Vienna...aahhh

From all the cities I've visited in my life, there are only a few where the thought "hmmm, I could live here" crossed my mind. This one was exactly one of those. It's been a few months now, I'm sure some place names and details must have faded away but the feeling still remains. The city is beautiful, cosy and just one of those places where you feel comfortable, a place you feel safe even if you got lost.


We were there in early August last year, so I can safely assume the nice weather helped boosting the mood even further, and one seriously positive aspect was that restaurants and cafes are open till late (later than the rest of Europe) and they don't stop serving you food at 8 or 9 either. But since I mentioned that let me also tell you that August is the month most of Vienna is on holiday so service tends to be very, and I mean VERY! slow.

So Vienna is one of those cities with a lot of castles turned into museums and the most famous sites there happen to be exactly that, and to one of those I headed on my first day there.

The Belvedere, your "normal" castle with a summer house, big gardens with fountains, etc... This one is now a museum and contains some famous works of art, and I like paintings, so I enjoyed my time there. The walk to the Belevedere took us throught the Stadtspark and the monument for the Soviet soldiers at Berg platz.

After the Belvedere, we headed to Karlz Platz, the most famous in Vienna and the home of Vienna's most famous church Karlzkirche, impressive piece of architecture, I liked the spiral spires :)

This was followed by a tram ride to the amusement park: Prater. To ride the old Ferris wheel and get a view of Vienna from the top. My idea: I like such stuff :) Then I was tired, got back at the hotel, then a dinner and a quick stroll and coffee around Stephans platz, sadly the cathedral was covered for renovation :( but the place is lively and pleasant to go to and have a coffee and an ice-cream.

Day 2 started with a trip to what seemed to me like the sight number 1 to see in Vienna, Shonnbrunn palace, same description of a palace, but this is far bigger and richer than the Belvedere, with huge gardens and even a zoo! After the big walk around there, we went back to the city center and walked along the Donaukanal and by the MAK and the old buildings around it, plus the fancy restaurant in what looks like an old fashioned green house (with the trees and evertything) back to the hotel. We had a romantic dinner overlooking the city at night (with the same EXTREMELY slow service, but excellent food) and left the next morning to Cairo.

Conclusion: I love Vienna...