Vienna

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The blogs they're a comin thick and fast. When you are on a mission, you can rack up countries in Bradmanesque fashion.
Hitting Austria from Slovakia and we welcome Tomtom back on board. Hugs and kisses, we missed you Tomtom.
In Vienna, Pepe received his 20,000klms service (280 euro - Ouch!). So you would think everything was peachy. Well let me tell you - NOT HAPPY JAN!!. You see, my life is, and forever will be, unfulfilled. Before departing on this around the world jaunt, Warwick Humphrey informed me of the worst tour in the cosmos- The Vienna Sound of Music Tour. This had been reinforced by not only Lonely Planet, but by a few other travellers we have met prancing around Europe. Unauthentic, irrelevant, boring, poorly presented, tacky...The negatives were relentless. Anything that deplorable HAD to be expereinced first hand. As Vienna grew closer, my personal anxiety increased proportionately.
The night before, I was pacing our room til late, restless sleep involving dreams about Christopher Plommer and Julie Andrews. Penny's threats of divorce if I went ahead with this tour fell on deaf ears. It was a case of "love me, love the Sound of Music Tour".
Then the day dawned. Our hotel foyer had a list of tours, they could link their guests up with. Nazis, Opera, Museums and Art Galleries all got a guernsey but NO Sound of Music.
The Toursit information office in the centre of the city, and still no mention. The Answer. Sorry Sir, it has been given the flick, basically due to its embarassment to the people of Vienna.
NOOOOOOOOO:! THERE IS NO GOD.
It was dumped simply becasue it was crap. Don't these people understand? Anything that bad must be open to the public for all to appreciate its disrepute.
I can't continue this blog. I am too emotionally distraut. I'll have to hand you straight over to Penny to tell you all about Vienna. I'll simply sit here munching on my kransky, crying into my pilsner and wonder what might have been had we rolled into Vienna a few measley months earlier.
Stressfully Yours.
Yeatesy

Vienna. Like many of our final destinations so far on this trip, we tend to find ourselves staying in the more "colourful" parts of town. Vienna is no exception. 15 minutes walk from the centre, 2 minutes walk from the Sex Shops, and 1 minutes walk from the "ladies of the night /or day." But our end of town is not the only one with character we noticed. Vienna is packed with galleries and museums and buildings decorated so richly they look like living postcards. On nearly ever corner there is someone dressed in period costume trying to appeal to your musical senses and sell you a night at the Opera or Ballet. But with Gary still in shock over the Sound of Music Tour being shut down we stumble on the next best thing - "The Opera Toilet". Underneath the Boulevarde leading to the Opera and the major attractions is the Metro entrance and passanger by-pass. As you commence the walk down into the Metro you are greeted by the sounds of the Blue Danube and a sign directing you to the Opera Toilet. For a fee of 60 euro cents, you have to do it Gary assures me. Gary's face lit up, he doesn't need to visit the bathroom, but I do, so he points me in the direction of the sweet sounding music. I lean on the turnstile, (before inserting the coins) and a loud alarm alerts everyone that I am on my way in. I quickly get the right money, drop into the slot, and pass through the turnstile. I'm in, thank goodness. To the right I see men. Oops. I head off left instead. Standing inside the ladies room looking perplexed, I can't work out how to get into a cubicle. So in these first few minutes I have time to observe my surroundings. This underground opera playing toilet is home for the cities JUNKIES. Guys are jumping over the barrier to get inside for their next fix. The walls and floors are slimy despite whatever music is playing. This is no ordinary toilet. Strauss must be turning in his grave. Get me out of here. It seems to take even longer to exit than it did to enter. I see Gary in the distance and I bolt. We both look at each other and think we are not staying in such a bad end of town after all.
Well with the Sound of Music Tour off our list (Hurrah) we can concentrate on the more cultural aspects of Vienna. More museums than one has time for, so we chose the Kunsthaus Wien. The Museum was designed by a local artist who displays some obvious Gaudi influence in his designs. Hundertwasser has travelled widely and been requested to present designs for numerous things including stamps, bookcovers, and national flags. (Australia and New Zealand being two he has submitted designs for in the past - without success). Well with the museum ticked off the list, it's on to local cuisine. Gary attacks the sausage and I am off to try the local strudel. Tonight the open air cinema for an evening in Vienna. Tomorrow - Czech Republic here we come.
ps. Tracey Davis -you are in big trouble. On our way out to dinner, Gary spots the cinema advertising The Simpsons Movie - the english version. So guess what we have to do next...
Penny
pps. Penny is not the only one who is allowed a ps. We did not go to see the Simpsons in Vienna. We had to go the outdoor cinema. We have been particularly lucky with the weather lately but if you if you live in a drought stricken area, erect a large screen and invite us along for a night of outdoor cinema. Penny is now 3 out of 3 for rain on open air cinema evenings.
YEATESY

More images at:

www.colvinyeates.zenfolio.com

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Photos

Vienna
Next best thing to the Sound of Music Tour. Enjoy your ablutions while the person next to you shoots up!

Vienna
Town centre

Vienna
Church wrapped in timber

Vienna
Open air cinema - before the rain

Vienna
Reflecting on Austrian red wine