Vienna, Austria

I arrived in Vienna in a thunderstorm of Highlander proportions and pitched up at Aktiv Camping Neue Donau, a good campsite just on the east side of the Danube River. The vast majority of the city is located on the west side though so my cycle rides to and from the city often meant getting soaked as the rain continued for most of my stay in the capital.

The city centre is radiates out from Stephensplatz and the Stephensdom Cathedral sits right in the centre (currently under plenty of scaffolding on two sides). The big gothic building has gothic spires and a tiled pattern roof which have become a symbol of the city. Inside, it is just as grand with a total of 18 altars.

A little walk north of the cathedral takes you to the former apartment and practice of Sigmund Freud, the "Father of Psychoanalysis", which is now a museum dedicated to his work. Inside, there is actually very little to see though - other than a selection of photographs and a few left-behind belongings like his hat and cane.

Heading south from the centre brings you to the Belvedere Palaces, two buildings set across a big royal garden. The main palace (Oberes Belvedere), further uphill, is certainly the bigger and more spectacular though. This one is now a renaissance art gallery with the likes of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss". The smaller palace (Unteres Belvedere) is now a baroque museum. The gardens are full of exquisite fountains and loads of statues of half-woman half-animal creatures with their boobs out.

In between the pristine Belvedere Park and the city centre is the war memorial and a cool sculpture which plays different industrial sounds as you move around it and get different perspectives.

After biking around in the rain all day I was in need of a drink and what better place to go than the 7-Stern-Brau Brewery. This bar/restraunt/pub/brewery serves 6 of its own brewed beers including a hemp-beer (with no associated side-effects) and a brilliant chili-beer which certainly has a kick. There are also beers brewed to traditional Austrian methods and tastes which are otherwise lost to history. It will go down as one of my favourite drinking establishments of the trip, a great place and away from the tourist crowds.

The city is a mix of old and new with great renaissance buildings in the centre now forming an abundance of museums and art galleries to such an extent that it is hard to know where to go and what to see. As a result, I spent more time marveling at the exteriors and wondering how I would ever get round them all and less time getting lost in the huge metropolis of exhibits.

Out of the centre, the city becomes increasingly modern and can been thought of as a major hub between Eastern and Western Europe. Add to that, big areas of public parkland and the city increasingly gives off the same vibes as Berlin - no bad thing at all.

Outside of the centre is the one building which defines Vienna, and maybe Austria too, more than any other - the Schonbrunn Palace. The sheer scale of the Hasburgs summer home defies belief (now I know what it feels like to be a midget) and as you move inside some of the palace's 1441 rooms you get the impression that each room is more spectacular and intricate than the last.

Outside, the huge gardens (the oldest Tiergarten in the world) are both vast and manicured to perfection with their own zoo and maze incorporated around the outskirts. The Gloriette viewing platform at the top of the hill, which itself is pretty special, is the only place to take in the whole view of the palace and gardens - as well as half of Vienna too.

South of the city lies the Zentralfriedhof Cemetary. Here, and within a few feet of each other in the "composer" section, are the graves of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Schonberg and a handful of Strauss's among others. There is also a big memorial to Mozart although his body is not actually buried here. The cemetary has a big domed chapel in the centre and it seems that everyone close to the middle is split up into a grid depending on their job title.

 Here Lies Beethoven

 Here lies Brahms

 Here lies Strauss

 Here lies Schubert

 ...but not Mozart

One thing that really intrigued me in the ciy was the design and architectural work of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser (try fitting that on a grain of rice). The Hundertwasserhaus and Kunsthaus are topsy-turvy multi-coloured buildings with uneven floors, random balconies and wonky pillars. Considering they are sat amongst simple grey housing blocks, I think they look fantastic.

I ended my stay in Vienna with a trip around the Reisenrad Ferris Wheel as the rain began to, well, rain and the dark of the evening began to, well, get darker. The ferris wheel is famous for Orson Welles' speech in the film "The Third Man" and gives a reasonable view of the city as well as the lights of the Prater Themepark below.

Vienna is a place which is grand in style and huge in scale but most of all it has left me with one feeling... I must return to see more of Austria.

Until then, Bratislava awaits.