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Published: July 30th 2006
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Arriving in Vienna was a nice little break from Eastern Europe, as the western influence is much more omnipresent (English is widely spoken and they’re on the Euro--although, I could have done without reuniting with that silly overpriced currency). As well, Vienna is home to a few Starbucks (YAY!).
As most who visit Vienna will tell you, it’s beautiful. The buildings are magnificent, the city is clean, and there is a lot to do for tourists. I arrived at night and, usually, that would mean a night confined to my hostel room, as I really don’t think traveling alone in a strange city at night is the best option for a young female, but my hostel check-in guy assured me that Vienna is one of the safest cities in Europe and the film festival that was just a 15 minute walk away was definitely worth venturing to and that it was.
The festival itself was quite cool. Basically, all summer, they have a giant movie screen set up on the exterior of Vienna’s city hall (which, I might mention, is just as, if not more, impressive than our Parliament buildings) and set up chairs to watch films throughout the
summer. As well, dozens of food and drink kiosks are set up around the perimeter with offerings from around the world. All in all, it’s a great way to enjoy the summer weather and occupy your evenings. The theme for this year’s festival was “Mozart”. It’s Ammie’s 250th birthday this year, so, actually, the theme of Vienna was “Mozart”. You couldn’t walk far without seeing some poster or bumping into some Mozart impressionist or hearing the big guy’s music. I thought it was slightly odd that a film festival would be showing Mozart films (As I’m only aware of a couple of films—did they just play them over and over again), but then I discovered that they were actually showing his operas and concerts.
As I was sitting there watching an Italian opera (the second time on my trip I had been subjected to Italian theatre that I did not understand) I hear someone call out “Christine”. Since I really hadn’t had an English conversation with anyone in four days, I just thought to myself, “Weird, that’s my name and the lady who called it out is English.” Well, I looked over even though I was convinced I just
shared a name with someone else in the crowd and, lo and behold, it was my friend Ilmarie’s mom!!! Seriously, what are the chances? She lives in Britain, but had come to Vienna to visit a friend of hers. She recognized me because I was wearing a shirt that I had worn when I went to Oman with Ilmarie and her mom a few months earlier. I was so happy to see a familiar face, not to mention someone I could have a conversation with in English! Unfortunately, she was leaving town the next day, but we spent a bit of time together that evening and indulged in some Austrian dessert. It was a perfect first night in Vienna.
The next day, I did the typical touristy things. I visited the Belvedere Museum, which houses most of Klimt’s work (including his famous “The Kiss”) and I went to the Albertina. Now, let me tell you about my visit there. I’ve decided Picasso is out to get me. I love Picasso, and I was so excited to go to the Picasso museum in Paris, but quite disappointed when I discovered that 75% of the collection had been lent out. Then,
I was even more disappointed when I visited Antibes, saw a Picasso museum sign, followed the signs, and then discovered the museum was closed for restoration for 18 months. And, finally, the icing on the cake. Vienna. I was excited when I saw an ad for a Picasso exhibit at the Albertina focusing on his final years. Well, I paid my $20 entrance fee and asked the info desk where the Picasso exhibit was only to discover that it didn’t start until September and, of course, all summer was the Mozart exhibit (it appears me and Mozart are quite tight since he diligently followed me around on my travels). Although I was disappointed, the Mozart exhibit was quite fascinating and the Albertina is a beautiful museum. I was also on the hunt for the famous rabbit painting that appears all over the city in every advertisement for the Albertina only to be told that the museum rotates its exhibits. Okay, so let me get this straight: you advertise the rabbit EVERYWHERE, but it’s only on display every couple of years or so. That seems a wee bit ridiculous to me.
The rest of my time in Vienna was spent
wandering around the shopping district, going to see the famous Anker clock that puts on a show at 1 p.m. every day (it has these lifesize figures move around the clock), and visiting the city’s famous church (basically, the church visit became a staple visit in every city I went to, so they kind of blur together; however, they’re all amazing in their own ways even if I don’t remember which way that exactly is).
In addition to the amazing buildings and impressive culture, Vienna is also home to the dessert that I would say was borderline “too sweet”. Now, if you know me, you will know that I proudly proclaim that there is no dessert that is too sweet or too rich for me. I’ve never eaten a dessert where I’ve uttered those phrases—that was until I decided to try this tiny bright pink pastry square that challenged my proclamation. First, the outside was this icing that was either marzipan or fondant and, second, the middle was cakelike but drenched in some type of sweet alcohol. It only took one bite for me to question whether I could tackle the rest (especially since it was serving as my
breakfast as I waited for the train to Bratislava). I was oh-so-close to uttering the words, “this is way too sweet”, but I decided to forge ahead and finish that puppy off like any other self respecting sweet tooth/candy addict would do! Ahh, the joys of being stubborn!
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