Vienna

I landed in Vienna after talking to an entrepreneur on the plane from Istanbul. This was the first time in one month I felt cool air! I arrived to my host home and enjoyed some conversation about the church situation in Vienna. The next day I toured the main sites of the city. Vienna is known for their sausage, Mozart, and museums just to name a few.

I spent hours riding a bike around the city the next two days. Bikes cost one euro to set up an account and is free as long as you return the bike to another station within an hour, if not then they charge one euro an hour! I nearly crashed many times and wobbled so much. After all, I’ve only rode a bike once or twice in the last eight years… I spontaneously decided to buy a ten euro ticket to Bratislava for sight-seeing and a church meeting. A wonderful decision!

Duration

3 days + 1 day in Bratislava

Accommodation

Missionary’s home (3 nights), believer’s home (1 night)

Favorite Food

Halusky (dumplings with sheep cheese and bacon)

Favorite Site

Schonbrunn Palace

Cool Person I Met

Alex. Alex is a recent college graduate traveling the world on his own with the mission to “live it up” and party. He didn’t respond with much enthusiasm when I introduced myself on a free walking tour. I thought he may have been sick because he was wearing a hoodie and didn’t respond to my attempts at small talk. He shared about his hangover and plans to party next in Budapest.

Highlight

Getting lost around the city on a bike

Big Takeaway

Vienna is the “most livable city in Europe”. Before I learned this fact, I noticed the street cleanliness, train promptness, pure water, reasonable prices, beautiful parks and buildings, rich musical history, and accessible city bikes. The city is wonderful but not my favorite. Someone asked me, “how does Vienna rate compared to the other cities you’ve visited?”. I think it ranks number 12 of 20 cities. How did I come up with this ranking? Well, it’s mostly based on my general feeling and based on some objective criteria. Let me explain…

Deciding your favorite city is super subjective and is based on what you enjoy and your specific experiences while in the city (whether good or bad). My answer to anyone who asks for my favorite city is it depends! My favorite junk food was in Brussels, my favorite site was in Rome, and my favorite experience was in Prague. If I’m forced to pick one city (which isn’t a fair request!), then I think it’s best to aggregate my enjoyment based on judging city characteristics (food, people, culture, sites, history, experiences, excursions, climate, etc.). So far, my favorite city in Europe may be Prague with Edinburgh and Florence close behind!

Your Turn

What is your favorite city?

What criteria or characteristics are most important to you when evaluating a city?