Guten Tag aus Wien!

Day 11

After 11 hours at the City Night Line train from Venice, we woke up in Vienna (Wien) at 8:22 in the morning. When I was planning our trip, I had expected that at this point of our trip, we would be starting to feel the exhaustion. So, our plan was simply to just relax and recuperate in Vienna. And I was right.. I wasn’t feeling very well that day. I was sun-burnt from Italy and the warmth in Vienna was not helping.

Exploring Schloβ Schönbrunn

We spent the entire morning at the comfortable HostelRuthensteiner. Although I’ve been perfectly happy staying at a hostel, I wouldn’t usually recommend hostels to people who aren’t in their 20s (and those who have never stayed in a dorm). But Hostel Ruthensteiner looks family friendly and very clean. Don’t get me wrong, you still have to do your own bed. But for those who are looking for a cheap and clean accommodation, Hostel Ruthensteiner is a safe bet. Plus, it’s only 7 minutes away by foot from Wien Westbahnhof.

For lunch, we decided to finally try Asian food. Out of curiosity, we wanted to know if Asian food there tasted, er, Asian. I ordered some Thai vegetarian rice topping from a fast food kiosk and it was well cooked but the flavor was far from Asian. Later in my trip, I was told that Asian food in Europe is generally cooked to the Europeans’ taste buds (less spice, less soy sauce).

View of the Gloriette from below

We decided to spend the afternoon at Schloβ Schönbrunn (Schoenbrunn Palace). This was the Habsburgs imperial summer residence for over 6 decades. Today, it is a World Cultural Heritage site and is a major tourist attraction of Vienna. Instead of going inside the rooms of the palace, we decided to explore the Irrgarten and labyrinth (maze and labyrinth). Then, we climbed up a hill to the Gloriette, which offers a good view of the palace and of the city.

At the maze of  Schloβ Schönbrunn 

Day 12

A couple of months before I left for Europe, I came across the movies Sisi and Crown Prince, which depicts the life story of the Empress Elisabeth, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph and their son, Prince Rudolph. So, on our second day in Vienna, we decided to visit the The Hofburg, the winter residence of the Habsburgs during their reign. My 9.5€ ticket included a visit to the Hofburg Kaiserappartements (Imperial Apartments), the Sisi Museum and the Silberkammer (silver chamber). It also includes a free audio guide which made the tour intriguing. The Habsburgs were not extravagant. Franz Jospeh’s bed was nothing out of the ordinary… It was plain and small. I learned an interesting fact that during court dinners, those at the table are only allowed to speak with their neighbors. The Sisi Museum told a story of the complex Empress Elisabeth. It was shown how the real Sisi was different from how they portrayed her in movies.

The Hofburg

Roof of Stephansdom

After three hours at The Hofburg, Angel and I grabbed some pastry and walked around Vienna. We passed by the Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) where we found several people in Mozart costume selling tickets. We had searched for tickets the night before but the seats we wanted were already sold out. We also passed by Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral) at Stephansplatz. A part of it was being constructed but you can still see and admire its colorful roof. And on the Stephansplatz metro station, there was an old buried chapel that was being recovered.

Opera Toilet near Staatsoper

Some of the public toilets in Vienna have a certain… theme. Near The Hofburg, the toilet stalls are old fashioned with tall wooden doors that gave it an imperial feeling. On the other hand, at the Vienna State Opera, a Mozart piece was being played.

For dinner, we wanted something Vienese. A lot of the stores were closed (we later remembered that it was labor day) but we finally found a restaurant where we had a wiener. What can I say, when in Wien, try their wiener  .  Much later that night, we had a drink at the hostel bar while doing our laundry. We made friends with a Swedish girl and a Korean American guy, who were also staying at the hostel. It was past midnight when we finally went to bed. Guchte Nacht!

Next Stop... Bavaria!