Part 9.2: Gorgeous Vienna

If you haven’t done so, check out the beginning of my journey:

Part 1: First Day Jitters in Amsterdam

Part 2: Surviving the First Week

Part 3: Farm Life and Hague Life

Part 4: Taking in the Culture

Part 5: Old Art and a Freaky Robot

Part 6: Tricky Tessel

Part 7: Medieval Times in Ghent

Part 8: Loving London

Part 9: Traveling Galore

After spending the day in Budapest, we took an early train towards Vienna and were ecstatic to see the beautiful city. Finding the hotel room was a bit tricky because it didn’t look like a traditional American hotel. It was inside a magnificent building that reminds me of a historical government building. Once we got inside and found the right number, we met a woman who helped us get into our room. When we arrived at the hotel, we were stunned at the room we had for a low price (compared to American standards). It had one king bed with a large space for furniture. The room was big enough that they could have cut it in half to make another room. As we talked with the woman helping us, she took out a map and showed us the best places to travel around the city. We were (and still are) extremely grateful for her advice about what would be the best places to go while exploring the city.

We walked around all day and visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral. My first reaction to seeing it was utter wonder at the architecture and definition of the building. We went in and looked at the stunning artwork and building inside. My friend started laughing because I could not get over the amazing scene I had in front of me. Who had known that at 19 years old, I would be in Europe seeing historical artifacts in person? Definitely not me.

Afterwards, we kept walking around and took a break at a large open green area. We had learned from London that we needed to take about 15-30 minute breaks when traveling, so we would not burn out. We found a beautiful section and sat down for a bit. As I looked around, I realized that Vienna was a balance between city architecture and green spaces. One did not overpower the other and worked gorgeously with each other. 

As we walked back to the hotel, I could not be more grateful for the day we had. It was blue skies with the sun shining. It was about 80 degrees (Fahrenheit), and I was stunned at not feeling stuffy. I talked to my friend about it, and we learned that there was zero humidity. I had no recollection of not having humidity with hot weather and relished in it because I had no idea the next time this would happen. The day ended with us relaxing at the hotel as we prepared for our next destination in Prague early tomorrow morning.  

• Austria
• europe
• travel abroad
• vienna