We arrived in Vienna by boat from Bratislava. So far on our journey we had relied pretty much entirely upon Lonely Planet's Eastern Europe guide book. It is fair to say that this book became the fifth member of the group; the only member with any common sense, clarity or knowledge on pretty much anything at all. Without this book, we would probably still be trying to navigate our way out of Prague train station. You can therefore appreciate why we became alarmed upon discovering that Austria was not covered in its pages.
This was particularly bad news for Catz. His blisters were getting worse by the minute, and the last thing he wanted was to be lost. Making our way through the bustling streets of Vienna was hard work. Realising that heat exhaustion was becoming a danger, Danny started stopping random people in the street asking directions. Me and Catz loved it whenever Danny did this. He would talk really slow and think really hard about what he was going to say. Danny got results though and was soon pointing us in the direction of a tube station. We were soon in possession of three tube tickets and speeding our way towards Wombats City Hostel.
Wombats City Hostel is a big hostel, and lacks the intimacy of smaller hostels. It is nonetheless a very good hostel. Our room was immaculately clean, with a spotless en suite bathroom. It was a welcome relief to get in our four bed dorm and freshen up. Going by the underwear Danny found in the shower, it seemed we were sharing with a female. Danny became briefly excited by this discovery until the size of the underwear was revealed. His disappointment was confirmed by the discovery of a half eaten chocolate cake under her pillow.
Arriving in Austria |
Relaxing in the centre of Vienna |
We were soon back outside in the Vienna sunshine. We were all surprised by how big Vienna is and were glad we didn't walk to the hostel. We hopped back on the tube and headed back to the city centre. We spent the afternoon wandering around the city. We found some excellent cheap pizza and spent a while relaxing in the city park. With time pressing on we jumped back on the tube. We were on our way to Vienna's famous Ferris Wheel. Over 100 years old and 34 metres high, the wheel is surrounded by a huge fun fair. Catz opted out of the trek around the fair. He was suffering from some extremely sore chaffing between his legs.
On the way back to the hostel we stopped at a convenience store to buy some alcohol to drink prior to the nights antics. Whilst me and Danny were looking for the most potent yet cheap alcohol we could find, Catz was at the other side of the shop, loitering around the baby product section. Back at the hostel he emptied his carrier bag to reveal a tub of nappy rash cream. This was an inspired but unsuccessful attempt at soothing his chaffed legs. Becoming increasing desperate, we had to talk him out of using our hair cream as a last ditch effort.
Isaac being a wally |
The Boys Around the World |
As Catz was liberally applying nappy rash cream to his nether regions, Danny and I were busy making something that vaguely resembled Bucks Fizz. We were using the cheapest fizzy wine we could find coupled with orangeade. The end result was pretty revulting. We sunk a couple of glasses each and headed downstairs to the bar. A perk of this hostel was that we all got a free beer. We played a few frames of pool and had a few more beers before venturing back into the city, in search of something called the Bermuda triangle; a famous area full of bars and clubs. Catz was now in severe discomfort. He pressed on though, determined to see some Bermuda action before the night was out. Waiting for the tube, Danny encountered what he thought was "the thing out of Dungeons and Dragons". Take a look at the video and make you own mind up.
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Our drunken antics in a Vienna Subway
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With a vague idea of where we were heading, we got off at a random tube stop. This was an error as we spent the next two hours walking around Vienna looking for a bar. Once again we were missing the wisdom and knowledge of Lonely Planet. Eventually we found some bars. Whether it was the Bermuda Triangle or not, I'm not sure. Details are hazy, but I recall one bar having a pole dancer, and in another all the bar staff were dressed in traditional Austrian clothes. After a few beers, we decided to look for a club.
We headed towards the Danube in search of a club called Flex. On the banks of the Danube we found an outdoor bar which for some reason we all believed to be Flex. We sat here for a good while, chatting with randoms. Catz made friends with a lad called Durk, who informed us that we weren't actually in Flex. On hearing this, me and Danny left Catz with Durk and made our way down the river bank to Flex. We strutted our stuff on the dance floor, got some funny looks and left. This seems to happen a lot. Can't think why. We found Catz where we had left him. Only he had made another friend. Durk was still there too. We spent the rest of the night drinking and chatting till we realised we had to be on a train to Slovenia in two hours.
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Wombats Bar |
24 degrees and its midnight |
We bundled into a taxi and asked him to take us to Hostel Wombat. As we drove over the Danube, one of us suddenly realised we had gone this way before. The taxi had been doing laps. We must have crossed the Danube four times before we realised what was going on. We eventually got back to the hostel for an hours kip before we had to be on a train to Slovenia. Next (Slovenia)
This could be Durk |
and so could this |
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