VIENNA, AUSTRIA
When I
first conjured up the idea of traveling in 2011, I wanted to live in
Vienna. I had visited in 2003 and thought
it was the most gorgeous European city I had ever seen. Granted, I hadn’t seen many European cities
at that point but I still felt confident about Vienna’s beauty. So my original trip intentions were to travel
for 3 months and then spend 9 months here.
I thought that, as wonderful as it would be to see many places, it would
be more rewarding to be submerged in one place.
And Vienna is a beautiful place to be submerged.
But now
that I had traveled to many other cities around the world, I was really nervous
to see Vienna. Was it as impressive as I
had remembered? Was I just being naïve
and foolish? Perhaps its major sights
wouldn’t even hold a candle to the Opera House of Sydney, Eiffel Tower of
Paris, Temple Bar of Dublin, castle of Edinburgh or the Statue of Liberty in
New York. I was really nervous that I
would have to admit that I didn’t know jack about Europe, urban planning, or
myself.
Trenton
and I took an evening bus from Bratislava and miraculously made it to his
friend’s apartment at the Nussdorfer Strasse metro stop. Friedi had a cute apartment that was just
full of character. I love to observe
people’s home decorations- It’s amazing how, given the same amount of space,
every human being can utilize it so differently. Lucky for us, Friedi was
generous enough to share her creative space with two Americans for four days!
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| Po-Po at Metro Stop |
The next
morning, we contemplated buying 2-day metro passes. Friedi had only been asked for her ticket
once in 5 years from the Vienniese Police.
Unfortunately, it was the one time she wasn’t carrying it and received a
heavy fine of 60 euros. We were warned
that there could be undercover cops on the trains or barricades at different
station exits on different days that may ask for your ticket. We decided to do the right thing and couldn’t
have been happier with our decision. At
our first exit, the police were lined up just waiting for us. We smiled extra wide when showing off our
recent validation! Apparently the police
don’t give high-fives for doing the right thing.
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| Viennese cafe in the rain |
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| Loving Vienna! |
We got
off at the popular Stephenplatz metro stop and made a quick visit to St. Stephen’s
Cathedral to avoid the rain. This had
been the location where my sister, Gayle, and I had met my parents when we all
visited my brother, Glenn, in 2003. As
we made our way up the chic shopping streets, I felt my whole body become
lighter. Vienna WAS as gorgeous as I
remembered! Everything in sight was
filled with such sophistication. Each
building and statue had been polished to the brightest of white. The wrought-iron fences contained more ornate
detail than I could have ever imagined.
I was under an enchanted spell as I made my way under the archways
leading to the Habsburg Palace. Poor
Trenton- I must have asked him 10 times- Isn’t this city AMAZING??!!
We
walked a good portion of the Ringstrasse in the rain until we sought refuge in
a ritzy café for the remainder of the afternoon. We tried our best to find a small, cozy café
that could accommodate two frugal backpackers but to no avail. Vienna was far too classy for us! We were underdressed for most of our time
there. After eating from an Asian street kiosk
called ‘Funny Noodles’, Trenton didn’t feel so well. Who could have predicted an upset stomach
from such a fine establishment?? :) I spent
the rest of the rainy evening getting lost among the streets of Vienna on my
own and was able to fulfill the Beatles' song ‘Ballad of John and Yoko’- “Finally made the trip
to Vienna…eating chocolate cake in a bag”. Yummy stuff.
 |
| Beatles rendition |
I made
it back to Friede’s apartment just in time for trivia night at the pub next
door. I hate trivia. It really exposes the cold, harsh truth that
I’m not very smart. Our female team
represented four different countries- Germany, Austria, Ireland and America and
I was definitely useless. Most of the
trivia was based on American history and the team would look to me with eager
eyes. Why so many questions about a
country that is so young compared to surrounding Europe?? We were in Austria- why couldn’t there have
been more trivia that could have justified me not knowing? We didn’t come away winners (thanks to me)
but we did answer some bonus questions that won us some free delicious
shots.
 |
| A blend of Monet and me |
The next
day, Friede played tour guide and brought us all around the city. My favorite surprise site was a staircase
outside of the Albertina museum which promoted the Monet to Picasso exhibit. A Monet watercolor entitled ‘The Waterlily
Pond’ was painted/layered on the outside of the steps which looked entirely
different when walking up versus walking down.
