Vienna

Best First Impressions: Easy Transportation, Beautiful Museums

Worst First impressions: Zero Diversity, Reserved People

I only had a few days to enjoy Vienna. One wouldn't expect the city to be cold or rainy, especially in April, but the average temperature was about 2 C. When I think of these countries and cities in the middle of Eastern Europe, I think barren and dark. Vienna, however, was opulent and thriving. Markets littered the various streets, large monuments and phenomenal buildings surrounded the city center, and most importantly prices were low.

I spent the first day exploring., visiting everything I could see within a 20 kilometer radius of my youth hostel. The Parliment building, St. Stephen's cathedral, Schonbruun Castle and Cafe Landtmann, where I met a group of French girls preparing for a court simulation. I hope they haven't read my blog. It's been very easy to make friends while solo traveling, being so vulnerable puts you into situations where you need to be outgoing and even gives you a great excuse to start a conversation.

I met all sorts of interesting people in my first day in Vienna. My hostelmate David, who works as a pr coordinator in Mexico City but wanted to experience the lifestyle of Eastern Europe. Natalia, a Spaniard from Girona who decided to go on a spontaneous weekend trip to Vienna with her friends. Lizzy, an Austrian backpacker who just finished a backpacking trip in Southern Italy. Nhedira, an Algerian studying law in Marseille, who was kind enough to pay for my coffee when I didn't have any cash on me. While there are many pros and cons of solo traveling, I think you can learn a lot from it. It really teaches you the importance of independence and the value of being open to new experiences.

My last day in Vienna was short and sweet. I scheduled a tour of the Leopoldt Museum where I saw hundreds of brilliant words of art painted by the most famous modern art

painters of the 19th and 20th centuries. Artists who stuck out to me were Egon Schiele and Ernst Klimt for their creativity and expressionist style of painting. It's mesmerizing to see the different styles and techniques used by these artists and inspiring to see that they could remain so consistently inventive.

Overall, Vienna was marvelous and I hope to return for longer stay in the future.

Oddities

No restaurants accepted card

There were dozens of Asian markets and shops

Huge Mole rats come out at night

Traffic lights turn yellow before they turn green

Recommendations

The Wombat Hostel (great area, very cheap, nice bar scene), The Leopold Museum (portrays Austrian art and it's history), Reinthaler's Beisl (provided a great indoor setting and great weiner schnitzel)