Vienna

Before I left for Vienna, I heard different comments from almost every person who had been there. Some people really loved it, others absolutely hated it. I could not wait to test it out for myself. And finally, a moment to go back to old traveling techniques of what I fondly call the "wander and conquer" approach. For a person like me who completely lacks what we call "sense of direction" but is pretty good with a map if enough time is allowed, this technique is probably the most efficient.

So I finally made it to Vienna, to the 19th century apartment of my relatively new friend and fellow couch surfer Sophie. Admittedly I dont know very many Austrians, but the ones I do know make me wonder if there are common trends in the overall population. For example, the funny sense of humor, the mountains of stories to tell, and the ability to talk??? Who knows, but that is definitely Sophie in a nut shell. We spent most of the evenings talking about traveling.

So today I just woke up, grabbed my map, and ten minutes later was walking around in some sort of loosely defined direction that my relatively new friend Sophie advised. Somewhat to my surprise, it seemed like almost any direction I chose ran me into a sort of perfectly groomed palace garden, or huge marble statues. The boulevards were so green and it seemed like I couldn´t find a place that didn´t have something interesting. Perhaps travelers who don´t like Vienna find it too groomed, or too clean? I guess I´m not one of them.

I took the metro to the palace, wondering if I could maybe peek in through the gates without paying, but to my sheer joy and amazement the palace gardens were all free, and I wandered around for hours, photographing the huge fountains and walkways that I stumbled upon. I think Marie Therese was pretty impressed by the French when she started vamping up the gardens, because it almost seemed like something out of Versailles. And, like Versailles in August, it was sweltering hot.

Although it´s pretty hot in Vienna in the summer, at least it seems cooler than Budapest. It´s surprising how different Vienna is from other places I have been. Admittedly I didn´t meet very many locals aside from Sophie, but then again I was only here for a day. Despite what people say, I think the city is very authentic, with quite the history. Tomorrow I´m going to visit Beethoven´s grave (sadly he´s not an Austrian). I´m so excited.