Dumbbells and Drama

A wave of nostalgia washed over me last night and before I knew it, it was 4:00am and I was craving for a hot chocolate croissant and a European vacation. After the initial sadness, the creative little angel in me made me see what a perfect opportunity this was to celebrate the best vacation we’ve ever had, and maybe it was time to start planning the next one.

While I am taking this trip down memory lane, I wish to share with you some of the best moments we had in Vienna. Out of all the cities we visited, I think this is the city I would go back to again. I’d go back for that journey by the Euro Rail, those narrow gauges and tunnels, through those lush green Alps dotted with cows grazing on the slopes, and those snow-filled peaks we watched pass by.

Vienna has got to be the most beautiful city I have visited in my life. Leaving you with a moments to prove this 🙂

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It was 10 am when we reached Vienna Central Station. As we snuggled close with some warm coffee and croissants to keep us company, Vienna celebrated summer with 18 degrees.
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The croissants at Le Crobag at the Vienna Central Railway Station set the standard for the best in croissants throughout our Euro Trip. Unfortunately, we didn’t find croissants as fluffy, soft and chocolaty as these anywhere else (even in their other outlets in Berlin and Frankfurt)
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We took the underground subway to Schottentor and came out to bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds. I remember spending 5 minutes simply clicking the buildings and the sky. It was cloud porn like I had never seen before.

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We walked over to the Sigmund Freud Park before continuing to our AirBnB. We spent an hour soaking in some “summer” sun here while people lazed around, sun-bathed and enjoyed picnics on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

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A super pretty neighborhood pub we stopped at for a quick bite (bread and cheese)
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Guess what? Our visit coincided with the Vienna Raibow Parade 2017! The whole town had come out to celebrate this one huge party in support of the LGBTQ folks, and of course I joined in <3 So many good vibes, so much love, I literally teared up when I saw everyone around me so fearlessly expressing their love. I still remember the way a girl kissed her lover, both of them crying in happiness as they indulged in all that passion. SO MUCH LOVE <3

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This is the state of the roads a few minutes after the parade. We were beyond impressed with the efficient system that allowed the cleanup trucks to clear the streets as the floats passed by. The party was still continuing towards the right of this frame, and this is how clean the city was.
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There are a lot of University Bars in Vienna. We landed up at one called the 2 euro bar where everything was available for only 2 euros! While it rained outside, we sat in a typical underground bar and enjoyed our booze with peanuts and of course, some lovely conversation.
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The Landstraßer Hauptstraße

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Heldenplatz, the place where Adolf Hitler’s ceremonial announcement of the Austrian Anschluss to Nazi Germany on 15 March 1938 took place.

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Volksgarten

 

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This is The Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial, the memorial to the Jews who died in Austria

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This is where we stopped by for lunch <3

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Spent Sunday at Praterstern. We saw this ferris wheel while we were at the other end of town, doing the usual walking-climbing-hiking-exploring bit. After a few Google searches we figured out the location for this fair, and headed out to one of the biggest amusement parks that we have ever seen. While I was not too enthusiastic about getting onto thrill rides and roller coasters, I really wanted to get onto this wheel (It was shut though)The entry was 30 euros , and did not include the entry to the other rides in the park.
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Look who’s house we stumbled upon! We took a small detour and climbed up a hill to reach here, and on the way caught a Uni game of football, complete with cheerleaders, adrenaline and super hot humans.
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You have GOT TO visit Pizza Mafiosi when in Vienna. A budget joint serving fresh pizzas straight out of the oven, this one stays a favorite till date. The ambiance is a bit wonky with fish nets and pirate props hanging from the roof, but who cares when you’ve got fresh, meaty, cheesy pizza in front of you? Best part about this place is that it serves pizzas for as low as 5 euros. Our dinner on the last night involved a pizza, a Tiramisu cake and 2 drinks, all for 11 euros.
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Picked up this one for the road.
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*sigh* Goodbyes are tough.

Oddly enough, this nostalgia has transformed into a sense of wanderlust. I am super excited about packing my bags and heading off to the next destination. I am thinking Vietnam. Or maybe even North East India. Or the Andamans. Damn it, so many places to visit!! <3

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