I woke up at around 11am and couldn’t fall back asleep. I decided that I would take a nap later in the day and head out while it was still light outside. I put on a few layers since this was going to be the coldest city I’d visited on the trip and hit the streets.
I hadn’t planned my day out, but ended up deciding to visit Belvedere Palace. On the way, I stopped for a croissant and chai tea.
By the time I got to the palace, the wind had picked up and I thought I was going to get knocked over by how strong it was. This also meant that it was freezing. After overlooking the gardens for a bit and walking around the exterior, I decided to go inside and visit the museum.
One of the most famous pieces of art at the Upper Belvedere was a painting called ‘The Kiss.’ The museum’s website described it as follows: The Kiss (Lovers) by Gustav Klimt is the most famous Austrian painting and the highlight of the permanent collection at the Upper Belvedere. It shows a couple swathed in richly embellished robes embracing in a meadow of flowers on the brink of a precipice. The painting dates from 1907/08 at the height of Klimt’s “Golden Period” when the artist developed a new technique of combining gold leaf with oils and bronze paint.
I really liked the flower room and the paintings of nature as well. As I walked through the museum, there were various windows overlooking the gardens from above and the view was beautiful.
I decided to walk through the gardens to the Lower Belvedere museum since the ticket that I bought included admission to both. I stopped for pictures along the way but when I arrived, I found out that the museum was closed through the end of the month.
I was getting hungry and had been craving ramen, so I headed to Shoyu Ramen. I ordered Agedashi Tofu which was amazing—I had missed tofu over the past few weeks. I also got their house made lemonade with mint and Green Ramen with lots of vegetables and soy sauce broth. The portion size was pretty big so I took the rest with me.
After eating, I walked back to the hostel. The sky looked beautiful and I stopped to take a few pictures and videos along the way. I was surprised to find that I had the room to myself for the night when I got back and I took a quick nap before heading downstairs at around 10pm to heat up my leftovers before starting work.
Since I took the past couple days off, my sleep schedule had shifted slightly but it wasn’t too bad and I stayed up through my shift without any issues. I decided that the next day I would have a relaxing afternoon.
