Saturday, June 5, 2010

day 22: artsy wien

My expectation of Vienna was sky high. Many travellers I met along the way have crowned it their favourite city in Europe. So naturally I was excited to explore, even if it meant having to drag my twisted right foot.

Jerrain and I hopped on to Tram 1 from Schwedenplatz which was supposed to loop around the city centre, giving us a drive-by view of the main sights. Unfortunately it was running just half a loop today.

Alighting at Schottentor, we strolled the rest of the way. We caught Blasmusikfest, a marching music festival of young musicians dressed in what looked like traditional costumes, right in front of the grand Rathausplatz. Other sights included an old university, City Hall, the magnificent Parliament, which were all accompanied by gorgeous parks.

The chill and artsy MuseumsQuartier (pictured) was the perfect place to rest my screaming foot. We sat at the Leopold cafe for ages. After surviving 40 minutes of walking under the sun, Jerrain and I each had a tall glass of Eiskaffee, iced coffee with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream topped off with two chocolate waffle rolls.

As usual, Jerrain concentrated on perfecting games on her iPhone while I catch up on some reading and blogging. I learnt about Queen Sheba's visit and the fall of King Solomon in Chapter 10 and 11 of 1 Kings in the bible.

Before the cafe manager threw us out, we thought it best to leave gracefully after hoarding the table for close to two hours.

We managed to have a quick peak at the manicured gardens in Belvedere before heading back to our hostel.

  • Location: Vienna, Austria
  • Cost: €5.50 curry seafood noodle, €4.40 Eiskaffee at Leopold cafe, €1 nachos with cheese and salsa for dinner
  • Highlight: Veganmania fair outside the MuseumsQuartier. An open space with lines of stalls selling vegan food and pro-vegan t-shirts, magnets and stuff. Tables were set up for people to eat and hang out. A crowd gathered where a band was playing.

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