Finding Vienna

In 2014, I visted Vienna to participate in the VIMUN at the United Nations.Before going to Vienna I had a stopover in Turkey. I decided to do the hop on and off tour, the tour was done really well and covered all the important sights in Istanbul. The thing about Istanbul, is that definitely as beautiful as all the catalogues portray it to be.Sultanahmet District is definitely worth seeing as it is filled with shops, quaint streets and old churches. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia are stunning and definitely a welcomed change from the many churches you find in Europe since the architecture is very different to that of churches and you get to peek inside a new culture and religion.Driving around the vast waters in Istanbul is also really refreshing in the rather hot and humid weather. I would definitely warn travellers to be wary with their belongings as there are many pickpockets and in my experience the young boys who sell things near the mosques etc. are rather ambitious when it comes to women. I loved Istanbul, although personally for me it was too touristic, I don't like feeling like I'm being sold something every few seconds. After my trip to Istanbul I finally made it to Vienna. I was staying at the Park Inn since it was close to the V.I.C. The UN office is definitely worth seeing at least once, it has a beautiful center surrounded by flags and a water feature in the middle. I was in a very international environment at the conference, I met so many wonderful people from all walks of life. I fell in love with the city, I could not get enough of the inner district and the many cute cafes as well as the amazing public transport system which honestly is one of the best I have ever used.  I didn't do as much touristic things as is expected, however I did visit the Belvedere which is super interesting if you into art and if you want to witness the beauty of the famous Kiss. I tried to get more involved in meeting people and seeing student life in Vienna.Moreover, our conference had events almost every night which included an intercultural night at Urania, a club night at ALL IN and a ball at the city hall. I met a homeless guy at Volkgarten who was giving out free hugs and kisses, I joined him in his quest and met some people who I am still friends with today. What I found really odd, was that everything closes so early in Vienna including fast food joints, bars and clubs. Me and my roomie at the time also found so many food markets all around the city which could satisfy almost any craving. Praterstan was one of my favourites, it was an old school carnival which also features a wax museum and the famous big wheel. I met a guy from Strengberg so I spent two days in the countryside. I went to some local music festival, the music was so bad and nobody spoke English but it was still super fun! After returning home to South Africa, I couldn't get Vienna out of my head so I decided to apply at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. 

Check out the pictures of my trip to Istanbul and Vienna 2014 :-)

Photo gallery