Vienna, Austria
April 19th – 22nd 2007
Thursday evening my friend and I took a flight today from Köln to Vienna (Or Wien, as they call it there). It feels so nice to live in a city from where I can take a direct flight to some place. Always, I have had to take a train to another city or change planes. We arrived Vienna at around 8pm. My friend Jeff had booked the accommodations and did not tell me where we will be staying. Typically we stay at a Hostel since they are the cheapest options and quite practical for us. However this time Jeff apparently booked us in a 4 star hotel. He got it at the same price as what a hostel was priced at..or at least that is what he says). We arrived at the hotel by 9pm. My first impression – I was so impressed that I am staying at a hotel, where I can have my own bathroom. However quite soon we had a rude shock. The receptionist at the hotel told us that our reservation has been cancelled and now the hotel is fully booked. Apparently Jeff’s card did not work as he might have mistyped the number. And the hotel gave the room away that morning. The receptionist, Jasmin, said that the manager told her that we do arrive to tell us that there is nothing they can do to help us as our card had declined. Not a good move by the manager. I guess he did not realize that he was going to be dealing with an ex-travel specialist. I ended up arguing with Jasmin who happened to be the duty manager that evening. Strange thing is that while she was the person in charge that evening, she was given no power to make a decision. So I demanded for her to call the general manager of the hotel at his home. She reluctantly did that and he said the same thing that he can’t do anything for us. Jasmin found us another hotel for that night which was more expensive than what we had booked with them. All I asked from the hotel was that they pay for the difference in price and our cab fare to and from that hotel as this hotel could get us rooms for the next two nights and was just sold out for tonight. Sounds like a reasonable request right? Apparently they thought I am asking for the stars. After one hour of arguing with them and making a scene at the front desk, Jasmin finally allowed me to talk to the Manager when I had her call him for the second time. Long story short though, he eventually agreed to my terms, and also offered an upgrade to a suite when we returned the next day. Not bad – but I do not understand why it took them so long to come to that decision. I guess I have worked in the Travel biz and with customers for so long and with a company that values customers so much, that the situation at the hotel seemed so unbelievable. We took a cab to the new hotel, which was quite nice as well. But by the time we checked in, it was 11pm. I was so hungry earlier at the airport and was planning on having a nice dinner, but by then my appetite was shot. So all we did was check in and then sleep.
The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel (a bonus included with our room) and planned our day ahead. Actually we dint have much of a plan, expect to go to the city center and take it from there. First we went back to the Kaiser Frank hotel to drop our bags and check in there. Then we went to the city center. We visited a Medical museum which was quite interesting and at the same time quite gory. It had wax figures of the human insides.
On one hand it was remarkable to see how the human body functions but on the other hand it was so creepy. I felt I was in a haunted house. That museum visit did not take too long. After that we went to the city center and walked and stopped by anything we found interesting. Mostly churches and palaces. That morning we visited the Votivkirche, Minority Kirche, Peterkirche, Michaelkirche and StephanDom. It was ironic that we visited five churches in one afternoon considering that I am a Hindu and Jeff is an atheist. But each one of them was spectacular. We then visited the Rathaus (City hall). On the grounds of the Rathaus there was a fair with local specialties and folkdances. It was fun to spend some time there. (Photo of the fair at the Rathausplatz). Later that evening, we visited a Heuriger (a Wine Tavern) in Grinzing. That was the best part of my trip. I really loved it. It is nothing spectacular, but the atmosphere there is so nice. Heurigers are basically places a little away from the city and they make their own wines. It is typically outdoors and people gather around large picnic style tables with friends and families and share wine food and stories. Definitely a must do if you visit Vienna.
On Saturday morning when we were having breakfast, I had a big surprise. In that room walked someone I know from Columbia SC. My professor from USC, Dr. Tatiana Kostova. She was so surprised to see us too. I mean what are the chances of meeting someone you know in a different country! She was staying at the same hotel and was going to be leaving on Sunday as well to go back to the US. She was in Vienna as a visiting faculty to the Wien University where USC’s IMBA program has a connection. After a day of aimless sightseeing and visiting the Kunsthistorisches (Art) museum we joined Dr. Kostova for dinner. She was so nice, she actually tried to get us Opera tickets for that night but there were only two tickets available. So instead we went to the city, walked a little and got more information from Dr. Kostova who has visited the city so many times that she had all these awesome stories and tips of places to go visit. I wish I had bumped into her earlier. We had dinner at a pizzeria, a casual student hangout place, and then got back to the hostel for an early night, especially since all of us had an early flight the next morning.
