The first few days got off to a rough start. The jet lag hit me pretty hard because I was in bed for probably a full 24hrs after arriving with an awesome headache, a sinus infection, and intense fatigue. In 30degree heat on top of that, I just need to crawl into a hole for a while.
In order to stop feeling so lame I commanded myself to get outside, no matter how hot. So I went to discover my new neighbourhood. I found a health food store, a Hofer (grocery store), MANY cafes, the closest U-Bahn (underground) station, and the best way to get to the famous Danaukanal (Danube River). The neighbourhood is A. Beautiful and B. well connected so I feel pretty lucky to be here. After a few days of nothing in particular, I should probably get going on experiencing tourist life.
First was the Kunsthistorisches (Art History) Museum... Woah, That's a real museum. The building itself is across from the Naturhistoriches (Natural History) Museum and are almost identical buildings. They were both built around 1890 by Emperor Franz Joseph, the Art History Museum for the housing for emperors' and archdukes' personal art collections to be shown to the public.
As I walked through, I felt lucky that I could at least speak English if I didn't understand German because everything in the exhibits were written in both. I walked through the many rooms full of paintings dating back to as early as the 15th century and admired the immense detail and skill these artists have. It was also interesting for me to read how people analyse paintings and what people can get out of them; the process was very similar to how you can analyse dance and I felt very connected to the artists in that way.
Much of the museum was also dedicated to trinkets and valuable collections. I found it almost comical to walk through some of these rooms to find priceless statues and trinkets belonging to past royalty. Some of the items were understandably desirable: beautiful clocks, jewelry boxes, model ships etc. There was one item that just made me laugh at the expense someone paid to have this hilarious piece of art, Bear as a Hunter.
I'm fairly confident that there aren't many museums that can compare to this one.
Tuesday I decided Shönnbrunn Palace and estate gardens was my next destination. To say the least, this place is massive, so you will read that word frequently in this description. You first approach the gate that looks like something from the Never Ending Story and you enter the courtyard that leads up to the mansion. The courtyard is basically a football field and the palace has about 1500 rooms... I took a shortened audio tour of a few rooms to get a feel for the baroque style. Then I went to the gardens behind the palace... It must be multiple football fields in size because it's just massive. Included in the gardens is a labyrinth (which you pay extra to enter so I didn't bother), a massive fountain statue of the god Neptune and his entourage, and a massive hill behind the fountain leading to another monument. Yes, it was massive. Before I got to the hill, I got distracted by the entrance to the Vienna Zoo!
I felt conflicted about being in the zoo. I love that we get to see and learn and study them, but I'm not sure about if they should really be stuck in cages and then never be able to be released into the wild. I got over my internal moral battle though and walked among the animals. The zoo had basically everything including an awesome polar bear exhibit! The bears had become accustomed to the warm environment, but it seems like they preferred the cooler water they swam around much of the time. There was also a seal show where I got soaked by this guy jumping for fish.
That is where I met a fellow traveller who was from the States. He had a poor pronunciation of the word "danke" by my low standards, but he was cool to talk to.
When we parted ways, I decided to go to the Donau Zentrum and do some shopping. I treated myself to a few dresses from stores I didn't know, and then headed home for a much deserved cold shower.
Yesterday it thankfully rained. In the cool rainy weather it was the perfect day for revisiting Museums Quatrier and hitting up the Naturhistoriches Museum. While the building was as beautiful as the Kunsthistoriches, it was not highlighted because of the difference in subject. The best part was the dinosaurs! As a kid I really liked the idea of being a paleontologist, so I think that kid is still in me. There were incredible skeleton models, mechanical moving dinosaurs, real bones and fossils, a kids dream. They also had thousands of taxidermy animals on display, which I really enjoyed browsing around. There was also a great exhibit on human evolution. They have a great collection of skulls...
After I left, I grabbed some lunch in Museums Quartier, and then headed out to walk around the city aimlessly. I forgot my map that day so it was decently easy to get lost. It was really nice walking around the old cobblestone sidewalks and really taking in the city's character. Bakeries and cafes everywhere, beautiful fashion shops with fur coats worth thousands, and monuments and old buildings to admire everywhere. Every time I felt nervous about being lost, I walked onto a new street where there were plenty of cafes and streetcars, so I never felt too worried about it. I ended up stopping for a drink at The English Café! I had read about it online, and it was a pretty hippie with lots of books to read. Strange place, but really nice to have a beer and watch Wimbledon tennis on the big projector. Upon leaving I felt it time to find my way home. I found a street with streetcars and figured out where I needed to go pretty easily. I got home safely and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
The U-Bahn system is pretty intense, then when you add the S-Bahn and the streetcars and busses, it can be pretty complicated. I've been taking it one day at a time, and since I'm here for 5 more weeks I feel like I have that luxury. This is why I feel it was slightly uneventful also, because I've had a lot of down time and I enjoy that a lot. I do look forward to dancing and doing more festival related things. It feels a bit lonely sometimes when you don't know anyone and you don't speak the language, but I'm glad I've been able to go at my own pace. It will definitely pick up when ImPulsTanz starts.
Happy Travels,
G
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