Day 2 in Vienna...it gets a little better

So Day 2 in Vienna...

It started to get a little better. We woke up, had breakfast and went to the Belvedere. Steve's favorite artist is Gustav Klimt. He basically came to Vienna to see his work, so we spent almost the entire day there. I don't love museums, but it was still really cool. We took a bunch of pictures in the gardens as we walked between the two buildings too. After that, we started walking around and headed into Central Vienna. Once we walked out of the underground station, we felt so much better. FINALLY we started seeing some activity. Before, we were in areas where there were no people. Now we started seeing a busier city. We started feeling a lot better. We walked around and found a place to eat for dinner. After a nice dinner, we started walking around and found a few cool sites that had some decent lighting on them at night. We passed through what I think was part of the Jewish area...but we are going to try and go back there tomorrow. Of course, I don't know what they were...but they looked nice! Then we headed into a bar for some drinks. Then we came back to our hostel, played some billiards and now I'm typing up this post. So overall today wasn't a terrible day. We are starting to like Vienna a little bit more. However, stores closing at 7:00pm is a little odd. But tomorrow, a little more exploring and then we head back to London.

Something about London...I just got an email from the U.S. Department of State about a warning in the London area:

Emergency Message for U.S Citizens – Demonstrations Scheduled to Take Place In Central London and the City Of London on Wednesday, November 9, 2011

U.S. Embassy London advises U.S. citizens that on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 a number of demonstrations, listed below, are likely to cause considerable congestion in central London and the City of London, most significantly a protest organized by the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts.

National Campaign against Fees and Cuts
The National Campaign against Fees and Cuts will protest in opposition to Higher Education reform with a march and rally expected to run from 12:30PM to 6:30PM.

Previous student demonstrations and politically-motivated, student-based protests in London have led to significant disorder and a number of arrests for various offenses, including public order and criminal damage.  Activists have stated they are trying to organize ‘walk outs’ and campus occupations across the capital.  The City of London and the various ‘Occupy’ campaigns are also attracting significant attention from student activists as well as anarchist and anti-capitalist groups.

Organizers hope to attract up to 10,000 protesters and police will provide a proportionate response. 

A map detailing the route is below and areas expected to be affected are the London Boroughs of Westminster, Camden, Southwark, Lambeth and City of London (Malet Street, Gower Street, Bloomsbury Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, Charing Cross Road, Duncannon Street, Strand, Fleet Street, Fetter Lane, New Fetter Lane, Holborn Viaduct, Newgate Street, King Edward Street, and London Wall)

Additionally, there will be numerous road closures with fixed and temporary road closures along the whole route. London, Southwark, Blackfriars and Waterloo Bridges (Northbound) may be closed if required. Closures will begin at 9:00AM and increase throughout the day.

I should be ok since I am getting back at 10:15pm...but we will see what happens. I'm sure I will be able to get back to my flat...but it was a little scary getting the email. I signed up on the travel.gov website letting the Department of State know that I was staying in the country so they would send me relevant information....I'm really glad that I did AND I'm glad to know it works...

Here's to staying safe!