Saturday, October 18, 2008

Layin´Low



Venice, Day 2:
Not much of a deviation from Day 1...We just took out St. Mark´s Square on day 2. Venice is a little town, with not much to do, just sort of stroll around and admire its unique modes of transportation. We went on the internet, which cost a horrible 9 euros, that´s $13 folks, for an hour! We went back to the supermarket and stocked up on more beer as well as snacks for the 8 1/2 hour train ride the next day.
Venice to Vienna:
After a really shitty night of sleep (we both were tossing and turning) our alarms went off almost exactly in unison at 7 am. Neither of us wanted to get up, but we managed.
After packing up all our crap and eating a quick breakfast, we dropped our hostel keys off at the main office and crossed our fingers that our train was not participating in the strike that our hostel warned us about. Lucky for us, the train was there, and still planning to leave.
So we validated our tickets (we remembered , for once) and jumped on.
The trip to Vienna was a grueling 8 1/2 hours of sitting and eating pringles, pumpkin seeds and Special K bars. The Austrian countryside was to die for though. All of the leaves on the trees were turning brilliant colors; the valleys were green with icy cold rivers running through them; the mountains were tall, with hints of snow at their peaks; the hills were scattered with ancient castles. It was really amazing.
Vienna, in contrast, is a huge metropolis in a vast flatland. We arrived a little after 5pm and immediately found some substantial food to eat. We then asked two kind-looking Austrian girls for directions and we made our way to Mattia´s house(he is our host in Vienna!) We arrived without anz misdirection and rang his bell, and...no answer.
We had a hunch he wouldn´t be there because he was supposed to email Nicole, but she hadn´t got a chance to check it. Coincidentally there was an internet place just down the street, so Nicole checked her email and sure enough, he wasn´t going to be home until 9pm.
We had also passed a Starbucks, so we agreed to take refuge there for a while.

2 comments:

KT mom said...

What a wonderful description of the Austrian countryside. You are seeing so much! And your plans are working wonderfully. No strike, and now no Italy. Enjoy the remainder of your journey, and your new host. CIAO

Samantha said...

I, too, love the description from the train. I eat that stuff UP! :)

You sound tired, guys. Hope you have a cozy respite at this new couch.