Out and About - Day 16: Vienna Waits For You

April 6, 2013

Vienna, Austria

Well, our Vienna escape was quite a trip. We explored a country we've never been to before without having an idea of what to see or what to visit. We just rode trains, took long walks, and just let the wind take us wherever!

We left Brno at 9:30 am, and arrived in Vienna past 11 - just before noon. We got ourselves a transportation day pass, and then waited for Martina, an AIESECer, who would like to tag along. 

Our first destination was Prater - an amusement park where the iconic ferris wheel Riesenrad (built in 1897) stands. We then headed to see Karlskirche (St. Charles's Church), which is considered to be the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna.

After that, we just got... lost.

We lost Snizha and Martina, and the constant fear of missing our 7:40 pm bus banged in our heads. We explored the city, nevertheless.

Honestly, I have no idea where we went and how we got to places. In fact, I don't even know if the sites we saw are significant. We had no guidebooks or maps (OK, we had an e-map, but it didn't really help much)  to show us the best places to visit. We didn't plan in advance either, so it was pretty much a crazy trip. 

Vienna's buildings look similar to the ones in Brno, so we weren't really blown away by their architecture anymore. There were also a lot of Asians around, which, to me, is surprising. Street performers lined the streets, and people in costumes invited tourists to watch the evening opera.

But there sure is one thing that tourists will never NOT notice: Mozart. Mozart was everywhere. As in, EVERYWHERE. Shirts, cups, glassware, umbrellas, magnets, badges, pens, pencils - you name it! Austria is the home of this legendary classical music composer, so it's impossible for visitors to come back from Austria without a Mozart souvenir. In my case, Mozart chocolates. Man, they're so good, I already ate a whole pack!

For most of the time, we stayed at a shopping street where St. Stephen's Cathedral - which I loved - is located. 

We took loads of pictures anyway, and just made the best of our 8-hour stay in the city. We plan on coming back :)

Some seafood late lunch at Nordsee

♥Andz