It was such a small, unexpected part of my trip to Vienna and it ended
up being the ultimate highlight. There
was something about it that just made me smile both inside and out.
 |
| Gardens at Shonbrunn Palace |
We carried on to the Shonbrunn Palace
about 30 minutes outside of the city center.
I was surprised that, despite having 1,441 rooms, there was no vacancy
for an American backpacker such as myself.
The former Habsburg Palace served as a summer residency and has been one
of the most popular Viennese tourist attractions since the 1960s. The palace’s exterior was rather ordinary but
the surrounding gardens and labyrinth were reassuringly regal. I insisted that we climb the hill that lead
to the Gloriette on the opposite side of the gardens where we could look out
over the city. Ahhhh Vienna!
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| Shonbrunn Palace |
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| Shonbrunn Palace |
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| Belvedere Castle |
Friede
was kind enough to extend the tour to Naschmakt which was a large outdoor
market that had a surprising amount of Turkish delight. We visited the decadent church at Karlsplatz
before heading to famous Belvedere Castle (built in the early 1700s). Can you imagine having so many castles in
your backyard? This castle in particular was the former home
of Franz Ferdinand, the man whose death supposedly triggered WWI. The palace is now a museum but we were too
tuckered out. Instead, we got some Veal
Schnitzel from a street vendor and had a very relaxing evening while watching
‘Vanilla Sky’. Personally, I think that movie
was the beginning of the end for Tom Cruise but it got me thinking about other
things as well. Because I was moving around
so much during my entire trip, I rarely took the time to sit down and watch a
movie. I always felt like I should be
engaging in the culture in one way or another….or checking in with my boyfriend
and family located 7000 and 4000 miles away, respectively. But, man, the couple times when I actually
just sat and let a movie entertain me were so rewarding. It all made me think about routine. I’d say the majority of human beings enjoy
routine. When placed in a new
environment, we like it best when we have mastered the system and can control
it to our own desired speed and comfort.
Otherwise, life can feel very messy and time can feel wasted. But, interestingly enough, once we’ve mastered
the system and established a routine, we crave a diversion. It’s in the diversions that our lives are
revived with zest and we have the energy to keep going with the
day-to-day. Those couple hours of
watching ‘Vanilla Sky’ restored my faith in the necessity for balance in life. Here I was in gorgeous Vienna where the world
was my oyster and all I wanted to do was watch a crappy movie. And I’m ok with that.
On the
last day, I took one more trip downtown to see pretty Vienna before I had to
catch my plane. I’m not sure if I had
mentioned this before on the blog but I decided to buy an ornament from every
country I visited during 2011. I figured
it was a nice tradition to start as I came upon the age where I should be
decorating my own Christmas tree. I also
thought that ornaments would be an easy souvenir to carry with me. However, I knew I’d be meeting my parents at
my next destination so I could unload some unwanted weight from my backpack and
put it in theirs. Aren’t parents the
best? I smiled as the Viennese man
wrapped up my sophisticated ornament from the sophisticated city. Vienna was even better than I
remembered. And perhaps I will live here
in another life…like in Vanilla Sky….a life where I speak German fluently and
eat Viennese chocolate cake from a bag every day. J
More pics from Vienna: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.979016915107.2374748.1611207&type=1&l=c06da94a0a
FOODS I TRIED: veal schnitzel, funny noodles, sausage with
cheese, Averna shot (yum), dragonfruit
When I
first conjured up the idea of traveling in 2011, I wanted to live in
Vienna. I had visited in 2003 and thought
it was the most gorgeous European city I had ever seen. Granted, I hadn’t seen many European cities
at that point but I still felt confident about Vienna’s beauty. So my original trip intentions were to travel
for 3 months and then spend 9 months here.
I thought that, as wonderful as it would be to see many places, it would
be more rewarding to be submerged in one place.
And Vienna is a beautiful place to be submerged.
But now
that I had traveled to many other cities around the world, I was really nervous
to see Vienna. Was it as impressive as I
had remembered? Was I just being naïve
and foolish? Perhaps its major sights
wouldn’t even hold a candle to the Opera House of Sydney, Eiffel Tower of
Paris, Temple Bar of Dublin, castle of Edinburgh or the Statue of Liberty in
New York. I was really nervous that I
would have to admit that I didn’t know jack about Europe, urban planning, or
myself.
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