DAY 265

May 25

1) Today was our first "official" day in Vienna. Although we came the night before, we hadn't really started sightseeing yet. So our day began with a trip to the Belvedere Palace, which consists of Upper Belvedere, Lower Belvedere, the Orangery (Museum) and the Palace Stables. The complex was so big we had to walk for nearly an hour to finish the main complexes. We didn't even have time to go into each one, as a) entrance fee was required, and b) we had other places to cover too.

2) Our luck ran out soon after, as it started to rain quite heavily. We took shelter under one of the arches, and fortunately the rain subsided after some time. We continued to our next stop; the Naschmarkt (Vienna's most popular market). We had our lunch here, before walking along the length of the market. I bought some baklava for dessert too, and it was really delicious. Afterwards, we again passed the Opera House (which we went to the previous night) on our way to Stadtpark. Here, we took time to visit Kursalon Wien (a famous music hall in Vienna) as well as the statues of Schubert and Johann Strauss II in particular. 

3) Next, we continued our journey to the Hofburg Wien, the former imperial palace in the heart of Vienna which overlooks the Heroes Square. After some searching for nice spots for dinner, we finally settled on a Korean/Japanese restaurant in Karlsplatz Station (the station at the Vienna Opera House). We then stocked up on some food at the nearby Spar. Finally, it was time for the long walk back home. After a day's worth of walking, we were all exhausted and went to bed early. For me and Zi Yan, it was just the beginning of a new adventure the following day (read the next blog update to find out more). That has been the end of our day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Cheers!

Trio in Belvedere Palace :D