Wien Day 1

Hi

I found out that the Viennese people are fobs. Yep. You know how desi fobs pronounce W’s as “V’s” and vice versa? Well, the Viennese people are quite similar, but I think it’s just for the “W.” So when you see “Wien Day 1” up there, it’s really “Vien [the way it’s said indigenously] Day 1.” Just thought I should clarify that for my culturally unenlightened and lesser traveled readers. You are welcome. Actually, the thanks should go to my new BFF Rafeh (more to come on him later) for clarifying that because every time I saw “Wien,” I wanted to start singing the Oscar Meyer Wiener song.

So, upon my arrival in Vienna I was picked up in the baller style that I am accustomed to and expect (Mercedes S-Class) and naturally struck up some conversation with my driver on his past history (since his English was spot-on) as well as Vienna’s, of course. In case you were wondering about his history: He lives partly in Austria and partly in Canada. He came back to Austria after 20+ years in Canada to take care of his brother’s kids after his brother and sister-in-law tragically died. Hmm, that possibly changes the tune of this entry. Moving on...

He also told me about The Ring, The Hofsburg Family, and what to hit-up during my stay. I was in one of the nicer areas of Vienna – right by The Ring in the 1st District. Oh, I forgot. You probably aren’t familiar with what “The Ring” is, huh, young Hobbits? Sigh. Ok, so The Ring is basically a circle in Vienna’s city center – a ring, if you will – that you can walk around and see all of Vienna’s/Austria’s main attractions, which includes palaces, museums, konkerthaus (concert house), etc. So right off you know that Vienna is a place of historical significance (the World Wars, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire) and perhaps one of the world-wide capitols of art and music (enter some guys named Beethoven and Mozart).

Even though I was jet-lagged and tired (11 hour+ trip including a layover in Germany), I only allowed myself to sleep for just an hour or two because sleeping as per your normal sleep schedule when traveling far distances is the worst thing you can do. Giving yourself a power nap, though, gives you that boost you need to stay up and active and slowly help you adjust to the new time zone. Again, my lesser travelled readers, these are some precious rules of travelling knowledge I'm imparting upon you, so be sure to take notes and please try to keep up...


-- more later --