Vienna

I am sitting here in the Vienna train station nearly two hours before my train leaves back for the Czech Republic. I have just polished off two chocolate donuts; they were damn good. I sit here, having got my long-term Visa processed, with much relief because the process was very simple and easy. I, also, sit here with the inevitable question; do I like Vienna more than I like Prague? I think this is going to be question I ask myself after each and every city I visit and it is a question you may be able to help me with based on my details of each city. As I write about each city each person that reads my blog may be able to decipher from my descriptions of events and occurrences, which city it is I do like best. Actually, you rather than I may even better answer the question.
Well, despite the journey here, which I cannot include in my account of the city overall, Vienna was truly a beautiful place, just like Prague its seems as though as you turn every corner you see a monument or building which should have books upon books written about them. The sites are amazing. There was a church toward the center of the city, I wish I knew it’s name, but Andrea will have pictures posted on her Facebook account, and hopefully one day I will have the time to sit down to figure out how to put pictures on my blog homepage. In order to see the pictures Andrea posts all that needs to be done is to go to my Mother’s Facebook account and search out Andrea, she is one of my Mother’s friends. You can request her as a friend to see the pictures each time they are posted or you can go through my Mother’s account each time, either way you will see spectacular photos. Especially, the one’s in which I make several different action scenes in front of monuments and statues. To me, those are the best. Who, besides myself and Andrea, and maybe, my Mother and hers, want to see repeated pictures of me with my arm around Andrea standing in front of some famous site.
My opinion of the two cities so far goes like this; we did not have enough time in Vienna for me to say I prefer it to Prague. However, the highlights of Vienna were plentiful. The first night we got in, after the journey I have already described, as you might assume, we decided to stay in for the night at our hostel. Our hostel was really something to see in it’s self. It had within it, two courtyards, a kitchen and washing area, a bar-café type of place, and extremely comfortable rooms. We even stayed in the cheapest of the rooms; we were in an eight-bed shared dorm. But, our bunk bed and another two people had a separate room from the other six beds, which was definitely nice. In our little room of the dorm we shared it with a brother and sister who were from London. They were the definition of kind. The story of their traveling together was a little sad though. I spoke with the younger sister and she explained to me that the only reason she was on the trip was because her brother had booked the entire trip while he was with his long-term girlfriend and then shortly before the trip his girlfriend broke up with him. His sister then took the place of his girlfriend. I am sure, a completely depressing thing for the older brother, but he seemed to be having a great time and they were doing all things I would have liked had Andrea and I not been on such a tight budget. They went to the museums and to hear the world-famous Vienna Boys Choir on Sunday morning, all, which cost money, which Andrea and I did not have on this trip.
There is another reason why I still place Prague ahead of Vienna; simply we did not have the funds to experience Vienna to its fullest extent. All of the sightseeing we did was free of charge. Which brings me to my three places we saw while in Vienna. I will go through them not in the order of which was my favorite, but rather, in the order we saw them. First, the Parliament, an enormous building and above its main entrance one of the most beautiful mosaics I have seen in my life, not to say I have seen too many mosaics, but this one was truly captivating. You will see pictures on Andre’s page. Second, we saw the Winter Palace, another gigantic building, leaving both Andrea and I wondering just how two royal people could need such a building. My favorite part of the Winter Palace was not so much the Palace, not to say I did not enjoy the view of it. However, Andrea and I sat down for about twenty minutes on the edge of a fountain in front of the Palace and attempted to decide what to do next. It was late in the afternoon and we were both tired from walking the city streets all day. During this time I laid down for a few minutes with eyes closed and this is something I recommend to all those who visit a foreign country. As I lay there with my eyes closed I just listened to the sounds around me. It was like an exquisite symphony. Off in the distance a man played a harpsichord with such elegance it could have made a grown man cry and each man, women, or couple that pasted spoke a different and wonderful language. I could not understand a word spoken, but it was that that made it all the better and created my own personal symphony. It is moment in time I hope I never forget. The last, and might make sure to mention, we did not really only see three amazing sites. This last one, however, was tranquil beyond belief. Once you see the pictures you will know why it is what I say. This Summer Palace, yes, the royal family had a winter and a summer palace, the funny thing, they were maybe twenty miles apart from each other. Anyway, the royal family’s Summer Palace was something, which could blind a man with its beauty, from the actual building to the gardens and trails surrounding it. Behind the Palace is found a large hill you can climb and discover not only a breathtaking view of the Palace, but also a breathtaking view of the entire city of Vienna. Andrea and I sat a top of that hill for a while and just took everything all in.
There are two other highlights from our time in Vienna. One was a little disappointing to some extent, but it was due to our own misunderstanding of the city of Vienna’s nightlife. On Saturday night we traveled to a Blues/Jazz bar at about ten after hanging out with our new friends from London and one other American at the hostel. We arrived at the Tunnel, the name of the club about 10 or 11 and walked downstairs a little weary because the sign posted stated they were charging a cover, but no one was collecting it. So, we found seats to listen to this extraordinary blues band just as they started to play an unbelievable bluesy rendition of “Folsom County Blues” by Johnny Cash. They played the song perfectly; I sat in awe through the entire song. They played one more song, which was equally as good. Then they thanked the crowd and walked off stage to our disappointment. This is where it would have been nice to know about the Vienna nightlife. Because most of the clubs are in the basements of buildings with apartments above them most live music ends around 11:30 or 12. Thankfully, though, the crowd put their hands together and encouraged the band on to stage for an encore. The band stepped back on stage and played a couple more songs, one slow and another faster one. I could not tell you the names of the songs, but the were in complete, perfect English although the lead singer spoke fluent German between songs. This brings me to a question Andrea and I have been discussing. Why is it that almost all musicians, all over the world, when they sing English sung songs accents can almost never be detected? Examples; Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osborne, and many more. I will give you a moment to think about it and discuss amongst yourselves…
I am now sitting on my train back to the Czech Republic, I hope it gave you enough time to think about and discuss this question I have. Make a comment back if you have the reason or any thoughts. In meantime, I am going to move onto the other experience I thoroughly enjoyed. On Andrea’s final day in Vienna we walking around again, trying to experience Vienna cheaply, which is another reason I still prefer Prague to Vienna, experiencing it to its fullest extent just cannot be done cheaply. Well, as we walked we say a huge crowd surrounding a street performer. As we walked closer we discovered it was not just one street performer, but entire break-dancing group. We stood there and watched their performance for about 15 minutes and for the entire 15 minutes I was in a trance. The break-dancers were actually incredible. I would not have expected to find people, who were so good performing on the streets of Vienna, but I did and I loved every moment of it. The only downside to the group was their annoying and inappropriate way of asking for tips. Andrea threw a Euro in their buckets, which surrounded them, but they made very rude remarks as they walked around to their buckets after their show. It made the show and their abilities all the less impressive. Humbleness and graciousness can carry a man or women’s abilities much further than their actual talents.
My last night in Vienna was very uneventful. I played a game of Chess with the bartender, a very nice guy from England, I got beat, I am just learning though. I walked a few others play and tried to learn a little more. I had a quick discussion with the bartender and the two others playing, friends from Australia, about my inquiry. Then I headed off to bed, read a little and fell asleep rather early. All together I would highly recommend Vienna to all. Just make sure you have plenty of time and plenty of cash. It was easy to get around and the sites are incredible. So far, though, go to Prague first.