1st Day in Vienna, Austria

Me in the Danube Tower over looking Vienna.
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In the morning I woked up and got breakfast in bed, sort of. They served two bagels and the only place to eat them was in bed and since the ceil was so close I kind of had to eat laying down on my side. It wasn't very comfortable or easy to do. The train arrive about an hour later and I headed for the hostel. It was actually really easy to find and there where actually signs on the street poles pointing to the hostel. I couldn't check in yet, since it was 9:00am. I had to put my bags in lockers, but they were free you just had to put a $2 Euro coin in to get the key and you got them back when you opened the locker again. I had about two hours to waste before I could check in, so I ask for a map of the city and headed for the train station. I saw that there was a Vienna Card that was available at the visitor's information center that was downtown. I figured that would be a good place to start and I could get some info on the different sights to see. I got out at the metro station in the center of the city and right at the exit was this huge church called St. Stephen's Cathedral. It was still pretty early in the morning, so most of the cafes were just opening and not a lot of people were on the streets yet. I found the tourist information center and the Vienna Card gives you unlimited travel on all the public transit for 72 hours plus discounts from 10-20% at most of the tourist attractions. I decided to get it, even though I was only going to be in town for a day and a half. I walked around the area a bit, got something to eat, and headed back to the hostel to check in. I got back to the hostel, got my room, took a shower, and put my bags in the security lockers they had in the room. I figured out where I wanted to go on the map and went back out to explore. The first stop was UNO City or Vienna International Center, where the UN building, Danau Park, and the Danube Tower are located. I walked pass some of the large office building to Danau Park, where lots of local Viennese were relaxing, picinicing, and just enjoying the park. The Danube Tower, which is a 252 meter tower with two resturants, was located in the middle of the park. I figured I would take a ride to the top to get a great view of Vienna. The observation deck which was below the two revolving resturants was covered with steel bars instead of glass or plastic, so it was good for getting pictures without the reflections. It was really cool to see all of Vienna with the large churchs, the small neighborhoods, the river, the freeways, and some of the things on the map. I went up to the resturants, but they were just lots of tables of people and a thick glare on the windows. I went back down and walk around the park a little. There was this small train that circled the whole park and it was pretty funny how small the engine and the cars were. I walked back over to the UN building, but it was closed because it was a national holiday for the day after Easter. I tried to get a picture of the front with all the flags, but there was a wall and a big gate that blocked the view. I got back on the train and went to the Vienna Prater Amusement Park, which has an old Giant Ferris Wheel with true-to-original replica cabins. There was a discount with the Vienna card, but it didn't look all that great. I ended up riding on one of the roller coasters called the Super 8 Bahn for $3.50 Euro, which wasn't to bad for how old it looked. It had some okay drops and a few hard G force turns. I walked around a bit and it was a typical amusement park with all the games and rides. They did have a couple of ride that looked pretty cool, one was a bell that swung back and forth while the middle spun the people strapped to a pole and other one was a long pole with seats on the ends that turned end over end. I didn't have much time and I didn't want to lose everything in my pockets, so I passed on riding them. The next stop was back downtown to see Hofburg and I wanted to see the Imperial Burial Vault. There was a cool picture of a gold skeleton with a crown on it, so I figure it might be something fun that didn't take much time. It cost $4 Euros and $0.50 for a map of who all the tombs were. It had the tombs for the entire imperial family and some of them were very elaborate with artwork and some cool skulls with crowns. I then walked through Burggarten garden, which was behind the Imperial Place. There was a Butterfly House, which is a tropical rainforest with exotic free-flying butterflies inside a glasshouse, located on the backside of the palace near the garden. There was also a Mozart statue with flowers arranged in a musical cleft sign just in front of it. I then walked by the Academy of Fine Arts, the Museum of Fine Arts, the National History Museum, and the Leopold Museum which make up the Museum Quarter. I crossed the street to the front of the Imperial Palace and then north through the Volksgarten Garden to the Parliament Building. It had a statue in the front with bright golden armor and a golden tipped spear. I walked up the street to the City Hall which was also impressive and the National Theatre, which was across the street. The Parliament and City Hall buildings were was the coolest looking government buildings I have seen. I then kept walking up the street to the Sigmund Freud Park and there was a huge church with two large spires that was under construction on the lower section. I then took the train back to the center of Vienna and looked for a place to eat. I ended up at a place called Wienerwald that looked like it had some authentic Austrian food. I ordered a beer and the Original Viennese Shinitzel, which was a battered and fried veal and came with parley potatoes. The beer was pretty good after a long day of walking and sightseeing. The Shinitzel was huge and was chicken, not beef. I asked the waitress and she said it was veal, beef. I just continued eating it as it was really good, but she stopped one other time to say it was beef and I just nodded my head. I know it was chicken and the meal was good. I did get a salad at the salad bar, so Marcy would be proud of me, I am eating my vegetables. After dinner I headed back to the hostel, worked on my computer a bit, and went to bed.

There was a cool picture of a gold skeleton with a crown on it, so I figure it might be something fun that didn't take much time.