A quick and relatively hassle free passage through customs and baggage check at Sydney Airport allowed me to board the Lauda Air flight to Vienna just before 5pm. The aeroplane taxied out on the runway but was forced to return to the terminal due to an electrical problem, apparently the backup generator was low in oil. One hour later we were on our way, flying the 8.5 hour first leg to Kuala Lumper then a further 10.5 hours to Vienna in the long-haul Boeing 777. A twin-jet aeroplane, the Boeing 777 is smaller than its older 747 cousin, yet still capable of carrying around 340 passengers.

I was impressed with the entertainment system aboard this aircraft, with each seat containing a small LCD screen in the headrest. In addition to the standard movie and radio presentations, there was also an interactive entertainment section with all sorts of games, such a checkers, chess, solitaire, and backgammon. I was not able to defeat the computer at checkers in the medium-difficulty level at all, despite playing countless games during the flight. I did have success with the easy-difficulty level the one time that I tried, but that was no challenge. I did not even attempt the hard-difficulty level.

Saturday, 11th May, 2002

We arrived in Vienna on schedule at exactly 6am, and I was able to breeze through immigration by simply flashing my Dutch passport, the official didn’t even look at my documentation. Once in the arrivals lounge, I headed straight for the information help desk, found out where I could leave my luggage overnight at the airport, changed some U.S. dollars into euro dollars, and inquired about catching the shuttle bus to Westbahnhof train station, close to where I planned to stay. After waiting for about half an hour, I departed the airport at 7:25am as the sole passenger on the shuttle bus. The 35 minute drive into Wein was fairly scenic; I was surprised at the amount of lush, dark, green grass and vegetation that stretched across the countryside. As you draw nearer to the city, the freeway passes an industrial zone, with huge metal and concrete structures typical of heavy industry dotting the skyline. Upon arriving at Westbahnhof, I made the short walk across to the Wombats Hostel, where I had planned to stay for the night. Unfortunately I was informed that the hostel was completely full, however the young man at the front desk was very helpful in finding me alternative accommodation, ringing through to another youth hostel not far away and making a reservation. Another half hour walk took me to the hostel at around 9am, where fortunately there was accommodation available for that evening; however I was not able to check-in to my room until 2pm. I was able to store my backpack and notebook bag in the hostel storage room until check-in, so armed with a simple city map and my digital camera, completely exhausted after 19 sleepless hours in the air, and without the luxury of a shower since leaving Sydney, I set out to explore the city of Vienna.

Incidentally, the hostel that I did eventually stay in seemed to be the better choice, since it was much closer to the city centre than the one I had originally planned to stay in. Without an actual plan or route for my exploration, I simply wandered in the general direction of central Vienna, as guided by my trusted map. After only 10 minutes, I stumbled upon what looked like a quant old museum, complete with grass hedges, magnificently crafted statues of men on horses and beautiful water fountains. The further I walked towards the CBD, the more incredible and beautiful the scenery became; majestic church buildings with towering steeples and arched stone gateways with intricate sculpturing lining the cobblestone streets. Horse-drawn carriages with immaculately dressed horsemen carried tourists through this magnificent and spectacularly historical city, bringing with them the pungent odour usually associated with the bottom of stables. After wandering around for several hours and getting mildly lost only twice, I managed to find my way back to the hostel, check-in to my dormitory room, and have a long overdue shower.

A brief rest after such a busy morning afforded me the energy to carry on my whirlwind tour of Wien. Gathering the courage to use the public transport system, I purchased a 24 hour ticket for just under five Euro, and boarded the Vienna underground (called the U-bahn). During the rest of the afternoon and evening I rode the U-bahn all across the city, making sure I rode a train on each of the six lines, disembarking occasionally to get a better view and to take pictures of the city. I walked across one of the bridges that spans the Danube River, which was one of the most beautiful parts of the city.

At around 8pm, with the sun setting and tiredness fast creeping over me, I trudged the few blocks back to my hostel from the subway station. A gentle thunderstorm had developed during the afternoon, and as it began to rain I ducked into a small Italian restaurant. Ordering the Vegetariana pizza from the menu, I really should not have been surprised when the pizza was brought out containing carrot, cauliflower, and broccoli as toppings. Despite the unusual choice of vegetables, the pizza was delicious, and after quickly devouring most of it, I made my way back to the hostel and climbed straight into bed.

Sunday, 12th May, 2002

The rapid change in time zones that comes with flying half-way around the world in a short period of time did not sit well with me; I woke up at 2am, then again at 4am (when two other hostel guests that I was sharing a room with stumbled in). By 6:30am I decided it was time to get up and have a quick shower. I headed downstairs to check out the complimentary breakfast included with the night’s accommodation. The buffet breakfast consisted of very plain, tasteless muesli with milk, bread rolls with butter and sliced cheese or meat, and tea or coffee. Such a limited food selection really destroyed my appetite, but I ate what I could, grabbed my bags and checked-out of the room, walked the six blocks to the nearest U-bahn, caught the train to Westbahnhof, and waited for the 8:30am shuttle bus back to the airport.

By the time I arrived at the airport just after 9am, it was already bustling with crowds of people, and I had a difficult time re-packing my bags from the left luggage department. Check-in was fairly uneventful, however my luggage was quite significantly overweight, and although I was able to get away with such heavy luggage from Sydney, I was charged an additional 100 euro for the short trip from Vienna to Tirana. The Tyrolean Airlines 80-seater twin propeller plane was also delay by nearly 20 minutes, so we did not depart Vienna until after 11:30am. The 1:30 hour flight was fairly uneventful; there was a fair amount of cloud about which made it difficult to see anything on the ground. Just after 1pm we landed at Tirana’s Rinas International Airport.