VIenna: A Land of Palaces and Kebabs.

VIENNA! I loved it.

I had an awesome weekend with the best program ever, CEECE. Props to Eric and Natasha for planning everything for us!Donnie. Eric. Devon. Christine. Molly. Liza. Kevin. Me. Jake. Natasha.

Well it all began Friday morning with a 4 hour bus ride to Vienna. We arrived at 12pm on the dot, got on the metro and made it to our hostel with no problems. Our hostel was really nice, we had private rooms with our own bathrooms! We were all hungry, so we had our first kebab of the trip at a small shop at the end of the street.

We started our tour of the city with Eric as our fearless leader =) We saw tons of museums, some "modern" art, the Hofburg Palace, the town hall, a singing-golden Mozart, St. Stephan's Cathedral, and much more. It was all really beautiful!The Museum of Fine Arts.

A modern art installation in the Museum Quarter.

The Hofburg Palace.

Liza being serenaded by the golden Mozart.

One of the many shopping streets in Vienna.

We had the rest of the day off so we spent it window shopping, napping and eating more kebabs =) Our plan was to head over to the Bermuda triangle, a touristy area in the city that was supposedly known for some fun clubs and bars. FAIL. epic failure.Liza, Donnie and I before going out.

After paying for a taxi, walking around trying to find this place, we eventually split into two groups; Jake, Devon, Christine and I decided to just head back to the hostel. From here the night improved! It was really nice out and still relatively early so I wanted to go for a walk, Jake decided to join me. We walked around the streets for a little while before heading over to the Travelshack, a great, little bar the guys had found earlier. We played a few games of pool, met some other travelers from Prague and just had a great night!

Saturday morning came bright and early at 7am; Molly and I had decided to go explore the Wien Nash Market! Best decision EVER. We weren't quite sure where it was, but no problem, we met some great 75 year old men that helped us out! They spoke no English, but we somehow were able to communicate that fact that we were all going to the same place. After them continuously talking to us in German, we made it! Basically, it is this gigantic yard sale full of junk, but really awesome junk. We spent a few hours looking through coats, bags, glassware, pictures, watches, jewelry, diabetic testing equipment, old phones, sweet sunglasses, and loads of other stuff =) We could have spent hours there, but our time was cut short since we had to be back at our hostel by 10. By the end of our searching, I came away with two great vintage bags, some sweet sunglasses and a vintage silver ring. Molly kept in the tradition of a bag lady and bought three for herself! The trip was a success. There were lots of creepy dolls...

Molly rocking a fur.

The Wein Nash Market.

We made it back in time to the hostel and we all set out for The Belvedere Palace Gardens. The palace itself was incredible, so huge! Set before the palace were extensive, lush gardens and fountains.The Belvedere Palace.

CEECE. Love it.

From here we stopped at this great micro-brewery for lunch. I had some weird, but good, Austrian pasta and ham dish!

Our last stop was the Schonbrunn Palace. Once again, another beautiful building. We were able to take a tour through it room by room! They were so ornate and full of such rich history.The Schonbrunn Palace.

Earlier in the day as we were walking around the city, I noticed an advertisement on a telephone pole for a photography exhibit on child soldiers! I quickly snapped a photo of it in hopes of tracking down the museum. After a few maps and a google search I found it! Once all the tours were done we had the rest of the night off, and I had just enough time to make it to the exhibit. I'm so glad I went, it was well worth the trek=)Quotes from the exhibit.

A map of Africa, the dots show the countries in which child abductions are taking place.

After another nap, the girls all went out for sushi, unfortunately it was a bit disappointing. We met up with the guys and all headed back to the same bar from the night before. It was a relaxed night as we were all pretty exhausted by now. Everyone headed out to the club, but Liza, Molly and I decided to stay back. Instead we got more kebabs =)Molly, Liza and I at the Travelshack.

Sunday was another early morning as we all set out on our bus tour of the southern part of the Vienna Woods. First, we passed through the valley of Helenental and stopped at a beautiful commemorative chapel.From here we drove to the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz (built in 1133 and still in use!) Everything was beautiful, from the cloister to the chapels! We had to be out by noon because the monks needed the chapel, it was crazy to think that such an old building is still in use.This dog was fantastic.

Our final stop took us to the Seegrotte Gypsum Mine. A underground mine that has now been turned into a tourist attraction. There were a lot of cool relics on display and we got to ride a boat on the largest subterranean lake in Europe! It was created after a blast in 1912 that caused 20 million liters of water to flood the mines.Jake, Devon and I walking through the mine.
Our tour came to an end and we returned to the city center. Another delicious round of kebabs and a short rest at the hostel and we were headed back to the bus station en route to Praha.

I am always surprised at the end of these trips how ready I am to get back to Praha. It feels like home now, at least temporarily, and nothing really measures up =)