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I was feeling very motivated so I got up early and went for a run at 7:00. I was hoping to be back before anyone else was up so that I could jump in the shower. The room I am in has an ensuite, which is nice since you don’t need to leave your room to take a shower, but it also means that in an 8 bed dorm there are 7 other people that need to use it at any given time, and mornings are the most precious. I ran around the city, usually cities are just waking up at this time, but since Vienna has city wide quiet hours from 10 pm until 8am it’s a city that goes to bed early.
I got back and I was 5 minutes too late, the bathroom had just been claimed by one of the Mexican cousins staying in the room, they were checking out and needed to be out of the room by 10 am. I was very hot and sweaty so as soon as he was out I jumped in promising the other cousin I would be quick.
I got down to the common room, had some breakfast,
Getting directions from the info guy
He was probably happy to see us leave after all of our questions!and looked into booking the next part of my trip, I like to have a few things planned out so I actually have accommodation once I get somewhere, it’s high season for traveling so everything is booking out well in advance, and prices are high (one of the good reasons for only have less than a month left of traveling, crazy!).
I then met up with the girls so we could catch the train to the Danube River Valley, or more specifically Melk. We met two other girls the night before, Sara – an Iranian girl who moved to New Zealand when she was 10, and Sophie an American from Connecticut. So the 5 of us went off to the train station to catch the train heading to Melk, it would take about an hour.
Melk is a very cute town. We decided to first get some coffee since it was a bit chilly and had started to rain. Our plan was to catch a boat ride up the river a bit, then catch the train back into Vienna the rest of the way, but after coffee we went to the information desk of Melk where we learned
the boat ride was 20 Euro one way, and we would need a return ticket since the train didn’t pick up and go from where the boat dropped you off. Ok cross that off. We decided to just do the wine tasting, so the guy (who was getting berated by us with questions, but was a good sport about it) told us to catch the 20 minute bus ride to Spitz (which just happened to be where he was from) for some great wine tasting.
Ok, plan B commences! We find our bus, and were met by THE nicest bus driver ever. You never know with bus drivers, whether you are going to get a mean one or a tolerant one, but this guys was just over the top! I only had big Euro bills and he didn’t gripe at all when I handed him one, then on the way to Spitz he stopped specifically for a woman to buy fresh apricots from a street vendor, then when she got back on the bus (took her 2 seconds) she gave everyone on the bus one (there were only about 10 of us) and it was the best apricot I
have ever had in my life, firm yet super juicy! Then once we got to our stop and got off, the bus driver got off as well and directed us to the best wineries and told us the protocol for which ones are open. The wineries in Spitz have to take turns for tasting and each one is on a 2 week on, 2 week off schedule. If the winery has a wagon wheel made out of straw hanging outside of it then it is open for tasting. The bus driver sent us on our way, he was the best!
Let me tell you Spitz has some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. The hills, the buildings, and the grape vines all just make it magnificent! We took our time all taking pictures and enjoying the scenery then we were off!
We walked up the hill and found our first winery; it was just us and the woman who ran the place with her daughter who looked to be about 8 years old. She spoke proficient English but she kept apologizing for her English speaking ability, we kept telling her she was really good! (not
to mention it light-years beyond our ability to speak German). It was free to taste and approximately 6 Euros a bottle to buy. We tasted everything she had, and she was more than happy to serve us. She was great and her wine was very tasty! We all bought a bottle from her and we were happy to give her business!
We then found another place that was a little busier and had a very pretty courtyard, but their wines were just ok, and the service wasn’t very good either. We were all hungry to lunch so we ordered a “Family Platter” to share between the 5 of us not knowing exactly what it was. When it came out it was gorgeous, it was just meat, meat, and more meat with a little bit of cheese and a few spreads. We all chowed down and we didn’t feel as bad that we didn’t buy any wine, at least we bought some food, and it was a good choice! That was until we learned that Sara was a vegetarian, oh no! But she said it was fine, she ate the cheese and the spreads and that was fine for her. We
left and it started to sprinkle, then rain, and then pour! We took shelter at a hotel (I can’t believe they have a hotel, this is literally the sleepiest town, but it’s gorgeous) until it seemed like it was clearing up a little bit. We tried to find one more place to taste before we left, but it was proving difficult. It was raining, and we didn’t have a map. We stopped in a few places and asked for directions but people generally spoke ok to no English in these parts. We walked and walked until finally we found a straw wagon wheel; we went in, sat down, and started tasting, but this wine was the worst of them all! Elyane ended up buying a bottle because she wanted to go home with at least 2 but all of us just wanted to go back to the first woman, she was nice, attentive, and had good wine!
