14th January - Prague-Vienna

Trip Start Dec 26, 2008
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Trip End Jan 26, 2009


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Flag of Austria  , Vienna,
Wednesday, January 14, 2009

This morning we enjoyed our last Arcadia breakfast then sadly said goodbye to Max, Pasquale (who insisted we ring before we left since he had missed us last night), and Pasquale's mum, before taking the tram to the main train station to catch the SuperCity train to Vienna. It was a nice, new, nearly empty train and a good trip, except for the part where Penny thought she'd better get rid of our remaining Czech coins and spent them on sausages in rolls with mustard, which were entirely unnecessary.

Our first impressions of Vienna really weren't that great. The Suedbahnhof railway station was pretty much deserted and didn't have a very nice feel, the walk to Suedtirolerplatz to catch the U-Bahn was far from scenic, and the U-Bahn was kind of creepy too. When we arrived at Stephansplatz, however, we had to change our minds. We quickly found our apartment on the 7th floor of a building right on the square and were soon right at home Penny with view from apartment window
Penny with view from apartment window
 . The view and position are just amazing.

After a little while appreciating the apartment - decorated like someone's grandma's apartment, but pretty cool - and the English TV stations (it had been a while since we'd seen the news), we went out for a walk around Vienna. It is beautifully lit in the evening and basically quite stunning. We walked around admiring the shops and the many many lovely buildings, went to a supermarket for teabags and other essential supplies, and took them back to the apartment before heading out again for a longer walk and dinner.

We had dinner in a place recommended by someone on TripAdvisor, called Zu den 2 Lieserln. We had very nice Ottakringer beers and ridiculously huge schnitzels. Darren's was much smaller and he just finished it; Penny's was bigger and she finished half and never wants to see another schnitzel ever again. It was yummy, just too much. The pub was another "local place for local people" and was very good value. We just hope they had a dog, or something.

We walked back to the apartment agreeing that Vienna may end up being our favourite city. It is just stunningly beautiful - and that's despite the slushy grey-brown ex-snow everywhere. Oh and it is also markedly less old than Prague, which is a good thing. We are really looking forward to tomorrow!
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