Well my good friends, it does exist, AND is also famous for museums, artists, opera, little boys singing, and a Hitler speech. Sound amazing doesn't it?
I took a train from Dinton to the airport late at night. My sleepover with strangers in the terminal was necessary because of my early flight. I didn’t mind the snoring, the unattended baggage, or the unusual closeness to another person when we slept head or head, toe to toe or head to toe on the benches. It was peaceful like naptime in kindergarten… except everyone was much older.
I arrived in Vienna, followed my dad’s directions, somehow getting onto all the right undergrounds, and got to his swanky hotel without a hitch. I took a much-needed shower and nap, had my first experience with room service (wonderful!), and then began to wander the streets. In a funny way of balancing my ease of travel in the morning, I wandered in the complete opposite direction of all the happening areas. My dad and I found each other when he was done work for the day and then the real sightseeing started. (Having already spent a week there he was quite a good tour guide!) Historically, Vienna was the capital city and cultural centre for the entire Ottoman Empire. So its no surprise when you experience the history and culture of the city, its just surprising that it belongs to a geographically small country. I also feel like I never have to go to Italy, because the obvious influence of the Roman Empire makes you feel like you are already there.
It is a city FULL of museums. From ones you would expect such as Austrian art or natural history to museums that showcase medical oddities or just globes. Yes… globes. We took a few steps into most of them, but none tickled our fancy enough to go all the way in, and we were short of time! We saw the parliament buildings, Stephansdom (their famous cathedral) the national library and its grounds (location for the infamous speech given by Hitler http://www.thirdreichruins.com/vienna.htm) walked though the streets closed off to cars but open to the people, ate strudel, drank espresso and gave special thanks for bilingual menus. At city hall we watched people ice skate, drank gluwine (warm wine), apple cider with apple chunks and ate freshly fried potato chips. (at which point we sent a picture to tease my mother about all she was missing out on)
Then it was time for the evening festivities. We put on our Sunday best and walked down the street to Vienna’s oldest opera house, the staatsoper. We checked in our coats, rented mini binoculars (they look exactly how you imagine they would) and found our seats, SO close to the orchestra and stage that brought Beethoven’s operas to life for the first time. This was an amazing place to people watch. The glitz, and the people in the glitz, almost etched permanent binocular circles around my eyes. We were underdressed, my dad was an inch away from wearing jeans and I was wearing a second-hand dress. But we enjoyed the show (Giuseppe Verdi’s Falstaff), awed at the sets and costumes, marvelled at the lungs of the singers and talent of the musicians, and laughed along with the plotline. We had dinner at a wonderful Indian restaurant, (this was a huge leap for my Dad’s taste buds, but in a country famous for schnitzel and wieners, mine won) and shared our now traditional beer in another country. I slept like a baby.
We parted ways early in the morning, him for the airport and me for the breakfast buffet. After my stomach was more then full, I put my belongings on my back, whipped out a map and began the day.
(I swear part 2 is coming soon)
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