Vienna
Greeting from Vienna! After Zurich, Chase and I took an eight-hour train to Vienna, Austria. The train ride was pretty uneventful. It was yet another early train, so I put my earplugs in, my sleep mask on, and conked out for a good couple hours. This train definitely didn’t feel as long as the eight-hour train to Zurich, probably because I didn’t have to take two other trains before this one to Vienna.
Chase and I arrived in Vienna around 2pm and commenced figuring out how to get to our hostel. We tracked down the tram which took us almost all the way to our hostel, which was needed because it was incredibly hot in Vienna. This would start our streak of incredibly hot days where the temperature would not go below 80 degrees (from Vienna all the way to Athens, the temperature would only continue to increase ☹).
For this hostel, Chase and I were not only in separate rooms, but we also ended up in separate buildings. Chase was in the main building with reception as well as the common spaces, kitchen, and bar. I ended up in a room in the building right across the street. This wasn’t a big deal since the hostel was located on a quiet, residential street, so it’s not like I had to cross traffic every time I went from room to the kitchen. As soon as I got to my room and found my bed, I fell right asleep. Travel days make me tired, regardless of whether or not I slept on the train/plane/bus.
When I woke up a good couple hours later, I went in search of groceries and to just explore the city a little bit. I really liked getting to just walk around Vienna. The streets are pretty clean, and it reminded me of Madrid, where the city is a good mix of history and modern architecture. That night, Chase and I went for dinner. I found a Japanese place I wanted to try because having the really good Japanese food in Prague reminded me just how much I loveddddd Japanese food.
This place was pretty good, not anywhere near as good as the place in Prague. Once back at the hostel, I grabbed my laptop and headed down to the common area/bar to try and write some more of the blog (at this point I was behind but not nearly as behind as I am now. Sorry guys). This hostel was probably one of favorites when it came to meeting people and getting to just chill in the hostel. Every night a couple volunteers make a “family dinner” where you pay what you can. It’s usually vegetarian and is always served around eight pm.
I had already eaten, but it was nice to be down in the common room and talking with everyone who was there to eat and chill. The bar was super cheap and held happy hour specials on beers and cocktails. People were constantly making food in the kitchen. Overall, it was a great vibe and very friendly atmosphere. I didn’t get really any writing done because I got caught up in conversation.
The next day I had plans to go see the gardens of Schonbrunn Palace and the Kunsthistorisches Museum. I took the tram to the palace and was able to get into the gardens for free (God bless free activities). The problem was that it was hot. Like, super-hot. Of course, I wore pants because I wasn’t thinking. I also only really had one pair of shorts (I really have no idea why I thought I would only need one pair of shorts??? Like, what the hell was I thinking??). Just walking around the gardens at a leisurely pace was causing me to sweat.
On the bright side, the garden was beautiful. There were gorgeous flowers in different patterns, large gravel walks between the greenery, and a large fountain opposite the palace that was tempting to jump in. One of the highlights of the gardens is the lookout that is atop a hill. There’s a café up top, and the view is one of the sprawling city. Of course, you had to walk straight up the hill to get there and in the heat, it felt a lot longer. The walk was only about ten minutes but considering that I was sweating just walking on flat ground, the hike up felt horrible. Luckily, the view from the top was worth it.
I wandered around the grounds a little longer before I headed back down and to the entrance of the palace gardens so that I could make my way over to the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The museum was located around an area called museum quarter, a couple blocks that house a lot of the city’s museums. I chose the Kunsthistorisches Museum because it was recommended on a lot of travel sites as one of the best art museums in Vienna. I could easily see why this was. As soon as you walk in the door, you are greeted by a vaulted ceiling with gorgeous stonework. The main lobby features a massive staircase that leads up, domed by a fresco that looks like it belongs in a palace.
I walked around the museum for a quite a while, but honestly, I was mostly killing time since it was cool in the museum. There was a lot of nice art to look at, but there wasn’t anything super eye-catching, and no real famous pieces of work that might attract people who know nothing about art. Still, as someone who enjoys just wandering through art galleries, it was a nice experience. After the museum I went on the hunt for a cold drink and another pair of shorts.
I did a good job on the trip of not really buying any clothes because my luggage could not handle anything more. Can’t say the same for books (I ended up buying five hard copy books and let me tell you, I think my luggage would have preferred a T-shirt). Since the weather was so hot and it was only going to get hotter, I needed some other shorts besides the single pair I brought. I walked down the main shopping street which happened to be between the museum and my hostel (praise God).
The thing about shopping in Europe is that they have department stores that don’t exist in the US, and the department stores that are in the US have different clothes and are typically way better. For instance, H&M in Europe is ten times better than any H&M in the US. Prices are reasonable and the clothes are right in my style.
I walked around the stores for a while so that by the time I got back to my hostel, I was hot and sweaty but with another pair of shorts (and a new bikini for Greece). Chase wanted to go out and eat again but I was too tired and didn’t want to really spend more money, so I opted to stay at the hostel and have the family dinner. This was a good move as it was sauteed vegetables and rice. I stayed down in the common room, drinking and talking with some of the fellow travelers. At some point, a guy staying at the hostel offered everyone some of the Thai curry he made because he made way too much. I’m not one to turn down curry, so I had a second dinner and honestly, it was one of the best things I had eaten the whole trip and was actually spicy.
While at the bar, I ended up meeting a girl named Sam who had graduated from UNCW back in 2016 and was now an art teacher in Dubai. This was such a funny coincidence, and it was great getting to talk with her about Wilmington and her life now living in Dubai. (For the record, she makes good money as an art teacher in Dubai. AN ART TEACHER). I stayed up pretty late talking with everyone in the common room but finally went to bed later that night knowing I didn’t have to get up early.
The next day I went to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, one of the most famous churches in the city. The church is more gorgeous on the outside, with towering lattice stonework and a mosaic roof. The inside was honestly a little disappointing, unlike some of the other big cathedrals in Europe, this one was substandard with the decorations on the inside. I wandered around the that area for a little while though, enjoying the city life and appreciating the different buildings.
My second half of the day, I went to an aquarium that Chase had gone to the previous day. I’m a sucker for aquariums and considering that it was yet another hot ass day, a cool AC building with fish sounded great. The aquarium is unique because it is housed in an old anti-aircraft tower from WWII. It is eleven floors, with a rooftop bar and restaurant on the top floor that gives a 360 view of the city. I started at the top and grabbed a cocktail in the bar to admire the city. It was the perfect way to start the little trip.
From the 11th floor, I worked my way down. There were all kinds of different aquatic creatures from sharks and sea turtles to different species of coral. One of the coolest parts was a floor dedicated to Australian animals. There is a section that allows you to walk through the bird habitat, where the birds fly over your head outside of a cage. This was fascinating to me because my favorite thing to do at aquariums is take pictures, so of course I got excited to get some close-up bird shots.
I spent hours in the aquarium just walking around. When I had enough, I headed back to the hostel to pack up my stuff so I would be ready the next morning for yet another early train. Chase and I both called it an early night since, again, we had to get up early for our train to Budapest.
I really enjoyed Vienna though with the hot weather, it made it a little hard to enjoy outdoor activities. Besides museums and palaces, there’s not a ton to do tourist wise. That endears me to the city more than I think it does for most people. I love places where you can feel and see people living. I would go back to Vienna, definitely, just maybe not when it’s quite so hot.
