Today was primarily a train day - as many of them have been. We've mentioned, in previous posts, that the rail system in Europe is pretty amazing and truly is ubiquitous. Every city has a train station with multiple forms of transport systems coming in and out at the same time (trams, underground trains, long-distance rail trains, buses, etc...). Most of the long-distance “day” trains are about 6 hours or less. We have found that trains that take longer than this generally run overnight – which is why we have been doing some of our traveling on the overnight trains. Our trip from Prague to Vienna was just about 6 hours, so there was no overnight option.
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| Tabitha enjoys another train ride. |
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| Are the trains starting to look the same? They are to us! |
Once we left our hostel in Prague, we walked to the train station and had lunch at a Burger King before boarding our train. While waiting to board the train, we met some fellow Americans also heading to Vienna. We chatted for a bit our travels and college football and then parted ways once the train arrived. The train ride was long and, unfortunately, killed most of the day for us. While we had seats that were able to recline, it was still difficult to get comfortable. James read his Kindle most of the ride, while Erin used her computer for a bit then watched a movie. Some of the sights out our window were quite beautiful during the train ride. Lots of interesting architecture – some of the houses look very Bavarian in nature, while others are very modern. And, many are very colorful and very bright. James wondered aloud about how the local paint stores were able to stock such random colors for house-painting.
By the time we arrived in Vienna, it was dark. Our strategy when it comes to finding accommodations has definitely improved throughout our travels. We have been trying to find places that are relatively close to the train station – although it isn't always easy. We have also been e-mailing ourselves maps and directions, so that when we do arrive, we can pull up the directions easily on James's Kindle or on Erin's phone. For our time in Vienna, we decided to rent out a room from two Viennese gentlemen who live near the city center. To get there, we needed to ride the Underground (or the subway), so we purchased unlimited 3-day tickets and hopped aboard. A note on Vienna's subway system - like Berlin, their system relies on the "honor" system - that is, you buy your ticket, endorse it, and then hold on to it. There are no gates or turnstiles, just the threat that, if asked for your ticket and you can't produce it, you have to pay a hefty fine.
Once we arrived at the condo, we were greeted by our hosts almost immediately. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the condo was clean, colorful, and Ikea-esque - which was fine by us because it made it seem a bit more familiar. (You never know what you are going to get when you book some of these low-budget accomodations).
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| Colorful and clean! The owners were even doing some last-minute cleaning as we arrived. |
Once we were settled in, we explored Vienna at night. We wandered into the city center, where we had and overpriced, but still tasty, dinner at the Nordsee seafood restaurant. After dinner, we bought some chocolate (because you can never get enough of that), and spontaneously hopped on one of the trolley's as it was approaching. We stayed on the trolley for a bit, before jumping off and trying to find our way back. We passed a few interesting buildings along the way, including the bridge over the Danube River:
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| Nordsee, where we enjoyed baked salmon and vegetables for dinner. |
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| The Uniqa Building, which has 45,000 LED blocks that change colors. It is amazing to watch! |
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| Standing on the bridge at Obere Donaustraße near the ferry to Bratislava, Slovakia. |
Once we got back to the condo, it was time to get ready for bed. James worked on his computer, while Erin tried to find some English-speaking tv to watch (the only show she was able to find was a women's surfing contest from 2009 - which, she thoroughly enjoyed). Soon, we were in a deep sleep, ready for the next day to explore more of Vienna.
