Sunday, 4 June 2006
Having arrived in the Vienna Südbahnhof at about 15:00, I spent some time figuring out how the Viennese metro system worked, and then took the metro to Volkstheater, walking for 15 minutes or so until I reached the Jugendherberge (Youth Hostel) at Myrthengasse. This hostel was quite simple but clean, and the entrance to the bedrooms was controlled by a magnetised key. I shared a room with three other people--two bunkbeds to either side of the wall, next to the lockers. Clean bedsheet and pillow cover were sealed in a plastic cover, waiting to be opened. In fact, the room looked so wholesome compared to yesterday that the first thing I did was to take a full-fledged shower.
At around 17:00, I set out again, taking the metro to the Stephensdom. Granted, the exterior looked somewhat bleak and depressing with its dark overtones, but the inside was surely impressive. However, the visited area was only limited as some ceremony was going on. Coming out of the Stephensdom, I was confronted with the Graben, a wide boulevard lined with open-air cafés (rumour has it that Vienna is the origin of the cafés of this kind), occasionally with awesome statues in the middle. I was offered no resistance as I was carried away with the crowd streaming on the Graben. Immediately next to the Stephensdom, there were some entertainers--for example, a street magician. Further on, I came across more churches, such as the Peterskirche and the Kirche am Hof. The buildings to both sides of the streets seemed to bring me back in time, except that the Holocaust Memorial looked like some oversized white chocolate, and frankly was not really aesthetically pleasing. I passed by the Palais Ferstel and the Schottenstift before veering back in the direction whence I had come.
I soon got lost amongst the myriad of strasse and gasse in the Innere Stadt of Vienna--I could only blame my map, which omitted many of the streets. Eventually, I made my way to the Minoritenkirche, whose inside, if less imposing, was no less inspiring. Soon, naturally, I was skimming the edge of the Hofburg, an immensely grand complex of palaces and museums.
Due to the limited time this evening, I only got to glance briefly at the building architecture and the statues in the middle.
Emerging from the Hofburg on the south side, going past the concer hall,as I was told this morning, I soon approached the tourist information centre. About 50 metres beyond that, was the Rosenburger restaurant. Indeed, the advice I received was warranted--the restaurant was semi-all-you-can-eat: that is, one has to pay a certain amount for each plate, but on the plate one can put anything from a stand. I ended up spending quite less than I had expected for dinner in this top-class city (other than eating at the Jugendherberge, which costs 5 Euros).
After dinner, the sky was still quite light, so I walked towards in the direction of the opera house (Staatsoper), and walked along the Opernring westwards. Soon I reached the Burggarten, inside which was a statue of W.A. Mozart.
Then, I came to the other side of the Hofburg, which looked all the more imposing in the evening light. Coming around the Hofburg, I ended up in the Heldenplatz--which I had reserved for tomorrow morning. More statues--need I say more?
At this point, the sun was really going down, and the clouds became coloured. Under this setting, the Viennese skyline manifested itself in a whole new way that was at once present yet distant--as though giants from the antiquity.
Crossing the Burgring, I came to the Maria-Theresien-Platz, which commemorated the eighteenth-century empress Maria Teresa. To both sides were mini-gardens and two museums--Naturhistorisches and Kumsthistorisches.
Crossing the Museumsplatz, I entered the MuseumsQuartier (MQ), housing a variety of museums. Emerging from the MQ, I found myself at the Volkstheater on the Burggasse, which led directly back to the hostel. By the time I got back, it was about 20:45. After at least seven hours of walking today in three cities, I was completely exhausted.
Monday, 5 June 2006
Today is the Pentecost holiday in Bavaria and Austria, so as a result I was found in Vienna, not at the TUM Forschungsreaktor.
Anyways, I was well-rested. I was the second person to go to bed, and was only wakened twice--first by someone trying to get off his creaky bed, then by the early daylight. From this experience I grew to like the Jugendherberge very much. Breakfast--simple but agreeable--was served starting at 7:00, and soon afterwards I headed out.
First the Volksgarten, overlooking the Parlament. Then I took the metro to the famous Schönbrunn Palace.
At the entrance, I was greeted with a long, straight boulevard that ran towards the palace. To both sides of the boulevard were interesting areas, such as the Tiergarten (zoo) and a maze. But I was hurrying--trying to get to the palace before the tourists arrived.
The effort paid off--I was admitted at 9:12, holding an audio guide for the forty rooms. What should I say of the interior of the palace? It was lavish beyond my imagining--with variously decorated rooms for living, dining, sleeping, dancing, etc. But already, there were tours going through the palace, and the tour guide as a public speaker was really distracting, at least for me. The more vexing tours were the ones from England, France, and China, for the tour guides actually spoke in tongues that I could understand. In an attempt to get away from such tours, I ended up racing through the palace, not getting the best out of it.
The estate surrounding the palace was extremely large--like the Versailles--so large that one could just spend the entire day in it. I briefly visited the Wüstenhaus before heading back to Vienna--actually back to the Hofburg.
Of the many mueseums in Hofburg, I picked the Schatzkammer, which housed jewellery and regalia that characterise the Holy Roman Empire. Then I went back to the Graben, where I had lunch in one of its outdoor cafés.
In the afternoon, I headed towards the Stadtpark, through which the River Wien ran pleasantly, bordered on two sides by ornate walkways and bridges. Having glimpsed at the Strauss monument, I walked southwards towards the Belvedere. The first thing I came across was the Soviet War Memorial, which was in every way comparable to the Millenary Monument in Budapest. I entered the Belvedere from the lower side, the Unteres Belvedere, then made my way across the vast garden to the Oberes Belvedere. I visited no more museums, but just stayed on the outside.
As my planned final stop, I took the tram southeast, going out of the city until I arrived at Gate 2 of the Zentralfriedof (Central Cemetary). Some classical composers were laid to rest (or so I was told) in area 31A. When I arrived at the place, surprisingly, there was no one around. I gazed upon the graves of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and Strauss, and Mozart's monument (his actual grave was not there), their music circling through my head. All I will say is that it was an emotional moment for me, before a host of tourists arrived.
As I was heading back to the Westbahnhof (train station) for departure, I suddenly wanted to make a detour to see the Hundertwasserhaus. Hurriedly I took tram #N to the place and all I saw were typical Viennese buildings painted in different colours (green, pink, purple, yellow...). There must be more than this. I went around the community for a while, and finally, came across what I was looking for (I knew that from the number of people taking pictures there). This was a wackily designed building and landscape, with odd windows and contours. The ground in front of the building was uneven--as though some thick, thick tree trunks were able to break open the cobbled street ground. Unfortunately, at this point my first camera ran out of battery, and the second one ran out of memory, and hence I simply took nothing away from that place except memories.
It was flustering on my way back. I almost missed the returning #N tram, and technically my day pass (24-hour validity) expired about 10 minutes ago. Finally, I arrived at the Wien Westbahnhof at 15:45, validated my Eurail pass, bought my dinner, and promptly boarded the train to Munich.
In all, this trip was extremely fast paced, and as a result at the end of it I was very tired. I saw a lot, and I think got the majority out of most cities, but I would have liked to spend more time in Vienna, in places such as the Schöbrunn and the areas surrounding the Innere Stadt, stroll more slowly, and let the unique taste and flavour of Vienna slowly sink into my senses.