Next day in the Austrian Capital

Up at 8:30... because it was already too hot to be in bed. After a shower etc, I went off to breakfast. I bumped into Ben (the Aussie from Perth whom I met in Nürnberg 2 weeks earlier) which was just weird. So I sat down with him and found out what he had been up to. Some other people joined us who he had gone out with the night before. 2 Pommy girls, 1 Pommy guy and a French-Moroccan dude. They were all shattered after getting in after 5am.

They told me about the Viennese night clubs, saying that all the people were wearing Gucci, Prada, Armani etc, smoking their cigars, and looking down upon the plebs. They said it felt really snobbish.

I told them I was heading to the palace and they were welcome to join me. They all said yip and I told them to meet up in the main reception. In the reception area while waiting, I got talking with an American guy that had just checked in. Asked him if he wanted to tag along. At 10:30 when I wanted to leave the girls were busy on the net booking hostels for their next destination and Ben was a no-show.

So off we went: A Kiwi, a Pom, a Frenchie and an American. We got to the Palace late, around 11:15am... it didn't matter because the Canadians were running later than me :)


The palace was pretty spectacular, and we decided to walk around the gardens. This place was well kept. Very beautiful and we walked around here for a couple of hours. Everyone getting to know each other a bit better. The French-Canadians got talking with French guy speaking in foreign toungue ;-)

We went into the city after this and got something to eat. Again, traditional Austrian food... a Bratwurst in a hotdog bun :-P They were really good... or maybe I was just really hungry. Then the compulsory icecream for the hot day.

Again, it was just too hot to do anything at 35 degrees, so we went to the Alte Donau again. This time we were prepared (well the girls and I) and had our togs (or swimmers or bathing suit... they don't use togs anywhere else Kiwis!) The water was good. Cold enough to cool you down, but warm enough to stay in for a while.


Fast forward a couple of swims and a few beers and a couple of people heading off to other destinations, we ended up back in the city outside the Rathaus (cityhall). There were all these food stands with different cuisines at each one. I ended up getting a chicken curry. There was Opera music playing the the background to add to the Ambiance and infuse the theme of Vienna. Caroline, Catherine, Will (the Yank) and I were the only ones remaining. We enjoyed dinner and a fruity beverage. The girls then left to get ready for their departure the next morning. We said our goodbyes and it was just Will and I remaining. We got a coffee then headed back to the hostel. My plan was to get out of my sweaty clothes then head back into town (with new clothes on... of course hehe).

On arriving back at the hostel Will and I got chatting with some Poms. They were quite interesting and we talked American and British politics. The war on Iraq, the Bush fiasco, Tony Blair etc... So I assume most of you are asleep now after reading that? It was quite in depth discussions and we talked until 1am... so I went to bed and didn't make it out.