Rock me Amadeus

Afternoon at downtown Vienna. The cloudy skies above Stephansplatz were giving one of Vienna's landmarks (the Stephansdom in case you don't know) a grim character: a misleading one. This impressive gothic church, consacrated at 1147 AD, towering 136 meters above the square is everything but grim. It's colourful rooptops and the flamboyant architectural details state that this place of worship was made to impress and it works damn well.

Right next to the church, a group of street artists were performing a very weird dance, I cannot describe it to you fellow readers because I just wouldn't know where to begin.

As I walked around the busy streets of downtown Vienna I felt that the bad impression I had of the city when I first went to the Belvedere was very unfair. The decadent-old-eastern-Europe feeling of the Südbanhof area was totally different from the charming old architecture of this area. As I passed by these old buildings and the beautifully preserved monuments I started to feel Vienna's true nature and character: it's a mature city but not an old one. Austria's capital is an open minded middle aged person. I'd say that the city's character matches Austria's famous artist Falco (when at his peak naturally).

I didn't have any plans that day, all I wanted to do was to walk around Vienna without any particular place to go. If I could see a building that was able to get my attention, I'd walk towards it. And so I found the Sisi Museum at the Hofburg. I wasn't much surprised, actually I thought that it took too long for me to find anything Sisi-related, since plenty of people go to Vienna to be where she went.

As I walked through the palace I ended up in the beautiful Heldenplatz where I saw the sunset behind Vienna's historical buildings. As the night slowly came and the city lights started to show I realized that the dream was close to an end. Vienna was my last stop and I didn't want to cross the pond back "home", after all I was at home so what's the point, right?

With that idea in my mind I walked towards the Museumsquartier with its beautiful squares and buildings but that thought just would gte out of my mind. As I walked towards the U-Bahn the air became somewhat sweet and tender, I'm not able to explain but it felt like something was telling me that I was right: I was "home".

PS: Now for the yet famous super-quick-travel-tips, featuring Vienna
PS1: Like Gustav Klimt? Go to the Belvedere, they even have one Van Gogh there.
PS2: Don't judge Vienna for the Südbanhof area.
PS3: Schoss Schönbrunn: if you go snickers are a must.
PS4: Like classical music? Mozarthaus is the place to go.
PS5: Don't be on a diet since Austria is famous for their food, specially stuff with chocolate and marzipan.
PS6: Stephansdom is worth the visit.
PS7: So is Peterskirche.
PS8: Austrian beer isn't as good as the bavarian one but still pretty decent.
PS9: Don't be afraid of the Döner Kebap joints. But don't pay more than 3 euros for one.
PS10: Try Imbiss too.
PS11: Falco is still big in Austria, so expect to see his face somewhere.
PS12: When crossing the street watch for the bikes...and trams...and cars...and buses.
PS13: If you understand a bit of german you notice that the austrian accent is very funny.
PS14: Euro 2008? Austria's team sucks.
PS15: Prader: worth a visit.
PS16: Vienna Opera House: gorgeous!
PS17: In case you don't know or remember Falco here he is:




PS18: The above picture is of Vienna's Opera House and it isn't mine.
PS19: I know nobody is going to see this new addon to this post but I totally forgot about this Falco video. It shows a lot of Vienna. The song is called Vienna Calling (naturally):




PS20: RIP Falco ( 19/02/1957 - 06/02/1998)