Vienna, Austria IV: My second home

M persuaded me to extend my stay in Europe (well, I didn't need that much persuasion actually), so I made a quick search and found a one-way ticket back to Singapore from Istanbul for 200 euros (350 SGD). I jumped at it. But now the question is how should I get from Vienna to Istanbul? I wanted to take a bus through Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria and visit those places along the way but friends back home advised me not to due to visa and safety issues. I really wanted to explore Eastern Europe but since this is my first trip alone, I didn't want to risk safety. So I decided to take a flight to Istanbul (which cost me 250+ euros, more than my flight back to SG pff) and go to Poland in between.

Staying with a friend meant I could spend time doing nothing, go grocery shopping, cook, hang out with my friend and basically live like a local for a few days. It was so great. Hostel stays just isn't the same. I'm very anti-social in hostels because I get tired of small talks which usually circle around where are you from (if the other party has been to your country, ask about his/her experience), how long are you travelling/have been travelling, where have you been to and where are you going and you only meet these people for at most 2/3 days. So yes I don't bother unless I'm in my I-feel-like-talking-and-knowing-people mood or I meet really nice people whom I click with instantly. Even couchsurfing is a little different because there's the getting-to-know-you awkwardness and will-we-get-along worry. So now I just need more friends abroad which is a pity I didn't start travelling more when a lot of my friends were studying overseas.

We made strawberry tarts! Well actually M made them and I assisted. After we are done, both of us whipped out our cameras instead of our forks and started snapping photos. Hee. Food styling is so fun!





Apple strudel in vanilla sauce. *wiggles eyebrows* We My friend cooked other things too, pasta, cream mushroom soup, cream zucchini soup, rice pudding.. I love the soups and I swore I'm going to try when I'm back but I have yet to do so. Oops.









M's roommate, M (yes they're the M&Ms!)'s friend invited them to her garden to pick cherries. She invited me as well and I had such a lovely time picking fresh cherries right off the tree. We had a lovely afternoon hanging out (and napping) in her garden on the beach chairs. Then we had a spitting competition to see who could spit the cherry seeds the furthest. I was terrible at it, M went "It's obvious you're from Singapore!" Hah. So they changed the game to spitting the cherry seeds into a bucket and I got so good I won a piece of cake. Not too bad eh ;)

The four of us also went to a vineyard and enjoyed the night view of Vienna from on top of a hill. And the M&Ms brought me to a music festival. It was packed with people but the songs were too rock/techno for my liking so we left early.

I was really reluctant to leave this comfortable place and I LOVE their apartment! It's in an old Victorian(??) building which is just beautiful. The apartment has a ceiling which is about twice as high as the ones in Singapore, I loooove high ceilings. Because they have high ceilings, they have long windows and with long windows come beautiful long curtains. And they have carpets! I love carpets. The furniture they have is mostly made out of wood (I love wood!) so it really fit in well with the Victorian theme. So basically their apartment has everything I want in a home. The company was another reason that made me reluctant to leave, I had a swell of a time with M but their exams were coming up so it was a good time to leave them to their books.