I'm the Viennese Tour Guide

As much as I've fallen in love with Vienna, leaving London was so difficult for a few reasons:

          1. London is my favorite city and I know it so well. It's like home to me.

        2. Khala is the best host, aunt, friend, and personal shopper (except for mom). Living with her was so easy and relaxing and so much fun.

         3. I didn't have to cook or food forage for myself. Khala did it all and wouldn't even let me clear the table! It was my "break."

         4. London was my lazy time, where I didn't have to rush out and see the sights or take other people around. Going back to Vienna, I'd have to become a personal tour guide again.

Nevertheless, my time in London was over. Hopefully I'll be back next July. I arrived back in Vienna, excited to be back to the comfort of Spar, Anker, and everything in German, and also excited at the prospect of seeing my long-time best friend, Savannah, and sister Zaynee. I haven't seen Savannah since August 2012 and going five months without seeing my own sister is a long time. So I was thrilled our grand reunion would be in Vienna!

Breakfast at Cafe Francais!

I met Savannah when I arrived and we spent the night in an airport hotel close by, so I could wake up early and pick up Zaynee when she arrived at 8:30am. Soon, we were all together again, and heading towards Vienna on the S7 train! With all our luggage, our first stop was the Villa so we could deposit everything, before going back to the city. It was an absolutely gorgeous day; Vienna was showing it's best self to Zaynee and Savannah...it wasn't even very cold! We made sure to start with breakfast, at Cafe Francais, which I'd been wanting to visit. Their french toast was amazing, as Savannah and I can attest to. Zaynee opted for an equally delicious chicken baguette.

Zaynee and Savannah in the Freyung area

I was back to being a personal tour guide, which I really do like doing, especially because I feel like I know the city so well, though I could tell I was a bit exhausted from the whole semester still. I was a bit perturbed that I'd have to visit all the sights again, but once I thought about it when I got back to Vienna, I probably would have gone back before I left anyway! For our first day, I took Savannah and Zaynee on the traditional sights walk, as I call it. We walked from Schottentor station through the Freyung area to the Hofburg. Then we turned left onto the Kohlmarkt and spent a few minutes inside Demel's, admiring the extraordinary chocolates and displays. From there, we made our way to Graben and visited St. Peter's Kirche and Stephansdom. They were amazed by the inside of both churches, and how you could just walk into one without any fuss. I never noticed how cool that was. 

Zaynee and I in front of some horses and the Hofburg

Zaynee and Savannah in Demel

I decided to take them up to the top of Stephansdom, so they could see all of Vienna. I had never done it before, so it would be new for me too! And since it was such a perfect day, I had a feeling the view would be incredible...and it was! We took lots of photos and admired the colored rooftops across Vienna for a long time, until the cold wind became just a bit too cold and we rode the elevator back down. It was a spectacular sight, though.

The most amazing view of Vienna

All three of us!

Savannah's candid of me and Zaynee

From there, we stopped for a coffee break at a little kaffeehaus on Kärtnerstraße. It was cute, but jam-packed with tourists. It must have been a touristy spot. But both Zaynee and Savannah needed caffeine, since they were still jet lagged. I'm surprised Zaynee was still awake, having arrived that morning from an overnight flight!

The cafe...I forgot the name :(

I continued to show them the notable sights in Vienna's first district: State Opera, Secession Building, Mariahilfestraße, Museumsquartier, Parliament, and Rathaus. We managed to accomplish all of it by the time the sun went down. Luckily, the Maria Theresiaplatz Christmas Market had turned into a New Year Market, and was still around selling goods. Zaynee and Savannah were instantly taken by it and vowed to buy a pretzel for themselves another day. For now, it was dinner time, and we sadly found out Deewan was closed, but opted for Bitzinger, a burger place I'd seen at least twice every single day while riding the tram. I was excited to try it, and the food ended up being delicious. The atmosphere and the Canadian owner were both nice as well, and we ended up sitting and catching up with each other for over two hours in the restaurant. It was one of the best evening meals I've had with friends, because we just sat there and talked and digested, and there was absolutely no rush to be anywhere. That was my favorite.

At the market!

Savannah and I in front of the Rathaus

Zaynee at the Market (Savannah's photo)

Unfortunately, our night in the villa was not very comfortable. We were asked to stay on the top floor and, after living on the second and getting used to it, I wasn't thrilled to be upstairs. We had to remake the beds and clean up the house a bit, but I was freaked out most of the night. The house just made a lot of noises, especially when we were that close to the heater. Our late morning was interrupted by a visitor...in my suitcase. When I opened it, I saw a dark shape quickly leap out and hide behind my bed. Closer examination, once I woke up Zaynee, proved it was a mouse, who had eaten through all my clothes in my suitcase and gotten to a Cadbury bar I had in my case. It was absolutely vile. And now my clothes had holes in them. I had to just throw away my yoga pants because there were holes up to the knees. I was incredibly angry and had Zaynee and Savannah move everything downstairs while I set a mouse trap. I added the Cadbury bar as bait behind the mousetrap and quickly vacated the room. Ew.

Luckily, Viola then allowed us to stay on the second floor, in mine and Elise's old rooms. I was a lot more comfortable there, and knew I had left my room clean and devoid of mice (though I still checked). Then, once settled again, we went down and I made my french toast with the supplies we'd bought yesterday. They were wonderful and it was nice to have breakfast together in the sunny room. 

We spent a lot of time on Sunday relaxing at the Villa and preparing to leave. Since everything is closed Sunday, I thought it would be a good day to sleep in and let the other two get over jet lag. By 3pm, we were in town. We wandered by the Staatsoper and took some photos before heading to Cafe Museum for a drink. It had been quite a few hours since we'd eaten, so I also got a Frittatensuppe, which they both tried and loved. 

We hung out there for a while, before realizing the Nutcracker, which we'd wanted to see that evening, actually played at 11am, and "Elisabeth the Musical" was sold out tonight. So, we walked through Heldenplatz instead. We took some long, scenic walks through the city, and Zaynee and Savannah tried to remember their bearings, though I still did all the leading. Later that night, we went to Zwölf-Apostelkeller (12 Apostles), an old Heuriger in the middle of district one. Lots of my friends had recommended it to me, so I took Zaynee and Savannah there for their first schnitzel...which they loved!

Heldenplatz

Savannah's first schnitzel!

Zaynee making friends with the musicians

After our delicious Hühnerschnitzel and Erd äpfelsalat, I took them to Peterskirche for a concert of Bach. It was completely packed when we got there 5 minutes before the start. We managed to find seats on a pew, but the concert didn't start until about 8:40pm. We stayed and listened to about 3 great songs, and left by 9:20 because it was too claustrophobic with all the people. I took Mom and Khala in November, and there was barely anyone there! However, this was fun and Savannah and Zaynee got to experience classical music in the city of classical music!

Concert at Peterskirche

We were back to walking around district one, and I decided to take them to Hotel Sacher for Vienna's famous Sacher Torte. We had to wait in line to get in, but once we did, we had a window seat so we could people watch outside by the opera. We spent more than an hour enjoying the cake and our drinks, before we decided it was time to take the tram home.

Nothing better than desserts and drinks from Hotel Sacher 

The next morning was an earlier start, because I had to meet my business professor at 11am. We went to town and ate at Henry's yogurt bar (where they overcharged me and I didn't realize it until hours later, when I was still upset) and then determined our meeting place at 12:45pm. Zaynee and Savannah went off to the Mariathereisaplatz Markt and saw Palmenhaus in the park, while I visited my professor and picked something up. 

Savannah outside Palmenhaus (her photo)

Zaynee and Savannah were late to meet me. They got lost and went in the complete wrong direction for more than half an hour, but when we finally were reunited, I took them to Schloß Schönbrunn. It was love at first sight for them. In addition, the Christmas market was still there! It was one of the best ones, in my opinion, and so I was thrilled they'd have the chance to shop around there. 

Schönbrunn!

I also had them try Käsespätzle (the Austrian mac and cheese with roasted onions), before they bought there tickets to go inside the palace. They wandered the grounds until their 3:36pm tour time and then went into the palace. We were supposed to go to the Gloriette Cafe afterwards, but after climbing up there in pitch darkness at 5:30pm, we found it was closed. Instead, we met at the market in front of the palace, where Savannah and Zaynee enjoyed a heiße schokolade in a Schönbrunn mug and a schoko-nuße Bretzel.

Thoroughly enjoying their first Käsespätzle

Brezeln!

Zaynee's photo of her Brezel and heiße schokolade

Savannah liked the drink too! (her photo)

We made our way back to district one and decided to watch the opera "La Cenerentola", or Cinderella by Rossini from outside the Staatsoper. They had set up a large screen and seats next to the opera so passerby's could watch. I gave Savannah and Zaynee a short taste (25 minutes to be precise) of Viennese opera from the State Opera before we all got hungry and headed to Cafe Central in Freyung.

Watching "La Cenerentola" outside the Staatsoper

It's definitely tourist season when you have to wait absolutely everywhere for anything and have to battle crowds just to walk down the street. We had to wait about 15 minutes for a seat at Cafe Central, but as always, it was worth it. Zaynee enjoyed a traditional Wiener Schnitzel, and dessert, and coffee, and I had my pumpkin chicken salad. Savannah had a soup and we made her try ours. The desserts were amazing, as always, and Zaynee was obsessed with her Nuss-Kuss, the same dessert Khala had when we came in November. As usual, we stayed until closing time before going back to the Villa. Oops.

Nuss Kuss!

Last coats in the cafe...

New Year's Eve had arrived! Everyone was preparing for the festivities in Vienna that go from 2pm-2am on Jan 1, but Zaynee, Savannah, and I headed to the Belvedere after breakfast at home. We enjoyed the gardens, quickly because of the rain, and then joined the mass of tourists clambering to get inside the art museum. I enjoyed seeing Klimt's works again, as well as some of the realist paintings. My favorite was a piece by Anton Romako called "The Rose Picker." It was beautiful and so real. 

The three of us in front of the Belvedere

Zaynee and Savannah in their matching hats in the Belvedere gardens

Savannah stunned at the size of her Guglhopf!

By the time we had finished in the Belvedere, it was early afternoon, and we were ready to eat. I took the other two to Cafe Diglas, one of Khala's favorites, in district 1. We had a short wait and were then seated at a tiny table by the window. Our waiter confused us a bit, and we ended up ordering a lot more than we had planned, but we still managed to finish everything. Savannah got my favorite Guglhopf for dessert!

Though I've seen "Elisabeth the Musical" twice now, I had no objections to seeing it a third time, it was that good. So we took the U6 to the Raimund Theatre on Gumpendorferstraße and managed to purchase three student tickets, though we were all separated. Luckily, they loved the show as much as I did, and didn't mind about the seats. The music was fabulous, though Zaynee showed her appreciation by leaving the bows early in order to beat the crowds. She was so depressed she missed the rendition of "Kitsch!" and we didn't hear the end of it for the rest of the trip.

Zaynee and "Sisi"

At a concert in District 1

New Year's celebrations were well underway by the time we got out of the theater, and we wandered through District 1 and saw all the amazing lights and entertainers. We even passed by an outdoor concert! Then, I had promised the other two that we would go to the Prater for the midnight fireworks, though it seemed like fireworks go off constantly throughout the night in Austria. We had a grand time wandering past the Prater winter market and each had a waffle from one of the stalls. We met three guys from Bath who took our photo and attempted to make more conversation, before we shook them off and looked around the amusement park.

All the rides were open, though they haven't been through winter. The Prater was so full! At midnight, we were huddled together in the first courtyard with hundreds of other people waiting for the firework display. Come midnight, come the impressive fireworks, and unfortunately, lots of champagne being thrown everywhere. I was quite sad to be in the line of fire.

With our waffle!

Zaynee loved her chocolate-banana waffle

Happy New Year! Prosit Neujahr!!

We tried to go home quickly because the crowds on public transport are a nightmare. Our tram ride home was quite nightmarish. We couldn't even move or hold on to anything because we were so packed in like sardines. The only reason I was upright was because the man behind me was pushing me from the back while Zaynee, Savannah, and another random girl were holding me up from the front. Zaynee and Savannah weren't a fan of the journey home, but our New Year's Eve was so much fun, so that pretty much made up for it.

January 1 is a holiday in Austria, so everything is closed. Therefore, we took it slow and had some porridge at home in the morning before traipsing into the cold and heading towards the Augustina Kirche in Josepfsplatz and then the Hundertwasserhaus in the 3rd District. It was a good day to see the house, and Savannah even found a London telephone box there. Zaynee enjoyed the Hundertwasser Village and bought some souvenirs before we headed back to the Prater for our lunchtime Käsespätzle and drinks (aka getting the cool mugs from there). 

Savannah and Zaynee at Hundertwasserhaus

Mann mit Pelzmütze by Albert Birkle

I dropped Zaynee and Savannah off at the Albertina Museum while I went to the Leopold Museum. I'd never been there and didn't want to miss it! And I'm really glad I didn't. Though I only had 45 minutes in the museum, I made sure to visit every floor and take a look at everything. I especially liked the replication of Klimt's apartment and Albert Birkle's funny painting "Mann mit Pelzmütze" (aka Man with Fur Cap). It looks like Dobby the house-elf, had he been able to grow old like humans. I also really liked the Kokoschka exhibit.

I met Zaynee and Savannah a two hours later when they had finished in the Albertina, and they both really loved it. They got to see the contemporary art, Matisse and the Fauves exhibit, as well as the State Apartments. Savannah was very tired, though she's the best travel companion because she never complains. I could tell their feet were hurting, so we took a tram around the ring to Cafe Landtmann for dinner. Never order tap water there, because its as expensive as any other drink (one jug for 2.50 Euro? No, thanks). Our Frittatensuppes were great, and our desserts (since we obviously had to have more dessert) hit the spot. As usual, we trespassed upon the cafe's hospitality for a few hours, before heading home, mourning the death of Savannah's Prater mug, which she'd carried around all day. It fell to it's death as we were getting our coats back on :(

We all shared this chocolate mousse dessert

The next day was a shopping day and to fuel for that, I had made a reservation at Haas&Haas for breakfast. I had explicitly told the other two to order the specialty hot chocolate, but they did not heed my words and had to gaze longingly at mine. Just kidding, they tried mine, and really liked it. Zaynee had an enormous American breakfast and Savannah ordered bacon, eggs, and a waffle, all Austrian style though. Breakfast was a fun affair, and so delicious. Then we were ready for our shopping day.

We went down Kärtnerstraße and then made moves to go to the Naschmarkt. Even in the winter, the splendid Naschi stays open! Zaynee was instantly taken with the Indian tapestries and bought one for her apartment, while all three of us bought a few scarves for ourselves. We walked up and down the Naschmarkt and went back to District 1 to the Manner store for some goodies to take home.

Savannah's photo of the Naschmarkt stalls

At 4pm, we went to Anker and bought sandwiches to eat in line at the Staatsoper. We were lining up for standing room to see "Die Nussnacker" (Nutcracker!). You might recall that I've already seen the ballet, about three weeks ago, with my friend Meghan, but Zaynee and Savannah really wanted to see it, and I loved it enough to wait in the standing room line for three hours to see it again! We passed the time by reading and quietly judging the loud American tourists who apparently thought they were at home in the crowded hallway. Judgement.

We got our tickets and though our rush to line up again, half of the first row was reserved for some Chinese tourists who had paid extra to reserve it or something. So we were in the third row, though Zaynee and Savannah's view was good. I had some crazy tourists who spoke no English, no German, and no Spanish try and take our spots that we had reserved with scarves ten minutes after we left. We managed to shunt them out of our row, though they caused issues for everyone else around us. It was actually quite funny, but annoying at the same time.

The show was as beautiful as I remembered, and I tried not to focus on the moves and the dancers' feet as much as the show as a whole. However, I'm always drawn to those elements, as I want to try and recreate the steps when I can finally get back to the studio in January. Zaynee commented and said she wished she had continued pursuing dance after seeing this, and I completely understand her desire to dance. Savannah agreed.

The next morning was our last day in Vienna. We woke up early to catch the 10A bus at 9:30am to Schönbrunn and hike the hill in the back to eat breakfast at the charming Gloriette Cafe. We watched the place get so busy as the morning passed! Each of us had the traditional Viennese breakfast of a soft boiled egg, two Semmel rolls, orange juice, and a hot drink. It was peaceful overlooking the back of the imperial palace while I sipped my tea. 

Viennese breakfast!

Zaynee and I overlooking Schönbrunn

We sadly said goodbye to Schönbrunn and went home to finish packing and wait for the airport taxi man to pick us up. I decided that we would stay in a hotel near the airport rather than wake up absurdly early the next day to get there on time for our flights. So we took all five bags (I had three...I've been here for 5 months!) in the taxi to the airport, and once checked into our room, headed back to town to wander the Viennese streets for the last time. How were we already at the last night?

Zaynee decided we were all going to have a traditional Austrian meal for our final dinner, so we tried Figlmüller, but they were so busy at 5pm, so there was no hope for us. We ended up going back to Zwölf-Apostelkeller and ordering schnitzel. It was funny because it looked completely empty, and when I asked for a table, the guy said they were all full on the first floor, so we went down into one of the lowest cellars. It was decorated so beautifully, though it turns out it was a smoking area. Whatever, we were hungry. Our schnitzel was great, our waiter was not. He wouldn't bring us more water! Obviously he'd never heard that it's a sin not to give water...Zaynee couldn't control her laughter around him...he definitely knew we weren't impressed. Oh well, no water, no big tip for him!

We tried to see Elisabeth again, but it was completely sold out. Zaynee and Savannah loved it enough to want to see it again! We were back to walking Vienna, while I reminisced about all the memories I'd made here. Later in the night, we stopped at Cafe Museum for a final drink, and of course, a truffle torte dessert, from a friendly Turkish waiter. Two hours later, we made our final trek out of Vienna and to our airport hotel to get ready for our early morning flights the next day.

Though I was worried about having to be a tour guide again around Vienna, spending time in the city with my best friends was amazing. I'm so glad I got to make their experience in Vienna so much fun, because it made me look at the city in a new way. I already want to go back, but for now, it's time I become American again. Bis später, Österreich!