day 22.5: spot the difference

Guess which is the injured foot.

I cannot promise any reward for getting it right because my backpack is bursting. And I really should not be carrying any more weight in this condition.

I would like to introduce Blondi. He has been my pillar of support for the past three days since I twisted my foot. I picked him up from Krakow's Old Town Market Square and we have since been inseperable.

He is a little camera shy, so I respect his request not to be photographed in this blog. (But if you must insist, he looks like an average maroon umbrella.)

Blondi is named after Hitler's dog. Interesting fact I learnt in Berlin - the command to put Blondi to sleep was the most difficult decision Hitler made.

My sprained ankle has been recovering at lightning speed. Besides Jerrain's constant concern and my friends' well wishes from afar, I suppose the prescribed Lioton 1000 gel did some good.

Here is a progress report. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being fully recovered:

Day 1 after the accident: 2.5/10
Limped and needed the assistance of Blondi, unable to put any weight on the injured right foot at all.

Day 2: 4.5/10
Less reliant on Blondi, able to place some weight on my toes and nearer the ball of my foot. Could rotate my foot but swell has spread to the entire foot.

Day 3: 5/10
Able to limp around and for a longer distance without Blondi. Walked for at least 4 kilometres today. Right heel started to hurt after 40 minutes because I placed much of my weight on it as I walked. Injured foot still looked suspiciously bigger than my other foot.

Watch out for status report in subsequent posts.

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.