So on Friday (wow is it already Sunday?) I went on a walking tour of the city that was put on by my hostel. I've been doing this whenever I can, because it gives me a basic layout of the city, and maybe if I did this first, I wouldn't have gotten lost a few times...
But the tour was great! We walked about 2 miles all around the city center, starting at the Nachstmarkt. It's 1.3 kilometers long, and full of people selling foods, gifts, treats, spices, etc. The word Nachstmarkt literally would translate to Market of Little Nibblings, which is pretty fun.
We walked by the building Secession, referred to as The Golden Cabbage, because of the golden globe on top. In actuality, it's a modern art museum that charges way too much for just a couple rooms. Sorry but I don't have any picture.
We walked through the middle of town, in front of the opera house, and through some alleyways. We visited some churches that were built in the 14th century which is just too crazy for me to imagine. They're still in such good condition! Sure, there's been renovation, but still...
I learned that the Hofburg Palace, which I mentioned earlier, was the intended home of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but then something happened so that he couldn't move in... Hmm... Hitler also made some of his first speeches at this palace, which was kind of a fun fact. Oh! We also saw the art school where he was rejected from, so...
The final stop on the tour was the St. Stephan's Cathedral, which I showed you earlier. I got a closer look at the roof, which I didn't even notice earlier, which was really cool. The church burned down partially in WW2, so they rebuilt it exactly to how it was, according to photos and paintings. I learned that it was built in 1137, and the highest point is 136 meters tall, so almost as tall as me...
One of the most interesting things, however, is that I talked to another hosteller on the tour who was from San Jose, CA, and was even born in the same hospital as me, so that was really coincidental.
(Ludwig's Star on the Mile of Music)
The other main thing I did on Friday was go to the Sigmund Freud museum! That was really interesting, because the museum was his apartment when he lived here, but renovated with pictures of the rooms and the doctor at work. I'm glad I got the student discount of €4, because I don't think the full price of €10 would have been worth it. It wasn't very extensive, though it was very cool.
I also stopped by some gardens that I don't know the name of, but it was so so beautiful there that I had to spend an hour there, just sitting and watching.
Ugh, that was only Friday? I still have to do Saturday? Okay.
I really like my hostel. My roommates are all super cool. Tonight, they are both from London and Australia, so everyone naturally spoke English. Nice.
I got an early start to the morning-- 9:30! But in just 2.5 hours, I walked about 5 miles, not counting for time that I wasn't walking, so my legs kinda wanted to die. But it was all worth it. That morning, I decided I wanted to visit a couple more palaces in the area, so I started off toward the Belvedere. Now, I can't tell you all that happened there, because I'm sorry, €25 for entrance to the palace is absurd and I refuse. However, I can show you what it looked like and I can tell you that it was more beautiful than any other palace I've been to. Look at this marvelous building and stare at it in awe.
The fields in front were peaceful, the grass was green, the water was clear-ish, and the skies were blue. I could definitely spend more time here, but I had to get moving to the next place so I wouldn't be walking in the heat of the day.
My next stop was Schloss Schönbrunn, another palace with HUGE gardens out in front. If you're starting to see a trend here, it's because there is. I like gardens.
But it was such a long walk. Over two miles from one palace to the other, and there weren't many sights along the way. Just buildings and housing. But there were two wonderful sights:
These two different places are the WW2 memorial, and the St Elizabeth Church. I got to the memorial just in time to see a rainbow created from the fountain in front, and I got one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken on the camera. I wish I could share it with you.
The reason I decided to stop by the St Elizabeth is because it was different from the other churches in the area. This one has a very modern feel to it, though maybe not as much as the one from Trieste, but it was still a beautiful church.
Finally, an hour after I left, I reached Schloss Schönbrunn, which my legs were very thankful for. Look at the gardens out in front, and keep in mind that my phone's camera doesn't do the real thing any justice.
So many flowers. Just... So many... And the mist from the fountains in the back was very refreshing, especially on a 90 degree day, which I hadn't planned on when I wore jeans. Luckily there are water founains all over, so I filled up my water bottle a lot of times.
I couldn't walk any more, so I just took he subway back to the town center. It's great because the subway is free here. No tickets, you just hop on. Super great.
That was the majority of my day, because after that, I didn't want to do much. So after a quick nap, I just walked slowly around town for a few more hours. I had two more Käsekrainers today because they're so good.
Again, my roommates are great. I really like that part about hostels. The people are all great. I haven't had a single bad roommate this whole trip.
I'm currently on my train to Salzburg, where I will stay for 2 nights, then I'm heading to Germany for a week. Then, and only then, can I finally return to California. It's been a wild ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment