Vienna 2

As I hopefully explained fairly well in the previous post things went a little awry Friday so I'm back for more in Vienna. Saturday I went to the Leopold Museum, my first not inside a church museum this trip. It was refreshing to see art about themes other than Jesus. There were two special exhibits about prominent Viennese artists from the early 20th century and the exhibits included many of their works of art as well as some context for the time in which they lived.
We wandered out of the museum towards a festival outside the town hall dedicated to some region in the south of Austria. It was incredible. It was sort of like a state fair, except a lot more alcohol. There were beer and wine stands everywhere, as well as sausages, gingerbread, and cheeses. And to top it all off there was an enormous amount of live music with a few large ensembles scattered about as well as many small three-piece sets every couple of stalls.
Sadly, plans for more salsa fell through.
The next morning I got up with my friends to watch some of the Vienna marathon and made my way from the downtown area to the train station to make my way to Prague. There are no changes involved in this journey so I should definitely make it, at least to the train station.

Friday the 13th

So how about that nonexistent D 491 from Belgrade to Istanbul via Sofia. Soooo funny. The Budapest to Istanbul section of my journey was always the most ambitious, it was supposed to involved over 35 hours of train travel across eastern Europe. The route suggested by all the websites would take me from Budapest to Belgrade on an overnight train where I would catch an 8am train that would arrive in Istanbul at the same time the next day.
I completed the first part of that journey, boarding a surprisingly empty overnight train after a 3 hour ride from Vienna. I got to the station and was making my way towards the international ticketing desk. I got my first inkling that something might be wrong when I say the train I was supposed to be taking on the departure board and it had a sticker placed over it. As I waited in line to approach the counter I heard two girls in front of me mention Istanbul and they weren't exactly bursting with joy at receiving their tickets.
I got to the counter and got the very short response that there was no train departing, despite being told on more than one occasion to travel to Belgrade and buy the ticket for the rest of the journey there. There was no real explanation as to the discrepancy. I thought for a moment and decided my best plan was to hope on the train departing in just a few minutes that was on its way back to Budapest. As fun as I'm sure Belgrade must be, I was more than a little upset, know nothing about the city, and could hardly pronounce anything on the signs up around me.
On my way back to Budapest I considered trying for the alternate route via Bucharest, leaving me still with two days in Istanbul, but then I read a guidance site for the trip more carefully and noticed that the return journey from Istanbul typically takes an extra day because of delays that make catching consecutive trains difficult if not impossible. That would leave me with 1 day in Istanbul for nearly 5 days of travelling. I decided to cut my losses and head back to Vienna where I could regroup and formulate a new plan. I eventually settled on spending a few days in Prague before continuing on to Budapest to meet my roommate for a few days.

Vienna, Austria

What follows is tare my adventures in the former capital of Austro-Hungarian Empire.
I arrived early the next morning after my overnight train ride from Rome. While incredibly cheap (only 9 Euros for a 13 hour ride) I'll probably cough up the extra money for a couchette next time I'm on an overnight train. Due to a tragic mix up with the friend I planned on staying with I had arrived several hours before she returned from her holiday in Croatia. Fortunately she sent me excellent directions to her house where her roommate was able to let me in to put down my stuff and take a much needed nap. I was able to get in contact with another friend studying in Vienna to give me a wonderful walking tour of the city. This was particularly useful because since it was the day after Easter, the super religious denizens of Vienna was still taking the day off.
The real fun began the next day with my visit to the Viennese chocolate museum. Yes, a chocolate museum, dedicated to the history of the delicious treat and the family confectionery located in Vienna. I bought several pounds of chocolate and discovered by new favorite holiday: Day After Easter Sale Day! 50% off a huge chocolate bunny and some other small Easter gifts. I returned to the apartment I'm living in and was joined by my host on a trip to the Summer Palace of the Hapsburg dynasty.
A summer palace of one of the most enduring ruling families of Europe should practically explain itself, right? On the palace grounds there is an enormous garden (best way to see it is by horse and buggy), the enormous palace itself, and of course the world's oldest zoo still in operation. While I did not do all of these things I took a tour of the palace and walked up the main hill in the garden to get a great view of Vienna.
I made my way back into town where we got dinner at a curious kind of Austrian restaurant. If I'm recalling correctly this type of restaurant specializes in freshly made wines in addition to very good, if a little expensive food. I got traditional Viennese schnitzel. I accidently left out that before dinner we went to the oldest Irish pub in Vienna. Because no old town is complete without an Irish pub.
At this point my memory gets a little hazy and I can't remember the complete order of things I did next. But it included a visit to the Hapsburg's Palace and the Treasury where they keep many of the relics of the dynasty, including Charlemagne's crown. I also visited the imperial crypt inside an assuming church that served as the final resting place for the majority of the members of the ruling family, and capped things off with a trip up the tallest building in the city, which is none other than a really old church.
And there was salsa dancing.

Rome, Italy

So I end my Italian tour with Rome, the city to which all roads lead. I arrived in the early evening and met some of the other people staying in my hostel. We went out to dinner nearby and then relaxed at the bar of a much nicer hostel across the street. The next morning we made an early start to make it to the Vatican. You know, where the Pope lives.
We made our way through the Vatican Museum which, at least the way they tell it, is second only to the Louvre in the size of its collection. It is pretty easy to get lost inside but I think we managed to do alright by making it out in 3 hours. Afterwards I wandered over to St. Pete's Square and went inside the Basilica. I'll let the pictures do the talking.
After these amazing sights I met up with a friend studying abroad in Rome and we hit up a few more of the plazas and churches including the Pantheon. We then took a tram and bus ride up to a hill that provided an amazing panoramic view of the city. I made my way back down to my hostel and that night went out to dinner with some of the people in my hostel.
The next day started nearly as early with a quick breakfast on my way to the Colosseum. The weather wasn't perfect, but it cleared up as the day went on. In addition to a guided tour of the Flavian Amphitheater, I also went on a truly amazing tour of the Roman Forum. A Digression follows:
This tour reminded me of why I was so interested in the Roman civilization once upon a time. As my tour guide reminded me, the Romans have bequeathed us two amazing gifts. The first is most of our knowledge of antiquity because they kept such good records. The second, and arguably more important, is our notion of democracy. Yes, the Greeks are credited with developing the idea of rule by voting, but the Romans added two crucial additions: both a process of electing representatives, and the extension of citizenship beyond tribal identity.
Furthermore the early Roman Republic expanded as much by conquest as by persuasion. Their model of governance, and the architectural feats it enabled them to accomplish convinced tribes to willingly bind themselves to the Romans. Remember, the language is Latin because that was the language of the original Romans, but it eventually came to be spoken by a diverse people from England all the way to Syria.
The transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire is an incredibly interesting point of time. It represents one of the few civil wars fought not between warring ethnicities, but between differing ideologies. As the Republic expanded its military leaders amassed a power that eroded the republic ideals upon which the nation was founded. I hope this story is ringing some bells. Republics have a hard time ruling over people without turning into something else, and despite the glory of the Roman Empire it gave up on the founding ideals of the Republic.
Alright, back to me in Rome. After the ruins, I did a good bit of wandering around the city, again going to a variety of plazas, palaces, and very long staircases. Rinse and repeat with returning to the hostel and going out to dinner with a new set of hostel-mates.
My last day in Rome was spent just wandering out the city, hitting up a few sights I had passed by previously. Nothing particularly spectacular, unless you count Rome. So now I'm on my way to Vienna, so yet another language I don't speak. But at least they still use Euros.

