Day 19: No, I'm taking two

Today was a much better go in terms of class. The content was a little lighter in terms of comprehensiveness, but still interesting a different than anything we had ever seen. Lunch was great again, but because of a packed day, we did not have time to return to the hotel following the meal.

After lunch we caught the metro for a dozen stops before jumping on a bus. We were headed to Strück, a bakery which populates several corners in Vienna. Unfortunately, after journeying quite a ways to their main factory, it seemed they had forgotten we were coming! We waited in the their parking lot for 40 minutes before they let us in, and once we were in the plant, no one came to give us a tour or presentation. Saddened, several of us took hairnets as we left the bakery to return to town for the afternoon. As compensation, we visited a Strück store located just off the metro stop, where I picked up a small piece of Apfelstrudel. It was quite good, and was a great sugar boost for the evening's activities.

We returned to the hotel to drop off our backpacks and books before heading to the Hundertwasser building. Christine's suggestion turned out to be fascinating, and the building could only be described as a Dr. Suess meets Van Gough concoction. Inside, there were souvenir shops, a cafe and a bar with a river flowing through it!

In the top right corner you can see the waterfall and then the river through the bar.

Afterwards we continued on the metro to Praterstern, where the ferris wheel is located, sourrounded by the a small carnival. It was the quintessential creepy amusement park with bumper cars, haunted houses, prize games, and roller coasters. Interested in saving some Eruos, Robbie and I let the girls enjoy the ferris wheel while we explored the place. The techno music was worth it, and the unedited versions of the current Billboard top 40 blaring out of the Spinners Wheel reminded us we were in Austria. We even found a roller coaster powered not by a chain, but instead by a spinning tower. It is difficult to explain, but the important thing to note is how unsafe it appeared. It was Cedar Point's Raptor without the safety features or comfort mechanisms. We met up with the girls after their once around on the ferris wheel before heading to dinner in Schwedenplatz.

Erica took my camera on the Ferris Wheel. Here you can see the city in the background with the red saftey-proof roller coaster in the foreground.

We wandered around the square for a little while before finding a reasonable upstairs cafe overlooking the square. The food was good, and Robbie and I discovered a beer that we would not try again.

A nice view from the square, but it was even better inside

Steph and Christine

Robbie and Erica...with attitude!

We returned home to change and rest before heading out with the larger group of us. All of went to Excess, the night club we explored just a few days before.

We all had a great time and returned home around 1 to rest before the final day of class this week.