#found this absolutely insane cathedral where i’m visiting my sister

[brimstone-rose]

[almostentirelylost-blog]

Austria, In All Her Glory

 Vienna pt. 1:  Hello, Nikki

   Well, getting into Vienna was easy enough.  It's a bit of a stretch (four hours), but that gave me plenty of time to really get over that headache I had.  Arrived and left the airport into downtown, busy, business hub Vienna.  The scenery at first was absolutely not idfferent from any large American city.  So I guess the conclusion there is that they could do work on first impressions.  The train station wasn't why I was there though, so I found myself a map, and started walking to the hostel I was staying at.  Reviews were all over the board, I had no idea what to look for in location, but the price was good.  Very good.  Turns out I got extremely lucky on that front.  After about a half-hour of walking I found the place, a big wooden door in an ancient building, which led into a beautiful, quaint little hostel/bnb thing.  

 They really did very well with it, if any of you should ever end up in Vienna I would highly recommend the Hotel Pension-Museum.  Right in the middle of the Museumsquariat, for all of you that enjoy seeing old things and exploring old places.  

 So, got settled in, got in contact with a close friend of mine that happened to be visiting Vienna at the same time, and then started wandering around.  Wandering around is quickly becoming a custom of mine in new cities.  Before I do anything else, I'll just get myself nice and lost.  There's no better way to get to know your way around a place than by doing this.  By the time my friend was ready, I had to take an uber to find him, and we immediately left (with his older sister as our guide) heading into a gorgeous, vibrantly colorful central park to find a little biergarten.  She (friend's sister) said this was the best place to get all the authentic Austrian cuisine.

 Found a table under a tree, got a beer, and ordered the classic Wiener Schnitzel.  There are some of my readers that may not know, Vienna is Wien in German, so Wiener is literally " Vienna resident, or Viennese(?).  Think about that next time you call someone a wiener.  The schnitzel was stupid good, by the way, and immediately put me into a near food-coma state that I've been finding myself in altogether too frequently this trip.  But, beer always helps with that, or so I tell myself.  So we had another round and went on our merry way.

 Vienna pt. II: The Night Life    Next stop was one of the hippest spots for youth and students to go to in Vienna.  Located in another one of the old town parks with a sprawling, lounge-like patio.  Despite the fact that it was a weekday, there was a DJ and the place was jam packed.  We managed to find ourselves a nice couch on the patio and ordered cocktails, while watching the intensely serious DJ do his thing.  I suppose I didn't know what to expect of the nightlife in Vienna, but I also don't think that was what I would have imagined.  I guess I expected more lasers and fog machines, that sort of thing, but it really was a classy, maybe even borderline upper scale lounge and cocktail bar.  

 Something to be noted about craft-cocktails in Vienna; they seem to always be very, very sweet.  Would recommend letting the ice melt a while before consumption.

 After that we went to another lounge, this time on a roof, where I got to take a bunch of pictures of Vienna at night.  Oh and learned another interesting fact; in alt-stadt (old town) no buildings are allowed to be taller than the churches.  Of which there are three major ones, which are all stunningly beautiful.  An opulent testament to the wealth and power of one of the worst organizations that has happened to this planet.  Very pretty though, and very old.  That's the end of that first day and night in Vienna.

Vienna pt III: The Next Day

 The next day I met up with my friend and his girlfriend and went to breakfast at what was apparently one of the oldest cafes and also the general meeting place for Vienna's wealthy, political, and business population.  I was promptly informed that I had to get a Melange.  A Melange, as I learned is a Viennese specialty, and maybe you coffee nerds can tell me the difference, but I thought it tasted like coffee with milk in it.  I guess there's a bunch of milk foam on the surface.  But coffee is always good, so no complaints.  I'm regretting now that I didn't spend more time at Landtmann's to explore their pastries, because the selection was fabulous.  Glass racks inside the cafe showcasing dozens of slices of different kinds of cakes, tarts, pies, and other such delicious treats.

 After a hearty breakfast of fresh-baked rolls, meats, cheeses, jellies/jams, and an apfel strudel, we decided to part ways.  I wanted to see museums and churches and all the cool stuff.  They wanted to go shopping.  I didn't get to do as many museums/palace visits as I wanted because I immediately got completely lost and ended up in this insane little bazaar/market area.  Imagine, if you will, a perfectly stereotypical European folksmarket.  That, except that without fail it was authentic and not intended for tourists.  All these wonderful smells and sights and the crazy jabber of that singular Viennese dialect made for a fantastic afternoon, even if I didn't see as much of what I had planned on seeing.  After more meandering, I eventually found my way back to a familiar part, and got in touch with that pal o' mine.  The idea was that we would go the Hotel Sacher and get ourselves a Melange and a couple slices of Sacher torte, which is world-renowned for it's excellence. I have to say, cake doesn't get much better than that.  Rich dark chocolate, layered with raspberry and coated in a heavy chocolate/marzipan glaze of sorts.  That slice went very quickly, and buying another was a bit too expensive for my taste.  So we made dinner plans (spoilers, they got cancelled) and then went back to our own adventures.  I went back to the room to change and shower for this metal bar I had heard tell of.

