The Beauty of Desire

Hostel located. Wiiiiiiiiiiith a brothel next door. Were we back in Dam?!

My first impressions of Vienna were far from positive. It seemed as though our European travels were doomed. It was late, it was dark, we'd had trouble finding the correct train station, a guy had hassled us for money (Apparently, volunteering to help two ladies carry their cases down 24 steps involves a fee!). The taxi driver couldn't find the hostel, and I hate to admit, we had even opted to eat a KFC. The one thing I hate doing when abroad. 

No...we did not give the guy any money. I'm stubborn :)

Waking up the next morning was NOT delightful in the slightest.

After a 10 minute bus journey in to the city centre, which we didn't bother paying for (Naughty!), I jumped off the bus with the most enthusiasm I could muster (not much), looked up... 

...and was stunned by the pure beauty of absolutely everything! Buildings, parks, shops, monuments. All so...clean, white, big. Grand. Classy. All so...WOW!

I whipped my map and notes out. Where would I start?!

 

I'd circled the things I wanted to see; the Haus House, St Stephen's Cathedral, the Opera house, the Anchor Clock. But it seemed that everywhere I looked there was already something beautiful, ready to be marvelled at.

This was the city to take that opportunity. To stand back and soak in the beauty. I folded my map and placed it back in my pocket.

B's 'itchy feet' had been allowed to stand still and let life catch up with them.

If I hadn't mentioned already, this was my time out. My travelling was a time for me. I hate to say it, but it was set aside to 'find myself', to not rely on a man to make me happy. Going from seeing someone every day for 4 years, to being totally alone was bound to have an effect.

It is said that "the desire of a man is for the woman, but the desire of a woman is for the desire of the man" (Samuel Taylor Coleridge). The beautiful paiing by Klimt known as 'The Kiss' made me stand still and contemplate this. I was trying to figure it out. What does it mean? For about half an hour I must have stood in awe. Thinking; Is the woman enjoying the embrace? Is she almost pulling away? Are they in love? What does it represent?

I came to only one conclusion, 'He adores her'.

Right there and then I told myself I'd made the right choice by leaving. I'd never felt that. Okay, I'd felt attracted to and loved, but never adored. I smiled to myself, maybe one day, but for now it was just me. I had all the time in the world to be desired.

After all this deep thought; staring at the gold encrusted painting, smiling silly to myself, nodding in agreement with my realisations, and the occasional passer by giving me the 'what a weirdo' look, Rosie took her cue in falling off her seat and our bursts of 'bhahahahaha!' laughter pierced the silence of the room. I suppose there's only so much space for serious sentiment, and then you just need a good old laugh to cleanse the soul. Perfect timing on Rosies part if you ask me! :)

After a whole day of moments like this, marvelling and then being brought back to reality by hilarious things happening (I wont go into detail; I would only end up saying 'You had to be there!'), we'd worked up a monsterous appetite.

FOOD!!!!

Budget permitting we couldn't eat like kings every night, so we adopted a German speaking Belgium guy (as you do) and went for a cheap meal in a Bistro bar. The traditional Austrian dish Wiener Schnitzel was ordered (a thin piece of breadcrumbed deep-fried veal), served with a slice of lemon and a potato side dish, and accompanied by a pint of Ottakringer, the local beer. Filling!!

We burnt off the calories with a little walk through the streets in search of a place for the next part of the meal. Dessert. Oh no... I was about to burst as it was.

That's when we discovered Restaurant 1070.

The hostess invited us to sit at a small table outside with a big, warm, welcoming smile. Straight away I took a liking to her. She was brilliant; very helpful and also had a laugh and joke with us. We allowed her to choose us a typical wine from the region, and as we talked about the day, she poured our tipple. Giving us each a glass of water  too, "because when you drink red wine you always need the water!" she said as she raised her eyebrows. Uni days and Rosie's Mulled wine = OH! We know!

When we asked to look at the dessert menu, she told us to leave it to her... and I'm more than pleased we did!

1. Because they have no menus, and 2. Because the next thing we know, we each have a beautifully served selection plate placed infront of us.

I dug in.

More than 1 year on, I can't exactly remember what the desserts were, but my memory recalls a zesty orange sorbet? A pear mouse? And a dark berry chocolate cake? I just remember thinking 'My golly gosh. These are Delicious!'.

THIS was the reason I had travelled. I had desired food. I was hungry for more and now I was being fed.