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elusivekOh wow sorry, I messed up with Flickr's embed settings now the photos are huge. I'll have to fix them post-copy-posting.
Day 12
Still in Graz, we went to the other side first, to see Schloss Eggenberg (I've never been here). We found a random place for breakfast.
Apparently there was going to be something going on in 2025 so half the Schloss was under renovation.
We were first given a tour of a special state room and whatnot, no photos throughout the tour. After that we were allowed to roam anywhere (except for the toured rooms, which are card-access only)
There was a long corridor with a lot of artowrks.
We meandered back to those off-limits area, and still decided to snag a photo through the windows. They say it's some special design, the first in the time to refer to the Calendar, Time, Astrology, and stuff. (52 windows, 12 rooms, 24 somethings, zodiacs, etc.)
I was very well behaved and did not buy crap LOL.
Peacocks were hanging around!
I find Austria in general to be a very gung-ho or laissez-faire place. If this were Macau, there would be a kazillion signs and a barrier to say off limits to the bird.
Roamed the gardens.
Apparently this garden outside was also special as it was divided into 4 seasons and whatnot.
There were fighting ducks.
There was this.. i forget... geology museum or something. I quite liked this exhibit where there were a few fixed images of certain time periods, then there were other loose magnet pieces that you could move around and say where they were on the map. Again I forget exactly what, but there was one thing about Macau there. Forgot what it was though.
More roaming.
Eventually, it was time to go.
Another place I had researched before. So we all know about the Wiener Schnitzel which is the Viennese Schnitzel, here in Graz, Styria, of course we need the Steirisches Schnitzel! Basically the same thing but the bread crust has pumpkin seeds on it. This was the second best Schnitzel we had in all of Austria (first being in Salmzat, the place no one can read the menu in Vienna).
Sort of got lost when we were looking for a hipster-ish area. Oh I don't have the photos here, but we also went to that restaurant "island" in the middle of the river (Murinsel?).
Eventually found it.
We had a similar issue with not knowing what to do for dinner and decided to take a break from Western food again and went to a Vietnamese place. Had to go a bit far off, and after dinner we were lucky to have found the tram to get back to the hotel.
Day 13
Wanting to make sure I will be meeting with family later at night, I decided to brave it and call my Onkel Richard. Cousin Michael picked up. So I asked if they were going to meet me as per my message a few days ago, and he said they didn't receive any messages. So I told them my plans for the night and they said they'll be there.
So the next thing, MARKET DAY!
We had wanted to eat something right from the market, but nothing really caught our eyes and we didn't want to eat standing up, so we found a bakery with sitting, and went there.
We went up the mountain on this morning!
A tad boring for me since I've been here before already.
Don't know what the lions are fighting about.
Now the museum here I didn't see before, so it was a rather informative visit. I read about how the city came to be (something to do with a deal with the devil).
This TV thing is some interesting technology. You can pan the view to one area, then there are options on-screen and you can "zoom in" to see that area now (I guess it's just a recording) or see that spot in some previous time period (say 1920s, or 1880s, etc).
Because some guy was there busking with that... wok-like instrument, nobody dared to walk through the pavilion.
Just before I took this photo, there was a loud siren, I guess the type before an air attack or some kind of disaster? We don't know why, we don't know for what, but we were freaked for a moment. But since nobody reacted, we... forgot about it.
This was a funny selfie, so I'm leaving it in this large size.
Accidentally cosplayed the clock tower.
This is again something new! Slide down the mountain!
So we slid down this thing! (My original plan was to walk down, but hey!)
Interesting but did not buy.
Got lured into this restaurant by this sign, but service was horrendous. Food was not bad though. I know you must be busy, but don't treat customers like a nuisance, then be so thick skinned and say "tip is not included." I come from tipping-is-not-really-a-thing-land, so I'll tip when I think you deserve it.
