Our Adventure to Europe
Our last trip in August was to Vienna & Prague, a bucket list for me. Europe was having a heat wave, but being from Scottsdale we didn’t seem to mind. While we visited Vienna we rented electric bicycles for our trip and rode them all over Vienna as well as took them on a train to visit Spitz, Austria. Renting ebikes is a great way to get around Europe and be able to see the countryside that you wouldn’t normally be able to get to. In Prague we were able to use their train system and be able to access the city that way, Prague is a beautiful city right on the Vitava River. The Old town, Charles Bridge as well as the Prague Castle in the evening allow for amazing pictures, make sure to tour the Castle in the evening to avoid the crowds.
Experience = priceless
where we stayed
Vienna: There are a couple of different ways to get into Vienna one is by train the other by Uber, we always like to take the local trains just to get a feel of the cities and towns, but in this case it ended up costing us about $6 more and we get taken right to the hotel if we use Uber. If there are 2 people traveling that might be the easiest way to get to the hotel. So we booked the Intercontinental in Vienna, commonly known as Intercontinental Wien thru tripadvisor. The hotel is dated but quite beautiful the bar has large glass chandeliers with dark wood throughout the hotel. They upgraded us to a corner room which gives you lots of space and the bathroom area is quite large.
Prague: Ughhhhh terrible hotel was booked thru a vacation package, we should have checked out, 11 buses showed up at one time which means over 500 people having breakfast at the same time. Would not recommend this hotel. Was used for group travel and pilots and flight attendants.
New York City: Stayed at the Crowne Plaza near Time Square, this is a great hotel, again ask for a corner room so you can have more space. All hotels in NYC are small, any extra space you can get is worth it!!!! The have a nice workout room, although airflow is not so great there and a nice restaurant on the main level. Easy to walk to Time Square as well as a block away from Penn Station.
Three days in Vienna
Our adventure started in Vienna, Austria. Europe was having issues of no rain in over 60 days, so the weather for us on this trip was rather warm- no pants or sweaters needed on this trip. We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel in Vienna, they upgraded us to a corner room which is great because in Europe most of the hotel rooms are quite small. We rented electric bicycles for our time in Vienna which ended up to be 4 nights. We rode our bikes all around Vienna- they have excellent bike paths set up for bicyclist and we also took them on a train to a nearby town to visit a town called Spitz. We were able to ride our bicycles thru all these different little towns along the river and then up through wine country. Vienna is a beautiful city, it is very clean we were really impressed by this city. I would highly recommend going to Vienna, can’t wait to visit this beautiful city again.
Visiting Prague
Prague is a 4 hour train ride from Vienna- cost $16. We stayed at a hotel that caters to large groups of buses- ughhhhh not a great place to stay just due to the fact at breakfast there must be over 500 people eating at the same time, we counted 11 touring buses there. Okay so back to our trip, Prague is a beautiful place to visit, especially in the evening the whole city is lit up. We did an ebike tour of Prague our first day there so we could get a layout of the city and then it allows us to head back to some of our favorite spots there. We also did a nighttime tour of the Prague Castle, quite amazing the architecture it took to go build this beautiful castle. When you are in Prague do not forget about taking the river boat cruises, take one in the afternoon before sunset, they are not expensive and they serve you food and drink on the boat.
Ending in New York City
Last stop on this fabulous vacation was flying back thru NYC, so we were able to stop off and spend a few days there. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza down by Time Square, so much to see and do down there. We purchased tickets to the USOpen Tennis Tournament while we were there, ended up we were able to be there for round 3 of the tournament- still a ton of players to see while we were there. When we arrived at Flushing Meadows we were a little early, they ended up bringing out Ivan Lendl- he is now retired and coaches but when I was in High School he was quite incredible on the tennis court. After we got our bearings around the facility we made our way over to the practice courts and was able to watch Serena Williams practice on the court, then her sister Venus was practicing right next to her. Super exciting to see 2 of the top women tennis players in the world!!!!! We then made our way to watch womens singles and doubles as well as the men. We were able to get some pretty good seats to watch Mike Bryan play doubles with Jack Sock, they ended up winning the tournament. Exciting thing about that is that I was able to sit next to his Aunt and talk about how the family gave up a lot for Jack to play tennis. Just an exciting day for me and I can say we were exhausted from our day and trip. We were able to take in 1 show while we were in NYC, “Getting the band back together” it was a great show, great singing and performances. After the show we were able to get a few signatures on my Playbill. WHAT A VACATION!!!!!!
My go to products
Umbrella
You can never be too prepared! I’ve been stuck in the rain without anything too many times to NOT bring an umbrella with me. This handy thing is compact and easy to travel with you, wherever your destination may take you.
Tracker for your wallet
Innway Card is an ultra-thin, rechargeable Bluetooth finder that fits in your wallet. Find your wallet, bag, backpack, laptop, tablet, keys or whatever you want. At only 1.5 mm thin, the Innway Card easily fits in your wallet, purse, or laptop and tablet case.
Lipstick-Sized Charger
Having a portable charger with you can save you a ton of hassle. In a place like NYC you don’t want to have to hoof it or pay for a cab back to your accommodations just to charge your devices if you can avoid it. This portable charger can carry several charges with it so that if your devices run out or juice, you can recharge them on the go with your standard USB charger cables!
Deodorant Wipes
New York is absolutely gorgeous and such a fun place to explore, but the combination of winds in the city along with vehicle exhaust and dirt/dust can leave you feeling extra grimy. I carry these deodorant wipes with me so that I can clean up on the fly if I need to, or if I simply can’t deal with the grime.
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