Today was our last day wandering the streets and chilling in the cafes & bars of Europe (the last day for some time anyway). We also ducked into the Mumok, a stunning building with a real mix of contemporary art. The current installations were… interesting.

So anyway – here are some random thoughts on the trip so far:

Vienna has better record shops than Sydney

Seriously, I’ve been to half a dozen record shops in the last week without even looking for them and each one has been amazing. It’s been really hard for me to not buy a bunch of records, but the combination of the expense (when converted back to AUD) and difficulty transporting them home has restrained me.

Die Rechnung, Bitte – SERIOUSLY WE WANT TO PAY YOU FOR OUR FOOD AND DRINK

Between Dresden, Salzburg and Vienna – we’ve probably spent 13 hours waiting for staff to bring us our bill. While it doesn’t seem common for people to get up to pay, the amount of time it takes for us to receive our bill after requesting it is absurd. I’m convinced they either don’t want our money or don’t value our time. We sadly never got into the habit of asking for the bill as soon as our food arrived – protip for next time.

Vienna’s Vegan Revolution

While eating as a vegetarian was much easier this trip than previous ones (most menus have a vegetarian section now) the amount of vegan food in Vienna has been astonishing. There really must be a strong social movement going on here. As a victim of a burger that I asssumed to be meat but turned out to be vegan, I am not amused. Tez is loving it though 🙂

Contrary to popular belief, not all Austrians have German Shepherds

They mostly seem to have chihuahuas! And dogs are welcome almost everywhere – trains, inside cafes, inside handbags…

Austrians have more change than Germans

We haven’t been shamed a single time for pulling out a large bill to pay here! Unlike the almost constant confrontation in certain places in Germany. Wait staff in both countries carry around little pouches full of change so you can pay at your table, which is pretty nifty.