I knew I wanted to go to Prague, Czech Republic. That was a bit far from Rome, so on a whim I thought I’d stop for a couple days in Vienna, Austria. I took a night train for almost fifteen hours to get there…that’s got to be the longest time I’ve spent in a single seat, but luckily I was able to spread out and get a lot of sleep. The sleep was interrupted as I was asked for my ticket three separate times…regardless I arrived in Vienna relatively refreshed, and made my way to my hostel.
It was a bit out of the city, but this was one of my favorite hostels I’ve stayed in. Friendly staff, good social culture, comfortable beds…and super cheap. I was in Vienna for two nights and actually spent both of those nights just hanging out at the hostel drinking cheap beer and wine until the staff told us we had to be quiet.
Austria is a country I know almost nothing about. I think Hitler was born there? So it was exciting going to this city where I didn’t even know what I was “supposed” to see. There wasn’t an Eiffel Tower or Colloseum here.
As far as I can tell, this city’s entire tourism industry is built around the fact that this was Mozart’s city, which I had forgotten. So there was a lot of concerts and museums dedicated to that fact. They also have a city bike program which I took advantage of. It was just one euro to sign up and I got to ride the bikes around for free, which a nice break from all the walking I’ve been doing.
Also FREE PUBLIC WIFI from the city. I don’t have words for how awesome that is. Oh wait, yes I do: “FREE PUBLIC WIFI.”
In these tourist cities, I’ve seen plenty of beggars, scammers, street performers, and street “performers.” My favorite of the street “performers” is the “statues.” That is, the people who paint themselves silver, literally do nothing, and then want people to give them money…but in Vienna near a palace with an enormous garden, I saw the first “statue” that actually impressed me. He was done up like Mozart and whistling some music (I assume Mozart). So that was cool. I still didn’t give him any money but…I thought about it…
From Vienna I took a quick train to Prague, Czech Republic. I had met a lot of people who were coming from there and everyone said it was awesome and cheap.
And they were right! My hostel was called “Budget Hostel,” and it lived up to that name (during the year the building is an elementary school, there was a chalkboard by my bed), but still, it wasn’t bad for the price.
And it was right by the Old Town which is the main tourist area in Prague, so that was super convenient. I met up with a couple of people from Wales who I met in Vienna, and spent the night seeing the city and listening to live music in a couple of places.
The next day I did more wandering around the city, seeing this cool sculpture of Franz Kafka which is a head that moves around seemingly at random.
I also went to the museum of communism! It focused in generally on the rise of communism and specifically on the effects it had in Czech and Prague. It was next to a casino and over a mcdonalds which I find ironic somehow.
That night I went to another couchsurfing meet up at a bar on the other side of town and met a lot cool people as usual at these meet ups. The next day would be my train to Berlin.
wanderaroundblog 