The Royal Palace
The Wombat!
The Cathedral!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Hello, Vienna!
Firstly, I apologize for not updating my blog in a while! It's been one heck of a couple of weeks!
Secondly, Vienna was absolutely amazing!
Although we only had the chance to spend a couple of days in Vienna, we had one full day (Saturday) where we managed to see a vast amount of the city. We arrived on Friday night thoroughly exhausted from our journey. We made it to our hostel, The Wombat, which was actually surprisingly nice and "hip" (for lack of a better word). The walls were painted bright and virbrant neon colors, and they were equipped with a lounge area, internet access, their own bar and club in the basement, and a continental breakfast (not free, unfortunately). The rooms were fairly large with 6 people in each, bunk-bed style. Eliza, Alayna, Kristin and I shared a room with two Japanese tourists who didn't speak much English...but they seemed nice enough. When we asked one of them how long he had been in Europe he replied with "Very good." Not exactly a fast track to conversation.
That night we had dinner at a restaurant with "Mozart" in the name (I didn't catch the rest of the German) and ate their delicious special dish of sausage wrapped in a kind of mealy ball sitting on a bed of schnitzel. Odd description, but it hit the spot! Interestingly enough, the entire restaurant was full of American tourists (we suspect that the recommendation by the Wombat played a hand in this...). We also stopped by a cute little ice cream diner where I got pistachio gelatto and they served all sorts of unique creations. By the time we returned to the hostel it was already past 10 pm, so we decided to hit the hay and wake up early and refreshed for Saturday.
On Saturday we were greeted with cool and rainy weather, but that didn't stop us! The first thing I noticed about Vienna in contrast to Athens is the wideness of the streets! In Athens the city streets wind and twist and seem to follow a nonsensical pattern. The streets of Vienna, however, are much more picturesque and are framed by 17th and 18th century style architecture. Quite a difference from the mostly 1950's/60's style of Athens! The public transportation system in Vienna is surprisingly easy to follow, so we hopped on a trolley and made our way toward our first destination, the Zoo. I believe that the Vienna Zoo is one of the oldest in the world, and it's the only Baroque zoo in the world. It was a bit pricey to get in (about 9 euros each) but it was worth it! We saw pandas, giraffes, tigers, lions, elephants and plenty of others. The layout of the zoo reminded me of a 18th century castle, complete with carved bushes and designed pathways.
Our second stop was at the former Royal Palace, and although we didn't actually take a tour of the inside (this was expensive) we did take a stroll around the exterior and stopped to get coffee in the cafe. Although the cappucino I got was ridiculous expensive, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of relaxing in a highly ornate setting. During our walk around the outside of the palace the weather had becoming brilliantly warm and sunny, but by the time we left the cafe the weather had taken a turn for the severe! Suddenly mammoth gusts of wind seemed to be hitting us from every angle, and the sheets of rain soaked us head to toe. Shortly afterwards the rain turned the hail. The sky got dark and people began running frantically, searching for cover. It was mass chaos. We, being a 20 minute trolley ride away from our hostel, found shelter with a few other Italian tourists underneath an arch by the castle. As soon as we spotted the trolley that would take us to our next stop we sprinted toward it and hopped on, but by the time we reached our destination I felt as if I had been dunked in a lake.
Despite the uncomfortable feeling of wet jeans, we decided to be troopers and check out the Art History Museum. It was located in the Museum Square, with all the buildings absolutely beautiful and spectacular. I've never seen their equal in any museum I've visited. The Art History Museum was a work of art in itself with vaulted dome ceilings and elaborate wood carvings. We toured the entire museum, and although the style of art was not exactly my taste, I still appreciated the aesthetic beauty and the religious symbolism each piece contained. Oddly, including in the museum was an exhibit of Ancient Greek art and sculptures. We went all the way to Vienna to visit Greece again!
Our next stop was an absolutely beautiful Catholic Cathedral. I believe it dated to around the 11th-13th century and was one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. As I walked in I literally gasped when I saw the enormity of the place. Each nook and cranny was covered in religious art and held some type of unique beauty. We stayed there for a while, basking in the quiet solitude of the walls. Each one of us felt that you could sense a tangible presence of history and the thousands of people that had prayed and found comfort in the pews. Definitely my favorite experience in Vienna, and one that will stand out in my mind.
