Reliving Vienna as a tourist

My best friend Frikki (who lives and studies in Milan, Italy) came to visit me in Vienna from Jun.1 - 8. We had a great time and I finally felt at home here. That´s what I´m missing here, best friends. I have gotten to know some good friends but it´s still not your best friends who you can call anytime and meet instantly (without having to book an appointment). It´s also because my boyfriend works all the time so I have time to think about it.

June 1, Picked Frikki up at the airport,  we took the train to the center and stopped at Subway (since there is none in Italy and my favourite place). I then took him to my apartment, where I introduced him to Lumi (my boyfriend) and then left for my German class. In the evening we dressed up and went to see Sex and the City 2. I don´t know why it´s getting such a bad rap, i thought it was hilarious, Kim Cattrall (Samantha) should get a Golden Globe for her performance. After the movie we went to coctailbar Sky Bar for a cosmopolitan and then danced at the salsa club Floridita.

The weather was really cloudy and cool. We laughed because it reminded us of the weather in Iceland. We both felt at home, we didn´t realize we were in another country.  That´s the thing with best friends. We could be anywhere and still feel at home.

June 2, We ate again at Subway (our plan was to eat there everyday) and then went sightseeing around the Ring, visiting sites such as Burggarten, Hofburg (my favourite palace), MuseumsQuarter, Parliament, Rathaus and ended at Charlie Ps (my favourite bar in Vienna) for a drink. As you can see we did unique photos (see photo above) as well as traditional sightseeing photos.

We were pretty tired so we decided to stay in for the night, Frikki cooked Italian food and we wached Gilmore Girls. Then we put on some fun music, danced around and took tons of fun pictures.

Us making exciting babyfaces

June 3, my sister´s birthday so called her, put up a video on www.brighten-your-day.com  in her honor and sent her a message as well. I really miss my sister, she´s amazing.


Anyway, we used the day and walked around Schönbrunn, where we almost got attacked by a squarral, yes thats right. We first thought he was cute but then he started run towards us so we ran. Every time i´m in Schönbrunn i feel like Alice in Wonderland in the Queen of Spade´s garden.

ate Sacher Torte at Cafe Hotel Sacher (most famous cake in Vienna). In the evening we went to Centimeter, a great restaurant which has the biggest Schnitzel ever and Beer. LOVE IT! And of course the decorations are brilliant (dedicated to centimeter)

Since my friend is gay and i love gay clubs (good music, girly drinks and fun people, everyone can be themselves and no one bothers you) i decided to use this chance and finally check out the gay scene. I wanted to take him to "Why not" but of course it was closed so we went to Mango bar. We went into this tiny bar and all i saw were men. We weren´t getting any service, despite barely any people there, 2 bartenders, my friend is cute and i was the only girl, apparently that was not enough. We finally got their attention and had a beer. This beer was though not good so i got water for the rest of the evening. Funny enough, one bartender noticed my routine of ordering water so he dropped by every so often and gave me a water with an orange and a straw (so it looked like a coctail). So FUNNY.

Then the weirdest thing happened. A guy from Finland came to our table, which was no big deal until he said "You´re so beautiful...it´s not only your look but also your spirit", I thanked him but then he asked me if he could hold my hand. I thought it was weird but gave it anyway. He wouldn´t let go!! So i looked at Frikki and asked him what i should do. He just laughed and said "You´re too nice" and was advising me to be mean. I kept talkign to Frikki in Icelandic and eventually the Finnish guy left. So I go to a gay bar with a gay cute guy and I get hit on...SERIOUSLY! I was disappointed with the music, mostly techno, only at 2-3 o´clock came Cher, Britney, Madonna and other girly songs. So not a good gay bar. When we were leaving we met this guy called Rob and talked to him for a while, who told us this was more of a bar you go at the end of the night to find someone to go home with...OOPS my bad. That explains the "No prostitutes" sign on the door. We took a taxi with him since he lived in the neighbourhood and therefore didn´t need to pay. what a night!

June 4, We finally had summer weather, sun and 25 degrees so we went for some more sightseeing, this time to MuseumsQuarter, had ice cream at Zanoni Zanoni (best ice cream in Vienna), Secession, Karlskirche, Belvedere and had a drink at Sand and the city and went through Stadtpark to take the u-bahn back home to get ready for a barbecue at Rob´s house.  Free food, why not, we went to his apartment, including the most decorative toilet i´ve ever seen (with pictures of jesus all over and music as soon as you closed the door and this funny toilet holder, see picture below, "Marijuana, billions and billions stoned"). Rob made delicious food and then we talked rest of the night. It was really fun, especially hearing industry stories, since Robert is working in the media branch. Frikki was so tired so we walked home because there´s nothing like fresh air to awaken the spirit.

June 5, great weather, perfect for Präter, the amusement park. We are no daredevils so we only went to three rides, one where we went back in time (scariest one, the animals, darkness and ride, you never know what´s going to happen, i think i´ve been to too many horror rides so i didnt enjoy that one) and then two water rides, one where we were in a big boat and floated in circles down and then a typical rollercoaster, except we sat in a log and with water. We walked around and then sat at a bench in the park and enjoyed the sun. We then went home and relaxed. Lumi invited us to dinner so we went to an Italian restaurant and ate good food. I loved that Lumi and Frikki got along because it is important that your boyfriend and best friend get along. They are both amazing and a big part of my life.

June 6 Amazing weather yet again and perfect for a trip to Donauinsel, where we walked around, sat in the grass and listened to music. Then we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant, delicious. After some time and sunburn we had enough and went to Schwedenplatz and walked to Strandbar Herrman where we had a drink. I love that place, fake beach surrounded by bars and restaurants.
 

In the evening I had pain in my leg (due to much movements) so we stayed in and watched more Gilmore girls. I love those series...classic.

June 7 While I spent most of the day waiting at the doctor´s office, Frikki went shopping at Mariahilferstrasse. We had dinner at T.G.I Fridays for a greasy, juicy hamburger. DELICIOUS!

June 8, I had to go to my German class so I had to say goodbye early to Frikki. It was really hard. I had the best time with him, as always. I finally felt at home in Vienna. Things are just easier when surrounded with friends. So thank you Frikki for visiting me, i had a blast with you. Until next time..