I’ve already written so much about Vienna.
The lady in the train, who warmed our hearts by taking us to the dining car and giving us tickets as if we were doing her a favour.
Our crazy attempt to find the Burggarten.
The Schmetterling Haus.
Mozart and crisp apple strudel.
Vienna was much more, though. We found our cheapest youth hostel there, at €15,50. We met dozens of wonderful Austrians; even in the middle of the night, people went out of the way to help us find our hostel. Our first hostel in Vienna gave us the most charming room we had seen thus far. We had a desk, lovely beds, and even an attached bathroom!
Vienna welcomed us with ‘bad’ weather, which we loved. There was an incessant drizzle, which prevented us from taking photographs, but what’s a little rain between young backpackers and a beautiful city?
Awed by St. Stephen’s cathedral (Stephansdom), we stood outside it for a long, long time, watching the world go by. The drizzle was what we called museum weather, so we made our way to the Museum Quarter – and visited a boring, expensive museum on architecture.
After Italy, Vienna was a whole new experience. On our second day there, we stayed at our first hostel not associated with the IYHF. It was a lovely place, with a common room for people to talk to one another, play the guitar and read. It was also there that I was introduced to the concept of a library where you can pick up any book and take it, as long as you leave one in its place. As a result, the range of books there was eclectic, ranging from guide-books to books in all kinds of languages.
Breakfast was not included at our second youth-hostel, so we wandered around, eating apple pie and enjoying the weather …
Vienna is a place that I think is best enjoyed outdoors. Perhaps because it was spring, Vienna remains etched in my memory as a lovely, friendly place, full of delicious smells and warm people.
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