Wien - Vienna

What an amazing place! I absolutely love Vienna. I can´t say that I did anything too terribly exciting, but just being there and chilling out during the May Day holidays was fantastic.

After my brutally long flight (16 hrs with a layover in London), I checked in to Wombats: The Lounge. Wombats hostel is fabulous. It is spotlessly clean; there are electronic keycards for the doors and for the in-room lockers; there is a bar, a kitchen, a cafe for breakfast, a lounge area with cushions, an internet kiosk, a luggage storage area, and a pool table. Can anyone ask for more in a hostel?

I lucked out right from the start by meeting up with a fun trio from the San Diego area. Amanda, Dani and Hans are taking a few weeks off from school to learn firsthand about Europe and strange drinking habits. I met them in our shared dormitory and then joined them down in the bar for drinks. Itś a good omen to have a great first night, especially when jet lagged and staying in a dorm room.

After having brekky and waving adieu to my new chums, I headed off to see the morning training of the Lippizaner stallions at the Spanish Riding School at Hofburg Palace. I have been reading about these horses since I was a horse-mad little girl, so it was the number one item on my Vienna To Do list. I made my way from Wombats down Mariahilfer Strasse to the Palace complex. Once there, I discovered that a Vienna radio station was throwing a festival. The grounds were being set up and a band was running their soundcheck from the stage. Then, the song 99 Red Balloons started to play and I was just so so happy.

I found the entrance to the Riding School and joined the line for tickets. Immediately, a German woman and her son tried to cut in front of me, but I had been through the wars in China and carefully shoved my elbow in front of her face to let her know (subtly) that she needed to BACK OFF! This worked, and we had a pleasant exchange regarding her travels in the United States. However, at some point, I became distracted and a whole Portuguese family of five shoved their way in front of me. With no common language and with a formidable foe in the form of the family matron, I conceded defeat and stewed, muttering "queu jumpers" under my breath and glaring. Such is life: you win some, you lose some.

The stress of the line was worth it. Those horses are amazing. I couldn´t believe that I was actually there. The building itself is a gorgeous 3 story baroque masterpiece. It is a temple to horses. The riders were mostly training the horses in simple manuevers, so I didn´t see any of the tricks like having them walk on two legs (crow hopping), etc. However, just seeing them was enough for me. I took loads of pictures just like everyone around me, and was stunned when a steward approached me and told me that pictures aren´t allowed. Itś like when the speed of traffic on a freeway edges up to 80 and you are the one pulled over. Why did the copper have to pick on you??? I put my camera away, climbed up to the second balcony level, and started snapping away again. By this time, I had discovered that I´ve developed a brand new allergy...to horses! Between the runny nose, watering eyes, and constant sneezing, I was almost pleased to be caught with my camera out a second time, because I chose to take it as a sign that it was time to leave. By that point, my throat had began swelling shut. I love allergies!

After the horsies, the only thing left on my to-do list was to explore the Inner Stadt, and to sit in a coffee house drinking espresso and eating appel struedel. I began with the wandering. I made my way over to Stephansdom, the most famous church from the Hapsburg epoch. It is the most stunning cathedral that I have ever seen - the interior, the exterior is undergoing rehabilitation and is not-so lovely right now. If you are ever there, be sure to ascend the North tower. The South tower has the famous stairs, which are a great workout, but terminates inside a tower. The North tower has an elevator and terminates in an outdoor viewing platform above the bell tower with fantastic views. I was even able to see the famous ferris wheel that was featured in the classic Orson Wells movie, The Third Man. It is amazing. The cathedral has so much detail and is so inspiring. There was a menś choir singing while I was there and I had a strong understanding of why religion was so popular for so many years. Imagine a life with no books, no TV, no world travel, no cheap dyes for clothing, no easy access to bath water. The most beautiful thing in life would be that cathedral. 600 years ago, I would definitely have made the pilgrimage along with the rest of my village.

The whole Inner Stadt is fantastic. I especially love how tall the buildings are. Most are 7 stories high, with a few mere 5 story buildings. This makes for interesting winding streets and shady passageways. I didn´t set a destination, just wandered around. I did stop for a plate of tofu and veggies at a Chinese restaurant, then kept wandering. Eventually, when my feet were really hurting from the cobblestones, I made my way out to the Ring Road and hopped on the number one tram that circumnavigates the Inner Stadt. I jumped off at Parliament for another photo op and then made my way to Cafe Central, the kaffee haus that Trotsky used to hang out at. However, I don´t think that he had to wait an hour for a table, or paid 4 euro for a cup of joe. I regretfully decided to head elsewhere. :(

A good story regarding the start of the Viennese coffee house tradition says that following the Ottoman siege of Vienna, the Turkish army decamped so rapidly that they left behind a big bag of coffee beans. No one knew what these strange things were, except for one man who ground them up and began serving the first coffee in the Western world. He founded the first Viennese coffee house and is directly responsible for my morning addiction. Just as a note, another good story from that siege is that when the army arrived, the Ottoman Sultan declared that by the end of three days, he would be having breakfast inside the cityś walls. Well, Vienna was a tough nut to crack, and on the morning of the third day, the Viennese commander called down a message to the Sultan. He said, "Tell the Sultan that his breakfast is getting cold!"

I decided that I had seen enough of the Inner Stadt and that it was time to jump over to the Museum Quarter. This is a relatively new area of Vienna. Itś the site of a dozen or so museums and is a wonderful gathering spot for Viennaś citizens, young and old. Here, I had my apfelstruedel and kaffee (fantastic), and people-watched to my heartś content. I had planned to just stop by, and ended up staying for an hour before heading off to the Volkstheater underground station to catch the U3 line back to Westbahnhoff station - very near my hostel. The Vienna underground is excellent. There are plenty of electronic kiosks, with many languages programmed, from which to purchase tickets; the signs are in both German and English; there are metro system maps all over the place; and there are electonic signboards to tell you when the next couple of trains will arrive.

After picking up my pack and purchasing provisions (bread, cheese and water), I took tram 18 to Sudbahnhoff train station to catch a train to Bratislava. I am on a tight schedule and didn´t have time to linger, but Vienna is certainly a place to linger if at all possible. Especially fun was looking around and seeing my hair color, my pink skin tone, my grandfatherś eyes and my brotherś nose. I never realized how German I look until now. My favorite phrase had to be "Spriechen zie Inglitsh?" because people kept speaking to me in German. Oh, and just to be topical, it was interesting to be in Vienna during the international scandal regarding the man who imprisoned and bred with his daughter, creating 6 (grand)children. It was on the cover of ever newspaper that I saw.

All in all, I would highly recommend a weekend in Vienna to whomever can arrange one. Itś a beautiful city with friendly people, wonderful food, and great weather. I wish that I´d had more time, but themś the breaks. If wishes were fishes...