Day 7 & 8: Sore feet in Wien!

Day 7

Vienna is a magical city. The old Vienna is small, so did not need a lot of time to understand where to go and what to do. I started with the Stephansdom Cathedral, the landmark that could be seen from all around old Vienna, the north to those lost in the midst of a glorious city. Stunning from the outside; magical from the inside! Outside, hundreds of sculptures are carved in the building. Sadly, it is covered by something black, believed to be soot and car fumes, and since it was high some idiots decided to advertise on the scaffolding around the towers.

I can’t really describe my feelings inside the cathedral, but it was just as if I have been taken back a couple hundreds of years. I will not even describe it; whoever is reading this should go and see it.

I went on and started visiting landmarks. Following a great guide book, that I will recommend to anyone traveling ANYWHERE. It is by a group called Eyewitness, and they cover many cities. Very comprehensive and easy to read, this book made my sightseeing in Vienna bliss!

After this quick commercial break: So I started visting all these landmarks, but I had in mind that my aim is to cover all churches in the book. I will skip many days forward and say that that was an impossible task! The city have tens of churches, maybe even a hundred! All of them have artwork, sculptures, relief, and grand musical instruments. From the Karl Kirchen (pronounced Keer-khen), and Mara Am Gestade Kirchen to smaller ones like Dominakan Kirchen, they are all magical! The level of details found in each church is beyond belief and definitely beyond words! All I can say, with all these churches I am surprised that people have lost touch with Jesus. If I lived there, I would spend a full day in each church, probably having the most inspiring meditations and quiet times in my life.

In one of the churches, Scotten Kirchen (Scottish Church – another grand one!), I stepped into what apparently was a rehearsal of some concert. The acoustics of their churches are superb! The music was … out of this world. I just sat there for over 30 minutes, just listening. That was a blessing from God, as I did not have time to attend any of the classical concerts that they had over the weekend, so this was my only experience with their music.

I thought I would finish the Stephansdom quarter and also the Hofburg quarter in the first day but boy was I wrong! I couldn’t even get to finish the Stephansdom quarter. In terms of physical area, I did not cover much … but I couldn’t help myself from admiring each stop for a long time.

I stopped my tours at around 5, where I headed back to the hotel to soak my feet in hot water as I could not walk anymore! During November, Vienna gets dark by 5 maximum, so it was a good time for me to go back. I soaked up for around half an hour before getting ready to meet Niveen, Morris’s friend in Vienna. She picked me up, along with a couple of other chicks (hooray! ;) ) and we went off to do a little more sightseeing, before dinner. I did not have the heart to tell them that my feet were killing me, so I just walked (. We also met Niveen’s brother, Amgad.

Niveen is a sweet soul who practically took care of me during my Viennese (Wiener?) stay. She works for a security company (OSE?), but to make it easier on other folks, she just says she works in the UN ( Amgad, still a university student, pays his bills being a party planner. He is friendly, and cool and has a funky … hmmm its not really an afro … but its just a lot of hair (

We go to this Italian restaurant, where we have pizza and then just head back home/ As one of Niveen’s friends (forgot her name by now ( ) says: “In Vienna we do two things, we eat and we sleep: now we are done with the time to eat, it is then time to sleep!” Although a very primitive wisdom, yet it became the highlight of my trip – eat and sleep (

So I go back (home?) to the hotel, to just crash. Next day? Not sure, was thinking Salzburg …but since my GPS is down, and no chance to rent a car, I ended somewhere else!

Day 8

So I decide to go to the Schunbrunn Palace ( It is a little bit outside old Vienna, and required that I take the metro for the first time. I also planned to go to church, but was not able to locate it, so I just went directly from there to the Schunbrunn. The tour inside was impressive. They also give you a free audio guide to listen to, which makes your life easier, and will let you walk and absorb the beauty at your own pace.

The interior tour was lovely, especially the paintings. The history involved also with the palace was remarkable, so if you are going to Vienna, don’t miss out. At the beginning when I entered, I was disappointed, as they have painted the whole palace to a modern yellow color, however inside the true history is preserved.

The highlight of the trip to the Schonbrunn however was walking through the gardens and large land behind the palace. It was “winter” time so many things were closed, but there are AMAZING fountains and sculptures all over. The fountain that made my day, was the Nepture fountain. It was so beautiful, I cant remember how many times I clicked my camera trying to get it from every angle!

The whole Schunbrunn took me more than two hours, which, although not enough, yet was beyond the time I have set for it. It was time for me to go back to old Vienna, to continue with my tour. I stop in an area known for many other churches that I had to visit, but ended getting lost and reaching the Maria Am Gestade Kirchen. I haven’t visited it on the first day, so it was lovely seeing it. It was as magnificent as all the rest … however it began to rain. I mean, the two days before were cloudy all day, and although I find that grim, but the rain was when I decided that I could not hold the smile any longer, so I just pulled my heavy feet behind me to find a restaurant I can find shelter in. I haven’t had a single thing to eat all day, so when I found this “mama\s” restaurant across my hotel, I was happy! I ate some Austrian dish (don’t ask me what, because I just pointed and they got it for me () It was home cooked pork and it was super. I vowed that during my stay I would try to eat only Austrian food/ I broke that vow four times, once in Starbucks on first day, 2nd in the Italian restaurant the night before, and the rest will follow (

Met Niveen, and went to attend asheya (midnight praise I think) in our church, somewhere far far away (you need to take metro to Kagran and then a bus). That is when I felt homesick … and it hit me hard. I wanted to sms my friends, and tell them about my homesickness, but I kept it in. I wanted to distance myself from my friends during this trip. I do not know why, but it was a mixture of letting go of many negative feelings I had, as well as a break from everything and everybody I see everyday. I think that was a mistake that I carried on with until the last day of the EuroTrip.

I felt homesick because I missed my friends. All my best friends, the people who I care about, my parents, my sister and brother, my church, St Stephen … the asheya I attended was bad, and it just reminded me of how cozy my church was. I wanted to go back …

After asheya, Niveen’s dad takes me, Niveen and a couple of her friends (two new girls, still highschool … again I forgot their names) out to a mall to have dinner. They were a great bunch, with whom I had so much fun during our Burger King dinner (aha! Third time!). We go and have palatasdweqe, an Austrian dessert, which is notihing more than a crepe with the stuffing you like .

We all went our ways … and I went back to the hotel. Tomorrow … I have a crazy day!.