Vienna: The First Day

Well, the last time I had internet, I only had it for about an hour, then my computer died and no one wanted to share their plugs with me, so the only updates I got to make were the ones for the entire second camp, which I had pre-written and just copied and pasted onto my blog. I hope you've enjoyed all of them so far, but by now, I'm already beginning new journeys in Poland and Germany, and my internet will probably be just as limited as it was during my trip that I'm about to tell you about.

The first day in Vienna we woke up early. It was nice to be showering in a common bathroom again and sleeping with two random strangers in our room. The joys of a hostel were in the air. But really, besides the free breakfast, the hostel was half decent. Right near the Hütteldorf subway station, the rooms were clean, although unbearably hot. They held our luggage in a locked room in the basement, and the wi-fi in the lobby was decently quick. Since we had some problems when we checked in, the first order of business was getting out the door before 9 AM after finding the rest of our group a new place to live. We eventually asked the hostel if they had available rooms for the night, and since they had room, we were able to stay in the same hostel the second night in Vienna. Of course, after checking in for the second night, we were ready to go, but travelling with eight people isn't so easy. It's become the popular thing for us to be missing one, two, or three people. This time, I don't know who it was we were missing but someone was gone, and we found her with a full plate of breakfast in the hostel restaurant. It doesn't matter who it was, but when we found her (guess who it was!), I was laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. We can't go anywhere without losing someone!!

We made it out the door at 8:45 AM and made our way to Schöbrunn Palace. Even at 9 AM, it was sweltering heat. The high was supposed to be 35°C. On our way out of the subway, we were walking down the palace, on the wrong side of the road, with morning traffic blocking our only way to cross the street. Of course, being my luck and a perfect way to start the morning, a Viennese bee stung me through our journey in the bushes along the side of the road. It was definitely Ekta's fault because she was pissing all the bees off by thrashing around in the bushes, but it stung me on the inside of my arm and it hurt. It actually was very itchy until at least a week after (I'm writing this 10 days after the sting and can still see the red area where my allergic reaction is still irritated!). We got to the palace and bought tickets. I was so glad to be there early because there were virtually no crowds.

The palace was amazing! There were so many rooms with different styles. A reading room, an office, a luxurious dining room, and beautiful bedrooms. Maria Teresa, Elizabeth (Sisi) and Franz Josef, and the other royal Hapsburgs lived in this fine palace. With many children, they decorated it together over many generations. Maria Teresa had a fascination with Chinese art and so some of the rooms were dedicated to East Asian art and decorations. The floor was beautifully inlaid with dark and light wood patterns, intricate and glossy. There was even a blue and white reading room that was painted to imitate Chinese porcelain and held hundreds of porcelain plates and trinkets. Maria Teresa had 11 children, and only her favorite, Christine, was allowed to marry for love to Albert, the one who founded Albertina (which I'll talk about later). Franz Josef married Elizabeth, who was one of the most beautiful women of her time. She was said to have had hair to her ankles and dedicated hours a day to maintaining her appearance. She would often skip meals to keep her figure, and she was definitely the modern definition of a "princess".

After the palace, we stayed on the royal grounds and continued to tour the private gardens and the panoramic terrace, located on the hill above Schöbrunn. By this time, the heat was so unbearable, it had taken all of our energy. After looking over the city of Vienna, we decided to head to the city center and eat before we began our next sight. We arrived in the center and ate McDonalds (again!), and afterwards headed to St. Stephens Cathedral. It was absolutely beautiful. From there, we went to St. Peter's Church. It was also beautiful. Gold, marble, frescos and statues, you know, the usual stuff found in magnificent churches. After the churches, we decided to walk to Hofburg, which holds libraries, museums, and beautiful buildings used by royalty. We walked through some of the buildings, and eventually ended up at a park with a statue of Mozart (a native to Vienna), which was where we spent a few hours resting from the morning heat and early afternoon sightseeing.

After our break, we made our way to Albertina, a wonderful museum with a collection of Monet, Renior, Picasso, and other styles. It was awesome to see some of the classics, as well as some of the more modern works. There was a special collection toward the end that was by Walton Ford. It displayed works portraying colonialism in the world by using animals and words as an allegory of the destruction, havoc, and abuse caused by colonialism.

After Albertina, we went out for dinner and then headed to Praterstern, a small amusement park on an island in the Danube. There we rode a few rides, which per pay as you ride. We rode a spinning one that was fun, a flying coaster (like the one at Elitch Gardens), and a really fun one that reminded me of the old ride called the "Zipper". Although it was a little expensive, I had a ton of fun and so did everyone else! The best was seeing the city lights while flying upside down, hundreds of feet in the air! At the end of the night, we headed back to the hostel to get a good night's sleep before another busy day in Vienna.