Bouncing around Vienna & Bratislava (look it up)

 Opening: I was told early  that "hopalong" was not a good new nickname. & she just knew that Salzburg was the 4th largest city in Austria.:) EH!

The morning was spent at 2 art galleries -- the Leopold & the Kunsthistoriche (art history, I guess). At Leopold, saw more Expressionism that I feel is healthy, especially the Schiele. The notes said he painted all these nudes because he was an existentialist & concerned with their themes. That's why so many were of him & they were "flattering"if you catch my drift. Nudge nudge.

On the top floor (remember "hopalong" and her blistered, bloody toes) was the Gustav Klimt exhibit.  EH admitted disappointment -- I thought it was a solid modernist exhibition.  Not an overwhelming number, but enough to know his work pretty well.  EH bought souvenirs.  Not me.

Then across the Museum Quarter (yes, they have a whole area full of museums) -- but we couldn't find the entrance to the Kunsthistoriche.  We actually (it turns out) stood and talked about the door, but decided there needed to be more to it -- like people walking in.  So, unnecessarily, we circled this huge baroque building and ended up going through the door ("eingang").

We sat on the steps inside and looked at the map and decided everything either of us wanted to see was on the first floor in the rooms numbered mostly in the 20s.  So, off we went.

This was the Hapsburg's art collection.  As I pointed out to her, at least one of them had a thing for naked breasts.  (sort of a counter to the previous museum, but he did breasts, too).  And a thing for heads chopped off -- there must have been five paintings depicting Judith with Holofernes's head.

 Oh, yeah, and the other "go to" for the museum -- Mary Magdalene, sorrowful and repentant.  And, just to connect the dots, a good half the time sorrowful and repentant sans top.  Funny how that works.

They had two rooms of Rubens's.  I like Rubens enough; EH isn't a fan.  A room of Brueghel Srs.  A room of van Dycks.  A room of Caravaggios.  It was an impressive collection, especially if you take it literally that it was the archduke or emperor's private collection before.  You'd need a 2,500 room mansion...oh, yeah, they had one!  :)

I've spent too much time on this, as it turns out.

HERE'S THE PICTURE LINK

Then onto the train to Bratislava.  Europeans are proud of their train system.  The train to Bratislava was one bale of straw short of having chickens and being from one of those movies.  Late 20th c. style.

A woman got on in the eastern burbs of Vienna and sat across from us and pulled out her phone.  I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP: she talked on the phone the entire time she was on the train.  And fairly loudly.  In German (not that that mattered).  When she hung up once I felt relief, when she went to dial another number I almost reached out and took the phone from her and started an international incident.  I shook and held it in and she got off a couple steps before Bratislava.

We got a taxi ride from the station to the hotel.  23Es!!! double what it was in Vienna.  EH looked (after) and found Wiki Travel saying "don't just grab a taxi at the station, they are shysters who gouge tourists."  Been there, done that.

The hotel is very nice -- Booking.com says 5-stars.  Here's the bathroom, see what you think:

Best one so far.  Tomorrow night in Vienna may be a let down.

The front desk person (Angelika) told us to take the bus down to the castle (on the hill below us) and walk down to Old Town.  To get tickets at the tobacco shop for .70 or .80 euros.

EH walked away as I tried to use Google translate and my Clouseau accent to get "eight baseek bus tickets".  I gave her my phone with bus ticket on it and she shrugged how much and showed me .90 euro ones, longer than I needed, and I bought those.

We started the walk down the hill and there was a pharmacy; this time the pharmacist, or counter person, to be vague when we aren't sure, admitted to speaking a little English.  I was able to buy that American staple: ibuprofen.

Then to this lovely church, St. Martin's, which sits on the west end of Old Town (parts of which date back to the 10th century).

We have a very positive impression of Bratislava, despite the fleecing by the taxi driver.

Here's the Old Town, toward St. Michael's Gate --

We sat and had home-made lemonade on the corner and watched people going by, speculating on how many were Americans (probably quite a few).

Then we went to dinner.  EH found the best Central European cuisine in Bratislava (which might be the best...you fill in the blank).  She had pig knuckle, which came with potato pancakes.  Pictured.

And, then, sore feet and all, after discussing not having time to see it otherwise, we walked the 12 minutes (.5 KM according to Google) in the opposite direction from the hotel to see this -- which is probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

Google maps suggested Uber and in 2 minutes a guy pulled up in a small, if not exactly rickety, car and whisked us to the top of our hill (here's the photo to show how high above B'lava) for less than 4 euros!  We're in Slovakia, we still exploit the workers.

We were a couple thousand FitBit steps below yesterday, but still impressive given how hurt and worn out we were.  EH was a trooper.  And I still want that woman's cell phone. :)

Tomorrow, a last castle, last train ride, and short flight back to Vienna.  It's almost over...!!!