Florence

My second of three Italian cities was amazing. It rivals Venice for history and has a commanding lead in art, while having much better food and the appearance of a much better lifestyle. As much fun as getting lost was, being able to easily walk the city and reach my destination by navigating from the huge Dome in the sky was a pleasure. The first day I arrived and met a guy and my hostel to wander around with. We stumbled upon the aforementioned dome, long one of the biggest in the world and a major accomplishment in architectural improvements. We ordered pizza at a place that sold it by the slice and by the pound. I accidentally ordered more than I intended and wounds up eating well over a pound of pizza, but at an incredible price and at great quality. I really didn't have to worry about food again until the next morning. That night a friend from Vencie joined me at the hostel and we made plans to take a tour the following day. A brief note, because I'm not sure where else to put this: this was my first truly amazing hostel. They served a free breakfast that included eggs, bacon, and unlimited amount of cookies. The beds were comfortable and the sheets were incredibly clean. The atmosphere was great and the layout was conducive to meeting other people as well as enjoying Florence from its terraces and patios. The first of my tours of Florence took me around the outer rim of the historic center. You'd think I would have realized this now by living in London, but old cities are so incredibly walkable, because they used to be inside walls. Such fixed borders meant that there were clear constraints to the urban sprawl that plagues American cities and I literally walked 10 minutes from palace to art museum to humongous cathedral. I had one of the best sandwiches I've ever head for lunch and ran into another friend Venice later that afternoon. I wandered around for an hour or two after a brief nap and planning session and then make the trek up to Michelangelo's Plaza outside the city where there is a duplicate of his famous David as well as an amazing few of the city. I relaxed there for a while before catching up with another girl from our hostel and making my way back for dinner. The next day I went on another tour of different sites and learned more about the Medici family by going inside the Old Palace that still functions as a municipal building for the government of Florence. After that I made a return trip to the pizza place from day one before heading back to the hostel to catch a train to Rome.

Pictures

So there ended up being more pictures than I thought, so there probably won't be much explanation, but you should enjoy them regardless.

Venice, Italy

Once again, I'm a train from somewhere amazing to sp somewhere equally breathtaking. This time I'm leaving the island of Venice and on my way to Florence. Hear is a brief recap of my adventures in Venice.
Venice is beautiful. That much was clear shortly after I arrived on the island on the high speed train that brought me there. The series of canals that snake through the chain of islands give it a surreal feel and I doubt I'll ever see anything like it again. But because of this particular style of beauty, the island is a hell to navigate. Getting lost is simply part of the experience.
I spent my first day doing a good bit of that and established a solid diet for by time on the island: chocolate and pizza. I was pretty happy with most of my selections, the gelato was delicious, only one cookie let me down, and I had a brownie that almost rivaled by reward from the London airport.
As always I had great camaraderie to go along with the new city. A friend studying at St. Andrews in Scotland flew down to join me before heading off to meet another friend in another part of Italy. She was formally an art history major and kept me well informed on the beautiful works of art we encountered.
The most stunning part of Venice would have to be St. Marl's Square, which houses the Basilica of the same name and the Doge's Palace. I got to see the plaza at night on two separate occasions and on Sunday morning I snuck into mass on Palm Sunday. I was impressed. The Doge's Palace rivaled Versailles in my mind, as the ancient palace was a testament to the power of the rulers of the Republic of Venice well into the 18th century. It was more stately than the opulent Versailles and commanded a sense of respect rather awe at the sheer opulence of the structure. Which isn't to say it was without its gilded halls, grand archways, stunning courtyards, but it left a different impression.
Two runner-ups in this competition was my visit to the island of Murano where I made a few purchases, and my ride up the Grand Canal as I made my way to the train station to depart. I'd definitely like to return to the island someday when I have enough money to decorate my house with some of the amazing pieces of glasswork I saw in Murano. But until then I'll just settle for having the funds to continue my journey.
Also, someone keeps demanding pictures, so here's what I'm going to do: I'm looking through the pictures to pick out some of the best so that they can be uploaded quickly the next time I have internet access. Hopefully that will satisfy my many followers.