vienna, still waiting

when i started this job, vienna was the first European city that i ever visited, and of course i had no choice but to blown away by my first European experience -- i was determined to love Europe no matter what i saw


so it was nice to get back to vienna, ten months on, after having seen a lot more of Europe, and finding out that i do indeed still love the place -- the people, the food, the nightlife, all of it!

while i was there, Austria was hosting Euro 2008, The European Football Championship, and Vienna was just positively Euro-MAD!
people roamed the streets swathed in their flags of all colours and nationalities, singing their team songs at the top of their lungs -- (i couldn't understand a word of any of it, of course, but i'm sure it was something like: "our team rocks, yours is dumb" or something just as equally inspiring and motivating)


this is just one of those cities that i could happily walk around for hours and hours and never get bored, and i hope one day that i have the good fortune to get bored in this town -- cos i'll have had to have been here for months before that ever happens!


my adventures in vienna:
walk into the main street of vienna, stopping in at your favourite bookstore and then your favourite camera store . without wasting any time, a venti chai latte, on soy, no whip, no foam, no water, extra hot, to go . go into a watch store, and try on a Rolex worth AU$97,000 -- consider taking out a loan (not! seriously mum, i wouldn't. really, i don't love debt that much) . jump on a tram, intent on getting lost, only to find that the tram goes around in one neat circle, eventually bringing me back to where i got on . watch some crazy spanish fans film an interview for an Austrian TV station . head down to the Wien River, and board something that looks like it used to be a cruise boat but now is somewhat of a permanently-moored sunbaking station . buy another fridge magnet for the collection -- i don't usually double up on fridge magnets from destinations i've previously visited, but Vienna is special, it deserves two fridge magnets . see some pigeons, but refrain from trying to kick them -- they deserve a break . try and hire a bicycle from the automatic bike dispenser, but fail to work out how to operate the dispenser system, so just settle for walking around


here are the photos:


stay tuned, next week: TORONTO, CANADA!!!


let the good times roll!!