Leaving Budapest and taking the trip to Vienna was surprisingly luxurious. The first class ticket cost 3 euros more than the second class tickets so I opted for the fancy option. That ticket also gave me access to the Business class lounge, which had snacks and drinks, so waiting for my train was much more pleasant than I expected.
Vienna welcomed me with one of the strangest coincidences I have encountered so far. A Brazilian guy I met on my Budapest walking tour was sleeping in the bunk below me in my Vienna hostel! One awkward but friendly conversation later we went our separate ways.
Just looking at the list of museums I could go to if I wanted to made me fall in love a little bit with this city. The fact that there is just so much art here, that that art feels so alive, made me feel like I already knew something fundamental about this place, a welcome shift from the uncertainty of Budapest.
Day 1:
I wanted to go on the free walking tour my hostel offers, but I soon learned it was Ascension Day, so that tour wouldn’t be running, and that most stores, cafes, and restaurants would be closed. So I did some exploring on my own, ending up at a couple of lovely places in the city. I spent some time in the Stadt park, which was preparing for a local food festival by putting up what seemed like hundreds of white tents. I had worked out a schedule for my Vienna visit when I first got in, taking the afternoon of my travel day to do some research, and while I had to deviate from that plan, I still made good use of my time.
After walking through the nearly deserted main shopping street and snacking on some delicious Viennese ice cream I decided to go to the Leopold Museum, the museum housing the world’s largest Egon Schiele collection. Their collection is amazing and I enjoyed my time there immensely. (I’m sending some posters home with my parents so I can keep some of Schiele’s work with me. The Museum Quartier is a happening place in Vienna, people go to that open space to hang out and have some coffee, so the whole courtyard felt alive and welcoming.
Day 2:
I had a simple plan for day 2; sleep in late, head to the Art History Museum and the Natural History Museum, and then go to a Sekou Kouyate concert at Porgy and Bess, Vienna’s premier jazz and “world” music venue.
That plan worked out wonderfully and Day 2 was probably my best in Vienna. The Art History Museum was gorgeous and full of Van Dyck’s, Ruben’s, and Durer’s, among many others. I had some very fancy hot chocolate and then walked across the garden in between the two buildings to the Natural History museum. They have a wonderful collection including meteorites, fossils, and a life-sized animatronic dinosaur. It was awesome.
Then it was time for the concert, which turned out to be the highlight of my trip. I did have a little bit of trouble finding the venue, but a helpful concierge at a hotel I wandered into gave me excellent directions.
I had the best possible seats at that concert. I was literally using the stage as an arm rest. The music was wonderful and the vibe was great, it was just a lovely evening. I took a taxi back to my hostel and fell asleep very satisfied.
Day 3:
My third day in Vienna was mostly a rest day, my feet weren’t happy with me, and I was tired from the late night I had had. I did take some time to explore the Naschtmarkt, Vienna’s most famous market, but I found it claustrophobic and not really worth the visit. I also went to the grocery store and spent a little bit of time watching the people going in and out of the numerous Asian supermarkets in the area.
Day 4:
I spent the morning of my last day in Vienna at The Albertina, a modern(ish) art museum in the heart of Vienna. They had a few exhibitions, one on Japanese photography, which wasn’t that interesting, one on Chagall and Russian impressionism, which isn’t my favorite, and one called from Monet to Picasso, a selection of work from a private collection donated to the museum after its owners death. It was a great exhibition and I liked almost every piece, which really only means I have similar taste to some rich person who collected art, but nonetheless, made the experience more enjoyable.
The Albertina also had an exhibition in its basement on the work of Anselm Keifer, a german who makes giant woodcut collages. They were beautiful, and because I disagreed with much of what he was getting at, I was able to spend my time thoughtfully and furiously scribbling notes.
I spent my evening at an event called the Festival of Joy, which was supposed to be a concert commemorating the victims of the holocaust, and because the Vienna Philharmonic was playing I was excited to go. I once again got amazingly lucky, I showed up early and was able to get a chair, a real rarity at an outdoor concert designed for picnic blankets. I even suffered through an hour of german speeches only to find that the Vienna Phil was having an extraordinarily off day. I bailed.
The next morning I headed off to the airport to fly to Istanbul, where I would meet my parents and turn 18!