Vienna, Austria

Vienna, Austria

Another country, currency, language, and weird hostel experience.  Safe to say that at every hostel thus far, I've met or seen at least 15 Australians.  They all have strangely nihilistic and aimless backstories.  One gal said she's been in Europe for two months and then it's off to southeast Asia until Christmas--Jesus.  I asked one about her friends and family back home.

Me:  You're not going to miss your family? friends?
Gal:  Eh, ya know, ya makes new ones.
(Mark Thinking):  What the!? Did a dingo eat them? Dingo eat your friends and family.
Me:  Wow, that's quite an adventurous spirit.
Gal: Eh, ya know, you're only young once, riiigght?
Me:  Right.  Sure.  Are you working during your travels? worried about money?
(Mark Thinking):  Are you a drug mule, intestines pumped full of Chine White?  heiress to the Foster's throne?  own land on the submerged Great Barrier Reef? have gold doubloons stashed in kangaroo pouches?
Gal:  Eh, ya know, guess I haven't really gotten there yet.

Thanks for the talk, lady.

Canadians need to tone it down too.  Every single one of them sports a postcard sized Canadian flag on their pack.  Great, we get it, you're NOT from America, but people you meet are also NOT giving a shit.  I feel like keeping a jar of maple syrup in my pocket to toy with them like cat nip.

Before moving on to Vienna, while in Prague, I found the street food stand Bourdain hits up and it was glorious.  Sausages hung from every nook and cranny of the tiny box shop, and the prices were also uplifting at about $1.50 a pop.  The highlight, though, which this clip cuts out, was the fried cheese sandwich.  Sweet jesus, the sandwich was a marvel of simplistic ecstasy, as a poppy seed bun encased a thick slab of deep fried Edam-like cheese topped with mayonnaise.

I arrived today in Vienna:  the Imperial City, haven for Lenin and Trotsky, classical music capital of the world, and perhaps the world's first melting pot.  Walking the streets, I can see the heritage of its inhabitants, a mix of Germanic, Slavic, Magyar, and pretty much all things along the Danube river.  Vienna, once the seat of the mighty Austro-Hungarian Empire, that stretched from northeast Italy, down the Yugoslav Adriatic coast, and north to Poland and Russia.  During its heyday, in the late 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the second largest country in Europe.

This city sports some of the grandest facades in all of Europe, and it seems like one massive Baroque palace after another.  The street food has changed to just sausage stands, with a few kabob shops interspersed.  There's myriad assortments of wursts, some long, others sliced and spicy, and still more mashed between hunks of bread.  It's gotten to the point where I eat street food for breakfast and lunch, and perhaps do a sit down dinner.  It's tough for me to keep weight on.

Also, and sad to say, I think I might have found people who enjoy coffee and sweet treats more than myself.  Art nouveau cafes display huge boards of tortes, sundaes, elegant pastries, and cakes dripping with assorted fillings and jams.

Also, all the women hear sound like Frau Farbissina from the Austin Powers movies--Yah?, yaaaaah!

READING:  Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson


LISTENING: