Beautiful, Beautiful Vienna

Last night the two girls I shared a room with spoke very little English, but made such a effort and we ended up having a really nice conversation. It made me remember that normal people do book hostels. This morning I slept in a little and then went to SchloB Schonbrunn. (Why they they need that crazy 'B' when it's just pronounced like an 's', I'll never know). I bought a ticket for the only English tour at 12:30 and then went to Stephensplatz until then. This is the "center" of Vienna, dominated by the gorgeous St. Stephen's Cathedral, which, like every other historical landmark I've seen lately, was under construction. I still went inside and took in the huge, arching ceilings. After that, I went down a back street to Domgasse 5: Mozart's apartment! It was a museum that took up his apartment as well as the two floors above it. It was SO cool to see where he lived for most of his life, and I learned so much about him. He was famous from the time he was 6 and actually played for the royal family at SchloB Schonbrunn. By the time he was 20, he made about as much as a nobleman and lived in this big apartment with his wife and kids. He was really good at pool and let his top students live with him. Too bad he had a serious gambling problem. (I know! Mozart?!) They had an idea, though they weren't sure, of what each room was used for and where the furniture might've been placed. Crazy! Right before he died, he got an anonymous commission to create a piece. This was The Magic Flute, his last piece. And when he died, it turned out the "secret" commissioner was actually another composer who wanted to pass it off as his own! It never worked, luckily.

After Mozart Haus, I grabbed a Viennese sausage in an elbow bread-like bun, just like Uncle Steve told me to! The guy that sold it to me told me I was beautiful and asked me out. I told him I had too much to do today, HAHA. Not a total lie. Anyway, after eating my hotdog (mmm!!) I headed back to the castle for the tour. There were only three of us and the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable; he made it all very interesting! The palace was HUGE, with about 1,400 rooms. We only saw 40 and it took an hour and a half. And this was only their summer palace. Their normal home was at Hofburg Palace, where I saw the Spanish Riding School and the Vienna Boys' Choir. After the tour, I went back to Stephansplatz to climb the south tower of St. Stephen's. Boy was it a climb and those stairs were not made for two people. At the top was the most fantastic panoramic view of a city I've had on this trip yet. Awesome.

Then, I went to the Sigmund Freud Museum, also in his apartment as Bergasse 19! This was really awesome because I've always learned about Freud and I could see where it all happened. Everything in the museum was original, from letters he wrote to the furniture he sat on, thanks to his daughter Anna Freud, who donated it all.

After Freud I still had some time before dark, so I decided to go to the Prater, which is an amusement park on the outskirts of the city known for its huge ferris wheel. On my way, I spontaneously got off the tram. There was this gorgeous, cathedral-looking building, all lit up, and in front of it was this huge ice-skating rink with people just skating around. Across the street was the Burgtheater, another Vienna Opera House and a beautiful building, with the sun setting behind it. It was all just so precious!

I took some shots and then got back on the tram and went to the Prater, but the ferris wheel was nothing to write home about. At least it didn't rain today. Or snow.

Tomorrow is Budapest for the day, so if I'm not be able to write, don't be alarmed. I'm sad that I only had two days in Vienna; it didn't do the city any justice to see it in that little time. There's so much more I want to see! I have to come back. HAVE to.