, and then we went into a very old Roman Catholic Church that was so beautiful inside. Then he wanted to take us to a few museums and his favorite park but they were closed for security. He bought us lunch as this 130-year cafe, which was popular. We sat outside and once again I marveled at how great European life was. Had the mandatory wiener schnizzle for lunch and some weird lemon beer. Then he took us to this house that was designed by this guy who hates straight lines. The place was a little crazy for my tastes but it was cool to see someone else's view. We checked into the Hyatt and this time we were back to Luxury rooms. We were very tired at this point and took some time to relax before dinner at a very Austrian restaurant out in the country.
Steve brought his high school sweetheart (wife) to dinner and we all dined on a ton of food. I was so glad that this was my last meal. I tried to order a jack and coke but the guy totally couldn't even understand the concept. Steve who likes Jack too tried to explain in Austrian but the kid just didn't know who Jack Daniels was. Too bad for him. Next, I ordered a cranberry vodka and the kid nodded saying he knew what this was but when he brought me my drink he so obviously had lied. What he brought me was a large glass of pure vodka fill with cranberries in it. By the time it got to me it looked like sludge. I took one sip and about spit the contents of the sip out. It was the vilest thing I have ever tasted. After everyone had a good laugh I stuck to white wine. It seemed the easiest at that point.
The next morning, again at the crack of dawn, Steve came to pick us up and returned us to the airport. We thanked him for the good time and I gave him my Disney DVD's. At least his kids could enjoy them. We exchanged hugs and we did a bit of duty shopping before heading back to Heathrow.
15 hours later I was back in LA hugging my dear, dear husband. It was a fun trip but I missed my angel. You would think I would finally have time to sleep but nope, I had a major Hollywood wedding to go to, two hours after getting back to California.
My body is stuck in time. it doesn't know what time it it so I will save this story for tomorrow. I think I have written enough for one day. Hehehehe
Till the next time. Danka.
So at 7:45AM my travel buddy and I flew Austrian Airlines (which is not in my top 5 of favorite airlines) and flew into Vienna. Our soul purpose for this leg of the trip was to check out a printing facility. The printing guys (Steve and Shrek - I will tell you why we call him that later) had actually been to our tradeshow in Amsterdam so it wasn't like we were meeting anyone new. Steve, the sales guy, picked us up at the airport and we drove for another two hours to Gratz where the facility was. The drive was amazingly beautiful. Remember the movie THE SOUND OF MUSIC? Well, it was like I was watching that movie for two hours. Austria seemed to have lots of space land wise. I saw nothing but green hills with grass sweeping in the wind.
I won't bore you with the details of the tour other then to say, they had lunch and a presentation waiting for us. Shrek, the owner guy, (Steve's wife had told us at dinner that she had always thought Stephen looked liked the animated character Shrek and since her comment we couldn't help but refer to him as Shrek). Stephen was a jolly ogre type of guy who at 28 owned a very successful business that started in his family 33 years ago. More impressively he knew a lot about printing and was very good at it. Shrek and Steve gave us a tour of the facilities, which were modern, and then Steve drove us back to Gratz to our hotel at about 2:30PM.
We arrived at the hotel which accoding to the brochure said it was five stars (I would have to debate that) and were shown to our rooms. You know the place is old when they don't give you a plastic key card but rather a 5-pound key chain with a huge gold medallion on it. I wouldn't lose this thing unless I threw it in the river next to the hotel. It's not like I stay in super nice hotels all the time but after entering and smelling the smoke and seeing the twin bed I was a little disappointed in the place. I could forgo the luxury but the smoke was a problem. My travel buddy's room was smoky too. I was going to ask to change but as the hotel was old I figured all the rooms were pretty much like that and decided to suck it up.
Even though I was tired and wanted to sleep I decided to walk about town by myself. We had until 7PM before dinner. Figuring I may never get to see Gratz again (unless the printer flies me out for press checks hum??) I put on my favorite tank top and headed out the door. I walked up and down the streets and found the place where everyone goes. I tried to do some shopping but nothing looked interesting and I couldn't stop doubling prices in my head long enough to by something. I was glad to have gotten out for a while.
