1 post tagged “vienna”

Thursday

My departure from Paris was not the smoothest, as the security check lady seemed to be on an enormous power trip. She tried to tell me that my bar of soap and deodorant were creams. I insisted that they are solids (the deodorant said solid on the stick!) because a) they are, and b) i had no room left in the regulation tiny plastic bag I had filled with sample sizes. And I was not going to throw out my conditioner for her!

After she called over an associate because, as she announced to the whole security team, "Mademoiselle says that a cream is not a cream and I'm getting fed up with her," her higher-up said that she was wrong and I was right. I shot her a triumphant look, which was a mistake. I'm amazed that they let me on the plane at all, since after that they did their best to find something to keep me off it. The guy insisted that she check every square inch of my bag, took my ticket and passport to some back office, and then dared me to close my toiletry bag. He said if I couldn't close it I'd have to throw something out, and he obviously thought it was too full. Another triumphant look later, I walked to the duty free store to try out the Beaujolais Nouveau, which had arrived that morning. Yes, it was 11 am, but that doesn't mean that people weren't lining up to drink!

My arrival in Vienna was much better, and I made it to the hostel by 3:30. It was in an incredibly scary-looking building, but I had read that on the review sites and was prepared. My room had four beds, and there was also a ten-bed room. I met an Australian, Stefanie, shortly after arriving and we headed off to the Albertina for the Picasso exhibit. I was a bit annoyed that the rest of the museum was closed for some party, as I don't really love¨Picasso, but it was an impressive exhibit.

We hopped across the street to Hotel Sacher for their famous Sacher Torte. Again, I was disappointed with it, but it's one of those things you have to do in Vienna.

The Leopold Museum was not at all disappointing. In fact, I'd have to say it's one of my top five favorite museums ever! I didn't know how much I loved Schiele until I kept going back to stare at this:

I just walked around the whole place, completely content.

At closing, Stefanie and I discovered a big party going on in Museum Quarter. I had my second cup of mulled wine of the season, and then we followed empty noodle boxes to a stand that sold the BEST chicken curry. See how much Stef likes it?

There was this incredibly bizarre giant plastic bag with loud, angry rock kids jamming inside. It was like being in a Jiffy bag:

Walking back to the hostel, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this sign:

Immature, I know, but it was pretty funny after the hot wine.

Friday

I slept well, as there was only one other guy in my room. He was a loud sleeper, but my ear plugs worked. It had been about 6 years since I'd stayed in a hostel so I was a bit nervous, but it's fine. Kind of like returning to college for a few days.

Stefanie and I headed out to see Stephansdom, and then split up for the rest of the day. I wandered around the fancy shopping area, enjoying the architecture. I stopped in at Demel's, a famous bakery, and looked at all the pretty boxes and chocolates and even watched the chefs in a glassed-in kitchen.

Everything was so pretty!

I made my way to the Hofburg, the old Hapsburg palace. I took a tour of the Imperial Apartments, the Sissi Museum, and the Imperial Silver Collection, which was much more interesting than it sounds. There were rooms and rooms of beautiful china, crystal, table decorations, and other ridiculous trappings of an Imperial family. The amount of money these people spent on plates is astounding. Check out this stack of solid silver plates, which were used for everyday:

Crazy.

Leaving the palace I saw this line of carriages and for a moment the city looked like it was 100 years ago. No cars, no ads, no nothing.

I ate a quick lunch at Trzesniewski based on Anna's suggestion, and loved it. I had little pieces of bread topped with tomato smush, liver smush, or pepper smush, and a teeny beer. Delish.

I found the Viennese public transport extremely easy to use, and visited the KunstHausWien, which was totally trippy. The floors are all swervy and this guy's art is so colorful and unlike anything else I've seen. 

I had an incredibly yummy dinner at Immervoll, recommended by my good friend Lonely Planet. It was imperative that I sit for a good hour and a half, as my feet and legs were aching. I had a few glasses of young white wine with my pumpkin ravioli and goat cheese salad, and probably inhaled a full pack of Marlboros from the old chain-smoker next to me.

At this point I should have gone back to the hostel, but I pressed on and took in the Haus der Musik. I was really too tired to enjoy it, but some of the interactive exhibits were pretty cool. Still, not a must see.

