Vienna (Wien)

Vienna is very different from the other cities I have visited and quite unique in Europe. One of the main reasons for this is that it is the most organized and disciplined city I have visited and the whole place has a very 19th century feel to it. The people respect the rules and respect one another. I would not call the Viennese overtly friendly, but they are very respectful and very polite. The city is very beautiful with the grand old palaces and buildings of the Habsburg era mostly still intact, with the exception of the ones redesigned by the WWII school of architecture but even those have been rebuilt. One of the most magnificent of these palaces is the Schonbrunn Palace, a grand building built a little way outside the city centre. It was built in the middle of the 18th century and served as the summer residence of the Habsburg emperors until the end of the monarchy in 1918. Emperor Franz Josef (reigned 1848-1916) was born there and he died there. There is also the Hofburg Palace in the centre, the Habsburgs winter residence, and the State Opera. The Opera is one of the most prestigious opera houses in Europe and I managed to get to a performance due to the fact that standing room tickets are only 2 euros, or about $3.50. St. Stephens church is a popular attraction, as is the little town of Grinzing on the edge of Vienna where tourists often go for the famous wine pubs. One a side note, I was in the right place at the right time in my hostel and managed to get on German TV. They were doing a travel show and were talking about the well known hostel I was at and they needed people to pretend to be backpackers and I volunteered. If you are in Germany on April 13th watch WDR at 8:15 pm!!! I am now in Prague and will tell you more about the city later on!