Man I never knew that Vienna was such a hotspot for Japanese tourists (and other tourists in general), because as a person who has been a few places there is something I have learned: the Japanese in their giant tour groups means that there are tons of things to take pictures of and lots of places to shop. hah. That sounds so stereotypical, but seriously I had no idea that Vienna was one of those cities.
It is a beautiful city that has something about it, maybe it's just me finally being in another large European city after a prolonged absence. There was just a special thing about the mix of old and new, but most European cities have mastered that as well. While at the museums it was so interesting to see the same promenades in 1890 or something and you were still able to find some remnants of that antiquated way of life when you yourself walked down them. I just love that aspect and it makes me feel like just by being there I can soak up a part of the history.
I arrived around 11pm and could not for the life of me find the street on which the hostel I wanted was located. I walked for about half hour or more up and down the same street and after I thought people might start recognizing me I decided to call it quits and go to a more expensive, well-located hostel. I hate these types of hostels, but I was desperate and didn't care about my hostel ethics at this point in time. But btw, why the hell anyone needs electronic key cards, 15 computers, a giant pillow lounge, among other ridiculous amenities in a hostel and end up paying 17 Euros a night for a flippin' dorm bed is beyond me. This is not a hostel in my opinion, because it is not cheap and it's too damn fancy. All I want is a bed and a key (I pack so little that I can carry it with me all day) for maybe 8-10 Euros. Why the hell is this so impossible here?
The next day I started my trek around the city way too early in the morning. About 20 minutes after leaving the hostel I realized my feet were freezing and I needed to buy another pair of socks before they turned black. I finally found the everything is 1 Euro store and got some hideous man socks, but damn it was nice to have not freezing feet, just cold feet. Although they made my feet squished into my shoes and hurt my toe, so I had to walk sideways on one foot, which made my ankle hurt, but at least I wasn't freezing, right?
I started the day with the idea that on Saturday I would take a boat to Bratislava and schlepp around there for a day, but little did I know I was in Vienna the only two weeks of the year that said boat did not run. What luck right? So I spent all of Friday oblivious to this fact and did most of the tourist things that I wanted, except museums, as those are always reserved for the last day as a means of recovery. I went to the Hundertwasser Haus
Stephansdom
Wiener Riesenrad (side note: did I mention that I am terrified of ferris wheels? Well, I am. I thought that maybe since I hadn't been on one since I was a small child (except the London Eye, which doesn't count)that maybe I wouldn't be scared. Wrong. I got in the big car, alone, and it started moving. At first, I thought it would be great and took pictures of the view and everything. Then it stopped: that feeling and the ferris wheel. And did I mention that it was very windy? Well I had to call my mother to talk to me and distract me while it was stopped and while it stopped again at the second position from the top. Luckily, it didn't stop at the top or I would have had a heart attack. It went well, but only because I was talking to my mom the entire time, which I'm sure will cost me an arm and a leg, but you can buy peace of mind, sometimes.)
And this ice skating rink at the Rathaus
among other places and spent a total of probably 10 hours sightseeing and was very proud of myself. Then I found out that I couldn't got to Bratislava and Saturday seemed like a waste because I had done so much already.
Well, lucky for me Saturday was freezing and snowing right? Oh yeah, lucky me. I went to the Naschmarkt because there was a fleamarket every morning that I could NOT miss. The market was very cool, but very crowded and eventually so cold that I had to buy Gluewein "mulled wine" at 10am. There were a few things that I wanted to buy at the market, but it was rather pricey for a fleamarket. Only if it's a real antique can something old be expensive. A person cannot simply decide that because this tin sign is old it must cost over 20 Euros, maybe at an antique store buddy, but the point is to sell stuff, or am I the only one in the dark here? But it was nice to look at all the cool, old things I would love to own, but can't because if I were allowed to my house would look like an old cat lady's. I'm terrible hah.
On Sunday I finished up with a nice museum day, going to the Albertina to see an Andy Warhol exhibit and eating some original Sachertorte from the Sacher Hotel. I had tried one at Demel, another famous spot to eat this Weiner delight (he), but I think that the Sacher wins hands down. How could a person come here without making their own personal taste test, which is just an excuse to eat lots of chocolate cake. :) I finished up some shopping, which only included a bag of Mozart chocolates and headed to the train after many hours of just walking around in the cold taking pictures.
I had a good time in Vienna, but this was the first time that I have not wanted to be somewhere. It wasn't exactly not wanting to be there, but not wanting to be there alone. It would have been so much fun with Andri or another friend, because I would have had someone to talk to. And also, I'm getting tired of looking at things. I want to do something like go to the beach, go sailing, go skiing, or hike, or kayak or something. I think that I have hit the point where I am ready to give up my opportunities of taking pictures to do something that I don't need pictures to remember. I have always loved seeing new things and going new places and love to try anything, but it just seems so hectic to be gone all the time because nothing in my real life seems to get done, like cleaning up this mess of an apartment or buying things to put in it. I guess I am starting to feel at home somewhere that I like so much that I just want to spend my time here besides those few travel opportunities that arise throughout the year. When I was in St. Joe I would have killed for any opportunity to go out and see the world, alone or not, but now I just feel like something is lacking because I actually miss the place and not just the people. Bern is so small and cozy that it would be nearly impossible to not feel at home here.
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