Afterwards we set out on a mission to find Mozart's house! Mozart spent a great deal of time in Vienna, and wrote some of his most famous works there. Being a Mozart fan myself, I couldn't resist the opportunity to check it out. The actual house was just a section of a street building, but it was cool nevertheless! We wanted to go inside but again, that cost money (which we didn't have, sadly enough). Instead we were placated with the idea that we got to stand outside the house of the musical legend and took a few pictures to record it.
Our next stop was the famous ferris wheel and amusement park. We trekked all the way across town to see it, but when we got there we realized that it was much too cold to be suspended in mid-air with no shelter from the wind, and it was the off season anyways. We strolled through the amusement park anyways, but it was abandoned for the winter. I imagine that it would be a wonderful place in the summer, however, and if I'm ever in Vienna again during the warm part of the year I will make it first on my priority list of things to do.
Alas, after a wonderful day of sightseeing and running around, we decided that a return to the Wombat for a change of clothes was a necessity. We went back, changed, and set out for dinner. We came to the conclusion that a cheap dinner was the only possible option for us at this point, so we opted for a pizza joint around the corner. Afterwards, we were ready to experience some Vienna nightlife! The person at the front desk of the Wombat suggested a spot called The Chelsea, an indie rock club that was very popular. We took the metro to the area and found the club, which was indeed very crowded! We could barely get in, and the line for the coat check took about 30 minutes. If there had been less people there it probalby would have been more worthwhile, but as it was we could barely move, much less dance. After about an hour we decided that we were feeling a bit claustrophobic, and ditched the place and went home.
Our flight the next morning was early, but by the time we returned to Athens it was about 6 pm. It's crazy how fast the time goes when you're traveling! I was actually relieved and happy to be back at "home" in our little apartment which I've grown quite used to. I'm so glad, however, that I got to experience my first "real" European city (Athens is much more Middle Eastern) and realize how many wonderful cities there are out there to explore.
Secondly, Vienna was absolutely amazing!
Although we only had the chance to spend a couple of days in Vienna, we had one full day (Saturday) where we managed to see a vast amount of the city. We arrived on Friday night thoroughly exhausted from our journey. We made it to our hostel, The Wombat, which was actually surprisingly nice and "hip" (for lack of a better word). The walls were painted bright and virbrant neon colors, and they were equipped with a lounge area, internet access, their own bar and club in the basement, and a continental breakfast (not free, unfortunately). The rooms were fairly large with 6 people in each, bunk-bed style. Eliza, Alayna, Kristin and I shared a room with two Japanese tourists who didn't speak much English...but they seemed nice enough. When we asked one of them how long he had been in Europe he replied with "Very good." Not exactly a fast track to conversation.
That night we had dinner at a restaurant with "Mozart" in the name (I didn't catch the rest of the German) and ate their delicious special dish of sausage wrapped in a kind of mealy ball sitting on a bed of schnitzel. Odd description, but it hit the spot! Interestingly enough, the entire restaurant was full of American tourists (we suspect that the recommendation by the Wombat played a hand in this...). We also stopped by a cute little ice cream diner where I got pistachio gelatto and they served all sorts of unique creations. By the time we returned to the hostel it was already past 10 pm, so we decided to hit the hay and wake up early and refreshed for Saturday.
On Saturday we were greeted with cool and rainy weather, but that didn't stop us! The first thing I noticed about Vienna in contrast to Athens is the wideness of the streets! In Athens the city streets wind and twist and seem to follow a nonsensical pattern. The streets of Vienna, however, are much more picturesque and are framed by 17th and 18th century style architecture. Quite a difference from the mostly 1950's/60's style of Athens! The public transportation system in Vienna is surprisingly easy to follow, so we hopped on a trolley and made our way toward our first destination, the Zoo. I believe that the Vienna Zoo is one of the oldest in the world, and it's the only Baroque zoo in the world. It was a bit pricey to get in (about 9 euros each) but it was worth it! We saw pandas, giraffes, tigers, lions, elephants and plenty of others. The layout of the zoo reminded me of a 18th century castle, complete with carved bushes and designed pathways.
