An Antipodean Adventure

Well, it’s been many a month since I have used this blog, but I started my new job in Februrary and have been quite busy since then. In fact I am writing this on my work laptop, having just connected to a HotSpot in Vienna, so I could send off some emails to do with work.

Vienna?? Yes, I’m on holiday, and since I had such a great time skiing in the Tyrol two winters ago, I’ve decided to come back and sample the Alpine lifestyle in the summer.

I came into Vienna on Saturday afternoon. As we touched down, all the Austrians on the plane started applauding, which I had never seen before – although to be fair it was a rather good landing.

I arrived at my hostel by noon. The Porzelleum is a student hall of residence that opens up to tourists over the summer months. I did manage to get a single room, but the whole place seemed rather bleak and institutional. Vienna city centre however is absolutely amazing. I think it would be fair to say that it is a little too stunning, and they have too many nice buildings that they’re not really sure what to do with – like the district police station that had cars racing through its delicate domed entrance.

Being on a tight schedule, I hopped on a tour bus that evening to be taken around the main sights of Vienna with commentary in four languages. The Danube tower is one of these Toronto-style viewing platforms (although considerably smaller I expect) that offers excellent views over the city. Afterwards we were all taken to one of the Heuringen on the outskirts of Vienna where wine is grown and produced on the premises. Austria concetrates more on its white wine than its red (so it would have fans amongst many 20-something British girls), and I tucked into my complimentary tankard of the stuff (I’d give it 7/10)

Back to the city and the Rough Guide directed me to a nice little restaurant that was open late where I ordered the compulsory Wiener Schitzel. I went back to the halls at about 12.30am, and the entire city seemed to be completely dead (suprising for a Saturday night).

Sunday was similarly quiet, but I headed for the cinema to see the film that every tourist guide plugs: Der Dritte Mann (or the Third Man) – a late 1940s film set in occupied Vienna.

Overall, Vienna is a stunning city, but I found the whole place to be extremely quiet and unexciting, and not really brilliant for young people. Perhaps I’ll come back a little later in life and bring some company.

Now southwards to the Austrian Alps and then Slovenia. Watch this space for more blog updates!

This entry was posted on Monday, 8 August 2005 at 09:51 and is filed under Austria. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.