Vienna Day Six - Spanish riding School and Home

This morning was our first early start of the week in an attempt to be checked out and at the Hofburg in time to see the Morgenarbeit, or morning exercises of the Spanish Riding School. I'm a bit of an equestrian and so had made it clear that although I didnt expect Sophie and Michael to come and sit through an expensive evening performance, I did want to at least experience some of this spectacle. It was only €6 to wonder in and watch the exercises for as long as you wanted, and we ended up staying right to the end even though each set of horses brought out were doing the same thing, and nothing quite as impressive as what the evening show seems to consist of judging by this video;

As you can see, these are very well trained horses, and the riders are exceptional. But even that aside, the arena is just beautiful with its chandeliers and pillars. Its within the hofburg buildings, and you do get the feeling of it being a show fit for a king (or emperor in this case). After this, we only had time for a quick final cafe lunch and then head back to the hotel to pick up cases.

It was a fantastic week, and one of the best holidays I've had. Most of that is due to Sophie, both because she was a great tour-guide and because it was so nice to see her after such a long time. Strangely the next time we meet will most likely be in Finland where she'll be visiting friends from Vienna. Also, must say thanks to Michael for being resident photographer for the week. It has to be said though that Vienna is a brilliant city with so much culture and history. 6 days really wasnt enough! I just hope it survives Euro 2008, hehe.

Vienna Day Five - Bratislava!

So, Monday morning we had planned to go see the morning exercises of the Spanish Riding School, but apparently they give the horses the day off. So we decided to do some shopping and try again Tuesday. Sophie told us that some of her friends had ventured to Bratislava and we all agreed that while we were in the area it would make a good day trip. Unfortunately Sophie had a lecture at 12 - so it became more of a half-day trip. We managed to get a train at half 1, but it takes less than an hour from Vienna - Bratislava and the trains ran till 11 to come back again, so we still had a good few hours to explore the city.

We arrived, and realised how unprepared we were. None of us were sure whether Slovakia is part of the EU, although we were fairly sure they didnt have the euro, so the first plan was to find some money. We ended up asking some English-speakers that we heard on the train for help. They pointed out where we were on a map the woman at the train station had given us (thank goodness she did!) and told us where we could change some money.


So, we tried to find the tram into the centre but soon got bored with that plan and decide to walk it instead. It didnt take very long, and we passed one of the beautiful Palace's on the way. Had a quick look in the gardens, and saw the guards standing out front in their uniforms. A sign by the fountain was telling us it was 30 degree's! From there you could also see the castle up on the hill, so knew we were heading in the right direction.



We headed along to the one remaining gate to the city - St Michaels Gate. Heading under this, we entered the pedestrianised area of the city with its narrow streets and cafe's. Following along the streets you reach the main square with its little souvenir huts selling the usual tack along with some beautiful hand-made trinkets. From this centre point you could head in any direction any see noticeable buildings, such as churches theatres and town halls.



We carried on through the streets to the Volkstheatre (the map we had was in German), with another fountain (they seem very popular here). From there we could see the river and decided to head towards it. It seemed like a very quiet river-side with only one boat (also a hostel) and one cafe. However we spotted the castle again and headed that way.



Again we got distracted on the way, and ended up at the Cathedral. Decided to pay the entrance fee, and it was worth it just to cool down if nothing else. However it was a pretty church, with a very creepy crypt. Here we met another english speaker, who made us jump while in the depths of the crypt. The treasury was also worth a look.



After that, we started the steep climb up to the castle. Unfortunately the castle was closed for renovation, but it was still worth it to see the views. From here we could see over the river, where big tower blocks of housing showed where all the natives of this quiet town lived. Further down the river was untouched nature of woods and mountains. We bumped into our friend from the crypt again, before heading back into the main town to find somewhere to eat.



We wondered down the narrow streets looking for a cafe that would serve something traditional (not opting for the Irish pub - they really are everywhere!). We found somewhere that did a mixture of eastern cuisine, and very cheap too! Me and Sophie had potato noodles with goats cheese and bacon (apparently Slovakian) while Michael had some sort of chicken Kiev (apparently a Prague recipe). My meal was sooo filling, and ended up leaving half of it. After dinner we decided to head back to the cafe on the river to have a drink and wait for the sun to set. Then we headed back toward the town and found the second palace (better late than never). You had to go through the courtyard of the town hall buildings and you find it tucked away. Outside it, we saw an EU flag waving, and also a information board that seem to suggest that they're getting the euro early next year (although many places seemed to already accept the euro).



Finally, we headed back toward the station to catch the last train that would get us back in time for the last tube in Vienna. Nearly had our passports checked on the way back, but the officials seemed to get distracted by a chap earlier in the carriage who they stopped the train to take off!

All in all, it was a tiring day, but very worthwhile. Its a beautiful city, but small enough to get everything done easily in a day (or an afternoon apparently). I highly recommend it as a day trip to anyone visiting Vienna. The return ticket only cost €14 - thats less than I pay to get home from uni!