It was a beautiful chilly night, so I walked around the Hofburg and to the Parliament and City Hall. Vienna has kept its buildings completely sparking white, and they're all lit up so beautifully at night.

In front of the City Hall people were setting up the last bits of the Christmas Markets, which were opening the next day. I took this before picture, to compare pre-Christmas market to post:

Empty! Dark! But wait till you see what happens the next night.

My hips aching, I finally made my way back to the hostel, where I collapsed after a hot shower.

Saturday

I woke up to an enormous white ass descending the ladder, and realized there were four people in the room the night before. I was so tired I hadn't really noticed. I had gotten up early to make my way to the naschmarkt before it got too crowded. There was so much beautiful food! I almost bought an eggplant just cause they were so shiny. It was overwhelming, but I ate my apricot jam-filled doughnut while looking at all the gorgeous food.

On Saturdays the food market is joined by a flea market.  I adore flea markets. I found a small Chanukkah present for my sister, and otherwise laughed at the bizarre juxtapositions of items:

Or at the unintentionally hilarious Austrian tchotkes:

That cover reminds me of the old SNL skit, "Oops, I crapped my pants!" I'm sure there's a good explanation for why Helga is in this situation, but since I don't speak German I'll never know.

After an hour I was ready to move on, as the market became more and more crowded. I went to Schloss Belvedere, to visit the Austrian National Gallery, which includes Klimt's "The Kiss." It wasn't too crowded, which was nice, and the I had a little picnic of Turkish food I'd picked up at the market in the foggy gardens. This is my flat bread, tarama salata, and stuffed peppers:

And yes, mom, the peppers are really, really good with cheese.

On my way back to the tram I was accosted by the owner of a tourist shop who wanted to sell me his Klimt scarves and key rings. I cracked up when I saw his main claim to fame:

I arrived at the Kunsthistoriches Museum with three hours to closing, thinking that would be more than enough. Wrong! I was so art-ed out that I barely was able to take in the Rubens, Durers, Rembrandts, Titians, Brueghels, Caravaggios, etc that line the walls. It was an amazing museum and definitely needs a fresh brain to appreciate it.

I tried a bratwurst from the sausage guy near the opera, on Anna's suggestion, and waited for Stefanie. We had agreed to try for student tickets to Giselle, and I was really hoping we would get in. Unfortunately we didn't, and when I started to pout Stefanie made me stop. I laughed at how quickly she had gotten to know me.

We decided to take in the Christmas market in front of the Rathaus, or City Hall. The difference between one day and the next was amazing! Remember that deserted pathway from Friday night? This is it Saturday:

It was so full of people and lights and spiced wine and gingerbread and ornaments that it was a bit overwhelming.

But still lots of fun and I can never pass up spiced wine!

Since both of us were limping at this point, we decided to take the bus back to our hostel. Stefanie insisted that the 48A bus would loop around and drop us off at the corner, so we hopped on. About half an hour later, I noticed that we were passing suburban-looking houses. Since our hostel was only a ten minute walk from our departure point, I was getting nervous. Stef said it would loop, so we waited, getting increasingly nervous on the increasingly empty bus. Finally we pulled out a map and tried to figure out where we were, only to realize we had no idea. We watched the 48A coming from the other direction, and debated getting off at the next stop and crossing the road to catch it. A few stops later, when the bus showed absolutely no sign of ever turning around, we got off and crossed the road to wait for the next bus going in the other direction. At that moment the bus we'd been on did a U-turn and picked us back up again! We started cracking up, realizing that the bus had finally made its loop.

When the bus did, indeed, drop us off on our corner we popped into a bar to get a beer and chat before turning in. It was really nice having a travel buddy, and I think it worked out well. There were things we both wanted to do together, but we spent a lot of time separately, too. It was nice knowing that not EVERY meal would be eaten alone, and to have someone to gossip with about the other hostel-stayers. Stefanie is traveling throughout Europe for the next four months, and I hope she comes to stay with me in Paris for a bit.

Overall, I had a great time in Vienna. Each time I take a trip it gets easier and easier. I'm no longer intimidated by foreign public transportation systems, maps, or arriving in a city without any idea as to how to get to my hotel. I just trust that it'll work out, that there'll be an information booth, and that when I inevitably do get lost, there'll be someone to laugh about it with.