Our second stop was at the former Royal Palace, and although we didn't actually take a tour of the inside (this was expensive) we did take a stroll around the exterior and stopped to get coffee in the cafe. Although the cappucino I got was ridiculous expensive, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of relaxing in a highly ornate setting. During our walk around the outside of the palace the weather had becoming brilliantly warm and sunny, but by the time we left the cafe the weather had taken a turn for the severe! Suddenly mammoth gusts of wind seemed to be hitting us from every angle, and the sheets of rain soaked us head to toe. Shortly afterwards the rain turned the hail. The sky got dark and people began running frantically, searching for cover. It was mass chaos. We, being a 20 minute trolley ride away from our hostel, found shelter with a few other Italian tourists underneath an arch by the castle. As soon as we spotted the trolley that would take us to our next stop we sprinted toward it and hopped on, but by the time we reached our destination I felt as if I had been dunked in a lake.
Despite the uncomfortable feeling of wet jeans, we decided to be troopers and check out the Art History Museum. It was located in the Museum Square, with all the buildings absolutely beautiful and spectacular. I've never seen their equal in any museum I've visited. The Art History Museum was a work of art in itself with vaulted dome ceilings and elaborate wood carvings. We toured the entire museum, and although the style of art was not exactly my taste, I still appreciated the aesthetic beauty and the religious symbolism each piece contained. Oddly, including in the museum was an exhibit of Ancient Greek art and sculptures. We went all the way to Vienna to visit Greece again!
Our next stop was an absolutely beautiful Catholic Cathedral. I believe it dated to around the 11th-13th century and was one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. As I walked in I literally gasped when I saw the enormity of the place. Each nook and cranny was covered in religious art and held some type of unique beauty. We stayed there for a while, basking in the quiet solitude of the walls. Each one of us felt that you could sense a tangible presence of history and the thousands of people that had prayed and found comfort in the pews. Definitely my favorite experience in Vienna, and one that will stand out in my mind.
Afterwards we set out on a mission to find Mozart's house! Mozart spent a great deal of time in Vienna, and wrote some of his most famous works there. Being a Mozart fan myself, I couldn't resist the opportunity to check it out. The actual house was just a section of a street building, but it was cool nevertheless! We wanted to go inside but again, that cost money (which we didn't have, sadly enough). Instead we were placated with the idea that we got to stand outside the house of the musical legend and took a few pictures to record it.
Our next stop was the famous ferris wheel and amusement park. We trekked all the way across town to see it, but when we got there we realized that it was much too cold to be suspended in mid-air with no shelter from the wind, and it was the off season anyways. We strolled through the amusement park anyways, but it was abandoned for the winter. I imagine that it would be a wonderful place in the summer, however, and if I'm ever in Vienna again during the warm part of the year I will make it first on my priority list of things to do.
Alas, after a wonderful day of sightseeing and running around, we decided that a return to the Wombat for a change of clothes was a necessity. We went back, changed, and set out for dinner. We came to the conclusion that a cheap dinner was the only possible option for us at this point, so we opted for a pizza joint around the corner. Afterwards, we were ready to experience some Vienna nightlife! The person at the front desk of the Wombat suggested a spot called The Chelsea, an indie rock club that was very popular. We took the metro to the area and found the club, which was indeed very crowded! We could barely get in, and the line for the coat check took about 30 minutes. If there had been less people there it probalby would have been more worthwhile, but as it was we could barely move, much less dance. After about an hour we decided that we were feeling a bit claustrophobic, and ditched the place and went home.
Our flight the next morning was early, but by the time we returned to Athens it was about 6 pm. It's crazy how fast the time goes when you're traveling! I was actually relieved and happy to be back at "home" in our little apartment which I've grown quite used to. I'm so glad, however, that I got to experience my first "real" European city (Athens is much more Middle Eastern) and realize how many wonderful cities there are out there to explore.
Monday, February 25, 2008
The Group in Nafplion
Part of our group in Nafplion. Not everybody was looking at the camera but it's a nice shot nevertheless.
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