We arrived in Vienna and it took us a while to find the hotel, but we finally found it, it seriously pleased mum because it was in the Mariahilfstra�e, the largest shopping district in Vienna, where the Viennese spend an eighth of their income! Mum almost died! We settled in and because we arrived quite there was really not that much we could do, so we walked down the the Nashmarkt, a market really close to our hotel, and one that i had heard a lot from Justin (form new zealand) about. Ok so it wasnt that much, it was more like: 'you can get kebabs there for 2 euros! Mate, 2 euros!', haha, so we headed there. It was incredible, the colours the amazing range of food and produce, it was the most impressive market i have ever seen. We stayed there for close on 2 hours, just wandering. I loved it.
From there we went to the hotel, and headed to a local to watch the soccer (the Europameistershaft was on, and this was the start of the finals). Dad and i talked for hours, it was something i had missed, and i loved it.
The next day was spent sightseeing in Vienna. As i said, i hadnt had a good impression of Vienna last time, but that could not have been more quickly demiolished. It is an incredible city. The only word to describe it is imperial. It is so over the top and everything is so much bigger than it should be, it blows you away, and it doesnt stop. The sights are incredible. We looked around all the churches and squares and places in the morning, i love seeing the different ages and influences in the architecture, and Vienna is full of that! My favourite thing that i saw was Stephansdome. This is the cathedral, it is in a gothic style, but with a coloured roof that is very hungarian. It is awesome. We were also told that the buskers here in Stephansplatz are some of the best in the world, and that is so true, they are incredible. Stephansplatz breaks onto another huge shopping mall, so we said we would meet at the other end in an hour (we had a date to make). We left mum. Bad idea. We left mum in a huge shopping street. Seriously bad idea. 4:20 rolled around, 20 minutes late, and mum trotted up the street with a handfull of bags, haha, we couldnt help but laugh.
We had booked the day before an afternoon tea at Sacher's, a very swish hotel and the birthplace of Sachertorte. It is a must when you are in Vienna, its like going to Raffles in Singapore and things like that. So we were looking forward to it. Running 20 minutes, i wasnt sure if we would still have a table though! It worked out though, and dad, after tasting the cake, asked: 'so how is that not like any other chocolate cake?', haha, the tea was good though, and at least now i can say that i have done it.
That night we watched the soccer once more, and had another great night chillin out and talking. It was really nice to just talk to my parents, we had heaps to talk about. The next day we ate at the Nashmarkt which was probably the best meal we ate all trip, it was typical Austrian food, cheap as chips, and ive never tasted better austrian food, and ive been eating all over austria! Mum had a last look around the shops and before she could ask for another hour there we were outa there! Off to the city i have always wanted to do, and never been to. This is the one place i was most excited about going to, everyone had said heaps and i didnt know what to think, we were off to Prague!