Farewell in Vienna

Everything eventually has to come to an end, both the good and the bad. In the beautiful summer of 2011, the time had come to bid farewell to my friend, my cooking teacher, and my travel buddy - Tina. She had to go back to her hubby who had been awaiting her for almost 2 years while she was in Copenhagen.

When she broke the news to me, I was saddened by the fact that we had to part (finally) but at the same time, happy for her, for she would embark into a new chapter of life with her loved one.

I was glad that we had planned a trip together to Vienna way ahead. We parted with good memories of how our friendship started. It was unfortunate that I fell ill during the last half of our trip. Thank God Tina didn't catch the bug from me!

Right after work, we both set off to the airport to catch our flight to the City of Music. What a shame. We both were extremely tired from work and on top of that, Tina had been busy with her relocation as well. Poor girl. But she still exhibited her usual cheerfulness and excitement when we traveled.

We arrived at Vienna in the evening and we started to locate our hotel. It was supposed to be near the train station. We had walked a few rounds and still no sight of the hotel. There were some kind souls who tried to help us clueless girls and yet it was to no avail.

I couldn't quite recall how we finally ended up checking into the hotel but we made it! Yay!

As the room door flung opened...tadaa! We were greeted by a cozy looking bed. I loved the room. It was like a studio apartment except it was smaller.
No wonder we couldn't locate the hotel, it was situated in one of the smaller alleys. Honestly, it could be rather intimidating to walk into those alleys in the dark although it seemed generally safe to do so.

Each hotel room was like a house or apartment unit. What a unique design. It didn't feel like walking into a hotel at all!

Small and simple kitchen. 

A rather big toilet in comparison with the size of the room. It was equipped with heaters. Not that we needed it anyway.

After a good night sleep, we went to the reception/management office the following morning to pay for the room. The reception area was surprisingly welcoming and clean.
In addition to that, the man who attended to us was very friendly and helpful too.

The bill came up to EUR180 for 3 nights, for 2 person.

If you are interested, here are the details of the hotel:

Name : La Scala Apartments
Address : Schützengaße 19 1030 - Wien
E-mail : appartementpensionlascala.267387@venere.com
Fax no. : +43-1-2422250
Telephone : +43-664-5098122

The room price did not include breakfast but wireless Internet was included.

Some random shots on the street view. We were very blessed with beautiful weather in those 3 days!

As we started to wander around the city, we soon came to the St. Charles Church (Karlskirche).

It may be less popular compared to the grand St. Stephen's Cathedral. However, its beauty is irrevocable. The surrounding of the church was serene, with only a few street musicians by the lake or around the church.

What could have been done better was the cleanliness of the lake. It could have put the handsome facade before it to shame.

Dubbed as the City of Music, it is no surprise to see many music theatres as you roam around Vienna.

Often, there are many booths being setup in the city selling tickets for music performances.

Tina and I bought a pair of tickets for that night's show right away when we passed by a booth. Impulsive? Maybe...

It was scheduled to be performed in the renowned Schonbrunn Palace!

The sky was still bright even though it was approaching evening. Ah, one of the wonders of summer! You feel like you have all day!
Boy, the palace was huge! It was quite a long walk before we entered into the building. Security within the building was tight. Bags will have to be deposited at the counter and not to mention the queue was overwhelming!

It is brilliant how they turned a palace into a performance theatre. The experience of listening to soulful music in a grand architecture brings art into a different level. I am not a classic music lover but I totally enjoyed the night.

I was definitely under-dressed. Jeans and sport shoes in a palace, for a classical music performance? Hell, no way! Well, I didn't expect we would go for an impromptu performance that night. Most probably, I had to shop for a proper dress and a pair of decent shoes as I never packed anything close to that for the trip. Anyway, I think I wasn't the only one :p

We were given a short break half way through the performance. Some took the opportunity to fetch a glass of champagne and plenty others, like us, camwhored. The palace was even more beautiful during the night.

As the performance slowly winded down to the end, so was our night. It was a day filled with kilometres of walk. A soothing bath and probably a massage would send us both to a heavenly sleep.

But we didn't need any of that to turn into snoring pigs as soon as we hit the bed :p