Category: travel.

Have you ever ridden a funicular?  While researching our upcoming trip to Budapest, I found that they have a funicular that goes to the top of ‘Castle Hill’.

Don’t know what a funicular is?

funicular noun : a railway going up and down a mountain that carries people in cars pulled by a moving cable.

This got me thinking about how many funiculars I have been on, and I started to realize the list was kind of fun.  So I thought I’d share them with you.  My first funicular ride was in Bergen, Norway.  My mom and I were there … gosh … over 20 years ago.  Bergan has the Fløibanen funicular.  Ride to the top and enjoy the views of Bergen!

Have you ever been to Santorini?  If so, and if you arrive by sea, you know there are two options for getting up to the town proper on top of the cliff.  It’s either the funicular or a donkey ride.  When we were there with our friends Joe & Vonda, we knew we had to experience the donkey ride.  And it was definitely an experience.  Basically they plop you on a donkey, slap him on the rear and up you go!  You have to hope that you have a well behaved donkey.  Mine kept stopping for a rest.  Mr. Q’s was off and running and went way ahead of us all.  Vonda’s donkey kept trying to crash her into the wall.  Unfortunately, I am still in the process of recovering my old photos after my recent computer crash so I can’t share an actual picture of me on a donkey, but I found one on pinterest that looks practically the same.

Yep … practically identical doubles for me and Mr. Q.  Obviously, I jest.  Although Mr. Q’s legs are just as good as that guy’s.

Anyway, as fun as it was to ride the donkeys uphill, for the return trip (after enjoying baklava and coffee at a cafe overlooking the sea) we chose the funicular.  Going downhill on those donkeys seemed like a dicey proposition at best.

Prague also has a funicular that goes to the top of Petrin Hill.  When Mr. Q and I were in Prague, we hired a private guide through PragueWalker.  This might sound super ritzy, but it was actually very affordable.  Less than $150 for a 4 hour walking tour.  Our guide was very knowledgeable about her city, and we had her all to ourselves.  We could pick and choose what we wanted to see, and how long we wanted to spend at each location.  We were mainly on foot, but she also took us on the public tram to show us the ropes.  We rode the tram to the Ujezd stop where we boarded the funicular and rode to the top of the hill.  Once there, we visited Prague’s version of the Eiffel Tower.

We so enjoyed having a private guide in Prague that we have decided to do it again in Budapest.  For $130 (total, not per person) we have booked a private guide with Travel Guide Hungary for a 4 hour walking tour of Budapest.  Since there are 4 of us in our group, that is a mere $32.50 (plus tip) per person.  Our guide will meet us in our hotel lobby and we will set off from there on foot.  It couldn’t possibly be any easier.

If you plan to travel to a foreign city, consider hiring a private guide.  At least look into the cost.  It definitely is cost prohibitive in some places, but quite affordable in others.  And if there is a funicular, make sure you take a ride on it!

Today I am stringing together some random stuff that is good, bad or ugly.

Let’s start with the bad.  First of all, my sister has gone back to New Jersey.  Sniff, sniff.  One of my fondest wishes is that my sister would move here to Minnesota.  I’ve tried to convince her to no avail (so far!).  Perhaps one day.  Meanwhile, I have to make do with periodic visits, texts and phone calls.  I already miss her, even though she totally bosses me around most of the time.

As for the ugly, my computer died.  Yikes! It was old and ratty, a hand-me-down computer from Mr. Q.  The easy fix was to just get a new one, so I did.  But that led to the really ugly part.  While loading stuff on to the new computer, it became infected with a browser hijacker!  If you’ve never had one, thank your lucky stars.  Basically it takes over your computer while you are on the web and brings up random tabs full of products that you have absolutely no interest in.   And every time you delete the stuff, it just comes back again.  I’ve never been so frustrated in my life.  Getting rid of the hijacker was a challenge, but fortunately Mr. Q was up to it.  Knock on wood, I think I am in the clear.

Now for the good!  The really fabulous, super duper, amazingly good.  As I mentioned earlier, I am going on a trip!  Where?  Well, here’s a hint.

Have you guessed it yet?

Here is a bigger hint.

Woo hoo!  It’s a cruise on the Danube.  We sail from Budapest to Nuremburg, with stops in between in Vienna, Melk, Regensburg and Passau.  “We” includes me, Mr. Q, my sister and my mom.

We weren’t really in the market for a fabulous European vacation at the moment, but let me explain.  You see, my mom is a travel agent.  A while back she took some online familiarization courses with Viking Cruise Lines, and when she finished them her name was thrown in a hat to win a free cruise on the Danube.  Yep.  Free (except airfare).  And she won!  Long story short, the rest of us got a great deal on joining her.  It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.  Thank goodness I just renewed my passport!

I think the universe has been listening to me lately.  First I was wondering when I would ever have more photos to add to my travel gallery wall, then came the ‘travel the world desk‘.  I’ve been sending the travel vibe out there, and it came back with a bang!

Needless to say, we are all super excited about the trip.  My sister and I are BIG on planning.  Sometimes the planning is half the fun!  We are busy scouring guidebooks, surfing the web for tips and trying to decide what we want to be sure and see in each destination.  We’ll be spending several extra days in Budapest, so that is our main focus.  Have any of you been to Hungary, Austria or Germany?  If so, I’d love to hear about what you saw or did there!  Or any other travel tips you may want to share.  Bring ’em on!

I am off to Vegas!  Leaving Mr. Q at home to man the fort.  This may lead you to conclude that I am a party girl who likes drinking and gambling and staying up all night without my husband.  Au contraire.  In reality, my mom lives in Vegas.  Once a year or so, both my sister (from New Jersey) and I fly out there at the same time to visit with mom and hang out where the sun always shines and there is no snow on the ground.

I probably have a very different Vegas experience than most.  I like to visit favorite stores that we don’t have here in Minnesota.  That would be Steinmart and Hobby Lobby (although now I do have my own Hobby Lobby).  Plus there is an Anthropologie near mom’s house, and I never find time to get there at home.  I’d love to find some fun vintage shops to visit, but have never had much success in finding any out there.  Perhaps the locals are too busy gambling and they don’t care about vintage.  Does anyone know of any?  If so, leave a comment, I’ll be checking!

Aside from shopping, we’ll probably go to the movies, eat out a lot and in the mornings I’ll drink coffee and enjoy the sunshine because with the time change, I’m always awake 2 hours earlier than normal.

Usually I don’t even bother with the strip, but this time we are going to a show!  Mom has connections and got some free tickets to the Bee Gee’s tribute show at the Excalibur.

Most of all, I’m looking forward to 5 days away from the day job.  Probably not long enough, but I’ll take it!

Don’t be surprised if I’m surfing craigslist from afar and sending Mr. Q off to pick stuff up even during my absence.  It’s a sickness, I can’t help myself.

I will miss is my blog though (well, and of course I’ll miss Mr. Q).  My mom doesn’t have a computer.  I don’t own a laptop.  Just my smartphone.  I’ll be able to read comments and surf craigslist, but I won’t be posting long commentaries of any kind.

Try not to miss me!