My Vienna Austria Experience

Well, first off, i'd really appreciate it if you check out my bands myspace at www.myspace.com/afternoonstatic and add us as a friend! Also, tell your friends about us ;)
Vienna has a rich history of culture and prosperity. The Hapsburg's ruled a vast part of Europe up until 1916, close to the start of World War 1. After they left, they not only left behind a big empire, they also left a culture that can still be seen in Vienna today. Lets just start off with music in Vienna.
Music is a HUGE part of life in Vienna. You have the Opera, the Concert House, Churches, the Stadthalle, and many clubs and other venues where you can see live music. As you may or may not know, Mozart lived in Vienna. He is one of the most known classical music composers. Also another famous musical composer that lived in Vienna was Ludwig van Beethoven (Beethoven for short). The point I'm getting to here is that Vienna was the place to be back in the 1700's, and still is the center for classical music. I know what you're saying, "Classical music is just so boring, is there anything else in Vienna to listen to?". The answer is yes. Many other things to do in Vienna include:
Clubbing, go to concerts in the Stadhalle (they have 7 huge concert halls), and other small venues. For example, I went to a show at the "Bunkerei" which has an indoor and outdoor seating (shown in the picture to the right). Conveniently next to it is a big park called the Augarten. It has a tons of little paths and also has a really nice playground (even I played on it :p).
It also has very nice buildings to look at.
The churches in Vienna have a lot to offer (no, not only church ceremonies). They regularly have organ and choir concerts. Last Christmas, we had the chance to see a orchestra play some Mozart and Bach.
Whats the one thing you see a lot in Vienna? Street Performers! Vienna is filled with street performers, not only those weird people statues but also musicians. They just set up right on a walking street and start playing! Here's a photo of what they look like (I think I've actually seen this performer also :P).
Vienna is full of great music that you will find anywhere, whether it be the streets or the famous Vienna Opera.

Want to know the truth? Here it goes......the transportation in Vienna is absolutely amazing. Well, what make is so good you ask? In this post, I will explain Vienna's transportation in detail.
There are so many different types of transportation in Vienna, and here's most of them:

1. The U-Bahn (The city subway)
2. The Strassenbahn (The city's tram lines)
3. The Bus (I think you can tell what this is)
4. The Postbus (This is the special bus that goes farther out of Vienna)
5. The S-Bahn (It means "Schnell Bahn" and it is Vienna's regional trains)
6. The OBB trains (These are the full-scale trains that go far distances)

Now that you know some of the types of transportation in Vienna, I will explain why they are so good. Vienna is famous for its transportation. If the sign says that the U-Bahn is suppose to come at 10:23, it will be there at exactly 10:23. Everything is punctual to the max! All the transportation methods are very clean. One main factor that makes the transportation so functional is that its cheap (well, reasonably cheap) and that the stations are decent. Usually 9 out of 10 times the escalators work, which makes a difference if you think about it. Imagine you have a huge TV and the escalators don't work (and the elevators don't work for some reason also). I would be really pissed at the city transportation! This is what makes Vienna unique. Everything is always operational and great. Also, if you happen to be walking in Vienna, there are always signs helping you to where you want to go. Such as the U-Bahn sign (the blue one with the U in the middle). It's a very recognizable sign, that you can see from a mile away (well, not really unless your Superman I guess!).
Here is some info on the tram lines in Vienna. There are two different types of trams: the new ones, and the old ones. Obviously the new ones are better. If you are in a wheelchair the new trams are the ticket. Here is a picture that will help you compare the two trams below. As you can see, the new trams are lower to the ground, and have a sleeker look. Here is some insider info. I personally like to ride the older trams because they have more leg room and they are stronger. I know it sounds weird when I say I like older trams because they are stronger, but in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago there was an article about a truck that collided with the tram. Guess who won? And the winner is .............. the Tram! There was a picture of a crushed truck that looked like it got smashed like a toy car. I guess that when they built the trams, they wanted them to last.
So when you come to Vienna, you don't necessarily have to rent a car because the transportation can take you everywhere, probably even cheaper. Oh, another thing to add is that if you buy a ticket in the U-Bahn station and decide not to use it and then want to go on the Tram, you can use the same ticket. Basically, the one ticket is for all the types of transportation, besides the Postbus and the OBB and the S-Bahn. So consider using the public transportation in Vienna. One last tip: ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS be on time. Thanks and now you officially know the truth about Vienna's transportation.

L.E.H.

Vienna is full of surprises. Around every corner you'll find something different, interesting, or just plain spectacular. Not to mention that there is many parks, such as Stadtpark, the city park (I guess) because Stadt means city. What I like to do is take advantage of parks that have basketball courts where I can "shoot some hoops". Since it is summer time, and I have no school, I try to get out to play almost everyday. Last school year, I was accepted to play on the MS Boys Basketball team for my school. I hope this year I am going to be as lucky as last year. My twin brother and I (by the way I have a twin brother and an older brother) like to practice our "Alley Oops" so when we make the team and so we can use it on other schools.
I know this next part might seem a little "off topic", but bear with me here. Finally, my parents decided to splurge a little and buy a new 105cm Plasma TV (about 42 inches), and decided to upgrade our cable TV so we get more channels. In doing so, we got an English sports channel, NASN, that has great sports coverage. Everyday you can turn it on and enjoy baseball, football, and basketball (not soccer because soccer sucks). It's so nice to finally have that channel, plus the MGM channel which shows movies that can be changed to original language (usually English). Now that totally unrelated part is over (besides the basketball part).
The moral of this post is that if you happen to be in Vienna........BUY A NEW TV! No, I'm just kidding, the moral actually is to not always spend a whole bunch of money in museums and who knows what, but to go to publicly available things. Go inside churches, relax in parks, or have a drink at a restaurant. These are all things you will look back on and say "We had such a relaxing vacation in Vienna, and also saw some amazing things." This is what I hope you take away from this post.


P.S. This is the church I can see while playing basketball :).