Part Eleven: Vienna, Trento!

Hello all! It feels like a while since I have updated this ole thing so I figured that meant it was time to give it a go again. I am on the last leg of my European adventure now! It feels a little weird. I am spending until the 13th traveling Italy and then I will be heading to South America! Can't believe I'll be in a whole new continent soon. It feels strange to be sitting on a train and flipping through my guidebook to see where I'll be next and have it be limited to only one chapter! Since it has been so long, you will be receiving three, thats right three! blog posts at once, all for the price of one. So get your reading glasses on and prepare to be taken through 5 different locations. This first post will be Vienna and Trento, followed by Bologna and Parma, and finishing up with Cinque Terre. Don't forget to read them all!

But enough of that already, on to where I have been. I left you last in Innsbruck, where my two days were dominated by snow, carnival, and the beautiful Alps. Thursday morning, I caught the train into Vienna where I was headed to meet up with my good friends Oz (see the post on Prague) and Luke, both friends from Trinity. It'd been a while since I had spent significant time with friends so I was looking forward to it.

I boarded the train around 9:30 and found my seat in one of those little cabin like rooms with a young couple. For the most part, they were alright though they really enjoyed lounging around on each other and switching seats about every 15 minutes in order to find a new way to lay on each other. Those cabins aren't very big ya know, and it was a little bit weird. All was good until the last hour or so of the ride when my iPod battery ran out and I had to listen to them flirt, at least thats what I think they were doing, in German.

I arrived around 2:30 to the smiling faces of my two friends who escorted me onto the metro and in the direction of their dorm. Both are studying with the Trinity in Vienna program so I was lucky enough to have a nice shiny spot on Luke's floor upon which to rest my head. Their dorm was out in what appeared to me to be the Coney Island of Vienna, with a carnivally/circus/theme park sort of place right near the metro. But the rooms were super nice and I was glad to be out of a hostel for a few nights. I took care of my first order of business, laundry, right away as it had been far too long since the last time I had taken care of it.

After that, we headed out into the city where they showed me around the University they are studying at and pointed out some of the historical buildings and that sort of stuff with a bunch of little tour guide pieces of information. It was fun to be wandering at someone else's pace for a change and to have people point things out to me rather than be constantly searching them out on my own.

Soon enough, we found ourselves a place to have a drink and sat down to catch up on all sorts of things. I hadn't seen Luke in nearly a year and it was fun to hear what he'd been up to and to share stories about what had been going on in general. We were soon met by a guy they knew named Jean Baptisse from Nice (ok, so I only added his city for rhyming effect because i just now realized that his name rhymes with his hometown). He was quite a character and added a fun presence to our conversations. He was the first of many Erasmus students I would meet there, many of whom filled the dorm Oz and Luke are staying in. I dunno how this Erasmus thing works but the program seems absolutely massive.

After we finished our drinks and watched a little soccer, we headed back to the dorm to just hang out. It was there that I met Oz's roommate who would become a figure in my stay in Vienna. His name is (I am going to absolutely butcher this spelling) Dgregosh, and he was quite a jolly, funny guy from Poland. We talked for a while and then headed to bed, as the boys had class in the morning.

The next day I awoke alone in Luke's room, and took the time to update my blog and retrieve my now clean (thank god!) laundry. I relaxed a bit until they returned from class. Oz was off to meet his uncle so Luke and I went out to do some wandering. I apologize for forgetting all the names of these places, but we went over to a sort of central square type place (I guess?) where there was a giant cathedral that was quite impressive. I met a girl in Zurich who said she was sick of churches in Europe but somehow, after many many cathedrals, I am still not sick of them. We toured that a bit and then watched some break dancers.

These break dancers were quite good. Very acrobatic which was super entertaining if a little nerve racking. I really enjoyed this one little move that they did where to guys interlocked, one laying down and one kneeling, and the kneeling guy brought his shirt over the other guys knees. The one guy then moved his arms while the other moved his legs and it appeared like a little person dancing. It was quite clever.

We wandered some more, peaked into a bookstore, grabbed some small (very small!) "sandwiches." I put that in quotes because my guidebook listed a place that had cheap, open face sandwiches. We thought that was great so we went to get some. They were like the size of cracker. I guess sort of like an Austrian tapa. Oh well, the guidebook does fail me sometimes.

Our tiny bits left us still hungry so we met up with Oz to grab some food at a Pakistani restaurant. This joins the list, with the wine place in Berlin (see the post many times ago!), of places I appreciate for their trust in their customers. It was an all you can eat type place where you paid what you thought you should at the end. I enjoyed two plates of delicious food and was feeling quite stuffed and content. It was a pretty good deal considering Vienna can be sort of expensive. We played a few games of speed scrabble (my favorite!) and then headed home to prepare ourselves for the evening.

That was the evening of the infamous boat party. Club Shiff, I believe they called it. The Erasmus program was holding a party there and since many of the people Oz and Luke had met were Erasmus students, we went along. Before that we hung out at a party in some students' dorm room which was really fun and it was great to meet so many different people from all different places. Then we headed out. I don't have a whole lot to say about the boat party other than, well, it was sort of ridiculous. It was as if someone had just parked a dinner boat and decided to take the tables out and throw a party. It was a pretty weird place and I'm not sure if it was the drinking, or the boat, but everything sort of felt like it was on a tilt for the evening.

Many antics and blurred memories later, we returned home via the night bus and put ourselves to sleep. We awoke the next day and headed over the the nachtmarket (spelling?) which is a huge market with all sorts of food and produce and other products. It was SO cool. They had huge tubs of saurkraut, lots of pickles, a giant display of the most types of vinegar I have ever seen in my life. I really enjoyed noting the differences between there and other markets I have been too. Since Austria is a colder region, of course there was more dried, preserved typed products and root vegetables as opposed to fresher, warmer areas in Spain.

We gathered some stuff to make dinner one night and headed to meet Dgregosh at an art museum called the Kunsthalle. Now, I say art museum, but what was on display was pushing the limits of art for me. They billed it as a history of pornography which I felt had some art implications but it turned out to mostly be a giant room filled with TVs playing porn. Though it does bring up a funny distinction in the age old debate of what is art and porn. I can't define, but I know it when I see it, and it was porn. Thought it was pretty amusing to see all these people staring at TVs and scratching their chins to try and find something in what they were seeing. I enjoyed people's reactions most.

We wandered the city some more and then went to have the traditional Vienna coffee house experience. The place was so beautiful, though the waiter was not very nice and, to be honest, my hot chocolate was not spectacular. Though the pastries were fantastic. As an added bonus, there was a guy playing some really impressive piano tunes. Afterwards, we headed home to have dinner. Dgregosh cooked us up some delicious food and then we headed out to meet up with two students from their program for drinks. It was much more relaxed than the crazy, weird boat party and it was perfect for relaxing a bit. We went home after some good drinks and conversation and attempted to watch a movie, though I mostly just fell asleep.

Sunday was my last day and we took it easy again. Luke and I headed off to check out a movie, which was nice because I hadn't seen a movie in a theater in I don't know how long. The theater was sort of fun. They actually had the chairs slanting the opposite way you would expect. Down from the screen rather than sloping towards it. I thought it was weird at first but I trusted the Austrians and for good reason because it was much more comfortable. We watched The Reader which I really enjoyed even though I found it quite depressing. It was really nice to just be able to relax and see movie.

That night we had ourselves a last supper and made some potato and leek soup with our nachtmarket ingredients that was really good. We ate together and then headed out to meet up with Oz's cousin who was in town and we hung out with him a bit and then headed on home. It was great to see my friends and I enjoyed relaxing with them. Vienna is a really pretty city and I thought it was a pretty cool place.

I headed out the next day at an ungodly early time after very little sleep. I somehow dragged myself onto the train and got to my seat where I promptly fell asleep. I was headed for Trento, a city in Northern Italy set among the large Dolomite rock outcroppings. I am not quite sure what drew me there but I think I was looking for something a little different and did not quite feel like heading to another huge city. After a change in stations, I headed down into Italy (the last country on my tour of Europe!) and broke into the sun and beautiful mountains of northern Italy. Luckily, I managed to stay awake for that period of time and was rewarded with some great views.

I got into Trento and went to check into my hostel. After trying to sort out a problem with my debit card, I gave up and went to the ATM. It didn't work their either! I was getting nervous but figured I would try another ATM. Finally, it worked and I was able to check in. The place sort of felt like a barracks and didn't have a whole lot of personality. It was the first Hostel International place I stayed and it made me glad I hadn't bought a membership and had chosen to pick smaller, more personal hostels most of the time. But, it was the only hostel there so I hadn't much choice.

I set down my stuff and went to see the city a bit in the last hours of sunlight. The city itself was beautiful. In the center, it was mostly old buildings and it is sometimes referred to as the "painted city" because their are all sorts of painted friezes amongst the buildings. The center of the city is the Piazza Duomo which is surrounded by a huge cathedral and another building that has gone back and forth between royal housing and church purposes. Though, they claim now that it has been restored to its "rightful religious purposes." The cathedral is where the Council of Trent met in the 1500s and it was a pretty cool place to be. There was also, of course, a giant neptune fountain statue deal in the center of the square. Surround it, were all sorts of cafes and restaurants. After bit of walking I relaxed in a cafe and then went off to find myself some food. I enjoyed my first taste of Italian pizza and had some hand rolled pizza with thinly sliced eggplant on it, cooked in a brick oven. It was really delicious.

The town itself had a really cool, small town feel. There was a university there also which added a nice youthful element to the place. Not to mention, the surrounding hills were absolutely gorgeous. It felt pretty authentically Italian to me, though the northern part seemed a little detached from the other parts I have seen now. There is a lot of history up there having to do with independence from the Tyrolians/Austrians, a lot of which I didn't know about, and it was a really interesting place to be.

