Advertisement
Published: February 2nd 2007
Edit Blog Post
We all got up at various times on boxing day as we all had different flights, Craig was away first 3hrs ahead of Jamie and Richard who were 4hrs ahead of me. In the end Craig got lost for 3hrs so arrived at the hostel
after Jim and Rich, and when i arrived late that night I found I had some catching up to do at the hostel bar! But even the alcohol and ear plugs could not save me from the thundering roar of Rich's snore and not much sleep was to be had, what had i signed myself up for?
Our first day out travelling together, and we had heard the thing to do was to ride the ring road tram to see all the sights then walk around them, so on Cosi's direction we jumped on the S45 which took us waaaaaay out of the city center, to an industrial island in the river. We wandered around, appreciating a new perspective on the city while trying to figure out the best way back. Craig was adament he had the solution and ditched us for another train ride, we keep walking for a while to find a tram
and just as it is about to leave we see Craig having just jumped out of the first carriage. Waving bye bye we wait at a central stop on the ring road line for him to catch the next tram and pass the time with the first wurst of the trip. Its a little gassy.
Craig doesn't show so we ride the ring road and tell him to meet us at Karlsplatz, as agreed, after waiting in the bitter cold he finally tells us he'll just meet us back at the hostel at the end of the day. We walk the ring road and check out all the beautiful historic buildings on an amazing crisp and sunny day before heading back to the hostel for a nap. That night after dinner Jim & Rich are able to hold the bar pool table for 7 straight games, with a little help from kiwi rules on the black.
Thursday morning everyone is keen to check out Schonbrunn Palace which is very impressive, it is extremely cold today with a light fog, the fountain lakes are frozen over and after some timid testing we establish the ice is thick enough to
support my weight! Jim and Craig head off to see the worlds oldest zoo in the palace grounds while Rich and I have hot chocolate and rum on top of the garden hill looking back over the palace. We do a tour of the palace and I find a toy knight (yesss!) the inside of the palace has been well preserved and is beautifully detailed but no photos allowed. We head back to the city centre to check out the main square Peters Platz and St Stephens church, not to mention grabbing a delicious cheese filled wurst for lunch.
Later that night after a few quiet drinks (2 euro for 2 liters of wine cant be beat!) we look outside to see that it is snowing! Quite heavily too, so we (and most of the hostel) run outside, its the first time any of us have been in a city when its been snowing. The snow piles up very quickly and there is only one thing for it... SNOWBALL FIGHT!!! Its a warzone, there are innocent casualties, banana balls, team ups, police, double crossings, double double crossings, truces, allies, enemies, and snow snow snow. With numb hands and satisfaction
we finally go to bed 2hrs after the melee began and Rich and Jim team up to bring us Snoring Power Ballads. I cant get no sleep, and eventually move out into the hallway for a meagre nap.
With heavy eyelids and an even heavier hangover it is with great difficulty that I pack my stuff and eventually start our journey to Bratislava in Slovakia. Our visions of a delightful river cruise are dashed at the docks where we discover the boats only run in summer and we are forced to go back across the city to take a bus. By the time we get to the hostel I'm feeling a little worse for wear and go straight to bed. We meet the late London additions to our travelling crew here, Tarek and Milad, and everyone goes out for dinner while I die a little more. Another night in the hallway feverish with the flu I still cant get no sleep.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.056s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 13; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0271s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb