So Saturday, day 1. I am officially exhausted but I don’t plan
on spending the whole first day of my vacation sleeping! After a quick rest and
freshen up at the hotel I’m off into the city. It was a dreary and drizzly day
in Vienna and that kind of matched my mood. Because I am cranky when tired.
I had intended to take the U-Bahn everywhere in the city but
in all honesty there is little need as everything is so close and within
walking distance. I took off from the hotel towards the main church in Vienna,
the Stephansdom (or St. Stephens).
It is located at pretty much the city center and is best known for the stunning
tiled rooftop. It is also surrounded by pedestrian walking area and of course,
tons of tourists. Which is not adding to my mood with the weather and the jet
lag! I checked out the interior of the church that really is stunning. It has
high spire towers and the inside is dark and rather ornate. This is a working
church so there are times when Mass is held so that parts of the church is not
available to the public. I wanted to take the catacomb tour but got turned
around and ended up in the elevator to the lower level tour of the treasures.
It’s all good!
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| Stephansdom church |
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| Stehpansdom |
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| Stephansdom |
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| Interior of the church |
After the church visit, I headed out towards the Hoher Markt
area, where the Anker clock is located. Again, only a few blocks from the Stephansdom.
The clock is positioned between two office buildings and every hour historical
figures move across the clock face. I managed to get there on an hour to see
this and it is cool. According to my research, some of the historical figures
include the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Of course, I wouldn’t recognize who
that was on the clock unless Russell Crowe was hanging around to point him out
to me.
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| The Anker Clock |
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| Anker Clock |
I continued around the area in the city center, walking
through the tourists and trying to hang on to my umbrella until I just decided
I was getting a little too cranky for public life and needed to eat. I knew
that the first day was going to be a short one and an early dinner was in the
plans (followed by an early night at the hotel with some much needed sleep!).
So I headed to my pre thought out choice for the evening meal: Beim Czak.
Beim Czak was a restaurant listed in my guidebook as being
close to St. Stephens and is has been family owned since the 1920’s and they
offer simple Austrian food. (I try to eat food that is part of the culture of
where I am visiting. For instance, I am not going to eat pizza or ribs in
Vienna. That would be wrong.) The restaurant has a small, homey atmosphere and
the availability for eating outside. I ended up with a beef goulash type meal
that was very yummy and filling. Complete with bread and a Coke Light (no booze
as I was already so tired and I needed to find my way back to the
Marriott!). I think the total meal
was less than E20. Good deal!
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| Yummy beef goulash |
Then off to my new home for the next week and some much
needed sleep. Or so I thought…
The rain had stopped by the time I got back to the hotel and
I showered, changed into my snuggly Marriott robe and slippers and settled in
to watch the BBC and write out a few postcards before I turned in. Until I
heard music. Loud music. Coming from the street outside my window. I was on the
7th floor overlooking the street and the park across the street. So
I opened up the window (something I LOVE about European hotels, BTW) and
noticed a type of parade out the window. They were playing loud reggae type
music and dancing and just having a grand ole time. Then there were more and
more “floats” and trucks with people dancing and singing and even a choo choo
train. Now I don’t speak or read German so I was unable to read the banners on
the sides of the vehicles. Then I noticed. The Pot Leaf. Well, that explains
everything! I happened to be in the city of Vienna during some type of Pot
Festival!! Heh. I couldn’t tell if
they were advocating for medicinal purposes or celebrating the legality of it,
but they damn sure were having a good time and it completely brightened my
spirits after a dreary day! That’s the thing about traveling: you never know
what is going to happen or when you are going to stumble upon a Pot
Festival!
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| Happy canabis lovers! |
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