I think I'm turning Viennese I really think so

I went to Vienna to attend/present at a conference related to my studies. The conference was over four days, and it was not only interesting, but reassuring to see that our thoughts are inline with (and in some aspects, maybe even ahead of) others in the field. I met people with a number of similar research interests and got some new leads to follow. A change of scenery in which to think - definitely helped to renew motivation in my work....

I won't talk about the conference, as it is slightly off track with what I usually write about, except to say my presentation went OK. I was there for almost a week - so in addition to the conference, there was also time for fun & touristic stuff. But nothing crazy like Iceland or Koeln. The conference organised various activities. On the first night, we got a guided tour, followed by a nice dinner at the Klosterneuburg Monastery. Very cool, extremely old, with a rich history, and of course with wine made in the Kloster. The next night the delegates were invited by the Mayor of Vienna to the amazing city hall for a cocktail and canapes evening. Lunches weren't included in the conference package, but instead they recommended various restaurants around the place, so I hung out a lot during the days with other delegates, indulging in various treats - such as schnitzels the size of my head, or a brauhaus with a pan full of some sort of deer casserole. Excellent.

Klosterneuburg Monastery

City hall reception we in the VIP yeah yeah

The first day I arrived I stayed with Michael who graciously offered me his couch through Couchsurfing, as my accommodation for the conference was booked for the day after. He works in IT, and after taking me for a tour around some of the main touristy sights of Vienna (simply amazing city) we checked out The Metalab. The lab is what's known as a 'Hacker's Space' basically where people who are interested in technology to hang out and do things/be creative. Kinda stuff you see in the art-world, but this is with a tech focus. Was cool - they had just finished some competition to make a game, etc. I also enjoyed playing the Wii - I'm pretty good at boxing:)
Actually I spent lots of time hanging with the Viennese Couchsurfers - as they are a _very_ active community. The first night Michael & I met up with Christine, Spyro and Rachie - barhopping for a bit, starting at Chelsea's (a bar), quickly skipping through some bar for youngsters, before ending up at this place which is not advertised or with signs, you just open this blue door and suddenly there's some awesome bar with projected lights, music and bizarre ghetto toilets with graffiti. You'd never know it existed if you didn't know it was there. There was a Couchsurfing picnic on the long weekend - which I hit up late (after spending the day refining my speech, and then spending hours trying to find them in the massive park) - and hung out there a while, meeting a whole bunch more ppl over food, etc - before heading back to Christine's place to chill-out. Throughout the week I constantly met up with ppl at night. For example, one night I went to a Dancehall night (think Sean Paul). I was probably the whitest there (except for Ingrid) enjoying watching the set steps. Last night I was there we had a group dinner, then hit up some bar which was full of youngsters thrashing out to alternative music, followed by hitting the well known club Flex - which is by the water. Flex was a cool club, but it kinda reminded me of those clubs in movies, you know the type where the club is also the HQ of the evil European boss. Like that. Hhahah. We had good times - hanging out with a good group of ppl. Great fun.

Party people

Toilet action

Vienna is an amazingly beautiful city. Every building is impressive, like you see some buildings and find out that's a library, or a university - expecting more like a presidential palace or something. I went a bit street-scene crazy with my camera, but my mum asked me to, so I have an excuse:) Just look at the album and it's understandable as to why. As mentioned, Michael took me on quite a thorough tour on my first day there. I also met up with Anton, a mate from Cambridge who was also visiting Vienna at the same time. He was there with another friend from Cambridge, Anne and we met up with a friend he met in Belarus, Alena, who now lives in Vienna. So on my last day we charged around the city, checking out the sights, such as various parks, the Wien (hah), and generally being stupid/having fun. Actually we met up the night before, and hit up that same 'hidden' bar, where Anton and crew were taken by their host - again, pictures of the toilet were taken...

Beware of the mighty Wien

Penguin Molestation Down 'n Dirty

I seriously can't believe the population of Vienna is the same as Perth. It seems way bigger - well, I mean it seems like a city. Apparently it's one of the nicest cities to live in, as it is a big-small city; all the advantages with good transport, etc; without the big city problems. I had a great time there - highly recommended!

Photos....