Wien?? Why not!

Thankfully I started my journey to Wien (or Vienna to us English folk) with a couchette. There was a special offer and after a near sleepless night getting to Krakow I decided I needed to have a decent sleep. My fellow passenger who shared the cabin was an Austrian from Vienna who is studying Art Business in Poland. Thankfully it was just the 2 of us in the 6 person sardine can! We had a couple of coversations where she spoke German and some English and I guessed what she was saying. She was very friendly and even helped me on the U-bahn the next morning. After a restless sleep, but a sleep nontheless, I headed towards my hostel in the centre. Lucky enough to arrive in the still dark morning,  I saw twinkling lights on buildings and hanging over streets. They were great enough to let me check in at 7 but I ate breakfast and spent some time online before heading up to the room and disturbing anyone. When I finally lugged my bag to the 7 floor (also known as D for some bizarre reason) my room mate Mika from Russia was also just arriving. He was very friendly and we chatted before heading our own ways. He is living and working in Germany, near Berlin, for the next couple of years. I inquired at the front desk about walking tours and was shocked to find out they aren't allowed in Vienna! This was my way to see the city and learn its history. I couldn't believe I wouldn't have the opportunity. As I flipped through an information book about things happening in Vienna I found a section in the back about........walking tours! They don't have the free variety but they do indeed have them, but I had just missed them all! Frustrating!

I went out with my map and did the walking tour outlined on it instead. Vienna is full of a rich history of classical music, composers, and a certain psychoanalyst. The beautiful buildings guilded in gold and statues on every street corner were magnificent. But as I walked around the city I wondered if I was missing something. It wasn't the magical place I expected it to be. It was just another city in Europe....with a few more famous people than average. I continued to explore, finding christmas markets, the town hall churches, the opera, the museum quarter, Heroes Square, Heldenplatz and many others. As I tried to find my way back to the hostel later that day I walked along the Danube and enjoyed the bar boats and graffiti lined pathways. Lights started to illuminate my way and it was truly beautiful......but not any more so than oh let's say....Berlin. I'm just saying that Christmas in Wein has nothing on Christmas in Berlin, or anywhere in Germany for that matter! Speaking to Mika later, he agreed that he thought there would be more.......glamour, flash, uniqueness? No worry though because I still enjoyed walking around, I just wished I knew more history behind the buildings and sights I was seeing.

The next day I started out in Stephensplatz and wandered around the shops in an attempt to change my Polish zloti into Euros. I hadn't spent as much as I thought so I had a bit left over. The first few places were taking almost half my money and were so rude! I have over 30 zlt in coins from a bus driver and they won't take them. It's only about 10€ but that's still something! I finally went to a bank, got it changed at a slightly less highway robbery price and accepted the fate that I have a wallet full of metal! I also stopped at the post office. I had 4 stamped postcards from Prague that I forgot to send and I needed new stamps to send them from Austria. However, the price of stamps in Vienna is a whole Euro more than anywhere else! I will take my chances at sending them from Budapest! I headed to the Spanish Riding School where I bought my tickets for the next day's practice and also stopped at a tourist office where I bought a 10€ ticket to the Opera, also on the following day. I headed to Belvedere where I saw the famous painting "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt. I didn't think much of it before seeing it in person but it is breathtaking. It is truly a magnificent piece of art. I am an official fan of his work. As well as the work done by his older brother who worked with metal. I explored more of the city, following my map and walking randomly down streets. When it was finally time to turn back I got lost again. Finding myself at a Hopbahnhof, I bought my train ticket to Budapest and then headed out after a brief consultation with the map. After a longer than expected walk down the street I stopped for the map again! Heading in the wrong direction! Ugh.....I turned right and continued walking when I noticed things were looking familiar......hmmmmm. Consulting my map for the third time, I finally got my bearings, figured out where I was and made it back! Phew. It had been a bad day filled with grumpy people who were rude and unaccomodating. I really wanted to be home today....first time I considered a ticket home since I started my journey.

The only sunny day during my visit was on my birthday...which I was dreading spending alone. I had made plans so I'd be busy. I started at the Spanish riding school. It's a beautiful arena with crystal chandeliers hanging from red velvet ropes. The horses were beautiful with heavy curved necks and graceful legs. I had great seats that I sought out carefully and I relaxed to enjoy the show. I knew that every practice was different and while they didn't do much exciting it was still amazing to watch the horses. They did one move where the horse jumped straight up in the air and kicked his front and back legs straight outin frint and back. They also did another one where the horse reared and stayed on his hind legs for several moments. As beautiful as they are, they have nothing on the Hannoverians! I talked to some ladies from the US sitting beside me and they invited me to join them at a play that evening but I already had tickets to the Opera. When practice ended I went out in search of new shoes, which I desperately need. My feet are in constant pain. I found some Nike's with a huge amount of memory foam in the sole but when trying them on the memory foam was nonexistent and the attached tongue made it hard to get on so by the time my foot was in the sock was skin tight on my toes.....after asking some advice and getting some shrugs and "well you could try these" paired with a random pick, I decided to leave it and find a shoe expert instead. As I was walking around the square looking for Mozarthause I passed a man singing his heart out to the tunes playing in his headphones. A woman walking beside me caught my eye and we burst out laughing......several times. It was great! He was an older man strutting his stuff and carrying his toneless tune! And the funny thing is, even after going into a shop, I saw him again. And then when I was leaving Mozarthause (which I saw but didn't pay to go in) he was there again! My own birthday music! As I walked to the tram I smiled about the way the man "sang like nobody was listening"! My next stop was to Zentralfriedhof, the huge cemetary in Vienna. Sounds morbid but it's supposed to be really cool to see so off I went. A quick glimpse and walk through was enough. I found Bethoven's grave and then jumped on the next tram back to town where I switched lines to Hundertwasser, translated as A Hundred Waters. I ended up on a tram going the wrong direction so I got off switched and finally found my way. The buildung's architecture is meant to be really different. I got off the tram, following signs pointing the way but couldn't see anything that cool. I decided to check one more block where I found a Gaudi inspired building. No corners and lots of curves, colour, and shapes. It was in fact really cool. It was just starting to get dark and I had a few more stops to make so I found my way back to the tram. After a quick ride on the historic Tram #2, I took the U bahn to my hostel. I met a guy in my room whose next stop is Prague and he is taking my postcards to mail them! So exciting! So if you get a postcard with a czech stamp, you'll know it was yours! ;) Changing, Mika and I left for the Opera. I hadn't eaten dinner and I was going to grab something quick but realized I didn't have enough time. Instead I bought a Draniki, a hashbrown sort of snack that tasted like potato pancakes. We headed into the magnificent Opera house! It was an amazing experience to watch an Opera in the Weiner Staatsoper, but I realized I don't like opera music very much! Lol I'm still glad I went though!

Afterwards I was starving; the only place open? McDonald's! Which is fine because I really wanted something from home anyways! Our plan was to have cake after but they closed the dessert counter and wouldn't sell us anything even though we were right there! It was OK though, I don't really need cake! We walked back to the hostel and I was sort of able to Skype with mom and dad! It was a nice evening with good company.

While Vienna was beautiful and grand, it wasn't one of my favorite places. The people are rude and it's not any more special than the other amazing European cities I've been to. But of course I'm always glad to visit a new city and see what they have to offer! And the perfect ending to my visit in Vienna!?!? The big white snowflakes that fell as the train to Budapest pulled into the station!