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Published: March 29th 2010
After 13 hours in a plane, 6 hours in the airport, an hour in a train and 1/2 an hour in a taxi I arrived in Vienna.
We were staying at Hostel Ruthaniser which is in suburban Vienna, the hostel was reasonably priced, was very clean with great facilities and atmosphere (cheap beer and an awesome courtyard). It was also very close to a major train station that took us directly into Vienna. I would recommend the hostel strongly, it was also rated best hostel in Austria!
I found I was also extremely jet lagged, I'm sure Mum had flashbacks of my infant-hood when I awoke at 3am and verbally declared my state of readiness for the day. Soon we headed out into Vienna on the underground train, the train system was fantastic, a day pass was reasonably priced (much cheaper than paying for individual tickets), easy to understand for the navigationally challenged (like myself), clean and safe.
First stop was St Stephen's Cathedral in the heart of Vienna, the church whilst very impressive was tainted by the restorations being conducted and a rather incessant man dressed up as Mozart insisting I buy a concert ticket from him.
After being rudely spoken to by this twit, I gave him a universally understood response. I also ventured inside the cathedral, it was very gothic with a lot of symbolic statues and markers, as the photos depict. Bryan also thought they were about to have a sausage sizzle for some church fundraiser, unfortunately they were just candles for liturgy :-S
After not fully deciphering the map we ventured further into Vienna city. The city is beautiful, full of well kept gardens and the streets are clean and safe. Every building is well maintained, with interesting architecture. There are several beautiful, large historic buildings throughout the city, I found myself wishing that I had learn't more about Austrian history to appreciate its significance. There was also great shopping but rather out of my budget, there were also multitudes of chocolate shops, Bryan almost had to pluck Mum and I from the windows. There were several quality restaurants and cafe's around the city; the coffee and cake passed my critical eye, although were rather pricey in comparison to NZ, $7NZD for a cappacino. Despite this alcohol was very cheap and so were cigarettes.
I also found that most Austrian's spoke
very good english and could cross between languages with ease. Austrian's also love their dogs, the dogs go everywhere, in the trains, in the restaurants, in the airport, in the streets and they are also all pedigree... I could almost feel Bryan's eyes rolling when I made a fuss of each and every one of them :-) Mum and I also went on a historic ferris wheel over the city, it was rather windy so the car started swaying, Mum felt uneasy about the whole experience.
Overall I loved Vienna, it is by far the best European city I have visited so far. I say this because the language barrier is no issue, it is easy to get around, it is clean and safe and because there is a lot to see in a beautiful and relaxed atmosphere. I wished I could have stayed longer. Next stop Sopron, Hungary!!
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Heather
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Hey Katie, I enjoyed your Vienna post. It reminded me of my time there. My blog is looking for good travel photos. If you have the time, check us out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com Continued fun on your travels, Eric