My last day in Vienna was fairly uneventful… this seems to be my pattern now. I got up, and Imbi and I went and dropped my bag off at the bus station before grabbing breakfast (well…trying to find breakfast was an issue and we finally just settled for Starbucks where we could get free wifi). She tried to talk to her mum and dad and sis on skype on my computer but it was too

Imbi on my computer

slow so she went off to find an Internet café while I finished a post from last week (I swear I’m trying to get caught up). Then I went looking for a post office (which I found and wasn’t open on Saturday) and met up again with Imbi while she was finishing her family chat.

I had wanted to go to the Lower Belevedere museum to see an exhibit but by the time we were both finished with our stuff, it was getting later in the day and besides, it wasn’t really her thing so instead, we just walked around the park, talking and doing things for free. Took some pretty cool pictures under a dramatic sky and generally had a lovely afternoon. Around 4:30, we parted

Vienna Presidential Palace

company, she had things to do in the evening and eventually, I had a bus to catch.

Of course, it was only 4:30, so I decided to try and get to the museum (which closed at 6) and see if I could catch a little bit of the exhibit. I tried to read the map, had a bit of trouble but hopped a U-Bahn and headed in what I thought was the general direction. When I got out of the underground, I saw a sign pointing the way to the museum. Yay me! So I started walking. And I walked. And walked.

And walked.

And walked.

(sensing a pattern yet?)

And walked.

Eventually, I oriented myself and my map (seriously, this was like negotiating an Israeli/Egyptian peace accord in 1973) and discovered I’d been heading in the wrong direction. I turned, refocused and began walking. And I walked. And walked.

I’ll spare you the gory details but suffice to say I when I finally got to the museum , it was nearer six than half five and when I asked if they offered a late entry discount. Nope, not a chance in heck (Bailey and Riley are reading this!). So I went into the gift shop just to see what I was missing and you know what? The exhibit wasn’t what I thought it was! Actually, I’m glad I didn’t go earlier, I would have been horribly disappointed. This way, I got to find out I didn’t want to see the art AND got 250 words of a funny story. Win win I’d say.

So I left the museum (not gonna talk about the horrid directions I received from the cloak check girl which put me on a tram going the wrong direction and ending up further away than where I started) went back to stephensplatz and waited out my bus.

When I got the bus station, I was about 45 minutes early. Not a big deal, really, so I had a candy bar (oh man have I discovered I really like Twix!) and waited, knowing my bus was going to be pulling into gate A. About 3 minutes to 9, still no bus and now there were three of us waiting. It should have been more, but the departure board was still insisting we were in Gate A. 20:59 and I headed to another bus, just to check. Yeah, you guessed it. No indication the bus was going to Krakow, in the wrong gate, but sure enough, that was the bus I was supposed to be on. So I handed over my rucksack and got on board, looking for an open seat. I finally found one and settled in, knowing I had about 7 hours of sitting too close next to a complete stranger and trying to sleep . Looking around, I noticed a mother and son had taken up two whole rows across the aisle from me, each sitting on the end with backpacks on the window seat and stretched out luxuriously. Just plain rude if you ask me.

The bus took off, and I caught some cat naps. At one point, my row companion departed so I ended up with a row to myself, which was nice and then the bus stopped. And the driver got out. I tried to sleep but then I heard some sort of industrial clanging. Don’t know what was wrong, but when I looked out, the driver had his shirt off and a huge box of tools open next to him. I kept my eyes closed like a kid who didn’t study for a math test, hoping I wouldn’t get called on to try and fix something (completely irrational, I know, but it was 5am and I was still sleeping). When we finally pulled into Krakow it was just after 7am.. I found my hostel fairly easily, dropped off my bags and booked a tour for that morning – The Salt Mines.

Copernicus made out of salt

The Salt Mines were pretty cool (cold actually, though not as cold as the Ice Caves). They started the tour with a bit of history, some statues made out of salt and then some dioramas showing how the mines worked. There’s 2% of the mines open for the tour and we ended up about 135 meters underground. Even down there,

Underground Cathedral

we saw two chapels (a little one and the big one, dedicated to the queen who was responsible for the salt coming to Poland, according to legend) Both chapels are made entirely of salt and you can book them out for weddings and other ceremonies (they have a big ballroom for receptions as well).

After the mines, I wandered a bit around the town square, then headed back to the hostel to officially check in and have a nap. That evening, I didn’t do much, made use of the wifi, talked to some people and generally relaxed. I knew what was coming. Monday was Auschwitz.

