Vienna, Austria

This morning I got up for breakfast at 9am, which I figured was a nice compromise to sleeping in a bit. I'm going to start trying to get up a little earlier now if I can. In the UK I used to wake up at dawn every morning and watch the sun rise, but since London, I got back into my old habit of sleeping in. Plus this seemed the right time anyway being as everyone else in the room was getting up at that time. Breakfast was very simple, just a bowl of cornflakes and a bread roll. Like prison, only what's needed to survive the day.

I decided to take the metro up to a cool looking ferris wheel I'd seen on the map, and a couple guys in my hostel said it was a nice area. I took the U3 underground to the U4 which took me out of the main city across the river. When I emerged from the metro station, I looked around to orientate my self to where I was. It didn't take long to figure out which direction I was pointing thanks to the giant ferris wheel I quickly found off in the distance, so I decided to head in that direction. I walked through a beautiful little suburban park where children played on a nearby playground, and snaked my way down a dirt path to where the giant wheel stood. It wasn't nearly as big as the London Eye, of course. In fact, you could probably fit about 10 of these in the London Eye, but it was big enough to be a spectacle worthy of a place on the map. Around it, a whole bunch of construction took place, as it seemed the people here were getting set up for some sort of fair that was to take place later, and all the final touches were being put on. I walked around the side of the construction to where I saw a fountain surrounded by beautiful blooming flowers. It seemed all of Vienna was in full bloom today, in fact. The sun shone brightly today, and saturated the landscape with flowers of every color. The breeze carried the seeds of dandy lions in huge streams like snow on a winter wind. I walked on down a main road lined with trees and little old men on park benches. The street lead me off to a smaller path where people jogged and couples walked their babies in strollers. The roads seemed endless at either side, but vast amounts of vegetation seemed to grow right out of from them. Every so often I'd pass by an arrangement of flowers set near an old looking fountain, or playground. There were so many flowers, honestly I felt a little overwhelmed at times. Whole fields of them, and all types. Scattered throughout them I spotted small clusters of Edelweiss which were shining white within bouquets of yellow, green, red, orange, and blue. Further down the little path I found a small lake with swans floating along the surface. I stopped and thought for a second, you've gotta be kidding me. Swans on a beautiful lake, flowers all over the place in perfect bloom, children playing off in the distance. Am I still in Vienna, or did I somehow wander into a 5 year old girl's fantasy world?

I took some pictures of the swans on the lake, and beautiful flowers, because I figured no one's gonna believe me. Then I continued on the path over the little wooden bridge into the woods lined on either side by patches of Edelweiss. The woods ended in a huge clearing where some were stretched out on the grass, reading or sleeping, and soaking in the sun. I stood and admired the clearing, and beautiful sun for a couple minutes, then I walked through to the other side and found myself in the woods by the main road again. Somehow wandering from there I ended up back at the fair, which was now alive with people. I spend another part of my day walking around the fair, watching the attractions and seeing the different carnival rides. I bought an ice cream bar, and sat down at a bench.

I wondered about how my life was like before the days when I use to just get up and go on a nature walk to a little carnival in Vienna, or visit a famous art museum in Florence. I still have dreams where I'm in my own bed back home, and in the mornings I wake up in Rome, or in Venice, or Egypt, or Austria. I've been living my dreams. How am I going to go back to life as I knew it before? I am excited to see my friends and family back home, though. I want to tell them all I've seen, and show them what I've learned of the world. I was telling my mom earlier in an email how it's so interesting seeing the progression in myself and my experience. I already have the best travel stories in my hostel, and I'm very quickly becoming the most well traveled. In the beginning of this trip I used to listen to the stories of where people had been, and wish that I could one day be that travel savvy. I've found myself talking the way those people used to talk, and seeing others listen to my stories the way I used to listen only months ago.

After the fair, I took the metro back into the old town, and walked all through the little parks there which were full of people throwing Frisbees, laughing and having a good time. In Sigmund Freud park, there was a live band playing while people watched and some danced. I walked through, covering the areas I missed yesterday, and eventually decided to stop into Vienna's art museum. I got to see some beautiful paintings, a couple I recognized from coffee table art books I'd looked at. After seeing all I needed to see, I walked back to my hostel and took a nice hot shower and a nap.

That night I stayed up talking with my roommates Charlie, who's a retired Vietnam Veteran from Florida; Kara from Ohio, and Carolyn from Long Island who are both studying in Paris; and Chinyow from Korea who we also learned, studies in Paris. They're an interesting bunch of people, but a lot of fun.

Tomorrow I'll go down to the train station and catch a train to Prague, so pray for a safe journey!
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