bad vienna, good vienna

it was really nice to see for miles picture perfect fields with wind turbines along the road from Bratislava to Vienna.. when I arrived it was freezing, I mean it was winter tempratures or atleast fall, overcast and gray, not very appealing. my mood was in the dumps. the guy at the hostel desk lent me a sweater because he noticed I dont have anything to dress properly for the weather. on my first day, I was striken with disappointment as I visit the city I was most excited about visiting.. the ringstrasse was disappointing, everything was not up to my very high expectations, even the secession building had a parking lot for tourist buses infront of it, making it difficult to take a good picture. I started walking and quickly reaized the city is pretty small, I was running into recognizable buildings left and right which made me think, wow this town is really kinda of a village. the otto wagner station at Karlplatz was turned into a mini museum for the architect and they charged an overpriced ticket for entry.. all in all I was not very positive about the place.. (I later learned that my disappointment and disatisfaction had much to do with the gray weather, and random rain showers, not with the city itself.)

I was walking in the small park by Karlplatz when I noticed a sculpture of a mother and her child (both nude, she appears to be squatting to give the boy a bath), someone had put a black T-shirt on the woman, covering her nude body.. it reflected the tension in the city amongst its inhabitnats.

later in the afternoon I stoped by Arena Club on the edge of the city. the club occupies a slaghter house and is now covered with graffiti and hosts hardrock and techno parties.. it was very early, I justwanted to see the place without getting myself in a bad situation (if I went at night when its full, who knows what can happen) the few people there with their shaved heads, and tattoos looked at me and then went on to finish their beers.. It seemed like a cool place, but probably not without a local or atleast a group of friends.

on my second day I started by visiting the hunderwasser buildings in the city including the garbage incinerator with a giant gold disco ball on the smoke stack, hunderwasser house, the apartment building that has become the most exclusive address in the city.. then I discovered my favorite place in the city, Nashmarkt, the city open air market.. what a great place.. I love city markets like the one in barcelona but this one was even better, it was bigger and instead of a square plan, it stretched like a long street.. there was everything from fresh produce, to stuffed peppers to nuts, to hundreds of variaties of olive oil, cheeses and wines, it was so good for the senses. I bought a bunch of stuffed things (peppers, tomatoes etc, all stuffed with yummy goat cheese..

the weather on this second day was great, and my mood was hence much better. I then went to Museum Quartier, the new museum district of the city and there I found my favorite public space.. it was a great courtyard in what used to be the stables of the king, now filled with boat-like sculptures to sit on and relax, with djs playing music for free, and the new modern art museum occupying the corner.

my second day here was 7/7/07 and what better place to be to watch the Live Earth concerts.. they had a giant screen infront of the City Hall broadcasting the concert with food venders and bars temporarily set up for what they usually do in that space over the summer months (a free film festival).. I sat there for over 4 hours, enjoying the weather, watching the concert and I met these two gay guys who couldnt stop kissing in public.
what was up with the beastie boys, they completly suck.. they do not give a crap about earth or even their backyard.. they were clearly using the event for self promotion, having had the opportunity to briefly see them at Sonar, I know they are full of crap.. the same goes for the pussy cat bitches.. what the fuck was that. they are so nasty.
my favorite part was definetly the metallica set and I really wanted to see the smashing pumpkins ofcourse but time different didnt allow for that.

the two gay guys directed me to a place called club Camera where a party called heaven was taking place that night..
the music was good, the club was small and I couldnt find my Austrian dream guy, but there was one cute indian guy there who approached me and we made out for a little .. the austrian dudes who were there, were not my type and some of them including the bar tender would drop their jaw once I say im egyptian.. not sure whats the reason, orientalism, fetish, I dont know.