Bordered by no less than 8 countries has no doubt contributed to the massive conglomeration of arts. The 1,440 room summer palace, "Schloss Schonbrunn" was a must-see and its magnificence makes it an epicenter for international tourists, with many museums at close quarters. More impressive than the building itself were the unbelievable and well maintained gardens. Carefully sculpted hedges running parallel to eachother create many straight, long avenues with the occasional park bench, a reader silently keeping to themselves. Eerily quiet for only a couple of hundred meters from the palace and the cool breeze make it very serene. Despite the straight lines the paths intersect in a life-sized maze of which we came out at a vast open-area on the opposite side of the palace gates.
A hive of activity with a huge stage, countless speakers and wiring taped to the ground rested below the bright green hill in the distance. It took a couple of attempts in english to find out that a concert was being played at 8pm that night. Unbelievable luck would have it that the world renowned "Wiener Philharmoniker" or Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra were performing their annual free concert. In excess of 100,000 people packed the gardens both in-front of the stage and on the hill behind. Large screens flanked showing the intricate precision of some of the world's best musicians. The conductor furiously waved his baton and I wasn't convinced of his importance until he sat down at the grand piano! I would have preferred him to remain seated for the entirety of the performance.
Couldn't have planned it any better! 20 May 2010 next year. I hadn't got a true appreciation of the mix of the culture of Vienna and their vast history of the arts until this moment. The people that came out were of the most diverse backgrounds I'd ever seen. The prestigious and people of notable importance contrasted with the pieced, black attired "emos". I had to laugh at those trying to keep their tartan picnic rug free from random feet tramping through... gotta love a german cracking it!
We wandered through the pedestrian walk of Karntner St towards St. Stephen's cathedral renowned for the Vienna boys choir. Home of Mozart, Domgasse rests in front, the gardens again impressive. A statue of Mozart looks over a treble clef of pink flowers shaped with precision with Peter's square and another church (St. Peter's) to the west.
In a foothill of the Vienna woods rests a small town named Grinzing. Home to many wineries we headed up to the Kahlenberg Hill to sample the local produce and check out the panorama overlooking Vienna. A little hazy on account of a combination of the weather and pollution impeded the view slightly however it was still an impressive outlook. I enjoyed being out of the city and surrounded by green, the soft paths winding down the hills, cool and damp out of direct sunlight. Wandering through the forest we got lost and eventually came out on a quiet road and made our way to a bus stop.
We weren't dressed appropriately to take advantage of the cheap opera tickets however outside the opera house a big screen and speakers show the live performance as people outside in deck chairs enjoy a picnic on the sidewalk. Around the corner a group of english guys loudly barracking for Bulgaria antagonised their irish counterparts watching the live irish v bulgarian world cup qualifier. Far enough away to enjoy the show it ended in the only way it could...
Wombat hostel was definitely one of the best I have stayed at. Comfortable, bar, pool table and a restaurant with limited options but cheap prices. Of the menu provided the first half was as expected with the remaining space reserved for "essential german for travelers". Translations for the following made for interesting conversation with the table next to us... hello, thankyou, please, whats your name? you're beautiful, what's your room number? will you have sex with me? goodbye...
We ran into a couple of guys, Bryce and Chris from Port Melbourne who were up there with the loosest pair I've met! About 20 from the hostel bar celebrated Steph's birthday with us and everyone enjoyed a piece of cake... especially the barman who ate his fare share paying his dues with free shots... too many if you ask Steph. Later we smashed up the cobbled streets of the "Bermuda triangle", a triangle of countless bars and clubs. I woke up with the crotch torn out of my only pair of jeans, an english girl in our dorm abusing me and the smelliest guy going round gone.
Steph left early on-route to Croatia and Darryn and I went downstairs only to cop a serve from the hostel staff. Unsure of what the issue was with barely any recollection of getting home doesn't make for a strong argument so we coughed up the 20 euro fine each not wanting to end up in more trouble. Out the front we ran into Bryce and Chris only to learn that when I passed out Steph let them in and they proceeded to have some words to our smelly mate complete with shaving cream, offered their services to our english friend... and put our a fire with a fire extinguisher. Good blokes... Lucky we finished around 40 euro up on public transport alone including our daytrip to Grinzing!
It would have been good to see more of the Austrian landscape but that will have to wait for another time!