Vienna Day Four - Prater

Given Sophie's late night, Michael and I decided to head to the Hofburg to look round the exhibition that Sophie had already seen twice, giving her time for a lie-in, hehe. The Hofburg houses an exhibitions split into three - the first is all the old silverware and table decorations (not the most thrilling thing in the world, but pretty grand nevertheless). Following on from that is an exhibition all about the old empress Elisabeth of Bavaria, or more commonly known as Sisi. She was a pretty interesting character, inspiring films and such which exaggerated her biography and made her an icon. Check out her wiki page if your interested. After this was a chance to wonder round the old apartments of the Emperor and Empress, where you could see their studies, bedrooms etc. Was a well done exhibition, where rather than having to read, every person is given a little hand-held headset, where to hear about a particular item, you simply type in the number next to it, click play et voila, someone tells you all about it in your language. Makes a lot of sense, and I'm sure many museums use this these days, but was the first time I'd come across it.

After that we met up with Sophie and headed to Prater - an old hunting ground of the Emperor, that has since had a fair ground added to the edge of the grounds alongside the old London-eye-like Ferris Wheel. This giant Ferris Wheel was first constructed back in 1897, and apparently survived the war to continue turning today. The cabins and exposed metal structure do seem very traditional, with the cabins rocking from side-to-side as people moved around in side (unlike the steady London Eye), making it a lot more fun in my opinion, although Sophie and Michael clung to the sides the whole time.


From even just half-way round the views of Vienna were fantastic. On both sides there were landmarks to be spotted. Also the nature around the city was marvellous. Miles of the wooded parts of Prater could be seen to one side, with the hills/mountains visible in the distance on the other side. I'd highly recommend having a go round on this.


Sophie pointed out the point on one of the hills where she had planned to take us that night to see the Viennese sky-line at night. Unfortunately the beautiful weather was not to last, and we made it back to the hotel in time for a huge thunder storm (with hale and all-sorts!). So, we waited it out for a while, before deciding we really needed to eat, so made a run to the bus stop where we got a bus to Sophie's. We ended up at the pub round the corner from her halls for more Schnitzel (this time Chicken, with cheese and ham in the middle, like a kiev). So sadly we didn't make it to the view-point, but the Ferris Wheel was good enough to be honest.

Vienna Day Three - Stephensplatz

Saturday we arranged to meet Sophie at Stephansplatz, the main touristy area, and centre of Vienna. Walking out of the tube station, your immediately met with the Cathedral (Stephansdom). It was being renovated, but was still an impressive building. We had a quick look inside before heading off to the Hofburg.

This is the old house and offices of the Emperor and his wife. Most of central Vienna is fairly pedestrianised, but there were a lot of horse-drawn carriages. I owed this partly to the fact that the Hofburg also homed the Spanish Riding School, which I'll talk about in a later post.


We wondered under the arc of the Hofburg and through to the courtyard and beyond, where they were setting up screens in preparation for Euro 2008. From here we could see the buildings for the natural history museum. Walking past these we continued to the parliment buildings and old Rathaus.


After this we sat in a nice cafe (Fratellis) where we had lunch and some gorgeous ice-cream (very welcome on such a hot day). We carried on from there to look at the buildings of the Opera house. Which we had trouble getting to due to the change of Tram routes to accomodate Euro 2008 (poor Sophie was not looking forward to the chaos that it would bring).


After this we sat in a main Park that I forget the name of, but was very nice. Finally we headed back toward the main metro station where we started - passing a fountain on the way where people were paddling, so naturally we joined them, hehe.



Finally we headed back to the hotel, where we decided where to go for dinner. Sophie had heard good things about the schnitzel resturant on the street of our hotel, so we decided to give it a go. It was superb. Each portion of schnitzel came with two, so we ordered two between the three of us. We also ordered chips, potatoes, and two salads. We were absolutely stuffed as the portions were huge, and it was less than €10 each! I'd highly recommend the place, cant remember the exact name, but its the only Schnitzel place on Neubaugasse. To explain what Schnitzel is, its pork that has been beaten flat and then covered in breadcrumbs and lightly fried. Simple but tasty.

Finally we headed to Sophie's halls where they were having drinks in the courtyard. Had a nice chat with an Irish girl about eurovision. Some Americans brought their guitars out and started jamming, and then a girl brought her chello out and joined in. Was bizzare but very good actually. Sophie's friend went on to the Museumsquatier to drink and find a club, but me and Michael headed back to the hotel to rest our weary feet.

Vienna Day Two - Schonbrun

Friday morning we were woken up to the sound of a huge market being constructed outside our hotel window. So after texting Sophie to see when to meet up, we wondered along it till she replied. It was a strange mix of bric-a-brac, and typical market stalls. A schlager radio station was providing music, but I didnt recognise anything, unsurprisingly.


After meeting up with Sophie, we headed to Schonbrun - the old holiday residences of the Emperor. This was a beautiful building that we unfortunately never made it into. Instead we spent the whole day wondering around the gardens. The roses were out in bloom and smelt lovely, and there was a palm house, desert house, giant maze and a zoo! Again we ran out of time to go round the maze, but made it to the other three for which you could buy a combi-ticket. (The gardens were free to wonder round, but the rest required tickets).


