Lotsa of Cultures in Wien :)

Let me see how should I begin. I will try as far to keep this posting as concise and brief as possible so you guys wont need to digest only facts and boring unknown names. Here goes. Guess where I went last week?! Hehe…very romantic city - VIENNA! Yes, 4 days there, not mentioning being my first country outside of Switzerland. Applause applause!! However, the pre-tour was dreadful. I had to get so many things ready – from choosing the cheapest tickets, searching information of places, dates clashing, to having heavy communication with Dani, my friend in Vienna. :)as seen pic- the pretty gals :)
It wasn’t over though. I made it to Vienna but only after an awful journey of 15 hours!! Can you imagine that!? I can practically fly back to Malaysia!! Supposedly took 9 hours but due to the floods in Switzerland, trains had to take alternatives routes which were totally gone case to me. That is like instead of taking a direct route from Penang to Kuala Lumpur, you first go to East Coast, crossing the border of Pahang and Terengganu only then arriving Kuala Lumpur. Painful isn’t it? The picture next was taken while I was too bored in the train.
Yeah… but I accepted it as part of an ‘exciting’ experience. :) I got a seat coach and imagine how impossible to sleep - but lucky me, I am tiny, so I managed to lie down somehow, apparently I felt myself so much as a restless backpacker who did nothing but peeked out the window wondering when I would arrive. Ok so that was me in the train. But as soon I stepped out of it, it was incredible. I first visited the famous church, St.Stephen’s Cathedral (as in pic) – good choice indeed. It had Romanesque origin ( constructed began in the 12th century ) but it was completely reconstructed in Gothic style following the orders of Duke Rudolph IV of Habsburg. Habsburg is the emperor family of Vienna and they were residence of many state of the art palaces around Vienna. Inside this cathedral, there were amazing art treasures and works and down to the catacombs, there were legions of bishops and habsburg pieces buried. This place is rather memorable to me because I met a local guy who was ever willingly to show me around. How ironic! You see on occasion time on tv or friends, but never expected anything to be in Vienna. This guy ( Lukas as in pic ) didn’t look innocent or anything, obviously he had some intention ( guys would know what I mean..hehe ) but I guess he wasn’t life-threatening or what, so we both had fun, on a safe side :) To name a few more, I visited one of the most important Baroque works in the world - Belvedere Palace! I didn’t know much about this place but it just looked good – the palace and garden ! Okie..there were museums of Medieval Austria Art ( with Romaneque and Gothic works ) and another was Baroque Museum. I was there with Lukas, but he knew nothing about history either. So we passed by a couple, and they had brilliant facts about the place. So, just like a tourist, my ear barged in, but still trying very hard to act as though I wasn’t listening. Haha..you see the pic. They explained how the woman face linked to eagle and lion, because it symbolised the spirit and bravery of the emperor. And many statues like this, each of them had different looks. Interesting huh?
Then , I went to the ever touristic Schönbrunn Palace, claimed to be the ultimate palace experience in Vienna. It was former summer place of Habsburg family and Empress Maria Theresa lived with her 16 children and her husband Emperor Francis I. The admission to the rooms and all was a bit pricey, so I forewent, but upon returning to Switzerland, my Swiss friends were telling me how stupid I was to miss it! I saw pictures that it was very beautiful but then again, I didn’t want to know how luxurious or opulent everything was displayed. Still no regrets though because what I really enjoyed was the spectacular view of the palace and Vienna city from the top of the hill ( called Gloriette ). I also went to the Austrian library ( as in pic ) which was again amazing - with great altar, authentic paintings and architectures. I managed to stop by at the naschmarkt flea market but when everyone was packing up already. Hey, wrong timing?! NOooo..perfect timing. I saw something nobody would have, even Dani. :p Look at the pic. Apparently some old stuffs were left over after the flea market, and bunch of locals were simply digging into the trash to find some useable goods - leaving the sight with several loaded bags, or even luggages. Unbelievable!!
So, the last day, I went to KunstHausWien, Hundertwasser’s major contribution to the Viennese art world - great sense of colours and imagination. Look at the pics – they are self-explanatory. Then off to Zentralfriedhof ( Central Cemetery ) where Mozart, Beethoven and other luminaries of the musical world are buried, or at least memorialised here. It was slightly creepy for me when I first entered ( as I got in from the unofficial entrance ) which was quiet and very spooky. Then as I walked much further up, I heard noisy people and realised this is yet another touristic spot, immediately got boring. I myself was puzzled how some people hated touristic areas, but now the real picture comes in, I can totally understand!! Next picture is a place where I watched an ochestra performance in a crowd of mostly elderly ones :p
What I also fancy were the strudels and delicious cakes.yum yum.. Rate 9.5/10 for the apple and peach strudel ( Lost 0.5 point because it was a little too sweet..hehe ). But anyway, thanks Dani,at the end of only 4 days, I had lotsa of ‘cultures’ *wink*