We then made our way back to the hotel, picked up our bags, and left for the train to Vienna, where we went to have dinner with my family. So from left to middle to right, Cousin Michael, Onkel Richard, Cousin Barbara, Barbara's husban Marco, Tante Rosemary, Me, and... the waiter that night, because my friend wanted to first take a family photo of us, and the waiter told her to sit with us, but she insisted, so he joined us, LOL. Apparently, on my Onkel's phone, it did show a message came in from me, but the message body was empty. Then I asked Michael if he has whatsapp, and he just answered me yes, which I think... in normal people thinking, if I'm asked "do you have whatsapp?" my automatic reaction would be to take out my phone and say "yes, let's scan each other's contacts!" but no, cousin Michael is a special kind of awkward LOL. Tante Rosemary didn't drink a drop of liquid despite my asking her to get something to drink.
I was feeling a bit weird when Marco was getting refill for drinks, but since he refilled, I asked for refill too, and got my friend refill, heck, I refilled the table. Then, again, when I went to the washroom, I paid the bill, and Marco seemed annoyed. It seemed like he wanted to pay. He gave off "Big man, macho man" vibes (this is my first time meeting him). Like everything must be his way or the highway.
Sorry, I'm a passively-contradicting person. I paid the bill. pffffffffftttttttt.
Day 14
Bratislava! We originally had 11am tickets, but this time, the train changes were to our favor because our 11am-only ticket became valid whole day tickets because of the changes, so we hopped on the 10am bus (replacement service), and rode to some mid-way point then got on the train to Bratislava.
I was a little worried at first, because it was a Sunday, but in a way, thank whoever that Slovakia is not a very advanced country. So, shops and stuff are open on Sundays!
This was an interesting cafe, we said we'd come back to this but never did.
Town square and a manhole shoes shot again.
This was the... I forgot. Town Council museum or something. We got to climb up up up.
Several kids hanging around doing these instant photos.
A real manhole artpiece!
This lunch place also got on my nerves. So we ordered that... i forgot the name, but it's something like a wet spatzle pasta with bacon. We didn't know what it was, because language. It was recommended by the server. When he served, there was no bacon and he said, "So this is the *name of dish*, without bacon!" Because I faintly remember seeing something like bacon bits on the menu explanation, I queried, "without bacon?" and he was, I don't know, being cocky or what, said "Do you see bacon?" and that immediatelly made me mad. "Does it come with bacon? I didn't say no bacon?" and only then he was like, "oh, so you want bacon" as if I had originally asked for it without bacon, wtf?
We then went up another hill to see the palace museum. This is where I dropped my camera and bye-bye lens!
Braved the tram network and went to the other side of town to see the Blue Church. By the time we got there it was closed and was going to start a mass. So just some outside photos and we left.
We took the ferry back to Vienna, along the Danube! Weird the ferry didn't play Blue Danube along the way.
From there we actually went to my Onkel Wolfgang's place. Barbara came over to mediate/translate for us. Again conversation was a bit weird. Onkel Wolfgang was very focused on me being considered "a foreigner" here in Macau. I'm like. wut? I'm more local than a local local would be. But anyway. Language barriers. It was also here that I found out Barbara actually has a son (I knew she has a daughter, didn't know about the son though). It was an awkward exchange LOL. By midnight we decided we should go as we were worried about transport.
Day 15
Final morning! We left early to get our last souvenirs (Sacher cakes; which weren't even that good so next time don't rush for it) and had a quick breakfast. Our spiffy "day card" had expired by the return trip to the hotel... we thought for a bit and decided to brave it. So yeah. We schwarz-fahren-ed one trip LOL. Then back to the hotel to pack up and left for the airport.
No drama there. But I thought I should post this final photo of what I usually tell people (be it in English or Chinese) when they seem to be thinking of Australia.
Flight to Taipei was uneventful. It was a full flight.
This time around the plane change in Taipei we had more time. And there was a Sanrio Pop up going on! We had a quick breakfast in the food court, had bubble tea, and bought some Taiwan snacks for souvenirs.
Isn't it true! Planning a trip is indeed the best part! It's always so exciting to plan a trip and "counting down" to the trip day! But, by the time I'm actually on the trip, I'm just "counting down" to coming back.
