Monday, July 18, 2011

My Europe Travelogue - Part II - Vienna 2011

8 - 12 July 2011


Vienna - a very beautiful city. This is my second time here and I still like it very much.  Shortly upon arriving, I was whisked to the countryside to have my first taste of authentic countryside food. There were many pretty plantations that were ready for harvesting - sunflowers, corns, etc... too bad the car was too fast and I couldn't catch a proper land filled with sunflowers!



A funny (but true) sign outside a house

The rest of the week in Vienna was spend shopping and also dinners at the countryside. I was lucky I got a good chance to learn from 3 great chefs too! My panic attack happened twice while in Vienna but glad I had my medication to keep things in control. Can't imagine if I'm without it! It was once so bad that I could not get out of the hotel room the following day and was only ready to get out at 3pm, leaving me with only 2 hours of shopping before my dinner appointment.

Carbonara Sauce






Preparing Risotto






Preparing Pancakes






The last morning of Vienna was spent at another countryside looking at a castle I was there the day before, hoping to pay a visit inside but too but didn't manage too due to the limited time I had as I had to catch a train to Paris.

 Enjoying the streets of Wien on their traditional horse carriage
EUR40 for a 20 minute ride, regardless of how many people

 Horse poo everywhere on the pavements


The cars and passengers crossing across the Danube River

12 July 2011
This was the trip I feared most - traveling on the train with a stopover at night in Munich for my override ride. I was lucky that the train station in Munich is crowded even at night when I arrived at 8pm. I had a 2 hour free time to walk a little outside the train station, and a quick Chinese (oily) meal before taking the 2240 hours train to Paris.

The sleeper cabin was very comfortable. Despite small, it had an ensuite bathroom and it was even more comforting to have noisy neighbours when I first boarded. The service staff was great too and I felt very at ease.



 First Class Carriage - Clean, Quiet & Comfortable

 Beautiful Sceneries

 Munich



 First Class Sleeper Cabin - Very Clean and Cosy



 Breakfast Spread that was offered onboard


I had a good sleep in the cabin and arrived in Paris almost 12 hours later at the East Station the following day.

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