First Impressions of Vienna

There are rumors about how Europeans are not so hospitable to strangers and are especially racist to Asians, while my first day in Vienna pulverized them. I could not so easily get to the hostel from the airport if there weren’t such nice “Viennese” (I am not sure if they were both Viennese). At the CAT station, there was a guy who came to me voluntarily and showed me where the U4 was, while I was lost and confused about the signs. An old lady pointed the elevator out to me and helped me lift my giant suitcase into the elevator while I was managing to walk downstairs to the platform with it. She didn’t know any English, and I didn’t know so much German (I have only done German 101). It was the unspoken words that made me feel like home, after the tiring flight and the sickness of mine. 

The public transportation surprised me a lot. I imagined that people here would prefer cars to buses or undergrounds because they could mostly afford cars (I suppose?), just like in the states. However, the city has such developed U-bahn system. The stations are easily accessible, reasonably located (where it does not cause traffic but not too far from local attractions and busy places). There are variable kinds of tickets provided to meet different needs of people. There are direction signs and maps in and out of the stations, clearly composed. There are elevators from the ground to the underground. There are colored lights and decorations on the ground, the ceiling and the walls indicating the matching lines, which I think is the most human-friendly design.

 In addition, it is so easy to transfer from the U-bahns to trams, which is even more convenient. The locations of the tram stations are also very convenient--they are never too far from each other or too far from the busy locations where people would mostly like to go. In China, there are developed underground systems in cities like Beijing or Shanghai. While the trains are newer and better in Beijing, the U-bahn system here could be more human-friendly. One last thing about transportation is that there are more people riding bikes as a way of transportation other than a way of exercise. At the same time, there is the clearly indicated bikeway, sometimes occupying more space then the pavements, and there are special traffic lights for bikes, which is, again, human-friendly. 

The way people enjoying coffee and breads here, to me, is the way in which they enjoy life. There are cafés in every corner of the city. There are bakeries in every subway station. And they all taste great! Even the coffee from the coffee machine at the lobby of our hostel tastes better than Starbucks. (I think so.) As I am writing this blog at a café right now, there are people come and go here. Some of them had a piece of cake and left. Some of them have been chatting for the whole afternoon, with a cup of coffee, which reminds me of the day when we had coffee at the stephanplatz and then beer at the Ringstraße. Everybody was just talking and  enjoying the day. It is so relaxing to be here. 

The first week experience could be only a glare to the city and its culture. I am so excited and eager to explore more and enjoy living my life here as part of the city while examining the experience as a curious foreigner far away from the other half of the world.