Imperial apartments and crypts

The next day was a huge day of travel... First I took an early morning bus to Split, and after a bit of a wait I caught an overnight bus passing through Slovenia to Vienna. And there wasn't a lot of sleep to be had! At about 11pm we had to change bus in Zagreb, then at about 1am we had to cross out of Croatia and into Slovenia. Because Croatia isn't yet part of the Schengen group of European nations  that have unrestricted travel between countries, we had to cross a formal border.

So we all filed off the warm bus into subzero temperatures. As our passports were checked and stamped we moved a few metres on. I was last, and while everyone stood there tired and freezing the border control woman flicked through every page of my passport and told me several times that New Zealand passports are very beautiful and she doesn't often see them. Finally I was allowed to join my fellow travellers and the bus was allowed to cross the Croatian border. Then we all climbed back on the bus and it drove forward 100 metres and we all filed off again to do the same thing at the Slovenian border! I was last again, and this time the man took my passport into a nearby booth (he hadn't done than with anyone else's...). After a minute he came out and took it into another booth. I was just left standing there alone in the freezing night! Everyone else who had already passed through stood on the other side looking at me like it was my fault... After 3 or 4 minutes, right when I was really starting to think there was a problem, he came back and handed my passport to me with a smile. And that was it, no explanation. The bus crossed into Slovenia and we all got back on again.

We arrived in Vienna shortly after 5am on Sunday morning and I caught the Metro into the city. As I walked along Kartner Strasse (the main pedestrian shopping street) to my hotel, the last of the Saturday night revellers were heading home. I got to the hotel and asked to store my bags there until check-in time later in the day, and the lovely man said that there was a room available and I could have an early check-in if I wanted... like I was going to say no! I could have kissed him! Instead I graciously thanked him and actually got three hours of really good sleep before heading out. I have to say that overnight bus is not a great way to travel! But it was the only way I could fit in both Vienna and Budapest, and I didn't want to have to choose between them.

Looking toward Kartner Strasse later in the day

After some sleep I headed out. I only had one full day in Vienna so I had to make the most of it. I started with the Hofburg Imperial Palace Complex, which has housed much Austrian nobility for centuries. Unfortunately photography is not allowed in the apartments upstairs (so I had to take photos of postcards), but the silver collection downstairs (which also included a lot of gold) was quite impressive.

Hofburg Palace 

A tea service for travelling

The pictures below are photos of postcards so excuse the poor quality. The rooms were exquisite, with the apartments being set up as they were in the 19th century when the Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth were residents of the palace.

The rooms were fabulous! Ever since my teens I have said that I was born in the wrong century, and this just reinforced that (although the chances of living in these conditions were entirely reliant on a good marriage for a woman, and I do like my hot showers).

After that I had a bit of a wander, but I could feel myself getting headachy and the Imigran wasn't doing anything, so I headed back to the hotel for a rest. I was very tempted to stay in my room and have a quiet afternoon to fend of any approaching migraines, but it was my only day in Vienna so I forced myself out again. And I was so glad I did because I found my new favourite place in the whole world! But first I stopped by the Imperial Crypt (no, not my new fav place, but interesting).

Then I found my new favourite place, but it is so hard to show in photos as it is huge... The State Hall of the Austrian National Library:

I didn't have time to read all the information displays because it was almost closing time, but I could spend a whole day here!

After that I went to the Jewish Museum of Vienna which was quite disappointing so I didn't spend long, and then my final stop for the day was St. Stephens Basilica. I couldn't go right in because mass was about to begin, but I snapped a few photos from the entrance area.

It's a pity about the light, but it was late in the day. After that I grabbed dinner and headed back the the hotel for some much needed sleep.