 Vienna pt IV: Amananth's Place

   It was everything promised.  Dark, brooding atmosphere, good beers, and metalheads.  I spent the rest of my evening there, talking about metal and shows and video games.  Because not all nerds are metalheads, but all metalheads are nerds.  Yeah this is a short section, but there's not too much to tell.  I'll post the picture (ha, if I ever post any of the few hundred pictures I have) that defined that visit.

Salzburg pt I:  Underwhelmed  The next stop was Salzburg.  A place I had heard a great deal about, but didn't originally plan on visiting.  Friendo and his girlfriendo were taking the same train for part of the way, so got to spend a little more time with them before they got off.  Upon getting into Salzburg, my first thought was " this is it? " after all that beautiful countryside with the picturesque little homes and farms.  The sweeping, cold mountain ranges, and dense forests... I guess I expected a bit more of an old-world city at first.  This is also why you never go off of first impressions.

 Salzburg is named such because it straddles a river that used to be a major highway for salt barges, built because of the salt mines nearby and also because the mountains offer a commanding view of the surrounding countryside.  The city's officials and royalty became extraordinarily rich by taxing these salt barges, and naturally the city developed more and more, a castle was built... well less of a castle and more of a fortress.  So, after having learned these facts, I found the Salzburg I was looking for.  It's all right against the river (the name is escaping me at the moment) and also built right up against this fortress-mountain.  I mean sheer cliff walls overlooking a cobblestone paved neighborhood with winding, dark alleyways and all sorts of mazelike offshoots filled with the most bizarre beergardens and cafes.  I could have (and did) spent hours just wandering these streets.  At night they were even better.  Dusky old alleyways and imposing cathedrals, with old Austrians hanging outside of the entryways to their favorite pubs.

 Really a fun place.  Sadly it is rather commercialized, and during the daytime the tourists were almost unbearable.  Also I understand full well that I'm a tourist, but I don't like the crowds very much and don't like listening to Americans while I'm trying to enjoy an Augustiner-Brau and a plate loaded with roast chicken and potatoes.  It loses some of the charm, you know?  My original plan was to spend a day in Salzburg and then make my out to one of the surrounding towns, maybe see some of the countryside there... but public transportation for that sort of thing was lacking and I couldn't justify 200 euros for a day trip just to see a lake.  That's okay though, I'll get my fill of countryside, I'm not worried about that.

 Salzburg pt. II:  The Metal

   An ongoing theme for me has been finding metal bars in every city I visit.  Salzburg was no exception, and I can happily say that Heavy Rotation is thus far a favorite.  For you Colorado readers, they played Proponent for Sentience by Allegeaon.  For you non-Colorado metalheads, Allegeaon is a Denver based band that plays a ruthless brand of ear melting prog-death metal, and you should listen to them.  Also shame on you for not knowing them already.

 Anwyays, on my way to said metal bar, I got totally lost again and ended up taking this absurdly steep, ancient looking stairway up the side of a mountain (shortcuts).  That led to a phenomenal view of the entire city, and a little Fransiscan monastary.  I figured after that climb, I should have a beer, and where better to get beer than at a monastary on top of a mountain.  Turns out that not only were they not the sort of monks that brew beer, but also not the sort of monks that appreciate people taking videos of them singing hymns.  I got kicked out, and made my way back down the mountain, found my bar, and also found that beer I wanted.

 The bar itself was dark, smoky, and filled with raucous metalheads.  Met some great people, drank some great beers, and was introduced to a local liqueuer called Zirben, which was too delicious to be real.  That stuff is dangerous, watch out for it.  Decided  to walk back to my Airbnb from there, which was... different.  That's a story that isn't for this blog though, and is rather sad.

 Salzburg pt. III:  The Airbnb    I don't know much about Airbnb, I've stayed at a grand total of two so far.  This one is my favorite so far, but to be fair, the other one I stayed at was that crazy Czech place that felt like a Soviet remnant.  The host was an amicable Salzburg native named Mike, and if you should ever visit, you should stay with him.  He is extraordinarily knowledgeable about the city, the sights, and has an exquisite taste in restaurants.  His personality is something extraordinary too.  I only booked one night, but after the first night he offered me a second night at a heavily discounted rate, stating that I should really have the opportunity to see more.  So I took him up on that and stayed two nights in that pretty little city.  

 This part is a little out of context, and not following the timeline very well, as the previous events happened over the course of two days.  Anyways, this part is just a little bump and thank you to Mike for his wonderful hospitality and comfortable little home, I would recommend him to anyone visiting.