Hi all,

To get from Prague to Vienna we actually got a day train as the journey is not that long. We were quite sad at first that we didn't get another night train delight, but as it turned out we really enjoyed the day train as we got to see lots of sceanery. We also had spare Czech money that we couldn't really use or change up because it was in coins so we had a bit of a feast on the train.

The train got in at about 2.30pm, cleverly planned so we could go and check in straight away. The hostel wasn't too difficult to find (just a few tram stops away) and Becca did some excellent map reading!! The hostel was really nice when we got there, they seemed really friendly and the room was nice. Funnily enough it turned out we were sharing with some Peruvians!!! Got to practice our Spanish a bit, but needless to say we were a little rusty!

Headed out for the afternoon to get our bearings a bit. As we discovered on the train there is actually a lot to do in Vienna and we only gave ourselves a day and a half so we wanted to pack in as much as possible. Vienna is one of those cities that is really spread out, unlike some of the others where everything is centered around the main square. In order to get around there is quite a good underground system, that luckily wasn't as closely inspected as London, shall we just say we exploited this slightly and saved a few pennies!!!!

Started off in the direction of the Freud museum in order to carry on our incredibly cultured journey. Unfortunately by the time we had sorted ourselves out and found our way there it had shut! Instead we found our way into the main part of town and instead went inside the cathedral. Although we have seen a lot of cathedrals now, this was by far and away my favourite! It was stunning and although the Sound of Music wedding sceane wasn't filmed here (see later blog), it was very reminiscent, especially when the bells started ringing! Moving on, we then had a bit of a wander around and went looking for one of many famous Viennese cafes, in particular the Hawazel cafe. Eventually, after some not so great map reading we found it but wanted to save it for the next day so didn't stop! On our way though, we did find an amazing jewellery shop, that we both fell in love with. They had this incredibly cool strawberry ring (like a srawberry with a hole through it and a diamond on the top), sound wierd but it was gorgeous! Not perhaps the sort of thing you wear everyday! Bec fell in love with some cherry ear-rings, unfotunately at about 300 euros they were a little out of our price range!!!

Our plan for the evening was visit the famous funfair at Prater (outskirts), and we were just going to grab a burger here. However rumbling stomachs and pictures of nice food proved too much temptation so we stayed in town to eat, which actually wasn't too expensive. It was lucky we did because about 10 minutes after sitting down, there was a bit of a prolonged and heavy downpour! We left just as the rain was easing off and headed off to the fair. The main attraction here is the 120 year old ferris wheel, which although it did actually get virtually destroyed in the war was one of the first things they rebuilt as a symbol of national pride. It also we later discovered, was the set for the Bond film, Living Daylights, for those of you that have seen it the bit where Bond arranges for the wheel to 'brake down' at the top so they can be naughty!

Following day we had a lot to pack in, so we got up really early, or at least we aimed to! Not sure it happened in practice! Started off with a visit to the Freud museum again, and got in this time. Turned out to not be as good as we tought it might. Had the potential to be quite interesting but, they packed it with far too much information and gave you a ringbinder with full pages of writing to read as you went round. A lot of the things were like his certificate for honorary membership to the college of neurology and things like that! Not too thrilling! The best thing about it was probably seeing the funny cartoons about Freud and various other psychiatrists on the wall! You didn't even get to see his couch!!

Never mind, after this we headed over to the Hoffburg complex which is highly recommended by various guide books, however impressive as it seemed when we got there, the inside didn't sound too thilling and we weren't sure whether the Schonbrunn Palace would be better. Hedging our bets we caught a tram over to this instead which is again on the outskirts. This was full of state appartments that were really impressive and actually was quite interesting as the daughter of Maria Terasa (who lived there) was Marie Antionnette from the French Revolution- funny how things start to fit together, this is probably boring some people so i'll stop. The gardens of this palace were particularly gorgeous. It helped of course that it was hot and sunny! The best bit was walking up the big arch on a hill at the bottom of the garden, from here were great views of Vienna.

Although we didn't really want to leave we had decided that we really wanted to go the opera at once of the most famous opera houses in the world, so went back to get changed and dressed up. A sitting seat was obviously way out of our price range but like the opera house in London you can get a standing ticket, for a bargain price of 3.50 euros but you have to get there by about half six, before they run out. Despite being pretty knackered having done a lot of walking again and basically been on our feet since about 10 in the morning, we arrived in good time and got our tickets to see Les Contes D'Hoffmann. In the stalls we met a couple of other English people who had the same idea as us and also like us had no idea what it was about or even what the title meant!! Standing was pretty killing on the legs but once you got into it, it wasn't too bad. It helped that they actually had little screen in front of where you were sitting or standing providing you with an English translation, though this was a bit of a distraction. I think we both enjoyed the experience but its not something we'll both rush out to see when we get back.

Being absolutely exhasted and not having eaten anything since breakfast bar a rather warm mars bar at 1 in my case, we headed back to the hostel to pack and have a very late dinner.

Our train to Salzburg was booked for early the following morning so we couldn't do everything we wanted to in Vienna (we never actually got the Viennese cafe but turns out they were shut on Thursday anyway) but would love to go back one day, we both loved it!

Lots of love

Zoe and Rebecca