I came back and once again lost track of time taking a soak in the tub. My friend knocks on the door and for the second time that day I said "Oh Shit!". Luckily time doesn't seem to be a problem in Europe so I finished up my bath and went downstairs to the bar. Steve had a Jack Daniels waiting for me. I guess he wants my business. hehehe. The cool thing about Steve, granted he was a sales guy, was that he wasn't pushy. He was the type of guy I could be friends with. He was a great guy who knew a lot about the city and had a ton of stories to tell. I was quite glad he was our tour guide. Shrek and let's just say Fiona, because I can't remember her name, met up with us in the bar and then we walked to dinner.
Dinner was on top of a mountain! We walked to this glass elevator that was inside this cave. The mountain had been cored out so the elevator could be put in. We rode to the top of the mountain and there was this outside bar overlooking the city. Instead of stopping for a drink we continued to walk and climb up the mountain. Wheeler wondered why they elevator had been put in a different spot so that if could truly take you to the top of the mountain! The walk certainly gave our legs some exercise but I didn't mind, as I was sure I needed to lose some calories. We finally make it to the top of the mountain and there is a gorgeous restaurant on top. As it was hot and most places in Europe don't have air conditioning we opted to sit outside under a tree. We still had a lovely view of the whole entire city of Gratz. We had a lovely dinner with course after course, wine after wine and we were forced to eat dessert. It was a pleasant evening under the stars. We learned all about Shrek and his accomplishments. For a guy of 28 he sure had done a lot in life.
The next day we awoke early and had breakfast in the hotel before driving two hours back to Vienna. Vienna was my kind of city and somewhere I could definately go again. There were the old buildings but with tons of shopping, opera houses and museums. The town was alive because the big Euro Cup game was being held there. We arrived just in time for the second to last game. The last game would take place between Germany and Spain on our last day. As the Euro Cup was the hottest ticket, everyone and their brother were in Vienna.
Steve took us around shopping, and then we went into a very old Roman Catholic Church that was so beautiful inside. Then he wanted to take us to a few museums and his favorite park but they were closed for security. He bought us lunch as this 130-year cafe, which was popular. We sat outside and once again I marveled at how great European life was. Had the mandatory wiener schnizzle for lunch and some weird lemon beer. Then he took us to this house that was designed by this guy who hates straight lines. The place was a little crazy for my tastes but it was cool to see someone else's view. We checked into the Hyatt and this time we were back to Luxury rooms. We were very tired at this point and took some time to relax before dinner at a very Austrian restaurant out in the country.
Steve brought his high school sweetheart (wife) to dinner and we all dined on a ton of food. I was so glad that this was my last meal. I tried to order a jack and coke but the guy totally couldn't even understand the concept. Steve who likes Jack too tried to explain in Austrian but the kid just didn't know who Jack Daniels was. Too bad for him. Next, I ordered a cranberry vodka and the kid nodded saying he knew what this was but when he brought me my drink he so obviously had lied. What he brought me was a large glass of pure vodka fill with cranberries in it. By the time it got to me it looked like sludge. I took one sip and about spit the contents of the sip out. It was the vilest thing I have ever tasted. After everyone had a good laugh I stuck to white wine. It seemed the easiest at that point.
The next morning, again at the crack of dawn, Steve came to pick us up and returned us to the airport. We thanked him for the good time and I gave him my Disney DVD's. At least his kids could enjoy them. We exchanged hugs and we did a bit of duty shopping before heading back to Heathrow.
15 hours later I was back in LA hugging my dear, dear husband. It was a fun trip but I missed my angel. You would think I would finally have time to sleep but nope, I had a major Hollywood wedding to go to, two hours after getting back to California.
My body is stuck in time. it doesn't know what time it it so I will save this story for tomorrow. I think I have written enough for one day. Hehehehe
Till the next time. Danka.
Comments
Love your blogs!
Mrs. Page's Pages