I have told you the story of my Eurotrip earlier in this blog. In that post I have said that my favorite city is Vienna. Therefore, I decided to make this post which is dedicated to Vienna. Here you can find some of the reasons why Vienna is really a lovable city. So here is the list:
1. So many beautiful buildings and monuments close to each other
Well, I have said that in my post about Eurotrip, but here you can learn more about it. There is one city that I always compare with Vienna in this matter: Paris. Everybody knows that Paris is a very adorable and magnificent city, no doubt about that. However since it was build as a grand city, so many wide avenues and giant structures were built to show its power and charm to the world. Going across one side of the street to the other, in some parts of Paris, covers equal distance from Austrian Parliament building to the museum quarter. It means that you can get two amazing sites in Vienna, while in Paris you only get the other side of the avenue, with the same distance and energy. Well, I know this is too simplifying, but that is how I felt.
2. Foods are served in bigger size than in Germany, with the same price!
I had two experiences to support this argument. First is when I bought döner kebab and I paid exactly the same price as in Germany for the same type of kebab. Only in Vienna I got larger pita bread, more slices of kebab and more vegetables. Second is when I had breakfast at Centimeter restaurant near Porzellaneum hostel where I stayed in Vienna. In my opinion all meals served in this place which are supposed to be for one person actually can feed 2-3 people. Seriously, they serve everything in big portion! I also remember seeing one man ordering a bowl of salad which normally goes for 3-4 people, and he finished it himself! And all in the same price as regular size meals.
3. A very artistic city
I have never seen so many people all around the world coming to one city to watch an orchestra. But it did happen in Vienna. I remember one night when the city had an art festivity going. In that event we can watch some of the finest orchestras playing famous numbers which were composed by Mozart, Bach, Chopin, etc. Other than that we can also watch very artistic movies on a large screen in front of the Rathaus (city hall). Around the Rathaus we can find so many stalls selling different kinds of food from different countries, but I chose a Greek meal for my dinner. The artistic ambience of the city can be felt everywhere (Vienna is the only city where I can find a pencil with a violin on the top of it as a decoration). And don’t forget about Beethoven and Mozart who both had a career as composers in the city.
4. Very…no…Extremely clean water
The people of Vienna (and also all Austrians I guess) are very proud of the quality of the water in the city. We can drink water directly from the tap everywhere and also straight from the river (my Austrian friend said that the government guarantees the safety of the water), and probably also from the toilet! as disgusting as it may sound, but I remember one advertisement during the artistic festivity shows that even the toilet water is safe to drink! Well, you don’t have to try it but at least it feels good to know that the water is very clean, hygiene and healthy. It was also very hard to find bottled mineral water in stores because basically you can bring your own bottle and fill it with tap water anywhere. It is much easier to find carbonated water.
5. Narwhal tusks at Naturhistorisches Museum
A few months before I left for Europe I read an article in National Geographic Magazine about narwhal. At that time I was stunned because all those years I had never even heard of that species. I like watching animal documentary movies or TV series. When it comes to the story about Arctic life, there goes the penguins, orcas, seals, walruses and polar bears, but never about narwhals. The most distinctive feature of this animal is its long tusk. There was time when people found the tusks of narwhal but never saw the animal. Hence the creation of imaginary creature which we all know as the unicorn.
Back to the museum, when I first saw the tusks I was instantly fascinated. The museum itself houses a huge collection of intriguing and exotic animals and plants which were brought to Europe during the European exploration era. However the narwhal tusks are the most memorable item for me.