Mike's Travels

Mike's travel journal September 2001 through January 2002

Saturday, October 06, 2001

Vienna, is one of the coolest most beautiful places I have ever been to, thus far. The museum that I came to Vienna to see (MOMAK) was vast and incredible. The vibe of this city is strong. They really know what time it is here. Today I went to this place, The KunstHausWein. It was really cool because the house was made to explore theories that its architect had about the sancitity of the earth, and the power our dwellings have on our mental health. The house had trees living inside of it, and was mostly free of true horizontal and vertical lines, which the architect viewed as untrue creations of architecture. He was very interested in transforming the urban landscape in such a way that would allow for the human soul to thrive and dream without losing its connection to the earth. Even the floor was uneven, something which he thought allowed the human body to maintain its natural balance and rhythm.

Yesturday, I had the pleasure of watching the worst street performance of my entire life. It took over 1 hour for this American escape artist to get into and eventually, out of this straight jacket and chain. His jokes were bad, and his stage presence was much worse. Immediately following his show though, I watched this breakdancer crew do some of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It was great.

Lastly, I have been having a love affair with sleep these past couple of days. I am not sure if there is something wrong with me, or if my body is beginning to realize how much work travelling really is. For example, yesturday, I moved back into Wombats, after having stayed someplace else. I then did my laundry, and went out into the city. I walked around in the city for several hours, and then became overcome with sleepiness. So I went back to the hostel and slept for 3 hours. I did the same thing today, only I slept for 4 hours, but to be fair I was in the city for 8 hours just walking around. Part of me feels reaally bad about wasting precious minutes abroad stairing at the inside of my eyelids, but there is another part of me that realizes that taking it easy is the only way I won't burn out after couple of more weeks.

Maybe if the floors were a little more uneven, then I could restore my natural human balance, and find that I don't get as tired. These and other theories to be tested in the weeks and months to come. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, October 03, 2001

Everything has been really crazy these last few days. I left Munich on Sunday, and I went to Saltzberg, Austria for a couple of days. The hostel there was great, and full of really friendly Austrialians. Saltzberg is famous for being the birthplace of Motzart, but it is significantly more famous for being the site of 11 weeks of filming of the Sound of Music. A bunch of my newfound Aussie buddies were going on the Sound of Music tour, and I thought it might be campy fun, and it really was. The towns outside of Saltzberg that we visited were breathtaking, but they had no industry of their own outside that of the sound of music tour.

I learned a thing or two about Austrialians while I was living with them for a couple of days, and most hostels are full of Aussies and some Kiwis. They have special words that they say alot. For example:

American: Chug a beer
Austrialian: Skull a beer

American: Rent a car
Austrialian: Hire a car

American: Lots of fun
Austrialian: Heaps of fun

there are other words, but since I am not writing them down as I hear them, as to not seem rude, then I am having trouble remembering them all.

Today I am in Vienna, and currently I am typing this diary on a computer in the Wombats Hostel. It is pretty much the ultimate backpacker hang out in the all of Europe. I arrived in Vienna yesturday, because I heard in Saltzberg that Vienna has a brand new Modern Art Muesum. When I got here, Wombats and this other hostel I went to were full, so I had to stay someplace else. Tonight I am blessed to be staying in Wombats, but if I want to stay in Vienna, I cannot stay here anymore than one night, because it is booked for the week. Nuts.

Keep it real everybodz, I am trzing to. Please note: German kezboards invert the y and the z kezs which make tzping harder.