Fall Break, Part III: The Rest of Vienna. October 26th, 27th, and 28th.
Our day on Monday started off quite hysterically. I woke up to my keys sticking in my back because I had somehow managed to fall asleep on them – Dana had flooded the bathroom – our roommates were a bunch of goofballs that we couldn’t seem to figure out – and ultimately, I think we were all just still super tired. We had breakfast downstairs in the hostel with a kid named Melvin from Amsterdam and a former Peace Corps volunteer who spent two years in Niger.
First stop was St. Stephen’s Cathedral. We climbed the tower and Joanna, Megan and I decided to make our climb down easier by singing songs from the Sound of Music, which is clearly what you do when you’re in Austria! Needless to say, the others weren’t to pleased with us. At any rate, we continued on to the main shopping street in the city. From there we landed ourselves at the Hofburg Palace.
Inside the Hofburg, we went to go see the Imperial apartments, the silver and china collections, and learn about the history of the Hofburgs in Vienna. Those are some great stories if anyone is interested in reading some good non-fiction.
We also ran into Kelsey Weimer, Viviana Quevedo, and Julia Ruskin who are all also studying in London this semester. It was good to see them! As we continued on into the center courtyard, we discovered that we had landed ourselves in the middle of yet another National Holiday – Proclamation Day. It was when Austria and Hungary split for good. I’m going to assume it was along the same lines as Budapest’s reason for celebrating then…? Right, makes sense. It was a huge carnival type of celebration in the middle of this palace. We tried all of the local delicacies such as bratwurst, schnitzel, beer, and this really sweet meringue pastry.
We headed off to the Ring Strasse from there. We were all really giddy so it was quite an interesting. There was a Free Hugs girl outside the palace so I of course gave her one. If you’re not sure what I mean about the Free Hugs thing, you can either check my Facebook for the picture or Google it. It’s a really cool campaign. Another thing for instance, was that I saw a store that was called, “Frey Wille”, so immediately pointed and shouted out, “FREE WILLY!” I think we all almost fell over laughing. Not too long after that, we almost got trampled by a horse and buggy that just appeared out of nowhere. Oh, Vienna.
We made it to the Opera House in the Ring Strasse and discovered that Swan Lake was being broadcast LIVE onto the screen outside from what was happening inside. So, we sat out in the rain and watched the Viennese Ballet perform Swan Lake. That’s pretty cool.
After that we headed off to the Leopold Museum. There was an exhibit by the guy, Munch, that made The Scream. It was really cool to see! From there went to Parliament and the Town Hall. They were both really gorgeous buildings and were even more awesome because they were illuminated at night! We took all of the touristy pictures as was necessary.
We went back to the hostel to recuperate and then rally for the rest of the night. We went to go have dinner at a restaurant on the corner and then went back to the Wom-Bar for drinks and staying in for the evening. Some great conversation ensued as we had some beers, wine, and other drinks. It was nice just to relax with them and have a good time.
Tuesday started off with breakfast at the hostel and then the Belvedere Palace. We didn’t go inside but the gardens were a sight enough to see. After that we went to Karlsplatz to see the church that was built in thanks for delivering Vienna from the plague. Only Carolyn and Rach went in and the rest of us stayed outside and chilled at the fountain. On our way to find the market for lunch and the Secession Building, we ran into the Liberation monument which was also partly a fountain. I faked throwing Aviva and Dana in which was quite entertaining. We found the outdoor market for lunch and all ate quite well indeed.
Next was the Schonbrunn Palace which was the summer home of the Hofburgs. It was unbelievably gorgeous. We took a tour there as well. Inside the Palace were the following two rooms: where Mozart held his first concert at the age of six and where JFK and Khrushchev met for the Vienna Summit. That’s amazing stuff. The gardens here were unreal. We climbed to the top and had a better than postcard view of the city of Vienna. It was breathtaking. We got some great pictures there.
We went back to the hostel after that because we were all exhausted. We just took some time to relax before we went out for dinner. We went to 7 Stern Brau for dinner, which is like a Viennese Beer Hall. It had a really awesome atmosphere. I had Viennese potato goulash and Wiener Helles, which is a Viennese beer – cheap too! We were all exhausted and in bed by 11.
Wednesday was an early day. We had to check out and also wanted to head up to the opposite side of the city to see the Danube. We took the metro and found ourselves at, what was essentially, an amusement park! It was called Praterplatz. Aviva and I rode the Dizzy Mouse, which was our favorite one at Oktoberfest, and then I did my first open air steel coaster! It was awesome! Rachel, Megan, Aviva, and Dana did it with me!
We took the metro back to Stephansplatz and went to Demel for cake and coffee. Demel is where Empress Sisi used to pass her time. It was her favorite café. We each made sure to get a different type of cake so we could sample everything. We all basically got different types of coffee or hot chocolate too! I got the Irish coffee and the house cake. Those, if I do say so myself, were very good decisions on my part.
We took the tube back to the hostel and then unfortunately said goodbye to Jo because she wasn’t spending the rest of break with us. Our train to Prague left at six! On the train we listed all the presidents, all the states, and all the capitals. Those are some great time killers if you need them! I loved that train ride J We got in at 9:30, had to find our hostel despite there not being any English ANYWHERE! The hostel was a little sketchy and we couldn’t find anywhere for dinner except this guy that was closing down his pizza shop. We all crashed pretty much when we got back. The rest is tomorrow!
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