So I met my hostelmates when I woke up in the morning, having gotten in late (and they were both sleeping). There’s Francesca, from Germany, who is in town (along with 3000 of her closest friends) to take a medical school entrance exam and Imbi, who is from Australia and doing an even crazier tour round the world than I am. She started by spending 5 weeks in Africa!

So Imbi and I were chatting in the morning and decided to hang out while Francesca studied. We headed into town (she had only gotten in the day before, so she hadn’t seen much) after getting some breakfast stuffs (and generally having a lazy morning). I’ll be honest here, I wasn’t that excited about Vienna. I know, it’s supposed to be great, and it is, but I just wasn’t feeling it. It was kinda like Dresden for me. I had only booked two nights in the hostel and was anxious to move on and get to Poland and the Baltics. Seriously, I have no idea what day it is most of the time and for some reason, the Baltics have become this ideal of rest and relaxation to me. They are not nearly as touristed out as the other places I’ve been (minus Zagreb, but Zagreb is trying really really hard to be touristy) and Imbi just came from there so she was talking them up considerably. So again I say, not feeling the Vienna vibe.

Until we’re walking through the central square (Stephensplatz) and Imbi mentions that there’s a theatre nearby which still shows some film that was made here, shot in the sewers, called three men or something like that.

“The Third Man?” I ask.

“That’s it,” she says.

All of a sudden the vibe come back with a rush so fast it would have given the wind in the door at Eisriesenwelt a run for its money. We find the information office (this is after we spent an hour or so at McDonald’s, which, say what you will about them, offer free wifi in many places in Europe and allowed me to allay the fears of those who thought I was dead, kidnapped or trapped in a Turkish prison) and grab a map… Yes, there it is! I drag Imbi through the streets towards a U-bahn station. “Come on,” I say. “We have to find the Ferris Wheel!”

That’s right, the Ferris Wheel, the one where Harry Lime makes that great speech about the little dots all moving below them and what would it matter if one of them stopped, that Ferris Wheel is still there and still going! And we found it (granted, it wasn’t that hard – it is part of the symbol of the city)! We were all set to go on the fifteen minute ride, and look at the dots and

The infamous Ferris Wheel

everything… until we found out that they’re charging 8 euro for the pleasure. That’s a little steep. I found out later, though, that people will hire a car for an entire evening and have candle-lit dinners inside. Now that might be fun. But just going up…naw. I got to see it and that was cool enough. So we left there (the wheel is actually part of a whole amusement park) and headed to the bus station (Imbi had convinced me to go to Bratislava, in Slovakia, for the day) so I could get my ticket and she could get hers to Budapest. Afterwards, we split up. She went to hang out with some friends and I went back to the center of town.

I decided to take a general city overview tour, at least to discover what it was I was looking at. I bought my ticket from some young girl who was walking towards the bus when I was. Turns out it was her first day on the job and I was her first sale. Go me! Anyway, the tour was nice. Saw some amazing architecture, the headquarters of Opec and the Danube, which is not blue, contrary to popular song. All along the tour bus route, though, I kept seeing signs for an art exhibit which looked interesting. Since the tour ended right by the information center I figured I’d check and see what it was all about. Turns out it closes at 6 (1800) and it was just before 5 (1700) so there was no way I could make it in time. But then the very nice lady at the desk said the museum of fine art didn’t close until 9pm (2100) that night and it was only a five minute walk. Besides, she pointed out, it was the most important museum in Vienna. Well, with an endorsement like that, how could I refuse.

I went in, got the audio guide and saw art. Here’s some of it:

This is a painting of a statue. I don’t remember who the saint is, but her attribute (Riley and Bailey, I want you to find out what an attribute is and get back to me) is a demon blowing out a candle. As soon as I have internet access again I’m gonna look her up!

Detail

I just thought this was a really cool Griffin.

Can I get a head count, please?

This looks more damaged than it really is. The heads were never attached. They actually discovered this in an Egyptian Nile-side resort and believe the general idea was for visiting couples to stand behind the statues, thereby putting their heads on the god’s bodies.

The original Maltese Falcon…although this one was called the Giza Falcon. Ironically, it was still being looked for by Joel Cairo

Afterwards, they have this cool little service where you can pick a number of your favorite pieces and they will make a small guidebook, personalized for you, of the art and the description in your language. It was cheaper than postcards and really darn cool! Naturally I got one.

Then it was home since I had to be up early. My bus for Bratislava left at 8:30am.