Vienna

Kate and Josh waved me goodbye on the platform as the train pulled away to make its way Vienna. on the train ride there i met an American guy called Mark, really nice bloke, hes a Hedge fund guy thingy... ok i dont really know what exactly he does but he lives in Manhattan, New York and he's very well travelled, i get the feeling hes been everywhere, its great having a chat with him about where to go and what to check out. (by the way, i keep meeting Americans, whats with that?) hopefully we're going to catch up when i get to New York. its been quite fun having someone you dont really know to walk around with, you get to learn about a city and a person at the same time, its like a double date! well, kinda...

Vienna is a really beautiful city, its funny because as i've been travelling i've noticed how the city centre is probably the prettiest part of town but as you move further out of the city it deteriorates but with Vienna it seems consistantly beautiful. tree lined streets, beautiful parks and gardens, stunning buildings it all seems a little too perfect. i don't know if its just me but it seems the city has been designed to have a 'wow' effect. like you kind of get an obsticle in your way and then once you move you see this beautiful building that was hidden behind it and it just slaps you in the face, they are so big and beautiful, you can't help but look at them in awe. there are so many art galleries and theaters here (i shouldnt be so suprised i am in Vienna) that i kind of didn't bother becuase there was too much to see and i couldn't afford to to do it really. but it doesnt matter.

The Hostel i'm staying at is pretty good, actually its probably one of the best i've stayed in so far, fresh, clean sheets. the beds are really comfy and the rooms are pretty warm too. and best of all the showers are warm 24 hours a day, which seems to be no mean feat in europe. The people that work and are staying here are pretty cool too. one thing i can't get over is the number of Australians that are traveling, theres always a good chance your going to run into one wherever you stay. also i've have a few strange moments, not just in Vienna but throughout my trip when i've heard Aussie music playing, like John Farnham 'Your the Voice' blaring out of a train station PA. its bizarre because its the last thing i expected to hear while in europe. They must put John Farnham over the PA to keep all the delinquents away, similar to the way, back home, they play classical music to keep bogans away. (sorry John, in the off chance you come across this blog)

Now, there have been a few child prodigies over time, a few names spring to mind like: Tina Arena, Gary 'what-chu-talkin-bout?' Coleman and that fat kid from the sorbent toilet paper ads. but the first was a little guy by the name of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. you may have heard of him, he was pretty big around these parts, he wrote some pretty famous tunes. i checked out the apartment he lived in during the height of his fame and was where he wrote some of his biggest hits, which was quite cool. everywhere you look in Vienna there seems to be a Mozart cafe or a Mozart coffee mug, even some people dressed up like Mozart (smells like a tourist hook if you ask me).

another guy who was pretty popular around here was, in my opition, colour blind. he when by the name of Johann Strauss, he was known as the 'waltz king' and he wrote a song called the 'Blue Danube'. now, i've seen the Danube a couple of times now (the first time in Hungary) and i can tell you, its not blue, i'd say its more of a green.

Being the cultured guy that i am, i went and saw a Opera which was quite an experience, definately a must-do in Vienna. i was lucky because i found out if you go to the opera an hour before it starts you can get standing room tickets for just 4 euro! BARGAIN! and our tickets were suprisingly good, we were down the bottom level up the back. some people who got the same tickets as us got the nose bleed section. we only watched until halfway, because after 2 hours of standing, our legs were about to drop off and theres only so much a man can take. the music was brilliant though i really enjoyed listening to an orchestra live. it was AMAZING! i really hope that i never go deaf because i don't know what i'd do without music, its easily the one thing that makes me really happy. Dad woiuld argue i already am deaf when it comes to him asking me to clean my room, i like to think its more selective hearing.

we checked out pretty much everything there is to see in Vienna, Museum Quartier, City hall (which was massive!), St. Stephans which was a massive Gothic church, but its roof was strange because it had a rastafari pattern (i didnt get to the bottom of that one) and the Opera haus, just to name a few. but i think the most amazing bit was the Schonbrunn Palace. it was amazing, the parks around it were beautiful, complete with hedge mazes and even a zoo! funny story from there was i saw an old lady with one of those recording guide things that tell you about the room but punching in the corresponding number, it looked like she didn't really know what it was because she was talking to it like a telephone, i didn't have to the heart to tell her it was a one way conversation. the palace was pretty cool a couple of people they talked about was Maria Theresia and Franz Joseph who had a pretty tragic life really, he married a woman called Elizabeth (who i believe may have been his cousin) whom he adored but she didn't love him, she was later assassinated and his son committed suicide. The Palace was also where a 6 year old Mozart played his first concert.

The food here is pretty good too, Mark and I came across a strip of markets while we were walking around, and they proved to be quite cheap to eat at also. I heard Vienna can be quite expensive but so far its been about the same. Of course there are some expensive places within the city centre but the outskirts of the city are tasty and reasonable.
It was a little bit colder in Vienna than other places i've visited, but also its getting into winter now (which i'm bracing myself for) but H&M has been my saving grace. H&M is like a chain of shops throughout Europe that have plain but cheap clothing, and that are reasonably good quality. i brought myself some gloves and a beanie to help keep the chill away. some how i think this won't be the last time i venture into a H&M.

I had a fun time in Vienna, but i think its definately for the older crowd. i was going to give Vienna a big fat zero on night life, overall i found there night life a little bland compared to other places i've been too. but i did go to one cool bar, i was taken there by a girl called Eliza, she was originally from Vienna but she now lives in the states, she came back home as a surprise for her mother and was staying at the hostel just for the night. she was pretty out there and a little bit hippy and at first i wasnt sure of her ut she took us out to this bar called 'Tanzcafe Fenseits'. it originally was a brothel in the early 50's but had been converted into a bar but with all the original furniture, it had a real kind of burlesque feel to it, not seedy at all. i really like it, it was pretty pretty different from the rest of Vienna.

Anyway, I'm off to Prague next, which i think will be quite exciting.