As we progress further into our great expedition, we are starting to tire of sightseeing. Our two days in Vienna, the capital of Austria, perfectly exemplified the situation. We travelled to Vienna to meet up with Katka, a friend that went to my high school in Žilina, Slovakia. Coincidentally, Caroline (the same Caroline that I mentioned in my Bohemian Road Trip post) was also in Vienna. With friends to catch up with, sightseeing was made a second priority. Eating, drinking and being merry became our first.

Katka met us at our hostel, Wombat's Hostel, on the evening we arrived. The original plan was to head into MuseumsQuartier, sit on a summer terrace and sample the local food and beer. As it turned out, everywhere we looked was full of customers. Fortunately, I had a backup plan, Centimeter. The original concept of Centimeter was that you order your food and drink per centimetre, although now it isn't the case. The only thing left on the menu that you can order by length is the bread. Probably a few too many confused American customers that weren't sure what these "centimetre" things were. Minor scruples aside, Centimeter still serve good, hearty food, and bucketloads of it. Five of us (we picked up a friend of Katka's and a now-confused American from the hostel) decided to tackle a wheelbarrow of food. Literally a wheelbarrow.

During the next day, we actually did have some time to see the sights of Vienna. Katka had recommended that we visit Schönbrunn, a palace with magnificent gardens. We figured we'd find a local supermarket and have a picnic somewhere inside. After walking around for a half hour without finding so much as a corner store, we got frustrated and gave up. Our frustrations were soon quelled, however, by the sight of the gardens. Colourful, groomed flowerbeds weaved through the wide expanses of green grass. Huge fountains stood grandly at the intersections of the gravel paths. A lush, open forest grew at one end of the grounds. Aisha wondered how, after winter and so much snow, the gardens became so beautiful in such a short time.

A small cafe provided us with a much needed lunch before we headed to the garden's playgrounds and mazes. The childish side of both of us sprang to life as soon as we entered. We spent almost two hours playing with the interactive water-based equipment, and traversing our way through the numerous mazes. A very well thought out and imaginative playground, even for us big kids.

Our final act of sightseeing occurred whilst we were walking to a cocktail bar. Caroline pointed out some of the historical buildings in central Vienna - the Parliament, the building where Hitler gave his famous Anschluss speech and a Spanish Riding School. A large number of the brilliantly lit buildings were a part of a ring, which can be traversed by walking along Ringstraße, known in English as "Ring Boulevard". The rest of our time in Vienna was spent drinking and enjoying the company of people from wildly varying nationalities. Swedes, Austrians, Croatians, Hungarians, Australians, Slovaks and Poles. It was a multicultural rendezvous.

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