Day 12
Still in Graz, we went to the other side first, to see Schloss Eggenberg (I've never been here). We found a random place for breakfast.
Apparently there was going to be something going on in 2025 so half the Schloss was under renovation.
We were first given a tour of a special state room and whatnot, no photos throughout the tour. After that we were allowed to roam anywhere (except for the toured rooms, which are card-access only)
There was a long corridor with a lot of artowrks.
We meandered back to those off-limits area, and still decided to snag a photo through the windows. They say it's some special design, the first in the time to refer to the Calendar, Time, Astrology, and stuff. (52 windows, 12 rooms, 24 somethings, zodiacs, etc.)
I was very well behaved and did not buy crap LOL.
Peacocks were hanging around!
I find Austria in general to be a very gung-ho or laissez-faire place. If this were Macau, there would be a kazillion signs and a barrier to say off limits to the bird.
Roamed the gardens.
Apparently this garden outside was also special as it was divided into 4 seasons and whatnot.
There were fighting ducks.
There was this.. i forget... geology museum or something. I quite liked this exhibit where there were a few fixed images of certain time periods, then there were other loose magnet pieces that you could move around and say where they were on the map. Again I forget exactly what, but there was one thing about Macau there. Forgot what it was though.
More roaming.
Eventually, it was time to go.
Another place I had researched before. So we all know about the Wiener Schnitzel which is the Viennese Schnitzel, here in Graz, Styria, of course we need the Steirisches Schnitzel! Basically the same thing but the bread crust has pumpkin seeds on it. This was the second best Schnitzel we had in all of Austria (first being in Salmzat, the place no one can read the menu in Vienna).
Sort of got lost when we were looking for a hipster-ish area. Oh I don't have the photos here, but we also went to that restaurant "island" in the middle of the river (Murinsel?).
Eventually found it.
We had a similar issue with not knowing what to do for dinner and decided to take a break from Western food again and went to a Vietnamese place. Had to go a bit far off, and after dinner we were lucky to have found the tram to get back to the hotel.
Day 13
Wanting to make sure I will be meeting with family later at night, I decided to brave it and call my Onkel Richard. Cousin Michael picked up. So I asked if they were going to meet me as per my message a few days ago, and he said they didn't receive any messages. So I told them my plans for the night and they said they'll be there.
So the next thing, MARKET DAY!
We had wanted to eat something right from the market, but nothing really caught our eyes and we didn't want to eat standing up, so we found a bakery with sitting, and went there.
We went up the mountain on this morning!
A tad boring for me since I've been here before already.
Don't know what the lions are fighting about.
Now the museum here I didn't see before, so it was a rather informative visit. I read about how the city came to be (something to do with a deal with the devil).
This TV thing is some interesting technology. You can pan the view to one area, then there are options on-screen and you can "zoom in" to see that area now (I guess it's just a recording) or see that spot in some previous time period (say 1920s, or 1880s, etc).
Because some guy was there busking with that... wok-like instrument, nobody dared to walk through the pavilion.
Just before I took this photo, there was a loud siren, I guess the type before an air attack or some kind of disaster? We don't know why, we don't know for what, but we were freaked for a moment. But since nobody reacted, we... forgot about it.
This was a funny selfie, so I'm leaving it in this large size.
Accidentally cosplayed the clock tower.
This is again something new! Slide down the mountain!
So we slid down this thing! (My original plan was to walk down, but hey!)
Interesting but did not buy.
Got lured into this restaurant by this sign, but service was horrendous. Food was not bad though. I know you must be busy, but don't treat customers like a nuisance, then be so thick skinned and say "tip is not included." I come from tipping-is-not-really-a-thing-land, so I'll tip when I think you deserve it.
