16.9.95 (Sat)

I am now in my room in Vienna. It is 8 am. I shall leave for the Westbahnhof in an hour to store my rucksack there. Then I will wander around the city. I will take a night train to Frankfurt tonight.

It was rainy and windy yesterday all the way through. It felt cold. Such weather was most discouraging to a tourist.

First I went to have a look at the Hundertwasser Haus. I don't think it was special or strange. A disappointment.

Then I went to see the Donau river. There were several branches of the river so I did not know really where to see. I got off the U-Bahn and walked around. I could not walk far because it was cold, wet and windy. The river was not scenic at all. Another disappointment.

Then I joined a guided tour in the Schloss Schonbrunn. It was quite good. I got to see the plain rooms of Franz Joseph I, the pictures of his very beautiful wife Empress Elisabeth, the many portraits of Empress Maria Theresa and her 16 (Whoa!) children, the richly decorated rooms, the Chinese influence and china collection in the Palace and listen to the stories. The garden behind the palace was also beautiful. I just saw the part closest to the palace but it should be very large.

After Schloss Schonbrunn, I returned to Stephansplatz and did window shopping. I thought of buying something but just did not feel like actually doing it. I could not carry too many things with me anyway.

Then by chance I discovered the entrance of the Stephan Dom (I usually missed the entrances of such places) so I went inside and had a look.

It appeared last night that this pension was also occupied by some others so I felt much easier.

The sky is clear and there is sunshine now. I hope the weather will be fine today.

I read the material about London in bed last night. I would have only about 2.5 days there yet I planned to tour around the city centre to see the major sights, go to the British Museum, visit Cambridge and Bath, and see "the Phantom of the Opera". There would be so little time and so much to do. I got anxious and nervous and almost could not sleep. I will try to work out a step-by-step detailed plan on my stay in London for easy and quick reference.

I have found out that I don't really need the British rail pass that I have. I just won't have the time to travel so much.