So our trip to Vienna had been planned for a while. Ever since we worked out that we would be on our Year Abroad for both of our 21st birthdays, we decided it was only fitting to do something particularly special. Lois, very wisely, suggested we visit Vienna for her 21st birthday. Lois' birthday coincided perfectly with 'Der Tag der Deutschen Einheit' which is one day after. This day celebrates the reunification of East and West Germany and is a national holiday. Since we would both be off school, and seeing that we both have Fridays off anyway, we didn't have to take time off and still had a 4-day weekend. So after a lovely meal and a few drinks in Eichstätt on Lois' actual birthday, we set off on the Thursday morning for Vienna (via Munich).
Now we had arranged to travel from Munich to Vienna using 'Mitfahrgelegenheit' - A car sharing service. Much to our annoyance and frustration our driver didn't turn up. We had just raced from one side of Munich to the other and he didn't turn up. He didn't even ring us. No "I'm sorry, but the car wouldn't start", no "I'm sorry, I've eaten a dodgy Bratwurst and I've been hugging the toilet for the past 9 hours" Not even a "Bayern München won last night and I'm clearly still well over the drink drive limit" (Bayern-München did actually win the previous night - I'm convinced this is the actual reason) But if your reading this Andreas... Screw You!
Lois and I were pretty annoyed by this, so like any normal person in this situation, we went and committed 'Carbicide' (gorging on a massive amounts of Carbohydrates for everyone who is not 'down with the kids') by feasting upon huge Pretzels. The Pretzels in question were quite a lot bigger than both of our heads, but it filled us up and gave us the energy to carry on. And by carry on, I mean buy an overpriced train ticket and sit on a train for far too long. Eventually we reached Vienna, albeit a little later than expected.
We successfully navigated the U-Bahn (Underground) system and found the station close to our apartment. However as we only had a street name and it was now getting dark, things weren't looking promising. We asked in a Petrol Station for some directions but the cashier didn't have a clue. But fortunately, a taxi driver overheard the conversation and offered his help and said he would take us to our apartment. I explained very clearly that we had no money as we had spent it on the train here but he insisted and said he wouldn't charge - I've definitely heard that before, so I was a little weary but we didn't have much choice. Luckily he took us directly to our street and didn't ask for money. He was probably the nicest Taxi driver I've ever had and we were very appreciative of his help. There's not many Taxi driver like that around these days and I hope Karma rewards this nice Austrian man. The next challenge was finding our actual apartment!
Walking down the road, a hooded figure asked if we were looking for number 13 - we were! He told us he was here to meet us and that he would take us to our apartment. Feeling a little unsure, we followed him inside. Fortunately it all worked out and he (who turned out to look like a French Rowan Atkinson's younger brother - do you get the picture?) walked us in to our apartment, where we would stay for the next three nights. We were the first ones to stay there and it had been newly renovated. It was super. Very modern, clean and spacious and had a kitchen with all the utensils you would need as well as a coffee machine - that's right, our very own coffee machine! Unfortunately the TV didn't work until the following morning, so we had to settle with listening to the only CD available for our evening entertainment. It was a classical CD, full of symphonies from Mozart, Beethoven and Strauss, which only seemed right considering we were in Vienna. We cooked a tasty meal, had some cake then went to bed to re-energize for the next days antics!
On Friday morning, we ventured into Vienna centre and discovered Stephansplatz, a large area with a magnificent cathedral and lots of expensive shops, and explored a few other places too. In the afternoon, I had booked, for us both and as part of Lois' birthday present, a tour. Now this tour was to be a little different to other tours. This was a Segway Tour! That's right, we would whizzing (we soon learnt that 'terrorising' is probably a better verb) about Vienna on Segways. The tour began with a 'training phase' where we would learn how to control the Segway, although this ability seemed to allude certain members of our group. We were both pretty nervous about getting on, as it's all about balance and you actually lean to move. Lois went first and picked it up in a heartbeat. Like a pro, she was flying up and down the pavement within minutes. I then went for it and found it to be easier than expected. Once this was complete, we began the tour. The tour lasted three hours and thanks to the Segways we were able to see so much of the city. We were whizzing from one sight to the other, zipping through squares full of people, zooming down bike lanes and weaving in and out of traffic. It was such a thrill! We learnt lots, as at each stop we would listen to interesting stories and facts about that specific site. The architecture in Vienna is spectacular and there really is so much to see. We sometimes dismounted but other times we would just stay on the Segway whilst we learnt about the vast, vast history of Vienna. I would recommend this experience to absolutely everybody. It really is the best way to see any city. You have loads of fun and learn things too. Vienna is very spread out, so this really was the best way to see everything. It was AMAZING and consequently a Segway is now the first thing on my Christmas list.
Another little surprise I organised, was to take Lois out for cocktails in the evening. I had booked a really cool bar which overlooked Vienna, so that evening we went there for a few birthday drinks. It was lovely and the view really was fantastic. Lois said her cocktail was the best she'd ever had, so that's definitely the sign of a good bar.
Day two in Vienna and we decided to visit the winter palace, which is just outside of the city. Schönnbrunn Palace is huge and the gardens are even bigger. We hit it on a glorious day, but it was pretty chilly. We opted not to go inside but we ventured into the huge expanse of gardens. Behind the house, we climbed a hill where we could see the whole city of Vienna with the house in the foreground. This view was magnificent and is one of those views that will stay with me forever. It was quite overwhelming and took me a while to appreciate the natural beauty of it all. It's definitely a 'must-do' for anyone in Vienna.
The afternoon consisted of a lovely catch up with a fellow Aston student, also on her Year Abroad. Naomi is based in Vienna so it seemed silly not to meet up. We had a really nice chat over a coffee and its really nice hearing about other peoples experiences. After this we went to the Sacher Hotel to sample the world famous Sacher Torte. It's one of those things that has to be done in Vienna. This is where the famous cake was invented and is the only place you can sample the real, original Sacher Torte. It was a really nice experience, in lovely traditional surroundings and no trip to Vienna should be without it.
So we're both back to our schools tomorrow, but what better way to end the post but with the help of a certain Billy Joel. Lois showed me this (very apt) song on the final night and it will always remind us both of our wonderful trip.
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