Over the weekend we embarked on our first official excursion of the semester. We had a three day weekend so we decided to seize the opportunity and take an overnight bus to Vienna. Busses and hostels are the norm when traveling on a budget. It's not glamorous, but it gets you where you want to be!
We arrived in Vienna at 5:30am. We dropped our bags at the hostel (fell asleep in the lobby for an hour) and headed out to explore. We didn't have many expectations for our first day in the city. We chose to wander and see what the city had to offer. And boy did we wander. By the time we got into bed that evening we had walked 14 miles. We enjoyed the architecture and the sunshine. We got a free tour of Rathaus (City Hall), ate some street food and decided a nap was necessary. Shockingly, the quality of sleep on a jam packed bus was not the best. After a nap and a shower, we were ready to go out again. We saw Wiener Riesenrad and ate brautwurst. It was a fun night, but I was happy to be in bed at the end of it... Even if the hostel did stink of feet.
Saturday we had a more structured plan. Things we didn't want to leave without seeing;
Naschmarkt: On Saturday mornings there is big antique flea and farmers market. There were so many cool items, honestly I'm not sure how I left emtpy handed. I tried Turkish food for the first time. Yum! Naschmarkt was a real highlight of the trip.
The Belvidere Gardens: Beautiful palace gardens. Fit for a Gatsby style party or in our case, a Saturday morning stroll.
The Vienna State Opera House: Visiting this sight was very important to me. I never thought I would be able to see a show here. Somehow we were able see the ballet Raymonda that evening and it did not dissapoint. It was the perfect last night in Wien. Some might say it was the plum jam on top of the kaiserschmarnn (an imperial viennese specialty, delicious).
Today we were back on the bus. It was a long ride, but honestly it was nice to spend some time sitting after walking a literal marathon the past two days with minimal sleep.
How I'm feeling: I'm very happy with the trip, even happier that I was able to get home under budget! Not feeling homesick yet, but I am looking forward to seeing family soon.
Trip highlights: Naschmarkt and the Vienna State Opera House.
What's next: I have a full week of long day this week and then I am off to France to spend a few days with my parents!