bands, beer and bolivia

[_toastedcheese_]

I went out to see a friends band, Novus, play in an underground bar called mocean at the south end of the bay in bondi. The bar is small and lit red with black cloth spilling from every wall in sight. The music here is accoustic only which was a change from the wall of sound usually generated by the band (especially considering the size of the

Comments

[hokkien_noodles]

i'm so jealous. it wasn't live, but I went to see the outdoor musik-film of the opera, Samson and Dalila last night at the Rathausplatz, Vienna, and that was beautiful. there's something about that traitorous aria at the end of Act II that always gets me going... someone should have told me that the european summer nights can be as cold as the Sydney winter day, i just about froze my sick booty off, damn this post-holiday flu...

Samson and Dalila

[_toastedcheese_]

How gaddamn impressive is that building?! they sure like 'em pointy.

And the gardens! I think I have a photo around somewhere of some grass next to a fountain with my sleeping body print in it from where they do the food festival (just near the Rathaus). I stuffed myself stupid on international cuisine and then lazed around in the sundrenched grass waiting for some peeps from the hostel. bliss!

the beginning of September

[_toastedcheese_]

there's plenty of awesome stuff to do. The opera season will have begun, so you could go see one in their amazing theatres; there's your typical major european city smattering of bazillions of museums and churches and gardens which you can take you pick of; and there's bound to be some event of cultural significance happening somewhere in the old city while you're there.

for me, vienna was about half way through the trip and I needed to recharge my batteries, so I did a lot of eating and drinking and general roaming around the city with a bunch of other people I'd met, and that I would meet again later on. Over the river, on the north east side of the city is an amusement park with dodgem cars and putt putt golf and freaky rollercoasters. There is also a massive enclosed ferris wheel which will give you a great view of the old city.

I liked Vienna so much I stayed an extra day, which I could have easily turned into a week time notwithstanding.

Re: the beginning of September

[_toastedcheese_]

I just realised how unspecific I had been! Definitely go and see the Art History Museum (the Kunsthistorisches Museum) as they have a great collection of paintings by Dürer, Rembrandt, Raphael, Van Dyck and Titian. They even have a Caravaggio or two. You can probably hammer through the place in half a day if you need to

Re: the beginning of September

[hokkien_noodles]

Mr. Toasted Cheese (I´m so lactose intolerant.. hee hee) is right about Vienna. I wonder if the musik-film festival will still be on then, because that was cool as there was heaps of food and drink stalls around where you can watch the outdoor cinema. The Stephansdom is really cool and I recommend a tour of the catacombs. The Kuntshistorische Museum is great for the artists Garth mentioned and if you´re into ´biblical´ art. I really enjoyed the Leopold Museum for their Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele collections and the Albertina Museum has a from Goya to Picasso exhibition right now, so if you´re into them, I´d recommend that too

ppl watching

[_toastedcheese_]

to be fair the trams ring bells in a super efficient arrangement of various signals. for example, one ring for 'the tram is leaving the stop', one ring for 'the tram is approaching the stop' and one ring for 'get the fuck out of the way you goddamn tourist'.

but if I had to have repeated near misses with public transport in any city in the world, Vienna would high on my list.