Amidst all the entries about my Easter Trip, I guess it’s about time I update you guys on life in Vienna lately.
Monday, 7 May 2007
Went to watch Spiderman 3 after German class. The movie itself was nothing extraordinary, unfortunately, but I was surprised to see Topher Grace as Venom. I mean, he’s the guy I’m used to seeing as that endearing 18-year-old Eric in That ’70s show, so it just felt kinda funny watching him as the bad guy.
Looking forward to Pirates of the Caribbean 3!
Tuesday, 8 May 2007
The evening was spent at a Heuriger buffet organised by the ÖH at Schübl-Auer. It’s much nicer than the first Heuriger organized by them, and less crowded too.
A patch of fairy tale-like land at the Heuriger
The outdoor setting
The girls
The lovely indoor ambience
Watching the sun go down from our table -had it not rained, we would’ve walked up to a nearby vineyard!
My favourite spinach dish
Austria’s inofficial national drink, Almdudler
Yummy Viennese dessert!
But of course, all those things above wouldn’t be complete without the presence of great company!
Wednesday, 9 May 2007
Met up with Hiro for coffee at Halle E in MuseumsQuartier. We’ve both been busy with our own stuff lately, so it was good to finally catch up with one another. The cafe is kinda nice too, I thought.
Went on to visit Wien Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) in the afternoon, where many world-famous musicians are interred. Yes, you read that right, baby. Tombstones and such never look better but on a drizzly, gloomy day.
Fronting the pack is a memorial of WA Mozart
The grave of Franz Schubert
The grave of Johannes Brahms, a composer of the Romantic era
The grave of Johann Strauss Senior
The grave of Johann Strauss II, the famous Austrian waltz composer who penned An der schönen blauen Donau (The Blue Danube)
The grave of Ludwig van Beethoven. Despite the fact that he’s German, like Brahms, Beethoven spent a huge part of his life in Vienna.
Well, as they say, Austria is the home of music geniuses.
Thursday, 10 May 2007
Right. Enough of that talk about, um, grave issue. I was at Parndorf in a major shopping spree with the best bunch of girls one could ever shop with and we vehemently attacked Mango and The Body Shop with all our might. I couldn’t be happier with my loot!
Connie and me in the train, all excited about our shopping trip!
Our shopping treasure!
I love the Body Shop Depot! Things there are incredibly cheap!
And of course, how could I have resisted these sweet Mango temptations…
Friday, 11 May 2007
Headed for gelato at Mariahilferstrasse and soaked in the fun of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) opening at Rathausplatz -it was a blast!
Ika, Connie and me with our generous portions of yummy gelati -mine even tasted better than the ones I had in Italy!
After the sinful treat, we decided to burn the calories off by walking all the way to Rathausplatz, where the open-air Vienna Festival opening was gonna be held. We passed through part of the old city, and having seen so little of Vienna at night, I was delighted to witness how pretty this place I live in could be!
The courtyard in MuseumsQuartier. From May to September, this spacious courtyard of the art complex is transformed into a cozy hangout space with its comfy avant-garde benches and sideway cafe.
An installation we encountered at the courtyard, Sampling Bucarest -Who’s afraid of glass?
That’s Volkstheater on the left, which is currently showing Shakespeare’s Macbeth -I’m dying to watch it!
Vienna Parliament Building
Burgtheater
The Euro 2008 countdown at Rathausplatz -the final match is gonna be held in Vienna!
By the time we reach Rathausplatz, where Kiki and Helen joined us, the square was already quite packed. You could smell beer and smoke just as well as Vienna’s rich culture at every inch of the venue.
The crowd at Rathausplatz
Connie and me in front of the cityhall
Pretty light-up!
Some performance on the stage -judging from the crowd’s enthusiasm, those artists seem to be pretty well-known in Vienna
The Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Connie, Ika and me among the crowd
W for Wien!
Indeed, I’m loving Vienna more and more :) Click here for more photos from Wiener Festwochen!
Alright, better hit the sack now since I gotta wake up early for the Fight Hunger: Walk the World 2007 event in Donaupark tomorrow. It’s a global fundraising and awaraness event organized by the UN World Food Programme to end child hunger by 2015, so I’m not complaining -it’s all for a good cause!
Gute Nacht!
