We had planned on visiting the Spanish Riding School, but instead took a horse-drawn carriage ride through the center of the old city.
The guide pointed out a number of famous places, including Mozart's house in Vienna and various statues, monuments and houses. After wandering around the Hofburg we crossed over to Museum Quarter, home to a number of museums and galleries. We had heard about the Edvard Munch exhibition at The Leopold, so we headed there.
We had lunch at the Leopold Cafe, situated inside the Museum. After lunch it was back to the center of the old city, to St Stephens Cathedral - another imposing neo-gothic structure in the Viennese skyline.
We climbed the 343-step narrow, spiral staircase to the top of the steeple.
Luckily the day had cleared up somewhat, so the view it provided out over the city was fairly unobstructed (and more breathtaking than the climb).
We did some window shopping (everything is very expensive within the center of the old city, with many exclusive stores). Then we went to Central Cafe, the very same coffee-house frequented by Trotsky and Freud.
The building itself is very dramatic, with high ceilings, columns and intimidating portraits adorning the walls. The coffee we had was excellent as was the apfelstrudel (apple strudel).
Then it was off to the State Opera House to wait in line for standing tickets to that night's performance of The Nutcracker (by the Viennese Ballet). Standing tickets are available an hour before each performance, and are a great way to see the shows if you are willing to stand. The tickets are 3-4 euros depending on where you want to stand (we stood in the middle section). The performance was beautiful; the orchestra did a superb job with the music.
After the show we went back to the hostel and had kebabs at a nearby Turkish cafe, with the strangest mix of patrons (including a gothic transvestite and two bikies).
Wednesday morning we had wanted to try a cafe called "Deli" at the Naschtmarkt. Unfortunately it was closed, so we backtracked to the Hundertwasserhaus, a house designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
It is a beautiful house featuring an uneven tiled floor and plants growing up through the middle of it. We had lunch at the restaurant, an interesting place with plants and ornaments suspended throughout.
Afterwards we saw the Annie Leibovitz exhibition, which was just amazing. Even if you don't recognise her name, you will recognise her photographs - which include this famous one of Demi Moore, and this iconic image of John and Yoko (which appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone after his assassination). What was so great about the exhibition was the fact that it showcased photos from her personal life as well, and a video documentary. Very inspiring stuff.
That night we went to an English cinema to see Where The Wild Things Are, which we both enjoyed.
We had planned to go to Bratislava on Thursday, but it turned out to be harder than we thought. We had bought the ticket the day before, and there had been a bit of confusion over the train station we were leaving from. This is because the station, Sudbahnhof, is divided into two stations (Sud and Ost - south and east) with a large construction site in the middle of it. We hurried to make our 9:25am train, and caught a lucky break when we reached Ostbahnhof and saw that the train was delayed 20 minutes. Unfortunately for us, another train pulled in at the platform at the new time (whilst the board was still displaying Bratislava) and we stupidly hurried on to that one. So in the end we got to see more of Austria, but one hour later we were back at Ostbahnhof.
By then it was too late for us to make it to Bratislava and actually get all the sights in, so we quickly formulated a Plan B: go back to Museum Quarter to visit the MUMOK.
The featured exhibit was entitled "Gender Check", which showcased works exploring the role of men and women from early Soviet times, as well as the blurring of gender boundaries...and even some pornographic videos. Or was it porn? Perhaps it was art. We'll never know.
Afterwards we went back to Aida (the coffee shop) and were served by the same waitress. I managed to order in German. At least I hope it was German. We also did a bit of shopping (and when I say "we", I mean I bought some presents for people back home and Nik milled around outside in the street).
That night we had dinner at Schnitzelwirt, which had come recommended. The servings were generous to say the least...and we went back to the hostel well and truly stuffed. Needless to say, I think it will be a while before I can look at anything slightly resembling crumbed meat.
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