Last day in Vienna- Make it count

I’ve been very relaxed in Vienna, it’s a charming and inviting city with many areas to get lost and not mind. Today I started by taking the bus to the Belvedere. I befriended the bus driver and he gave me a few good tips. The stop I needed was also by a park (with incredible flowers everywhere!)so I roamed around there for a bit before visiting the palace.

*I love it here!!! Flowers make me so happy!!

The Belvedere was beautiful too and had impressive gardens, I mean what can I say it’s gorgeous everywhere, I’m running out of words that =beautiful because every time I turn around something else deserves the same description!

*The Belvedere At noon I waited with hordes of tourists in front of the Ankeruhr (clock)…I assumed it would be some cute show, like the little clock my aunt gave me when I was little from Germany. The bird pops out when the hour strikes – I thought this would be a little more elaborate since it was 50 feet above the street on a building close to the center of Vienna. Turns out I waited fifteen minutes for a really boring show. Take from me, don’t bother.

* The Ankeruhr I decided to pick one museum in Vienna. There were heaps of worthy choices, but many were similar to ones I’ve been to before. I settled on the Albertina since I’d seen the signs for it everywhere and it seemed like my style.

Turns out I made a killer choice. I discovered my favorite artist OF ALL TIME and my new idol! Oskar Kokoschka! I had an audio guide and was able to hear all about him and his life. He traveled and painted cities around the world! His paintings were bright but not too bright, the buildings stood out and he had unbelievable lighting. I was totally sucked in. I must have been in the Kokoschka rooms for a few hours before I saw any of the Picasso, Monet or Chagal works the museum housed upstairs.

My Night at the Opera-

Everyone kept asking me if I was going to see an opera and they recommended it so highly that I finally caved. I stood/sat in line for a while to get a €3,50 ticket for standing room only. They had it all figured out, you wait in line – get the cheap ticket – block off your spot with a scarf then you can leave for a bit and return right before the show starts. I got a great seat, well you know what I mean, spot, in the second row with a center view. Here’s the kicker, the opera is 4 hours long and in …I was guessing German but someone I met said a lot of operas are in Italian. Oops, not sure I don’t speak either so it didn’t really matter. But you get a little screen by your seat to read the script - in English! Hard to watch and read all at once but totally doable.

When it started I was a little confused because two girls were making out in the bedroom but when I got the little translation screen working I realized one was calling the other “Lad” ok then, for a minute I wasn’t sure what I’d signed up for. Still I found it strange, they couldn’t find a man in all of Austria to play this ‘Lad’? I only stayed through 2/3 of the opera (many of the people around me had already left). I was interested and wanted to know the ending but I still had things to do…so now I’ll have to eventually google the ending to see what I missed!

Vienna was without doubt one of my favorite stops so far…