We arrived into Vienna slightly giddy from our in-flight drinks. Forty minutes into the flight they came around with the trolley and Nina readily purchased a vodka and orange for herself and also vodka and tomato juice for me (Bloody Mary, the drink I fly by). We were then given a double shot of vodka each and our respective cans of fruit juice. Just as we kicked back to enjoy these, the seat belt sign went on and we were advised we would shortly be landing, necking a double vodka and juice at altitude having not yet eaten at 2 in the afternoon is never the best idea.
The great thing about Vienna Airport is its proximity to the city itself, (16 minutes by shuttle train) despite it apparently being in Slovakia (some one told me this, had no chance to validate it though). Having neither of us ever been to Austria and neither of us speaking German we thought it would be great to travel there without any organised accommodation (duh!). With the burn in my belly from our in flight luxuries I though it would be great to head straight to the Westbarnhoff Station and just walk around until we came across a hostel (Nina obliged despite looking longingly at the in-station Internet cafe). After ten minutes of wandering in a largely uninspiring part of Europe with our backpacks on in a decent heat Nina virtually staged a sit down protest and I conceded that it would be best to find an Internet Cafe. This we did readily and within 30 minutes had a hostel around the corner booked for our only whole night in Vienna.
We wasted the rest of our day wandering around the main street directly in front of Westbarnhoff wondering why the hell we had decided Vienna would be a cool place to come. We then remembered that it was only really booked as a stop off point. After grabbing a bite to eat at a pizzeria (we found it hard leaving Italy) we headed back to the hostel and hit the sack.
The following day we decided we would take a longer wander and take a few trams (having purchased a 24 hour tourist travel card for 6 euros the previous afternoon). After a bit of a trek we came to one of the points of interests that we were both up for seeing, the Sigmund Freud museum. Oh my god it was dull dull dull, give this place a wide birth, we were expecting a bit of info on his bizarre and not so bizarre theories but instead we got his suit case, a walking cane, some home movies and a guide book that read like an essay by a fresher. Leaving this totally zoned out I decided we should head over to the Holocaust monument. Amazingly this too was a disappointment, the monument which consists of a block made of sculptured books in a large undefined square seemed to lack any real sentiment.
Having almost given up on finding anything of interest in Vienna we hopped back on the tram and after about 5 minutes we were surrounded by massive breath taking buildings all adorned with amazing sculptures. We seized the moment and alighted for a look around. This area was amazing. Located near by were concert halls, parliament buildings, opera houses and a butterfly house. Nina dragged me in but it was worth it (don't see so many butterflies in the city, not like the good old days in Thatcham).
We spent a good few hours wandering around this area before stumbling across what was advertised as a green festival (in truth it was really a beer and food festival). Knowing we had no accommodation for the evening (we were going to sleep at the airport) we decided we would chill in the park next to the festival and soak up some of the local produce, before heading to a near- by restaurant for a slightly intoxicated late meal. Calves brain was on the starter menu but I resisted.
We took our time with the meal before heading back to our hostel where we had left our luggage, just in time to meet the 11:55 coach to the airport. Turns out Vienna airport isn't party central at 00:30 am. So after having a stroll around we found a nice comfortable cold, steel, narrow bench to try and kip on. Turns out Nina had no problem with this, me on the other hand not a chance! Still it gave me plenty of time to have a think about what exactly I could write about Vienna.
In truth we both initially thought Vienna was a very dull place (certainly during the day). However this view shifted slightly on the second day and if you like to go and just take in the sights without actually doing too much Vienna is a good place to visit. However if you go for more than 2 or 3 days you may end up twiddling your thumbs a fair bit.
Finally at 5 am our check in desk opened and we crawled over and ditched our back packs before going through passport control (turns our Vienna has some very 'interesting' shops on the other side of Passport control!). Next stop Croatia for some R and R (best laid plans and all that).
TTFN
Daz
The plan ... well really there is no plan, but there is a good reason ...
Watch out Europe here we come. After working in travel it's time to put in action what I've learnt!
I can't take you all with me but here's the next best thing - share our travel highlights and fun experiences as we check out as much of Europe as possible over the next 10 weeks.
