Came back from Vienna yesterday afternoon. I don't know what to say except that 5 days is never enough for exploring a city. Maybe I should try doing a day-by-day post.

22/4-23/4: Long-ass flight journey to Emirates with failed attempts to fall asleep. My inability to sleep anywhere except on my bed is a curse. Wanderlusted and people-watched at the Dubai airport because they have so many different destinations. Also, Emirates has amazing onboard entertainment to compete with that of Qatar. Managed to watch Hugo and The Help, listened to Oasis, Florence + the Machine and an indie channel.

Sunday 23/4: Arrived at Vienna in the afternoon, arrived at Europe for the first time in my life. Quietly took in all the sights during the taxi ride even though it wasn't interesting. Arrived at a hotel only to be told that ours was at some other block and had to lug our luggage up 2 flights of steps. Washed up and took a subway out to have dinner. Had a schnitzel, then took the subway back to the hotel instead of starting on my Viennese adventure because it was freezing.

Monday 24/4: Explored and got lost around the hotel and Stephansplatz, the main square in the city centre that contains the St Stephan's Cathedral. Started out roaming around the hotel area when I stumbled upon the Jesuit church. Made friends with a woman who brought me into the sacristy. Left the church and stumbled into more churches - St Peter's Church, St Michael's Church, a really nice Greek Orthodox Church (which I couldn't get the name of cos it was so small and obscure and everything was in Greek). Churches in Europe are so old and grand, it felt amazing to be in them. Also saw old-school confessional pews (Y) St Stephan's Cathedral was a letdown even though it was the star tourist attraction. Maybe it's so touristy that it lost its charm. Also had to pay to go into the main altar area but I accidentally went in anyway even though I didn't pay. Maybe it was the Gothic style that turned me off - I didn't feel comfort in the church. Instead, it felt cold and distant and creepy and that's not how churches are supposed to feel to me. Had lunch at an old typical Viennese cafe - Cafe Hawelka, which didn't serve proper lunch. So I had the most amazing apple strudel ever as well as 2 sausages and bread - which they made me eat with hands because that's how "typical Viennese people eat it". Stumbled around some more, found some archaeological ruins between St Michael's and the back of the Hofburg. Day 1 of my solo Viennese adventure was good because I was really exploring Vienna with all its random (cobblestoned) streets and going into churches. This is what I've always dreamt of doing, and what I'll always dream of doing in every part of Europe. Met the sissy for pizza dinner which was kinda awesome cos they're huge and greasy :-) Also gelato!

Tuesday 25/4: One of the worst days of my life. I shan't elaborate much except to say that I joined a day tour to Salzburg. Salzburg was a pretty place but there wasn't time to see much and it was freezing and raining so I couldn't walk around much anyway. The journey to/from Salzburg as well as the shuttle back to the hotel was the worst experience ever, which was what made the day so bad. Definitely hafta go back to Salzburg some time in my life. Also had Chinese food out of those take-out boxes you see on American tv for the first time in my life.

Wednesday 26/4: Followed the sis to the UN building in the morning and went for a guided tour. The little IH geekiness I had came out in me. Went to a shopping mall nearby for lunch and spent hours there not shopping but getting lost and finding my way back to the subway station. Also went to the Art History museum where I geeked out not over the art pieces but the Egyptian exhibits they had (which really made me miss Egypt cos it's definitely the best place I've ever visited). Met the sissy for some opera thing at night, which sucked mainly because it was held at some small place and not the grand Opera House that I wanted to visit. Also had dinner at the same pizza place, but ate pasta instead. Tried the Twix Mcflurry which doesn't do justice to either Twix or Mcflurry.

Thursday 27/4: Visited the Roman Museum near the hotel. Found a fake Shakespeare & Co. bookstore near the hotel, which was quite amazing because all the books were in English and was the type of bookstore that I always dreamt of going to - small/cramped with bookshelves piled up all the way to the high ceilings with thousands of books. It even had a tiny Anthropology section!!! Wanted to buy the new edition of the Anthro book I am currently reading (which belongs to the NUS library) but I figured that until I become an actual Anthro student, the book would actually make me sad. Stumbled upon a small church - St Rupert's Church - which was scarier than St Stephan's. Then I went back to St Michael's for a crypt tour! The guide was really nice because he charged me at a 'child' rate and spoke in English specially for me after he spoke in German to the rest of the group (I think it was meant to be a German tour but anyway everyone else in the group only spoke German). Saw mummies like those of Egypt, apparently some bodies mummified due to the weather? Went to the huge-ass Hofburg after that which was mostly made up of museums. Visited the treasury and the Ephesos Museum and St Augustine's Church, all of which were a waste of time mehhh. But then! I visited the Museum of Ethnology and it was major geekin' out session even though most of the exhibitions were closed for renovation (:() Still, the Asian exhibition itself was amazeballs and I spent the longest time there even though barely anyone visited that museum lmao. Had lunch at some modern cafe (kinda like a typical Singaporean indie cafe) which also sold music and books. Walked a bit through Mariahilferstrasse, the main shopping stretch in Vienna. Had dinner at Figlmuller with the sissy, where I had more schnitzel. Walked around the city a bit before going back to the hotel.

