2004.09.21 in Vienna

Again we woke up talking about poker and how great it was to play with so many different people. We've learned a lot and these poker experiences were unforgettable. Jagr didn't show up but playing hold'em with an Irish, ex-pat Canadian, American, Serbian, Czech, Brit, Israeli, and Italian dealer was all worth it. We hurry to catch our morning train to Wien (Vienna) realizing it's at a different metro/rail station than the one we arrived from - we were running up stairs with our full packs on and that's damn tiring, considering Prague's metro stations seem to be a kilometre underground!

From Wien's Sudbahnhof rail station, we tram it over to Westbahnhof. Austria's metro system is very similar to Germany's and it doesn't take long to adjust. Westbahnhof is the closest station to where Wombat's City hostel is located. Wombat's is another Europe's Famous recommended hostel and so far so good - they have dorm beds available and it's a well-organized, clean hostel, as expected. It was late afternoon and since we're tired, we choose to stay for 2 nights since today seems pretty shot in terms of exploring the city...

We chat with our roommates Bob and Emma who are from New Zealand and Australia, respectively. Not surprisingly, they've been traveling for months and have worked in the UK to pay for more travelling. They suggest these good turkey schnitzel burgers down the street - they become our dinner for only 2 euros each. We wander around a nearby shopping district along Mariahilfer Str and with the poker itch still on our minds we end up looking for Casino Vienna. Turns out they have strict dress code and don't even have hold'em. (*EDIT: it's the Concord Card Casino that has hold'em and is where that Italian dealer from Prague used to deal.)