Vienna

My next trip was to Vienna, Austria to visit some old friends. Jared needed to get back to London to catch a soccer tryout and after dropping him off at his train to Frankfurt, I walked around Munich for a few hours. It was completely random....but I ran into a friend from Santa Cruz in the train station...how bizarre! After a few beers with Bobby, I boarded my train for Vienna. Kiwi and Moni were sweet enough to pick me up at the train station and we drove back to Moni and Stefans flat....which was amazing and on the top floor with a stunning view of the city. We ate, drank, reminisced, and caught up on all that had transpired over the last 3 years. That night we decided to go out and sing Karaoke( I didnt sing but I enjoyed Kiwi and Moni's production of all the popular songs) and then moved on to a more posh nightclub called "The Little Buddha Bar." It was a fabulous night and the DJ at the second spot played a great mix of Turkish, American, and Russian music. The following day Kiwi's Mom, Andrea, (and Moni) were kind enough to take time out of the day to show me the sites of Vienna. What a beautiful city it is.....although I had been here a few times before I never took the time to really take it all in. I saw the state opera house, the Imperial Palaces, the Natural History Museums, the University of Vienna, and Maria Theresa Square. The most fascinating thing I saw had to be Schönbrunn Palace, which was house of the Hapsburg family and was absolutely enormous and surrounded by amazing gardens and mazes. The architecture was remarkable and after touring the inside, you really got an idea with how rich the Hapsburgs were. Everything was over the top and luxurious. That night we ended up back at the Karaoke bar for round two of singing and dancing...this time the place was invaded by one bachelorette party after another...which I didn't mind at all. After that we danced all night at a "KLUB" that was spinning amazing music that brought me back to when I was 15 or 16.....All and all it was a great weekend....topped off by a fabulous dinner at Kiwi's aunts house.