Best Spring Break Of My Life part 2

Alright everyone, this this one should be pretty good. I'm taking a break right now from the paper I have due on Tuesday and would much rather be doing this than that, so it hopefully it will be pretty interesting. I've been really busy the past week otherwise I would have written the second half of it by now. So far I've had two tests and a presentation this past week and have a paper due, another presentation, AND another test this coming week. As for the week it's been raining day in a day out, which I have absolutely no problem with, so today's a good writing day.

Ok, so where did I leave off? I think I was just about finished describing the first two days I was in Munich so I'll start with the travelling. So Friday we didn't end up getting on our train until a little after five pm but we nearly missed it. We seriously ran through the Hofbahnhof Central Station to make it in time for our train. From there we took off to Vienna. The train ride was about 4 hours long if I'm remembering correctly and wasn't bad at all; we ended up sleeping half way there anyways. And before I get to far into this, whenever I say we, I'm talking about my cousin Sara Beth and her friend, my new friend, Anna. We got to Vienna sometime around nine or ten that night, walked across the street to our hostel, unloaded our stuff, and headed out for a little while. I'll just say that there was 2-Stepping involved and leave it at that.

The next day was going to be the only full day we had in Vienna so we really tried to make the best of it and that's exactly how it went. First off, we tried to make it a city tour but didn't end up waking up early enough to make it there in time; off to a bad start but it gets better. So for the next hour or so we just wondered through the city and saw a lot the things that were listed on the tour guides handout that we had gotten from our hostel. Afterwards, as recommended by Anna, we went to Hotel Wien where they serve "The World's Best Chocolate Cake" and it truly was one of the best pieces of cake I had ever had.

Next on the agenda we saw St. Stephen's Cathedral, which was absolutely amazing inside. It was decorated in a lot of purple for the Lenten season and there was an orchestra playing inside; it was really something else.

After leaving the church we saw the House of the 'Supreme Ruler' of Austria for lack of a better word to describe her; you would think Queen but apparently whatever her actual title is was higher than that of a Queen.

Next we saw the Parliament Building and then the Rat House if I'm not mistaken; out in front of it was the entertaining part though. They had three gigantic BMX ramps set up and there were cyclists doing tricks and flips and all sorts of cool stuff you don't get to see every day. After seeing a few back flips and a hand full of crashes, we headed for the grocery store where we found this drink called Almdudler's. It's really almost indescribable what it taste like and how good it was. Also in the German speaking countries at the bars, they make a drink called a Radler; they may do it elsewhere as well but if so, I've never heard of it. Anyways, in Germany it's made by mixing Sprite and Beer together. However, in Austria, they make it with Almdudler's which results in what seriously tastes like fruit loop flavored beer. It's better than it sounds, take my word for it. So next on our list we went to visit the Belvedere by recommendation of my art teacher. The art was, needless to say, quite unique and impressive. Additionally, they have two parts to the gallery with an enormous garden in between the two of them.

Next up is probably the most exciting part of the day. In Munich, Sara Beth and Anna have a friend who's sister plays violin in the Vienna Orchestra for the Opera house. I'm not quite sure how all of this played out but after a few pulled strings, the three of us ended up getting 200 euro tickets, the best seats in the house, to one of the most prestigious Opera Houses in the world for a mere 15 euro. Now, at first I wasn't quite as excited as the girls were about the show but I was definitely excited we only had to pay 15 euro for the seats; however, I had no idea what I was in for. I had never imagined myself actually enjoying an Opera and found myself getting more and more into it as it progressed. By the end, I didn't want it to be over. Here's a picture I took of the stage:

After the Opera was over, we headed for the Prater Servus which is Munich's equivalent of a fair ground. It was pretty cool, they had a Ferris Wheel and everything. I also got a really good sausage hotdog/sub on the way out. On a side note before I finish the day, after the Opera on the way back to the hostel, check out what we found:

That night, we only slept for three hours before we had to wake up and head for the train station again; we were headed for Budapest.

I wanna write more but I'm out of time once again so I'll write about Budapest tomorrow.