Semana Santa 2: Wien-errrr

Wien aka Vienna was our 2^nd stop during Spring Break! I think it was our most intellectual stop of the trip because we did a lot of culture-infusing activities, but it very well could also be because this is the only place we didn’t party, ha! 

We arrived at night and were in awe of the view from the hostel…truly truly beautiful both at day and night, but there’s something slightly more magical about seeing all the blinking lights at night in a vast display before you, all the while being surrounded by the complete silence of a quiet neighborhood... Hahahaa so there’s this big mansion/hotel that is situated right before our hostel, as seen here: 

When we saw our hostel sign pointing directly at said mansion/hotel we thought dennnnng good deal for 12 euro a night! …But then we kept walking and saw our little cottage hostel hidden in the yard of the mansion. Darn.

We were only going to be in Vienna for about 48 hours, so we had to take advantage of every last second!!!!!…We passed out that night and slept in until 11 the next day. Oops. We had to wait for Shivani to arrive, what else were we supposed to do?!?!?! She took too long though so we DITCHED HER and went to the Sigmund Freud museum! I pretty much loathe all that Freud stands for, every idea he has ever made public, his whole being, really. BUT not after this museum! Well, not to the same extent anyway. It’s so weird seeing the human side to this guy who up until now had seemed like some robotic sex-crazed inhumane piece of...dirt. The museum is located in his old apartment/practice with much of the furniture and personal belongings still in place. Lotsa cool stuff!:

Me and Becca by the entrance to the practice

Freud's School grades! Moral conduct: exemplary. Really??

Freud's lady, Martha.

His work tools!

"Here let me get you my card"

I still think Freud is half nuts, but now at least I can conclude he actually had a heart and other human organs and he wasn’t just some empty vessel!

We finally got to meet up with Shivani who navigated her way to us in the city center and we got some GRUBBBB. I ate a hot dog, but it was better than any hot dog I’ve had in the States. In Europe they tend to stuff the weiner, ketchup, and mustard all in this cute pocket of bread. Much less messy and more tasty! Props Europe. Props.

There was no free city tour in Vienna so we just took the time to explore it all on our own. So many pretty  buildings!!! I wish I knew what ANY of them were! Well we did know the Palace, which is huuuuuuge and so so pretty. After some hustling and negotiating (kind of) between two different sets of old-fashioned dressed men selling orchestra concert tickets, we bought some for that very night alongside the Palace. It was supposed to be an orchestra/opera/ballet all in one, all the while playing classic Viennese music from Strauss and Bach. Sweet deal! In the end it was fairly enjoyable and an experience but I did have my complaints...

1. We were told that even though we were in the back we’d be able to see everything from the elevated stage--I spent the whole concert observing the people in front of me incessantly shifting their heads from left to right, trying to catch a peek of the show between people’s heads. All the while I couldn't see a thing and quickly gave up the foolish head dance in which they were all partaking!
2. The opera singing was kind of cool but there was something off-putting about a woman dressed in a 90s prom dress belting out indistinguishable lyrics standing on a creaky stage akin to something I’ve seen in my grade school. Is that harsh? Well here comes some more!!!!! 
3. There was ballet… i.e. 2 dancers well past their prime leaping across this same stage with the least permissible level of grace for ballet. The guy was going for the Fabio hair but it was too easy to discern this as a tactic to conceal his receding hairline. 

I would feel bad for saying these things if it weren’t for the fact that I know these people do this EVERY night, overcharging innocent tourists to come see a Grade D act of what the musical experience of Vienna should be. I will say one thing: I enjoyed the orchestra a lot. Pretty music. Coulda done with sitting there listening to that and nothing else. 

Wow I just read that and you would think I was grimacing in agony the whole time. I guess it wasn't THAT bad. Honestly it was too long ago to remember for sure ahhahahah.

Now that I feel like a whiny beezy I will start pointing out all the awesome things about Vienna!!!

THIS THING--------------------------->

A ball of joy. Or ice cream. We went to this ice cream place called Tichy that specializes in these things. SOOOOO worth it. It’s not just ice cream it’s…. it’s pure bliss in dessert form. I ordered one that had a lemon filling surrounded by vanilla ice cream, covered in this meringue-like shell, as well as one with a vanilla filling surrounded by chocolate ice cream covered in cocoa powder all sitting in a bath of chocolate sauce. (which I slurped up after I was done with the ice cream).Shivani and I ate these on day 2 of Vienna which was a nice relaxed day where we just explored, went shopping, and also visited the Jewish Memorial, which was pretty impressive.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon when we left Vienna. That place was good to us! But now it was time to move on to our final stop of the vacation: PRAGUE!

Park in Vienna c: