Last November 5, I went back to Vienna to meet up with my best friend, Margaret, who is in Europe for a two-week Eastern European tour. She and her dad were billeted at Hotel Ananas, located near Pilgramgasse Station. After a quick shower at my hostel, I went to pick her up around 8:00pm. Our first stop was Stephansplatz. We marveled at the Stephansdom or St. Stephen's Cathedral. Christmas was obviously in the air because lots of lights and decors were already up, which made the entire place look even more beautiful that particular autumn night.
From there, we walked towards the famous Spanish Riding School. Margaret and I loved the dramatic circular ground plan as well as the numerous statues on the pillars of the buildings.
After entering the gate between the two huge statues in the picture above, we were led to the former imperial palace of Vienna, the Hofburg Palace. Despite the darkness of the surroundings, it was still a sight to behold!
Just across the gate of the palace were two huge museums--the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien and the Kunsthistorisches Museum. And a little further, was the Museums Quartier, known as one of the largest cultural complex in the world.
Behind this vast art complex was Mariahilferstrasse, the longest shopping street in Vienna. Since it was already 9:00pm, we started hunting for a restaurant where we could eat. That night, we settled for Italian! We ate at this unique self-service restaurant called Vapiano. This is also where I ate the last time I was in Vienna. It reminded me so much of Marche, a restaurant in Singapore with the same concept.
After our sumptuous late dinner, we decided to do more walking around the Kartner Ring or Kartnerstrasse. We took photos at the majestic Parliament Building (below), the Burgtheater and the Rathaus. We decided to call it a night around 12 midnight because her dad was already waiting for us. I dropped her off at her hotel in Pilgramgasse district and I went back to my hostel near Mariahilferstrasse.
The following night, we once again met up for some sightseeing. But this time, less pictures were taken and more catching up was done. It was a night of pure chikka! As I relish my fun weekend with Gret in Vienna, I realized that true friends can grow separately through the years like what happened to us, but it does not necessarily mean we have grown apart! The strong bond is still there--unbreakable!
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