Part 1
After a 5-hour flight from Doha, I finally arrived in Vienna! Stepping out of the plane and into the airport I still couldn't believe that I was in Europe. Yes, I travelled alone to the other side of the world. I was feeling giddy and excited for the adventures that awaited.
I met this fellow Filipina during the flight and we talked about why we were traveling to Vienna. Apparently, it was her 6th time in Europe and was going to meet up with her beau. We waited for our luggages together and then went on our separate ways. Since Raphlin was running a bit late, I waited for a couple of minutes in the airport and soaked in the moment that I was in a foreign country halfway around the world. Then Raph arrived and went out of the airport and it was soooo cold outside, well, at least for me, since I came from the tropics. It was supposed to be summer in Europe but because of some changes happening to our climate, that day was a cold one.
After arriving at Raph's place, she showed me the main platz (Stephansplatz) where the tourists were. I drank in the sights, sounds, smell of the place and took a lot of pictures. Good thing I brought a light and efficient point and shoot digicam. I think, with a limited time on my hands, it's better to see the place with my own senses than worry about taking pictures and then forgetting about the experience. But it's really nice to have some good ones though. But if you can do both, good for you.
Since the weather was a bit cold, the trees were already starting to show their autumn colors. I was really amazed to see them for the first time. There's just something about fall that just makes me sigh. Haaaaay :) . The park, in front of the Parlament, was lovely and the air was a bit nippy but I loved it. Watching the bikes, the trams and the people going about their day felt good.
Let it be known that the first time that I crashed on a wedding reception was in Vienna. Raphlin was supposed to attend the wedding of a family friend but since I was in town she opted to tour me around. But after some convincing by her parents she agreed to go and I went along. It was a Filipino wedding and served Filipino food. And I was like "Yey kanin at ulam!".
Back at Raph's apartment, I met her nice housemates Odysseus, who was leaving the next day, Jay and Noelia. We packed our things for a 10-day European tour. We slept and hopped on the train to Munich the next day.
