Stephansplatz

Today we woke up and left Budapest. We drove to Bratislava for a lunch break and wander around the town. The old town was small but cute. We ended up grabbing a burger and a beer, Marlene and Paul came over and grabbed a beer while we ate. The strangest thing in the town was the UFO tower on top of the bridge which the Soviets made which is now a restaurant. Closely rivalled by a statue of a man peeping out of a manhole which our tour guide Kristzi described in a much more creepy manor (judge for yourself).
We continued on to Vienna which was only a short drive away. We checked in and then met our local guide for a driving/walking tour of the city. We welcomed Walter the walking red flag, as white and ancient as tour guides come. Initially he was cracking a few jokes and explaining about the great public housing system they have in Vienna, and I was hopeful my initial thoughts were wrong. However, when a joke was made regarding a queen having a miscarriage as an 'easy way out' and a comment about seeing Adele on TV before she lost the weight and her being not attractive, I knew it was going to be a long tour.
The city had so many elegant buildings, from palaces, museums and even the parliament. The first place we walked around was a church, however there was a festival going on and there were strong sounds of Olivia Rodrigo coming from the area... Turns out there was a choir singing pop hits. Unholy by Sam Smith was a risky choice but About Damn Time by Lizzo was a personal favourite.
We then walked to main areas like the parliament, palace, through a rose garden and came out in the main centre of town. All with Walter's sexist and interesting commentary. It was also very hot so the group were struggling with the heat. Our guide Kristzi was getting slightly annoyed with the complaints which was funny to see. We ended up in an old storage cellar for a traditional Austrian meal. Unfortunately for us, we were last to arrive so had little say in where we sat. We were with 2 South African ladies, who were a little patronizing regarding our ability to travel the world at such a young age and used any conversation as a way to speak about South Africa. The schnitzel was nice though.
The other interesting thing about the restaurant was that the waitstaff were the most stressed individuals we've ever seen. Kristzi had warned us about 'Austrian' effeciency of waitstaff and how they try and get you in and our very quickly. Seeing it in action was a different story, we watched Lukas the waiter chug glasses of water while running to tables. We've heard he refused to get people drinks as he was too overwhelmed and busy. Erin and I made sure to stack our plates so he could quickly retrieve them. Honestly that man may have an ulcer.
Next we wandered around Vienna and went to a rooftop bar that was suggested by my friend. It was an eventful time. First we went up in the elevator with others and none of us got off the right floor, so we went back to the ground floor... Finally we got off at the top and walked up stairs to a beautiful bar in the middle of Vienna. We watched the sunset and the views were stunning. I then made a mistake of pointing at a glass belonging to an interesting and creepy guy who approached us, begging us to stay multiple times. Luckily we were saved by our waiter... (Please ask for more detail in person, I attempted to write the story but it was too cringe to retell). We then finished the night at an Australian bar which wasn't too over the top actually. Then we met with our tour group who had returned from the classical concert which majority seemed to enjoy. It was a big day but we really got an experience of Vienna!Read more