I <3 VIENNA

Oh beautiful Wien! The flight wasn't too bad, although ridiculously long. From Dayton to Atlanta to Düsseldorf and finally to Wien! Upon getting completely lost in the airport trying to find some public transport to the hostel, Reg and I took a bus to where we thought the hostel was located...only to discover in the pouring rain that there were indeed 2 Mariahilfer Straßes. Nice. We arrived at the Wombats Hostel (a clean, American-friendly place where we had a private room) with wet pants and hair, but ready to see what Vienna had to offer us. Immediately upon putting our stuff away, I met a girl Liz who lives in London and was staying in Vienna for the weekend on holiday. Regina and I invited her to come see Carmen at the Volksoper with us, since she wanted to see an opera while she was in town. The exploration began in search of traditional Austrian fare. We found a restaurant where the waiter spoke little to no English, so I got to test my ordering skills in German and succeeded. I had a nice hearty meal of roasted chicken and potatoes and leitungswasser (tap water--the water is from the Alps, so no need to spend 3 Euro on the plastic bottle really). After dinner we walked around town and met up with Liz at the Volksoper where we saw the worst production of Carmen I've ever tolerated in my life. It wasn't so much that the entire thing was in German--I've heard the spoken text in German before, but the amateurish production and staging made it all the worse. Thankfully, we decided to hit up Club Flex afterward, a hot underground club next to the Danube. Drinking cheap Ottakringer bier and contact high from all the weed in close proximity, I had conversations with people in German, French, Spanish, and English (hot gay doctor from San Fran)...even some Turkish guy was trying to talk to me. We were almost like royalty in the club...everyone was so pleased with the election and shouting "VIVA OBAMA" at us! We decided it was time to head out around 4 am once the polizei showed up because some guy had a ball of crack next to the Danube and was pissing all over the stairs. AH EUROPE!

The next day, we made sandwiches from fresh Austrian turkey pastrami, mozzarella and fresh bread and took the UBahn to Heilgenstadt, walked around Beethoven land, then took a bus to Kahlenberg which sits atop a mountain near the emergent Alps. Once at the top, where it was freezing, I had melange (Viennese special latte, which is more steamed milk than coffee and absolutely delicious) and hiked down through the wine vineyards in search of the local Heuringer (traditional Viennese wine tavern). We ended up somewhere in Nussdorf and as soon as another Beethoven house appeared, we had found the Heuringer. Only, we had to wait another 30 minutes for it to open...so we hung out on a street corner since we were exhausted from our hike and eventually got to taste the sweet neue wein (new wine) that they just harvested! Of course, I bought two bottles...it's made from a blend of three grapes specific to that part of Vienna and tastes AMAZING. I've never had wine that tasted like it dances on your tongue before! I don't claim to be as much of a wine snob as some of my friends, but this wine tasted so BRIGHT! Seriously amazing!

Monday, we headed to Karlskirche, where we were greeted by Mozart concert ticket sellers at every turn, and then to Stephansplatz to see the huge Gothic St. Stephan's cathedral and the trendy shopping district and horse-drawn carriages. I walked along the Vienna's musical mile while Regina was enjoying a nice Catholic service and kept looking at the mod Haas Haus. We found a fabulous gelateria and had gelato that looked like art for lunch and then took the UBahn to Belvedere Palace, which was amazingly gorgeous. Inside, I indulged in the Gustav Klimt exhibit, which was not as expansive as I'd hoped it to be. We then hopped the UBahn to the Staatsoper, where we scored standing room tickets for 4 Euro to see Barber of Seville. The opera was fantastic, as it was accompanied by the Vienna Phil, singers were fantastic, and the staging, while traditional, was great. After the opera, we went to Cafe Sacher and indulged in their world-famous sacher torte, which was delicious! We walked around the Rathaus (City Hall) and saw the vendors setting up the Christkindlmarkt. Even the Rathaus was dressed up as an advent calendar...and I was thankful even though back home in the states it appears that the Religious Right appears to be in control, that I at least have the option to worship who and/or what I wish...not so much in Austria. On the way back to the hostel, I fell in love with the döner kepab and I'm actually craving one right now. Then to the hostel bar, where we met and partied with many other travelers and got some free Ottakringers.

After three full and glorious days in Vienna, I was tired, I had blisters on my feet, but I still felt ready to take on the world...or at least the rest of Austria.

Here are the pics from Vienna. Enjoy!