It's been a wonderful weekend in Vienna. As opposed to the almost-surreal solitary Sunday morning walk last weekend, I have now seen the other "real life" side of the city.
When I was here last weekend, I stopped by the hotel reservation center at the airport. They offered me a room in the city center for 75 euros, which seemed outrageously expensive to me. (Remember, I'm used to paying about 15 euros in Thailand!) I told them that I didn't need to be downtown, so they could just give me something near the train. I meant the subway, but they found me a hotel near the Westbanhoff train station. In any case, it was only 35 euros and very close to the subway as well. Not too bad.
Since I was over on the west side of town, I woke up early, had breakfast at the hotel and walked over to Schloss Schonbrunn, the huge palace built in 1700 and renovated and extended by Maria Theresa in the 1740s. The palace and grounds were lavish, to say the least, and I enjoyed walking around and learning how 300 years of Austrian rulers lived.
In the afternoon I took the subway over to the opposite side of town to visit famous Ferris Wheel at the Prater and the huge United Nations headquarters on the other side of the river. (Someone told me that Vienna has the third largest UN presence in the world, behind New York and Geneva.) There really wasn't much to see near the UN, other than the scenic (but not very Blue) Danube River, so I went to a river beach for a quick swim.
So between my legs and the excellent subway, I have seen a wide section of Vienna. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. But, I want to see a little nightlife too, so I think I'll go out tonight...
