Vienna, Austria

said good-bye to Budapest. such a great city.

we found ourselves in Vienna, Austria later that afternoon, the first time crossing national borders since being in Europe (besides for the layover in Switzerland). this was also the first time on this trip staying at someones house through couchsurfing.com. it was an awesome experience. such a good idea this website is for so many reasons. our host Michelle was great. check her blog.

we had two days and two nights in the city. i honestly really miss this place already.

this is a pretty crappy picture of the outside of the first cafe we visited the night we got into town. Kleines Cafe is located in the central part of the city (where most of the good walking is to be had) but set off from the main streets. there was outdoor seating by the fountain and the intimate but comfortableinside, where we sat, were booths and tables with lit mirrors on both sides. we ended up getting into a conversation with the man sitting next to us. he was from vienna. the political discussion was somewhat overbearing but hearing about Austria government and the mans lack of understanding about American sports culture was interesting.

the cafe culture is really big in Vienna. its actually one of the reasons i wanted to visit this place.

by far the ritziest coffee shop ive ever visited, Cafe Central was the best. afternoon espresso with live piano music, i made dward go into the water closet and wash the visible dirt off his forearms and hands.

so good...

vienna also has some totally interesting architectural things going on, besides for all of the beatiful buildings already there. for example, this Cariter building on one of the main shopping drags is undergoing remodeling. this strip is pretty beatiful to look at (above), credit partially to the buildings there. so, while the fashion store undergoes remodeling, a giant digital printout of the building front hangs tightly over the sights of construction.

also, this building, while being defined by its curve that goes down to around street level, is completley rigged with colored lights on the exterior frames, which show off something of a light show when the sun goes down.

on our second day, we walked away from the city center towards the Danube, where we swam!

check the church out

this is city hall. we hung out here while the sunset on the second day and drank wine in the park to the sounds of live classical piano being performed in front of the building. part of some sort of film festival.

ended the day at Cafe Hawelka.

we have since made it to Salzburg, Vienna. more on hitchhiking, tourbuses, and outdoor recreation later. off to Munich, Germany tommorow.