On Sunday, we took our flight at 8:55am from Vienna back to Köln. Arrived Köln at 10:30am. Hmm.. a whole day to relax and catch up with emails and perhaps some studying too. :-)
April 19th – 22nd 2007
Thursday evening my friend and I took a flight today from Köln to Vienna (Or Wien, as they call it there). It feels so nice to live in a city from where I can take a direct flight to some place. Always, I have had to take a train to another city or change planes. We arrived Vienna at around 8pm. My friend Jeff had booked the accommodations and did not tell me where we will be staying. Typically we stay at a Hostel since they are the cheapest options and quite practical for us. However this time Jeff apparently booked us in a 4 star hotel. He got it at the same price as what a hostel was priced at..or at least that is what he says). We arrived at the hotel by 9pm. My first impression – I was so impressed that I am staying at a hotel, where I can have my own bathroom. However quite soon we had a rude shock. The receptionist at the hotel told us that our reservation has been cancelled and now the hotel is fully booked. Apparently Jeff’s card did not work as he might have mistyped the number. And the hotel gave the room away that morning. The receptionist, Jasmin, said that the manager told her that we do arrive to tell us that there is nothing they can do to help us as our card had declined. Not a good move by the manager. I guess he did not realize that he was going to be dealing with an ex-travel specialist. I ended up arguing with Jasmin who happened to be the duty manager that evening. Strange thing is that while she was the person in charge that evening, she was given no power to make a decision. So I demanded for her to call the general manager of the hotel at his home. She reluctantly did that and he said the same thing that he can’t do anything for us. Jasmin found us another hotel for that night which was more expensive than what we had booked with them. All I asked from the hotel was that they pay for the difference in price and our cab fare to and from that hotel as this hotel could get us rooms for the next two nights and was just sold out for tonight. Sounds like a reasonable request right? Apparently they thought I am asking for the stars. After one hour of arguing with them and making a scene at the front desk, Jasmin finally allowed me to talk to the Manager when I had her call him for the second time. Long story short though, he eventually agreed to my terms, and also offered an upgrade to a suite when we returned the next day. Not bad – but I do not understand why it took them so long to come to that decision. I guess I have worked in the Travel biz and with customers for so long and with a company that values customers so much, that the situation at the hotel seemed so unbelievable. We took a cab to the new hotel, which was quite nice as well. But by the time we checked in, it was 11pm. I was so hungry earlier at the airport and was planning on having a nice dinner, but by then my appetite was shot. So all we did was check in and then sleep.
The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel (a bonus included with our room) and planned our day ahead. Actually we dint have much of a plan, expect to go to the city center and take it from there. First we went back to the Kaiser Frank hotel to drop our bags and check in there. Then we went to the city center. We visited a Medical museum which was quite interesting and at the same time quite gory. It had wax figures of the human insides.
On one hand it was remarkable to see how the human body functions but on the other hand it was so creepy. I felt I was in a haunted house. That museum visit did not take too long. After that we went to the city center and walked and stopped by anything we found interesting. Mostly churches and palaces. That morning we visited the Votivkirche, Minority Kirche, Peterkirche, Michaelkirche and StephanDom. It was ironic that we visited five churches in one afternoon considering that I am a Hindu and Jeff is an atheist. But each one of them was spectacular. We then visited the Rathaus (City hall). On the grounds of the Rathaus there was a fair with local specialties and folkdances. It was fun to spend some time there. (Photo of the fair at the Rathausplatz). Later that evening, we visited a Heuriger (a Wine Tavern) in Grinzing. That was the best part of my trip. I really loved it. It is nothing spectacular, but the atmosphere there is so nice. Heurigers are basically places a little away from the city and they make their own wines. It is typically outdoors and people gather around large picnic style tables with friends and families and share wine food and stories. Definitely a must do if you visit Vienna.On Saturday morning when we were having breakfast, I had a big surprise. In that room walked someone I know from Columbia SC. My professor from USC, Dr. Tatiana Kostova. She was so surprised to see us too. I mean what are the chances of meeting someone you know in a different country! She was staying at the same hotel and was going to be leaving on Sunday as well to go back to the US. She was in Vienna as a visiting faculty to the Wien University where USC’s IMBA program has a connection. After a day of aimless sightseeing and visiting the Kunsthistorisches (Art) museum we joined Dr. Kostova for dinner. She was so nice, she actually tried to get us Opera tickets for that night but there were only two tickets available. So instead we went to the city, walked a little and got more information from Dr. Kostova who has visited the city so many times that she had all these awesome stories and tips of places to go visit. I wish I had bumped into her earlier. We had dinner at a pizzeria, a casual student hangout place, and then got back to the hostel for an early night, especially since all of us had an early flight the next morning.
On Sunday, we took our flight at 8:55am from Vienna back to Köln. Arrived Köln at 10:30am. Hmm.. a whole day to relax and catch up with emails and perhaps some studying too. :-)
posted by Kavita @ 3:10 PM
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