Linz, Austria 2015

     I know that I didn't actually write this in Linz but there was a reason.  It was so HOT I could not stand it and the hotel did not have air conditioning  I just am not used to that any more.  It was very difficult to sleep and you did not want to be in the room in the evening when the sun finally went down.  Therefore, I stayed out and of course once I was sitting someplace enjoying the cool air, I was drinking.
    The hotel was the Wolffinger right on the Hauptplatz.  I had a double room and it was gorgeous.  My only complaint, other than the lack of air-conditioning, was that the double bed was really two twin beds shoved together.  They were not on the same frame so there was a gap between them and I could fall through.  The people could not have been nicer or more accommodating.  The location was perfect. 
     I also hired a private tour guide for this city but he was way more expensive than the guy in Cesky Krumlov.  His name is Johann Gutenbrunner and for 2 hours I had to pay 144 euro.  It was a nice tour and he knew his stuff and he was very engaging but really.  I enjoyed roaming the city.  The only real site to see is the Schloss Museum.  It is large and has a lot in it.  But after you go through there, there is not much else to do.  I ate at nice restaurants.  The best was Promenaden Hof.  It was nice and the service was good and the food was delicious.  I ate at an Italian called Doceni where I was the only customer but the spaghetti aglio and salad and 1/2 liter of red were worth it .  Very good and not expensive and the man serving me good not have been nicer or happier.   The last night I went to the restaurant where Johann and I had a drink after the tour, he paid, but it was full.  So right around the corner was Gosser Hof, named for the beer.  I had a few Gosser and the schnitzel and a nice talk with the guy working there.  If I ever find myself in Linz again I will gladly eat at all three of them.
     Other than Vienna, this is only the second city in Austria that I have visited.  The other was Graz.  I don't know which I liked better because from my 3 nights in the two of them, they seem the same.  But if forced to chose I would re-visit Linz.  I get the feeling there is more there than I discovered in my three nights.