Vienna might not have meant anything to Ultravox but we quite liked it. Not used to having to be anywhere at a particular time we kept Adrian waiting 30 mins when we caught the slow train instead of the fast intercity between Bratislava and Vienna. Adrian was a friend and was working as a diplomat in Vienna. His apartment was exactly how you'd imagine a diplomat's residence to be, a light and airy town house apartment with floor to ceiling windows. Our aim for our stay was to catch up over coffee or wine.
We started by doing this in a local wine bar a short walk away and enjoyed fine wine (significantly better than Uzbek wine) together with a selection of cheese and cold meats. For the next couple of days we ate virtually every meal out, including breakfast. The $20 a day budget was thrown out the window as we visited the best coffee shops, restaurants and bakeries that Vienna had to offer, expertly guided by Adrian.
It rained for most of our stay but we did do a little sight seeing, in between coffees, and visited several of the art galleries, including the Albertina and the MUMOK Museum of Modern Art, where we found good coffee shops.
On our last night the British Ambassador held a party for us at his residence. OK, Adrian invited us to the work Christmas do. The Ambassador's residence didn't disappoint, a huge house with chandeliers in a classic Vientiane building and contrasting modern art on the walls. Adrian had been adamant that the dress code was casual and jeans would be fine, we hadn't believed him, but when we arrived we were relieved to see that even the Ambassador was in jeans, with a ridiculous Christmas jumper. Carol singing was obligatory and so was the mulled wine.
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