We left Nickelsdorf’s NovaRock Festival for Austria’s Vienna (Wien) we arrived at a reasonable lunch time had a pasta in the train station, i took a big hit on mobile data charges downloading a google map (it’s like £3.86 /each MB!!!) and then tried 2 or 3 hostel only to find that they do not open until European Student Summer which is like end of June/star of July otherwise they are student housing or private accommodation, thankfully we found one which was fully booked but suggested and directed us to all the others, so we ended up at Wombats by west station which was awesome. We had showers and watched the grime and dust and dirt drain off of us and down the plug hole it’s a good feeling getting clean!, after charging phones/devices we went downstairs to look at trains and go to the bar for our free drink, we met another Australian guy, Tony, living in Bristol, from Brisbane and travels around the world last 20 years. He’s awesome and became our friend showing us around the city, we went to the hostel bar and had our free beers, and made plans for dinner at the 7 star bar/brewery at the recommendation of someone we met last year at Graspop. They brewed 7 of their own beers all year long like chilli or caramel or smoked beer, the food was great too I had boar and phil had 7 roast sausages with some yummy sauerkraut, Tony had a schnitzel bigger than his plate :-p
After drinking all of their beers we left for the other place that Tony recommended, centimetres where you buy your food or drink in sizes up to 1m we had a beer and left to wander before bed, we ended up in the beautiful Museum Quarter which is alive and buzzing with locals all night some artists and performers too but full of bars and loungers and ornaments to chill out on we got a few beers and sat around drinking, you pay a €1.00 deposit on the glass and get that back from any bar later at hand in.
After our drinks we went back and chilled out in Wombats with some beers we picked up at NovaRock this is where we first met Theo, a Greek born Norweigan, living in Sweden (I think) who had also been to NovaRock.
We shared some beer and stories then started speaking to these English kids from Oxford who were about to play their version of Ring of Fire.
Well these people were so annoying and stupid not to mention loud and rude mannered and their rules were so long winded, irrelevant, downright terribles and boring we tried to make an escape, We (Theo, Tony and I) had left Phil to sleep on the chill out pillowed area during all this and we were going to use that as an excuse to leave but just as we got up Phil walked around the corner and wanted to play and talk with the group this was about 4:30am and the groups 3rd immensely long smoking break.
Theo, Tony and I tried to rescue Phil before they damaged his brain but he was adamant to hang about with them so we 3 went to our beds for sleep, Phil swaggered in at about 5:30 a little drunk and v tired. Struggled with his locker then threw himself on the top bunk and went to sleep.
Day 2 began with another shower leaving our bags at the hostel and meeting up with Tony who was going to meet a friend in an Irish pub to watch the rugby, he showed us how to use the Metro and took us around the old Vienna, around some parks and landmark buildings he suggested we try eating some Liebe Kasse if we can find it, it’s sort of a hotdog meat loaf with cheese balls cooked inside, it goes well with mustard. Tony took my contact details and a photograph of us 3 together and then we split off to do our own things.
So we went looking for lunch, in a very expensive part of town and in taking a back street found a small baker/butcher selling Liebe Kasse sandwhich rolls at a good price, we quite liked them they’re strange meat-cheese blobs but work as a sandwich filling quite well.
After lunch we walked around the palace gardens and took in more amazing architecture, we didn’t bother with the butterfly house as we wanted to visit the natural history museum and I wanted to see an HR Giger exhibit at another museum, this fell through due to the immense size of the Natural History Museum, it took us absolutely ages to walk around all the exhibits taking in what we liked, they have so many animals and species variations on display, displayed very well actually, as it turns out the dinosaur exhibit Phil wanted to see the most was currently loaned out and will return on October. I highly recommend going there, but go early and in comfy shoes, as you could be there a LONG time!
We ached all over after the museum so decided not to do HR Giger exhibit as it was also another €10 or so for the museum entry wherever it was. We sat around the museum quarter again using a free wifi network to look at trains to Budapest, there was one from somewhere else in town and so we bought some more metro tickets to speed up the journey to hostel and this other station. We fluffed it up a few times (went wrong way, overshot the station we need as it has a different name) but managed to get the train.
On the platform we bumped into Theo from last with 2 other travellers from Spain/America, they’d had some train issues themselves, first getting on the train from Budapest, then after getting back, boarding a train with Budapest writing on it but not as a destination, finally now getting this one.
Train arrived around 8PM and the 5 of us boarded, and found an unreserved carriage for 6 with one passenger inside, we said hello and this lady got a little touchy about us saying she’d reserved and that we shouldn’t be there (although the conductor directed us) we explained that there was no reservation indicated outside and that we didn’t need to reserve either and that we would be good and quiet at this point she says “No, I don’t think you will!” to which we were all a little shocked and offended, she continued “I think it is best that I leave” standing up “Please help me with my bag” to which we did and she then left. It was very peculiar.
A few hours with good conversation later and we arrived in Budapest. We tagged along with Theo in a taxi to the maverick hostel which had a few beds remaining, enjoyed a coffee and went to a well deserved sleep.
