Oh Vienna!

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Salutations!
I hope all of you back in the heimat (homeland) are weathering the stormy weather. Today I am writing this entry from my hotel room in Budapest. Budapest is the last stop on the two week manic holiday with one of my friends. This will be the last time I have the luxury of using a tablet and wireless keyboard, so will be regressing back to the stone ages soon and writing my blogs on stone and an inscriber of sorts, otherwise known as pen and paper haha. So expect a potential drought of blogs until I return to London for a few days before heading to Thailand. I'll try enter them when I can.

So Vienna, you have seduced me with your wily charms and beauty. My friend warned me that Vienna would likely be the architectural high point of my trip and he wasn't wrong! There are so many impressive buildings and monuments packed into this city! The evening we arrived in Vienna after a godawful bus ride (the bus driver neglected to turn on the air conditioning in the 34 degree heat, as you do). The woman in front of me thought it a fun endeavour to recline her chair as far back as possible as to take up the entirety of my leg space. Happy days. We arrived in Vienna eventually, with me feeling like a newly trained contortionist.
I had actually saved everything written up until this point and intended to finish it back whilst in Vienna still. However, I am now in Croatia so am trying to cast my mind back to that lovely time while being inundated with new places. Also, I am writing this entry on my cellphone, so my fingers are struggling to keep up with my thoughts. Alas, I shall persevere. The first night in Vienna consisted of having dinner (German food from a street vendor). I had a great falafel, my mate had some ridiculously unhealthy looking German concoction. We then went for a wander around some of the Danube river and saw some local sights. We went down some stairs to walk along the river, all the teeny boppers hung around here. There was one stretch where a real hipster vibe could be felt, and some very quirky art, reminiscent of Berlin could be seen. We walked the remainder of the way home through a permanent fairground with some fun looking rides, with the intention of going back the next day to do a scary ride. We never did, as we ended up having a massive day out in Vienna the next day.

The following day we were up and about, I say up and about - more like me dragging myself out of bed (traveling is knackering!). We went down to one of the main squares to check out the local digs. Needless to say they were impressive, adorned with many old buildings and fancy fountains. One of the main cathedrals was magnificent inside, and I imagine the acoustics for shows would be incredible. One particular area was especially lovely with its semi circular type formation with the main building and it's dome taking centre place. The dome in the centre inside was high and lightly coloured and really made the interior stand out. There were some beautiful but imposing looking sculptures at odds with each other on horses and with swords upon large water fountains. Aggressive looking sculptures abound here. We then went on to a beautiful area resplendent with two matching cathedrals, two for the price of one haha. There were some luxurious looking green areas and fountains. From there, we went past a large justice building, which was white and Romanesque in design. I had to say that the architecture here was among the best I've seen on this trip. There are lots of nice outdoor areas also which makes a big city seem more homely. The last stop of the day was to Shonburn Palace down the other end of town. The palace itself was rather nice, but I was the outdoor areas which inspired the most. There were perfectly manicured and controlled gardens which in some instances reminded me a lot of Alice in Wonderland. The star of the show was a huge archway atop a big hill in the garden area. At the bottom of the hill the sat a huge fountain, replete with intricate sculptures. After gawping at that for a while we went up the hill to see the best views of Vienna. We then returned to the hotel to dress up a tad fancier to head to St Anne's church to see a string quartet playing Mozart and Beethoven's compositions. The church itself was beautiful and baroque in design. The interior was intimate and of colourful hues. The quartet didn't miss a beat and played beautifully. It was particularly nice to see Mozart and Beethoven's music be played on their former native homeland. Heading home after the show I am happy to say that Vienna is a travel destination that should be on everyone's travel itinerary. I'll post photos soon,

Love Bex

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