We then made our way back to the hotel, picked up our bags, and left for the train to Vienna, where we went to have dinner with my family. So from left to middle to right, Cousin Michael, Onkel Richard, Cousin Barbara, Barbara's husban Marco, Tante Rosemary, Me, and... the waiter that night, because my friend wanted to first take a family photo of us, and the waiter told her to sit with us, but she insisted, so he joined us, LOL. Apparently, on my Onkel's phone, it did show a message came in from me, but the message body was empty. Then I asked Michael if he has whatsapp, and he just answered me yes, which I think... in normal people thinking, if I'm asked "do you have whatsapp?" my automatic reaction would be to take out my phone and say "yes, let's scan each other's contacts!" but no, cousin Michael is a special kind of awkward LOL. Tante Rosemary didn't drink a drop of liquid despite my asking her to get something to drink.
I was feeling a bit weird when Marco was getting refill for drinks, but since he refilled, I asked for refill too, and got my friend refill, heck, I refilled the table. Then, again, when I went to the washroom, I paid the bill, and Marco seemed annoyed. It seemed like he wanted to pay. He gave off "Big man, macho man" vibes (this is my first time meeting him). Like everything must be his way or the highway.
Sorry, I'm a passively-contradicting person. I paid the bill. pffffffffftttttttt.
Day 14
Bratislava! We originally had 11am tickets, but this time, the train changes were to our favor because our 11am-only ticket became valid whole day tickets because of the changes, so we hopped on the 10am bus (replacement service), and rode to some mid-way point then got on the train to Bratislava.
I was a little worried at first, because it was a Sunday, but in a way, thank whoever that Slovakia is not a very advanced country. So, shops and stuff are open on Sundays!
This was an interesting cafe, we said we'd come back to this but never did.
Town square and a manhole shoes shot again.
This was the... I forgot. Town Council museum or something. We got to climb up up up.
Several kids hanging around doing these instant photos.
A real manhole artpiece!
This lunch place also got on my nerves. So we ordered that... i forgot the name, but it's something like a wet spatzle pasta with bacon. We didn't know what it was, because language. It was recommended by the server. When he served, there was no bacon and he said, "So this is the *name of dish*, without bacon!" Because I faintly remember seeing something like bacon bits on the menu explanation, I queried, "without bacon?" and he was, I don't know, being cocky or what, said "Do you see bacon?" and that immediatelly made me mad. "Does it come with bacon? I didn't say no bacon?" and only then he was like, "oh, so you want bacon" as if I had originally asked for it without bacon, wtf?
We then went up another hill to see the palace museum. This is where I dropped my camera and bye-bye lens!
Braved the tram network and went to the other side of town to see the Blue Church. By the time we got there it was closed and was going to start a mass. So just some outside photos and we left.
We took the ferry back to Vienna, along the Danube! Weird the ferry didn't play Blue Danube along the way.
From there we actually went to my Onkel Wolfgang's place. Barbara came over to mediate/translate for us. Again conversation was a bit weird. Onkel Wolfgang was very focused on me being considered "a foreigner" here in Macau. I'm like. wut? I'm more local than a local local would be. But anyway. Language barriers. It was also here that I found out Barbara actually has a son (I knew she has a daughter, didn't know about the son though). It was an awkward exchange LOL. By midnight we decided we should go as we were worried about transport.
Day 15
Final morning! We left early to get our last souvenirs (Sacher cakes; which weren't even that good so next time don't rush for it) and had a quick breakfast. Our spiffy "day card" had expired by the return trip to the hotel... we thought for a bit and decided to brave it. So yeah. We schwarz-fahren-ed one trip LOL. Then back to the hotel to pack up and left for the airport.
No drama there. But I thought I should post this final photo of what I usually tell people (be it in English or Chinese) when they seem to be thinking of Australia.
Flight to Taipei was uneventful. It was a full flight.
This time around the plane change in Taipei we had more time. And there was a Sanrio Pop up going on! We had a quick breakfast in the food court, had bubble tea, and bought some Taiwan snacks for souvenirs.
Isn't it true! Planning a trip is indeed the best part! It's always so exciting to plan a trip and "counting down" to the trip day! But, by the time I'm actually on the trip, I'm just "counting down" to coming back.
