Having "Me" Time

I love food, I love markets, I love going grocery shopping.  The variety of produces that now abound in our supermarkets (as a result of trade) is heaven.  There is everything you could possibly want but nothing beats going to an open air market.  Europe has a culture of these markets and if you love markets, in Vienna you must surely go to the Naschmarkt.  Naschmarkt is one of the most popular market and stretches out roughly 1.5km along the Wienzeile.  It's a long walk, but you won't feel a thing being absorbed with all the produces that buildings that surround the area.  If you are an art nouveau fan like I am, you can combine the trip to the market with a visit to the Secession Building and the Wagner Apartments .  The Secession building was designed in the "Jugendstil style" and has a motto on the facade which translated says "To every Age its Art, to Art its Freedom." I am drawn to this windowless whi...

What better month to start my virtual trip to Austria than in the month of love?  Amongst the number of european cities I've visited, for me Vienna, Austria was by far the most romantic city of all.  Even more romantic than Paris.  You could wonder if it perhaps depended on whom I went on the trip with? My answer is no.  These were cities I went around exploring on my own and cities I grew in love with.  Don't get me wrong, I love Paris, but somehow I love Vienna more.  It's one of those things you just don't know why, but you do. To understand a city, one must first know a little of its history so here's a brief primer.  Originating as a Celtic settlement before turning into a major trading center under the Babenberg dynasty, the city became the Imperial city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  The empire ruled from the 13th century to the 18th century and spread from modern day Italy to Russia and even encompassed Bosnia.  Thr...