It’s not really pronounced like that, but I’m going with it.

After going to Wels on Thursday, I got up early Friday morning to pack up my things for Wien (Vienna)! I was going with a boy named Christophe, and we were meeting up with a group that had already gone to Wien on Thursday, I didn’t go on Thursday because on Friday morning I had to go to the register office at City Hall and register my Visa.

We were told we had to go with an Austrian student because the people in the register office don’t speak english (which seems like an over sight in my opinion). And friday morning was the only time that week that my Austrian buddy could go with me! So I went to Wels in the meantime.

Friday morning I finally got to meet my actual official Austrian buddy Hasti. We haven’t been able to actually meet before now, although we talked/texted and have been in contact since the beginning of February. Hasti went with me to the register office, where we had to wait for a long time before we finally got into the office. And it took about 10 minutes before the lady sent us on our way – that seems to be a trend when it comes to my visa. They told me I was good to go, but that I had to come back and “unregister” before I went back home – about 3 days before. Maybe with my german classes I’ll be able to go on my own without dragging another student with me. We’ll see.

I met Christophe at the trainstation in Steyr around noon and we got on the train. We actually got on the train with my flatmates who were also going to Wien – I had no idea they were going until we saw them… but I think they were going to a different part of the city.

After almost 2,5 hours and 3 trains, we got to Wien Westbahnhof, a central trainstation on the west part of the city. It was here we called the other group and figured out where to meet them. They were at the zoo close by the Schönbrunn Palace, which is a place I really wanted to explore. So we started walking. Turns out it was almost an hour away, walking. Everyone was a little impatient when we met up, but everything worked out.

Because the rest of the group had already been inside the castle and the area surrounding it the day before, they didn’t really want to stop again for me and Christophe, but we walked past the back of it on our way to the hostal we were staying it.

At the hostal we had a short break from all the walking and me and Christophe dropped off our stuff. The hostal was pretty nice (the price showed), and we had rented a whole room to ourselves. There were 3 bunk bed sets and an extra mattress on the floor for the 7 of us (the mattress was added for me because I was the 7th person who joined last minute – oops), as well as our own bathroom with shower and sink. The hostal also served a small breakfast for cheap in the mornings as an added bonus. There was also a Billa (small grocery store) across the street, and it was about 10-15 minutes away from Westbahnhof, which was also super handy.

We were thinking about going to the opera, and standing in line for standing-room only tickets, which are super cheap (like 3euro), but by the time we got to the hostal and dropped our stuff off and got back onto the street it was getting a little late, and we were a bit of a walk away from the Opera house, and we hadn’t eaten dinner or anything. So we decided to pass on the opera, and save it for the next time we were in town.

We walked up and down some busy central streets before finally deciding on a place for dinner. We stopped at a cafeteria style italian restaurant – which seem to be pretty popular here, since we see more italian places than austrian places. I got a calzone that was as big as my forearm for pretty cheap. And it was fun – all 7 of us walking around, joking, eating, having a good time. That’s how you travel! I love my family, but traveling with friends is pretty great. But my dad does plan amazing vacations and I wish I was like that. 🙂

After dinner we hit the streets again and just started wandering.

We were situated in a major section of the city. We went to places like the Parliament building, St. Stephan Cathedral, Belvedere Palace, the Opera House, the Rathaus, the Hofberg, Stephenplatz, Heldenplatz, Neue Burg, Michaelerplatz, and a bunch of other major sites.

It was fun to run around some of these palaces in the dark with no one around and take silly pictures, climb things, etc. We were being responsible though, I promise.

When we got to the Rathaus, there was a big winter festival that had been going on for a couple weeks already. They had skating rinks, curling, food stands, loud music, etc. It was here we found the “E” donut some of you may have seen me post on facebook. It was a sweet stand where a bunch of us got pastries, and I was going to get the strawberry-filled donut anyways, but the “E” printed on it with powdered sugar was a huge bonus! I got pretty excited, and the other kids laughed at me, and then all took pictures of it/me to post or have. So I’m a winner!

We got back to the hostal close to midnight, and went to bed pretty quickly.

In the morning after eating breakfast at the hostal, we packed up and cleaned our room, and headed towards Westbahnhof. It was here we rented a locker to through our backpacks in because we didn’t want to carry them around everywhere. it cost 3,50 euro and our 5 backpacks fit in the locker, so it was a pretty sweet deal!

