I had high hopes for Vienna, after hearing great things about Austria and seeing some amazing pictures. My favourite part however was the fact that it was another chance for me to practice my german. Ellie and I arrived from Budapest in the dark and, after walking straight past and then around the block, finally made it to our hostel. I was super hangry by this stage and we only made it as far as the train station we had come from to get some dinner of traditional schnitzel and chips - with plenty of mayo of course!
The next day was Ellie and my last day exploring together. There isn't allowed to be official free walking tours in Vienna, and we didn't want to pay for one, but we found a walking tour map and did it on our own. It took us a good six hours though, as we combined a few different routes and wandered along.
We saw St Stevens Cathedral, the Jewish Memorial which had the names of all of the concentration camps on it, the Opera House, the National History Museum and Museum Island, Mozarts House, the Town Hall and Parliment as well as the Town Park. It was all very pretty but not as interesting or exciting as the rest of the places we had previously visited. We walked so much and we were totally unimpressed by it all - definatley had our grumpy faces on by the end of it.
I was super excited to see Katie the next day but also upset that it was the end of mine and Ellie's adventure together. I had the best time travelling with Ellie, something I never expected we would have the chance to do together, but I am so happy we did because it has brought us closer together again. Katie, Ellie and I explored the Belevedere Palace gardens together before Ellie had to catch her train to the airport for her flight to Rome.
Katie and I went and climbed the Cathedral in the centre of town which gave us pretty amazing views of the city - so many stairs though! I didn't realise quite how big Vienna was until climbing the tower - that's the best thing about getting up high in a city. There is also a river flowing through the north of the city that you can see from the tower.
We ate Schnitzel at a traditional pub for lunch, where the waitress couldn't speak english. It was a great test to my german, but I managed to communicate with her and we all recieved a meal! Katies friend Grace joined us that afternoon and we all went to Schloss Schonbrunn, a palace estate on the outskirts of the city. There we climbed a hill which gave us a great view of the city from another angle. We wandered around the gardens but were all pretty tired by this time so wanted to head back into the city.
That evening, my last night in Vienna, we went to the summer markets at the Town Hall where they had set up a big screen and were showing a ballet in German. We ate more Schnitzel and enjoyed the atmosphere. We didn't stay long once the film started though as it was all in German and the other two couldn't understand anything! Although my time with Katie was short and sweet it was really nice to see her again and spend some time together in a foreign place. The next morning I set off on my own, solo traveller once more, for Greece!
"Enjoy the little things in life for one day you’ll look back and realise they were the big things." - Kurt Vonnegut
I hope that this has inspired you.
LARISSAJODEE x