We then left to catch our bus, and just in time it was just about to leave as we rounded the corner! We got on our first train from the station with expectations it would take us right into Wein Westbanhof (the
Wine tasting
Sara, Sophie, and I (Right to Left) train station next to our hostel, and the one we took direct to Melk) but after a particularly long stop one of the attendants told us the train was done. (what?!) We hadn’t noticed, we were just happily chatting to each other. We got off the train and looked at the departures board, oh no our train was leaving in 2 minutes! So we went to where it was supposed to be, but then it wasn’t there, (oh no its left without us!) we went back down and luckily we had looked at the wrong spot, it was coming in 5 minutes and we walked to that platform, whew. The rest of the trip was uneventful.
We got back to the hostel and hung out in the common room chatting with a couple Icelandic girls who had brought Icelandic liquor with them, one was like liquid licorice and it was so good, then the next was like rubbing alcohol (I think that’s exactly what it was) I almost spit it out as soon as it hit my lips, it’s one of the worst things I have ever had in my life. There were also a couple Belgian guys who were
the tallest people I have ever seen in my life, each one tipping the scales at 7 feet (it’s crazy that there were two of them! How do they fit on the beds?!) and one Texas guy who was cool at first, but became the most annoying person after you talked to him for a few minutes.
We were a little too loud for the hostel so after the bartender closed up the bar he took us to a local pub (I am glad when they do this 1). For people who are trying to sleep in the hostel, because we have all been there and 2). They don’t just tell you to shut up, they offer a solution) so we finished up our conversations over a beer at the local pub, then Sara and I went and got a kebab before heading back to the hostel where I got to speak more Turkish, I am loving it!
The next day I worked out more plans for the rest of my trip, (it’s coming to a close so quickly!) Which was good since it rained all day and was very cold (the weather has been getting colder lately, not
The epic family platter
Austrian style - meet and bread! sure how I feel about that considering its July and I loooove hot weather!).
That night it was a funny experience as I was in the courtyard and 3 Canadian guys came out and set the biggest pot of pasta down on the big table; there were only 3 of them and they had bought 3 packages of tortellini, one big bag of spaghetti, a few tomatoes, some tomato sauce, and some Gouda cheese. They had thrown it all together in a pot and ended up with a massive meal. There were only three of them so when they all dished out massive amounts on all of their plates and noticed they had barely made a dent in the giant pot of pasta they knew they were in trouble. They offered me some to help “share the massive task of finishing the pasta” and it looked very tasty so I took a small bowl full. In the end it fed 7 people and the 3 Canadians were looking like they were going to die from pasta overload. They were such a lighthearted and funny bunch, I love Canadians!
After the pasta –gone-crazy dinner Emma and had a great
time just having some serious conversation; we talked about traveling, our families, relationships, our lives, etc. etc. When you travel you get the same kind of small talk (which don’t get me wrong, I really like it since the questions all start off the same but the answers are all different, and I really care about what that person is doing when I ask the question) for example: Where are you from? How long are you here for? Where were you before here? Where are you going? How long are you traveling for? Is this a holiday? Are you traveling alone/in a group? Did you know each other before traveling? I honestly do want to know these things since everyone is different, but I have missed being able to sit down and have a real conversation with someone face to face and it was nice to feel comfortable with someone to chat about these things and I feel that if Emma and I lived closer we could be really great friends.
I really do like Vienna and I am sad for it to be my last day here, but in the morning Sara, Elyane, Emma, and I all planned
Waiting out the rain
Emma, Sara, Sophie (Front to Back) to meet downstairs for a coffee together as a goodbye since Elayne and Emma were headed to Split, Croatia, Sara to Budapest, and me to Prague the next day. We were a good group and I will miss everyone!
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Tiffany Heese
non-member comment
friends from a far
I am sure you and Emma can become close friends even if you don't live near each other. I mean, I haven't lived near you for like 3 years and I still adore you! This is what skype was invented for!