After my pizza, I headed to bed, eagerly awaiting my second day of exploration. I had a fantastic night of sleep despite the strange dorm situation, and awoke full of energy - to a cloudy, slightly rainy day. I decided not to let it get me down, and went out anyway. All I could do was hope that the light drizzle didn't turn into anything more significant. i had a few things I wanted to do that day so i went out to set about my list.

First, I tried to walk up to a monument type thing I had spotted, but it did not open until 9 a.m. Then I tried to visit a castle, but that didn't open until 9:30. Man, they start late in Italy! I walked around a bit and then headed back to the castle which turned out to be really really cool. Most of it was built in the 1500s, though parts of it dated from a couple hundred years before. Inside, the rooms were so cool and were painted with all sorts of impressive frescoes and amazing ceilings. There was a cool climb up a tower area that had a good view despite the clouds. The royal rooms were impressive and I particularly enjoyed the entertainment/receiving rooms.

In many rooms they had different exhibits, in particular a special exhibit on "the orient" because of some commitment to European cultural dialogue in 2009 or something like that. In and amongst the amazing painted rooms were all sorts of navigational tools and maps from throughout the history of exploring the seas. As I like old books, tools, and boats, it was a perfect exhibit. I toured around some more and stumbled upon my favorite room, the library. On the ceiling there were paintings of all different scholars from throughout the years and it was so fun to be looking up at a bunch of pictures of old white bearded dudes sitting at their desks, looking down back at me.

The last place I went within the castle walls was the courtyard area. The history there was pretty intense, I found out, as it was used by the Austrians in the fight for independence in the early 1900s. There, they imprisoned the rebels from Trent and held them in these tiny walled off archways, which they have kept as an exhibit, until their court dates. On the opposite side of the walls they hanged many rebels, including Cesare Battista who I came to find out was a really big deal (more on that in a moment!) though I still do not know much about him.

That completed my tour, and headed back through the Piazza Duomo where I was able to go inside the cathedral there which was quite massive. The columns themselves were probably five feet in diameter, if not more, and it was just an absolutely huge place.

All that walking had given me an appetite and it was time to taste some good Italian food. I found a little place off on a side street and sat down to have myself a meal. I started with a mushroom soup that was deliciously earthy and chock full of all sorts of wild mushrooms. It was really good. Then, I had my main course of fresh tagliatelle pasta paired with a pheasant ragu. Oh man. It was incredible. The pheasant was tender and the ragu was studded with little bits of chestnuts. The pasta itself was so fresh and tender and it was great to be tasting authentic Italian food. I had it all paired with a glass of slightly sweet, delicious red wine and it was a perfect meal.

Much to my delight, when I emerged from my culinary wonderland the clouds had lifted slightly, and it was no longer precipitating. I took advantage of the time to hike up to that monument I had tried to reach earlier but had been turned away by a gate. When I arrived this time the gate was open and I headed right in. The hike up was really cool. I went along some old cobbled paths, through little buildings, all the while looking out over a hill of vineyards on the neighboring rock outcropping. It was really beautiful.

I reached the top, and the monument which I soon found was dedicated to Cesare Battista. He remains a local hero in Trento and this monument proved it. It was a huge circular, coliseum like place that had an eerie enclosed part and then a deck up above amongst the columns. Surrounding it were old guns and I imagine it was a hill that the forces from Trento held during the war for independence. I was really intrigued and I am determined to learn more about it. Nearby was a museum and I hoped to get some info their but as I approached it an alarm went off so I quickly turned away.

I spent the rest of my day just wandering amongst the old town and down around the university which I really enjoyed. The town was just so cool and everywhere I went people were saying Ciao! to each other and everyone seemed to know one another. One funny point. I passed two old guys, one of whom said "Ciao! Mario!" and the other guy looked puzzled. He quickly corrected his friend letting him know that he was actually Luigi. I think, I may have heard wrong, but for now I'm sticking with it. HA! A confusion of Mario and Luigi. Oh Nintendo. I grabbed myself some more delicious pizza for dinner and headed off to bed.

My final point is a weird one. That night, the hostel dorm took a turn for the weird. I was kept awake by a mostly naked Italian guy who was blasting his iPod so loud that I could hear every word in his techno house beats music. Just as I had finally tuned it out, the guy in charge of the hostel came in and started to ask us all about our beds. He had sort of a confrontation with one guy who he seemed to be claiming was supposed to check out that day but hadn't. They exchanged papers and words and finally the guy gave up and brought in a cot for our newest guest. It was a really weird experience and the hostel had me feeling a bit strange. Not to worry though, it was my last night and I still got some good sleep in.

So, Trento was great. I really enjoyed it and was glad that I picked it so randomly. It was feeling great to be in Italy and the city was gorgeous. It is amazing to be walking amongst so much history. It always sort of astounds me when I walk over a stone stair that has been worn smooth and actually worn away a noticeable amount by hundreds of years of treading. The history was present there and the feeling of the city itself was relaxing and great.