The 3 Ss

Saturday was filled with the 3 Ss: Sight-seeing, shopping and SALSA. My day started with a trip on the U6 to Alser Strasse to visit a dance shop. I am now the proud owner of a new pair of Supadance latin 3.5 inch heels. I walked around the area a bit but its not that sight-seeing worthy.

My next stop was Naschmarkt for a stroll through the flea market. It was very warm yesterday so I promptly bought a Chinese fan to accompany my stroll. The flea market seems very chaotic and frankly a little boring. Its sort of like a Green Point stadium market from way back.

After a quick lunch in the market I delved into the Museums district of Vienna: The Natural History Museum and the Museums Quartier. It seems like every museum building in Vienna is a beautifully decorated architectural marvel. The Natural History Museum is yet another one. The foyer ceiling is worth mentioning and the decor on the walls of each exhibition room. I can't say I was terribly impressed by the exhibitions (Special exhibition: Darwin evolution). The elephant was actually the statue in front of the NMH. I'm Europe and I've been inundated with lions and now elephants.

The photo on the right is the Venus of Willendorf at 25,000 years old. Its kept in a dark room with only a little overhead light. It was found in the Danube valley and believed to be a symbol of fertility. No trip a NHM is complete without a dinosaur skeleton or three.

The Museums Quartier is a young trendy area to grab a drink nestled between lots of museums. I'll go back another day to wonder through the various on offer. They do have the strangest outdoor chairs though: bright pink.

My final destination of the day was Floridita, a Cuban salsa bar near Stephansplatz. Its a non-smoking club, which is fantastic given Austria's lax smoking rules and they have a bag check so you don't have to clutch a purse and try to dance. A couple of people joined me from IIASA and we danced for a few hours before catching various night buses home. The outing reminded me of why I dance, the fun, the energy and most of all the instant stress relief