All the adventures I have been on in my second week living in Vienna.
Surprise! If you didn’t know yet, I moved to Vienna just before my birthday. Two years ago I almost emigrated for a job to Salzburg and for that reason Austria always stuck in my head. I asked myself the question: why not go on your own terms? Find an apartment, rent it and work from there. So I did, I moved to a country I have always been wondering about. To a city that leaves me speechless since it’s filled up with my biggest interests. In a wonderful time of the year when the lights are dancing through the city.
If you haven’t seen it yet, read here about my first week in Vienna.
Wednesday, December 11
How is it possible that I arrived a week ago? I honestly can’t believe it, there is so much to explore in this city that I am wondering if my temporary stay is even long enough. Since I am writing this blog in the future I can already say that my stay is not long at all for all the things I would like to do. Oh well, I do the things I feel like in the moment, go with the flow and I am sure I am going to do all the things that fits best during my long stay.
These thoughts fit well for the day I was having. On recommendations of my friend I went to the Theatermuseum. Even though I have a big love for the arts, this wouldn’t have been a museum I normally would have picked for myself. But I am so glad I went! The building itself is the oldest baroque building in Vienna, that alone was already stunning, but the exhibitions also didn’t disappoint. If you are planning on going, I highly recommend getting the audio tour. It explains so much about the building, the history and much more. The day before I went to the Weltmuseum and was already acquainted with some of the history of Vienna and the whole of Austria, that really helped to draw some sort of a timeline in my head.
Before I left to work in the afternoon, I visited Zuckerlwerkstatt, one of the best candy stores (according to the New York Times) in the world. It did not disappoint! The candy is amazing and not too sweet. I bought myself two lollipops in the flavours cherry and passionfruit. Lastly I went to PAPER & TEA, where I got a winter tea.
Thursday, December 12
Just like last week, I also went this week to the Korea Kulturzentrum. However, this time for a seminar! “DaRye, the art of drinking tea in Korea”. During the seminar we immersed ourselves in the traditional world of Korean tea and experienced the almost 2000-year history, culture and enjoyment. The seminar was based on the informal Korean tea ceremony “Darye” (다례). We went on a journey through time, learning about the inspiration of tea in art forms such as poetry, painting and ceramics during the Joseon Dynasty and we got insights into the tea growing regions, traditional production methods and tea specialties.
It was a lot but so much fun as well! The seminar was well over two hours and was mostly in German and a bit in Korean. You can imagine my brain was fried after that, haha. I learned so much, not only about tea but also a lot of German. I surprised myself with my German understanding skills in a setting that definitely doesn’t have subtitles.
Also I want to thank the Korea Kulturzentrum for their generosity. They organise everything so lovely and with great care. After the seminar I visited one of the exhibitions “Indigo” before I made my way to the Christmas Market at Karlsplatz, Art Advent. I was amazed by the market, high quality products and the vibrant vibe. I got myself a rose gold plated ring from JEWELMISS that fits my style nicely.
Friday, December 13
At noon I returned to Art Advent because the ring was a little too big. I should have known that trying on a ring late in the day is not the best idea after a day with lots of movement. But I could easily exchange the ring for a smaller size and now it’s the right fit!
I also went back to Mariahilfer Straße, the Stray Kids album had dropped that day and I wanted to check it out. I had read online that Thalia is the only store who really sells a lot of K-pop albums right after the drop in Vienna. In the store I met up with another Stay (Stray Kids fan). We had a lovely time and went shopping right after we got our albums. I bought a fancy going out bag and she got some Christmaspressents. We had lunch at Swing Kitchen, yes… I can’t get enough of this place.
Saturday, December 14
Work, work, work.
Sunday, December 15
Before I came to Vienne I via via knew about someone who lives in Vienna. We met up for brunch at GOTA Coffee experts, one of the most awarded hip coffee houses in Vienna. Seriously, their coffee tastes what you would think a cloud tastes like, all fluffy without a bitter aftertaste. We decided to go on a long walk after and made a pit stop at Lindt Chocolate Boutique to get some chocolates before we walked into the gardens of Schönbrunn. I was amazed by the view of the city when we stood by Gloriette Schönbrunn.
Monday, December 16
The plan was to work, but the weather was so incredibly nice. I went to Shakespeare & Company, the shop was okay, but honestly there are much better Austrian bookstores with an amazing Englisch curated selection. The only reason not to skip Shakespeare & Company is if you want a collectors edition. After that, I made my way to Rathausplatz for the Christmas Market. It was fun, but also more one the commercial side of things. At walking distance there was another market, Campus der Universität Wien (Hof 1). This one is fun, but I came over way too early, there were barely other people. This one is more fun at night for sure. But whatever market you would like to visit, there are lots of vegan choices!
Not going to lie, my body craved some fruit instead of Christmas Market food, so on my way to the U-bahn I got a smoothie at Juice Factory.
Tuesday, December 17
I could tell that the two days before I walked a lot, A LOT. My long term knee injury needed rest. So I took it. Later in the afternoon I got an early dinner and made myself ready to go to a nightclub in a museum. One Tuesday evening a month Kunsthistorisches Museum turns into a club. It was so much fun even if I was just by myself since it’s definitely an experience. The theme of the evening was “YOU’RE SO GOLDEN”. With a special ticket you had full access to the museum and let me tell you… it was not easy to get that ticket! It was just as bad as getting concert tickets. So when I saw the people with whom I fought together to get the tickets I was surprised by their ages. The youngest was I think 25 and the oldest people were for sure in their 70’s. There weren’t as many foreigners as I expected. I could tell since there were also free tours, 4 versions and 6 rounds. Only 3 of the tours in total were in Englisch. I joined 2 German tours and I had the feeling I was the only foreigner among them.
While a lot of people enjoyed the dance floor I decided to explore the museum. This museum is normally crowded with tourists, but now was the time to see everything without a line. It was an amazing experience that I hope I will never forget. That night felt magical in so many ways and also made me fall in love of the vibrant Vienna museum life.
My second week in Vienna and I am in awe of this adventure. But there are many more adventures and stories to come. Stay tuned for next week’s blog!
Love,
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