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Vienna’s Music in the Air

Stepping out of my hotel in Vienna on my first hour in Europe (clearly still a bit bleary with jet lag), I’m confronted by free culture on the street for the average Joe — it’s Puccini, a live videocast just outside where it’s being performed at the Vienna State Opera house. This is one of many ways Vienna brings culture to its people…and one of many ways this city inspires me.

By the way, with this post I kick off Part Two of my 100 posts in 100 days coverage of my travel season. For July and August I’ll be posting daily from Vienna and Munich, from our My Way Alpine Europe tour (Salzburg to Chamonix), from England (as we shoot three new TV shows) and — for a wild finale — from the Palio, Siena’s famous horse race. You and your traveling friends are welcome to stow away with me, right here on my travel blog, on what promises to be a great trip.

 

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For Your Viewing Pleasure: The “Rick Steves’ Guide to Cuba” TV Special

“Rick Steves’ Guide to Cuba,” a KCTS TV special based on a talk I recently gave on my Cuba adventure (from last January), is now yours to watch any time. (It is part of our extensive and growing Travel Talks library.) While it’s a simple production of my lecture, Seattle’s KCTS did a fine job, and I don’t think there’s a faster moving, more up-to-date, or more informative video out on Cuba. Play the video and join my family and me on a 40-minute trip across the island. (If you’ve traveled to Cuba, I’d love to read your thoughts on my thoughts — so many people are dreaming of taking a trip there.)

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What to Do About Airport Security Hassles?

Rick Steves at airport security

Spud Hilton, the travel editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, asked me, “With so many people complaining about airport security lately, what would you suggest to make it better?” Here’s what I told him:

Hi Spud,

1. If my toothpaste is over 3 ounces, let me squirt it down to the maximum allowable “liquid” amount and carry it on rather than making me toss the entire tube. (I asked and was told it’s not allowed.)

2. When there’s a lull in the crowds, and with what seems like “thousands standing around” (TSA), one of those agents should be able to open a break in the stanchion maze so we don’t need to feel like silly mice needlessly zigging and zagging for five or six rows in order to meet a security agent. (I asked and was told it’s not allowed.)

3. When being patted down I always stick out my wings and tell them, “Nothing hurts, you can touch me anywhere, front or back of your hands…I don’t care.” Then they ask me, “Does anything hurt?” and say, “I’m going to touch your buttocks with the back of my hands.” (I leave them a few coins in the tray.)

4. If I’m talkative, they always ask me if I’d like a “private screening.” While it sounds nice, I’ve never taken them up on the offer. (But I leave even a few more coins in the tray.)

5. Actually, rather than complain, I think it’s most constructive to use the waiting time at airport security to meditate on the reasons we have so many enemies, and what we might do so that fewer people from far away become really angry at us.

-Rick Steves

Do you have any other suggestions of our TSA that I might relay to Spud?

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Little Things that Make Europe Magic

Sometimes, it’s not the big sights but little, foolish things that remind me of the great joy of traveling through Europe. Here are nine of my favorite little moments in Europe this year (click on each photo to learn more). I’d love to read about some of the little things that make your trip happier.

Rick Steves at Buzludzha Monument

Sneaking into the Buzludzha Monument — an abandoned, communist-era memorial capping a Bulgarian mountain — through a hole just big enough for me to squeeze through…and surviving the experience with minimal inhaling of old Commie asbestos.

couple with headphones

Finding a nice young couple honeymooning in Venice, who let me get into their conversation via my Europe audio tours.

escargot

Enjoying a dozen escargots — all for myself — for the first time in my life as a selfish treat. I enjoyed these for my last dinner in France before flying to Bulgaria (where my expectations for cuisine were lower than in France).

burger and frites

A cheap and simple local equivalent of burger and fries in Normandy — with great frites, plenty of ketchup, and a cold drink to enjoy while watching the local student crowd have fun.

Rick Steves with broken wine glass

Being so happy in a restaurant that I break off the stem of my wine glass.

Fancy radish

Being served a finely decorated radish without ordering it.

Map of Europe

Spending down time during a flight hatching a map while considering all the great fun we’ve already had making TV episodes…and where we might film next.

Omaha Beach guide

Standing on Omaha Beach with a guide who uses a ski pole to sketch out the thrilling play-by-play of that momentous day in a way that makes me honor and respect the courageous soldiers who established an Allied foothold in Nazi Europe.

Painting of pilgrims

Seeing an old painting that helps me visualize something that’s never been quite clear in my mind (like how centuries ago, pilgrims trekked to Mont St. Michel).

 

 

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Narcissi-Sticks Invade Europe

Girl with selfie stick

Let’s officially rename these crazy things “narcissi-sticks.” I enjoy taking “us-ies” — using my biological “selfie-stick” (my very long arm) to take fun group shots. (And I love it when I can AirDrop them right away to the other people in the photo.) But watching people take selfies all over Europe — all day long, day after day — actually starts to seem a bit sad. What are your thoughts on the selfie epidemic?