Our first stop was the amusement park! We thought it would be fun to ride a few rollercoasters, take some pictures, etc. It was a “pay as you ride” type place, so we could go on whichever rides we wanted, and could leave whenever.

To get there we decided to take the metro/subway there. After the last couple days, we had walked for HOURS and HOURS, and really didn’t feel like making the hour and a half trek to the park from Westbahnhof. And the subway was 2,20 euro, so it wasn’t too expensive. Plus, why not try something new?!

When we got to the park, it was dead. Nothing was open, and nobody seemed to be working either. It’s probably a little early in the season haha. But we walked around and took some silly pictures. On the way back to the front a couple of the rides had started opening up, and we decided to go Go-Karting, since it was 1 of the only ones that were open. It was super fun! The man working the ride seemed pretty shocked we wanted to ride, but let us go anyways. I ended up winning, and nearly lapped Andres, but that’s not important. I’m glad we went on at least one ride.

Eventually we got back onto the subway and made our way to Stephenplatz, to see the cathedral in the light. The night before it was closing as we showed up, and it was pretty dark inside so we couldn’t take any pictures or anything. The cathedral seems to be having some rebuilding/construction going on, and on the inside most of the church is gated off. You can still go in and take pictures, but you kind of have to push through a crowd to the gate and reach your hard through to get a good picture without the gate in it. There was a small gift shop, and I went in to see if I could buy some Holy Water, just like my dad did, but they didn’t have any. I’ll keep looking!

After St. Stephens, we walked back past the Hofburg and Heldenplatz to see the palace in the day time. It was pretty busy with people, but not as busy as I was expecting it to be. Again – tourism isn’t really big this time of year. There was a protest going on close by as well, so there were tons of Polezei around, as well as people with signs and face paint. It was some kind of Nationals rally against the EU, which I found interesting.

We went for lunch at a cafe we found the night before, but it had closed when we got there. We ordered sandwiches, salads, bugers, and the traditional Weiner Schnitzel, which is not that big of a culinary deal in my opinion, but to each his own I guess. I mean, it was good, but I don’t get what all the hoopla is about – it’s essentially breaded porkchops.

After lunch our group split up a bit, with some of us going shopping and some of us going to a museum. I went with the majority to the Prehistoric Exhibit at the museum, which is conveniently located in a huge and beautiful palace – no big deal.

The exhibit had a whole collection of rocks and minerals from all over the world, as well as gemstones, crystals, etc.etc. They also had relics, bones, artifacts, etc. that date back to prehistoric times. The had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial revolution, dinosaurs, and a bunch of other stuff. They also had a small planetarium, but you had to pay extra for it, and the next show wasn’t for another hour, and we didn’t want to wait.

(The boy is Thomas, who was in our travel group)

We walked back to Westbahnhof to get our stuff and some food for the road, and then got on the subway to a different train station. From Westbahnhof, it would have taken almost 3 hours and 3 trains to get home, but from this other station it would be just under 2 hours and only 2 trains, so we decided to go with that one. I taught some of the kids cards, and we played “President” for an hour or so. I was president for 10 rounds in a row, but that’s not important.

(Sorry I took such an unattractive picture everybody…)

We got back to Steyr around 21, and then had the dreaded walk back across the river (twice) and up the hills home. And the boy’s flat is farther up the hill than mine by almost 20 minutes, so I didn’t complain once.

I will say that my feet were awfully tired after our crazy weekend. But I sure had fun!!

I’m pretty bummed because these guys are planning to go to Venice and Florence for Easter Break, which is the same week that I fly to Greece. That would have been so much fun! I want to go to Italy so bad!! Plus, it’s not too far by train. I’ll have to see if there’s another group going, or maybe me and my flatmates will go, or maybe me and my parents or something. I guess we’ll see!

This post doesn’t feel as long or as gripping as I was kind of expecting it to be, but I’m okay with it anyways 🙂

I hope everyone is feeling good! My cold has returned in full force, and I need to go by medicine today!

Here’s one last picture of our group:

from left to right, we have  Christophe (USA), Jussi (Finland), Andres (Poland), Thomas (Norway), Salla (Finland), and Kashtin (Canada).

BYE

emma.k

 

 

oh, p.s. dad, look what I found:

I dunno, when I saw it I thought of you. It doesn’t really apply to you necessarily, but I thought I would post is anyways 🙂