First we ventured in the 'houses'. I frequently visit Kew Gardens in London, and love the palm house there. This was just as good with plants from a range of climates on offer. Unfortunately you couldnt climb up and view it from the top like at Kew, but it was still worth a look. We then crossed to the dessert house which had lots of Cacti, and even had lizards and tortoises crawling around.


Finally though, we made it to the zoo - just in time to see the tigers and jaguars being fed. Tigers are by far my most favourite animal, and I was fascinated while watching them eat. These ones were not shy and came right up to the glass to eat. We also saw the seals being fed, jumping after fish off ledges causing great big splashes - much to the delight of the children standing close enough to get wet. Finally, we spent ages watching the baby polar bears playing and also caught a glimpse of the baby panda that is apparently quite famous.



After leaving the zoo, which was surprisingly large given its strange location, we headed back to the hotel to get changed for the evening. Sophie wanted to take us to a traditional Heuriger. At the end of a tram route was a popular area called Grinzing, almost its own town, where we met with Sophie's friends again and tried some traditional cuisine. Apparently each Heuriger owns its own vines from which they make their own wine, which was delicious. Michael had his first Schnitzel of the week (not the last by far) and I had regular meat with sauerkraut and knödel. Not a big fan of sauerkraut but the knödel were lovely. Was a very pleasant evening to sit in the gardens and got to discuss Finland with one of Sophie's Finnish friends. Was most likely the best evening of the week.

Vienna Day One - Donauinsel

We arrive in Vienna on time with an uneventful flight (my first in nearly 10 years!). We wonder out and see Sophie waiting for us. Was a lovely surprise, as I didnt think she'd be meeting us from the airport. So glad she did though. Sophie has been in Vienna studying at the university as part of an Erasmus exchange, and so speaks very good German, and also knows her way around the city pretty well. She buys us our train tickets, and takes us straight to our hotel. The hotel was very cheap, so was expecting a complete dive. It is a little run-down, but the beds were comfy and the room is huge - complete with sofa and fridge.

We headed down Mariahilfer Strasse (the main shopping street) just along from our hotel to have a drink and a quick catch up. It was getting fairly late (it was gone 5pm before we checked into the hotel), so decide to head to Sophie's for some lunch and meet her flatmates who we'll be going out with later that night. We decide to ease into the cuisine slowly with a good old Italian. After which we headed to the Donauinsel to meet Sophie's friends and have a cocktail. This area of Veinna, next to the river, clearly comes alive at night. The area is full of small bars (either on the shore, or as permanently moored boats) and the area is bursting with lights and music. We start with a quick cocktail before finding one of these boats where we have a dance (to some fairly rubbish music in my opinion).

Sophie's friends (all Erasmus students also) all seem really nice, and it was so good to be out with Sophie again, who I have only seen once since September. My first impressions of Austria is that it's quite a bit different from Germany. All the buildings are quite old-fashioned, but there is a lot of modern style cafe's and bars. The public transport is efficient, with the U-Bahn being fairly modern, although still having the manual doors like in Paris.

Return From Vienna!

So I return safely from a lovely 6 days in Vienna. I had a fabulous time, got a bit of tan (that I hope stays), saw some lovely sights, and ate lots of lovely food. Vienna's a lovely city and the holiday went without a hitch really - partly due to the fact my friend became our personal tour guide for the week! We even had a spontaneous day trip to Bratislava. None of us knew anything about Slovakia (EU? Euro? Language!?) so that was an adventure, hehe. Have been taking notes, and once I get the photos off my friend I will be posting about some highlights.

Will just end with a new song that I heard out there from a band I quite like. They are called Die Ärzte, and have been around for decades. This is a fairly poppy song from them, called Lasse Redn. From what I can tell, its just about doing what you like and letting the people talk as they have nothing better to do. Could be wrong though, my Germans still needs perfecting, hehe.

Vienna on Thursday!

So, preparations for Finland have come to a bit of a stand-still. I finished the application for the language course (choosing Helsinki and Tampere as predicted). It all got sent off without any trouble, as I had an email in reply from someone in Finland saying that my application will now undergo a screening process and I will be notified by 20th June whether or not I have been accepted. Fingers Crossed!

It's all redundant of course, if I don't get accepted to the university that I'm planning to do the exchange at. I sent off my application ages ago, and gave a copy of my transcripts to the organising tutor at my uni to send off. Yesterday, I received an email stating that my application is incomplete, as they never received the transcript, and I now have a new deadline to deliver the transcripts to them. I've emailed my tutor to see what went wrong, but as yet he hasn't replied. The new deadline is next week, which would be fine if I weren't flying to Vienna Thursday, and not returning till the deadline date. You see my dilemma...

I'm going to Vienna to visit a friend so will hopefully have internet access on and off during the week. Its just a shame that this is the start my summer after a hectic month of exams, and this is a holiday I've been looking forward to for so long, that now I'm going to be worrying about this all week! Oh well, I will be back with a final post before Vienna tomorrow, and then will be back with tales of my travels on Tuesday. Wish me luck!