Friday 28/4: Visited the Schonbrunn Palace, which is like the main attraction of Vienna but didn't attract me at all. Travelled to St Peter's Church cos it's supposed to the most beautiful Baroque church in Vienna, but I couldn't go in without paying 6 euros so I went off in indignation because churches aren't meant to be tourist attractions which you have to pay to go into :( Went into the Vienna Museum next door which was yet another waste of time but I can't complain cos the woman let me in for free. Visited the Naschmarkt, a nearby market. Had kebab for lunch and I wished I walked through more of the market but it was too big and there was no time. Walked a long way to an antique bookstore to find it closed :( Then walked another long way to Cafe Sperl, another old established Viennese cafe. Had an amazing sachertorte there before going back to Mariahilferstrasse. Found the most amazing indie record store in a little street next to Mariahilferstrasse. Spent the longest time there ever looking through cds. Bought Arcade Fire's Funeral and KoC's Riot On An Empty Street which were relatively cheap. Everything else was expensive but the store is still super amazing and was the type of indie music store I always dreamt of going into - small and indie with nice people and selling LPs and band shirts and other merchandise. The people there were really really nice, I think they were surprised to see a young Asian girl cos everyone else was old and loyal customers HAHA. They offered me drinks and also told me to stay for a band which was gonna perform at the shop, both of which I politely declined because I was running out of time. Rushed back to the hotel to meet the sissy, had lunch at some atas restaurant which sold normal European food eg pasta. Went for a nice horse carriage ride around St Stephan's.

Saturday 29/4: Went to the supermarket to buy chocolates, packed up, lazed around in the hotel room watching tv (AUSTRIA IS SHOWING OC SEASON 2!!!!! All German-dubbed, which makes Julie Cooper sound like a mega-bitch) before leaving for the airport :(

29/4-30/4: Long-ass journey back to Singapore. Dubai airport was almost dead so I couldn't people-watch and wanderlust. Besides, I was too tired and bummed about going back to Singapore so I just stoned with my ipod. Managed to watch Sherlock Holmes 2 and Wizard of Oz on the plane, listened to more of the indie channel as well as Oasis.

Started out this post with nothing to write about but now that I wrote a day-by-day summary I have so much more to say. The trip, like I've said before, is what I've dreamt of doing for forever - exploring and getting lost in random cobble-stoned streets surrounded by old architecture and history, visiting churches and museums, visiting cafes and people-watching, getting used to a new culture. Didn't have enough time, really. I could explore forever. And there were so many places left to visit. I felt like the tourist attractions were a waste of time and it's the places you chance upon randomly which were most rewarding. The tourist attractions seriously took up so much of my time, siannnnnnn. I could have explored much more if I didn't go to these tourist attractions. Still, I can't exactly complain because I got to go to Vienna. Exploring Vienna on my own felt good because I wasn't accountable to anyone. It felt like there were so many possibilities, and I was on an adventure. The foreignness of being alone in a foreign land surrounded by a foreign language didn't faze me much, the only times I felt uncomfortable were at tourist places where I was alone and the only Asian. Also, the only time I really hated not understanding German was at museums, where everything was labelled in German and hence I could only stare at artefacts to geek out :( Being surrounded by the German language 24/7 made me realise how ugly the German language is. With that said, the music scene in Vienna is quite amazing, because they listen to English music even though everything else is in German. H&M was playing Beach House's Myth???? And Forever 21 was playing A Fine Frenzy and Feist remixes! Also, some random ice cream truck was playing Kings of Leon (Y)(Y) Oh yes I also saw a real-life hippie!!!! Who had dreadlocks and carried an Indian cloth bag and walked around barefoot and wore ripped jeans showing off his underwear :O Didn't get to shop much, which was a real pity but things in Vienna aren't that cheap anyway, contrary to what I thought.... Really wished I shopped more and ate more and visited more cafes and churches and museums and walked around/explored more :( I swear I belong in Europe with all its churches and museums and history and old buildings and cobblestoned streets and cafes and music. Need to find money and travel to Europe more, somehow.

Now that I'm back in Singapore, I'm really hating this weather. Also my bodyclock is majorly screwed up because of jetlag and also because I cannot sleep on planes. Slept for 17 hours last night, it's 2 am now and I don't think I could fall asleep anytime soon... Hong Kong with my classmates seems to be happening, I could seriously travel and explore forever :) Maybe traveling and exploring (and wanderlusting) is my way of escaping from the drudgeries of life. Seriously starting to hate my life in Singapore. People are starting to get accepted into unis overseas, which makes me sad and jealous. Anthro and UK have always been a dream but of course, reality is a major bitch. Maybe I don't have the willpower to achieve things either, unlike the way other people are so set on achieving things. This is why I don't think I could ever achieve much in life. I like the life of a hippie. I wanna travel and explore and listen to music forever.

2:18 AM;