Sleeping in I got out onto the streets at about 9:30am and decided to walk towards the city centre ... I had fair idea of where it was because I went through the city, on the tram, yesterday. Once I hit the outskirts of the city I went exploring and it wasn't long before I hit the first fantastic part of the city; I was at 'Rathaus Platz' which is stunning. It's a park with three buildings on three of it's sides ... the city hall , the Burgtheatre parlament and the Universiat. It was such a stunning area I spent a good few hours just wondering around all the buildings ... but it didn't stop there.
Next was the Hofburg, then the Maria Theresien Platz and then Stephansplatz ... the city is so beautiful I would say it's the 2nd most beautiful city in Europe (only just beaten by Prague ... and that's only because all the stuff is so concentrated in Prague).
On my way to Stephansplatz I went past a drinks shop; today was as sunny and as hot as in Berlin (must of been high 20's) and so I got a bottle of sprite and a bottle of water. I also purchased a banana (the reason I went for a banana is that I've read you have to be careful with foreign fruit that you don't buy fruit you can't peel as it would of been washed in their water ... not sure if I believe that or not) to keep my sis happy. I had a bit of trouble opening it up; eventually I won the battle of wills but half of it escaped onto the street ... it was like someone was willing me not to eat fruit. I picked up the half and put it in the bin, the other half of the banana was very nice and I will hopefully be repeating the same action tomorrow (without dropping half you understand).
The thing I love about Vienna is all the parks followed by the grand buildings; It's fantastic to walk through the park and then be greeted by this huge, and impressive, structure ... Vienna has a big Imperial feel about it which I like. After lunch (McDonald's I'm afraid) I went to the Soviet war memorial and then the Beladere place and gardens. I can't being to describe how beautiful the house, the gardens and the fountains were (check my Flickr account out ... click on the link). Tomorrow I want to have ago on the famous 'big wheel' (which my dad reminded my off) and then 'tube it' to the other side of the city to Schunbrunn and finally finishing in the Jewish part of the city centre.
After this I was tired of sightseeing and so I went for a long walk (an hour to be precise) towards the train station I was leaving from on Wednesday. With help from my trusty map I got there no problem and purchased my seat reservation for my train to Budapest. I love this inter-rail ticket ... for £300 most trains are free within 20 countries of the EU, for 21 days. All I have to pay for is to reserve my seat (which is mostly compulsory). So for example; Berlin - Vienna €4 ... Vienna - Budapest €3.50 ... brilliant.
Anyway after purchasing my €3.50 reservation to Budapest I then decided to follow the route I would be taking on Wednesday to the train station (basically it's tram D to Volkstheatre, and then tube U3 to Westbanhof). I've got the 'travelling' aspect of my journey well sown up ... I used the underground and tram system with no problems, trains are fine and so is navigating my way around a city that I have only been in for a couple of hours. I've always been good at navigating; I put this down to when I was child. I would sit in the front of the car when my Dad would drive and I would follow our journey on a map ... sometimes suggesting different routes to take.
The one thing that was worrying me was my spending; I didn't feel I had been very 'traveller, student tight' with my budget; sure my three nights in Germany only cost €26.00 (and my Budapest hostel costs even less) but still, over the seven days (has it really been seven days already) I had spent €340 (average of €48); I checked my 'budget' guide book and it said an average cost, per day in Belgium was €35, Germany €40 and Austria €50 (combine average of €42) so I am a little over ... hopefully I'll put that right later on in the trip.
Well that's it from me. Vienna is so beautiful and I would recommend it as much as Berlin (they are both excellent, but for very different reasons). I would recommend anyone planning a small break away ( 2 weeks) to spend a week in Berlin and then travel to Vienna for a week ... you won't regret it.
I'm off to bed ... I've got a bit of a sniffle; because of my lack of fruit I'm not getting a cold ... will take some vitamin tablets tonight (yes I have everything).
toodle Pip!
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