Well, as promised, here I am again. standing before you in the virtual sense, prepared to relate to you my epiphantic adventures. If I were asked to sum up most of my time in Europe, I would, honestly, have to say it has been a lot of walking. Seriously, I have been in Europe for a month now, and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Before you know it, I will be standing in front of you in the physical sense, prepared to tell all about my adventures. Anyway, let us get straight to the point of this post. Today, we woke up and had a pretty late start. We began our day at 10 a.m., and we walked back to the town square in the center of Vienna. Once we arrived, we were given an option. There was a museum of modern art, a museum of natural history, a museum of older art, and a museum featuring an Egyptian exhibit. Of course, most of us chose the Egyptian exhibit. Those who went to the art museums declared that they enjoyed that as well, but I do believe they missed out on a really cool experience. My sister and I, and perhaps my mother (not for sure), are fans of the Mummy movies with Brendan Frasier. Naturally, I had to see the underlying concepts to the movies. We saw a bunch of sarcophagi, a ton of sculptures depicting anything from pharaohs to animals to floating heads. Yep, that is correct, I said floating heads.

Ok, so they aren't floating. Sorry to burst your bubble. After all, Europe is known for that! (No, it is not,  don't believe that). But, as you can see, standing in a room full of those, it gets sort of creepy. No one could stay in there for too long. Anyway, we saw mummified crocodiles, baboons, and snakes. We saw the ancient tools they would use for fishing, baking bread, hunting, etc. We saw some preserved clothing, such as the robes, sandals, and armbands. Jewelry and precious stones were, of course, another big section, in itself. The leader of our group was with me and one other, so we got the rundown of a lot of Egyptian history and the like. It was quite sad that, by the end, it was just our leader, one other, and myself. The rest had all fled by that moment. I understand that, for some, it can get pretty monotonous and boring, but one just has to turn their head to see something new. There was always a surprise hiding around the corner, something new and unexpected, as I experienced with the floating heads. The sarcophagi were pretty remarkable as well. Although, they were extremely narrow and short. I was told that, if a person was too tall, they were forced to fit by having their feet cut off. The feet would, then, be laid on top of the body. What a deal, huh? The Egyptian symbols and runes were just like in The Mummy movies, so that wasn't a big surprise, but it is still cool to see all of that.  We left the Egyptian exhibit, and we proceeded to the upper floors where we were able to see paintings by various artists. Honestly, the only name that comes to mind, as of now, is Rembrandt. There were many, many others, but none that I either remember or recognize. So, we left the museum and decided to break for lunch. It was around 2 p.m. by that point, and most of us were famished. There is a street, quite some distance away, where the entire street is covered with restaurants, pubs, and cafes. The group I was with decided to go to a small outdoor restaurant. I only got a platter of fries, but, at that point, that was the most delicious thing I had ever had. You may be like, "Really? Fries? In Europe?" Well, let me tell you, these European countries with the Euro system are really freakin expensive! I mean, my fries and a drink was 8 Euros, so close to 10 U.S. dollars! Ridiculous! After our refueling session, we went to the Imperial apartment complex. In other words, we went to the decked out (one step short of) castle that the Habsburgs lived in. We witnessed what they used for silverware, plates, and the like. They even had a napkin that was folded in a special way. The secret to doing so has been passed down to the keepers today, and there are only two who know the secret. All of that fuss over a napkin. Unbelievable. The apartment, itself, was mind blowing. There was an antechamber, a waiting room, a dining room, a room for the emperor and the empress, a room where meetings were held, and a room for social gatherings. There were more, but that is what comes to mind. Queen Elisabeth was emphasized the most, as most claim that she was the last Habsburg, but that is still debatable. She was, supposedly, the most beautiful woman of that time. However, she couldn't handle life in the court, and she became depressed and anti-social. I understood quite well. Unfortunately, she was assassinated by an Italian named Luigi. That made me laugh. Mario had been taking so much credit that, in order to get attention, his cousin Luigi had to go kill an empress. Haha. After the apartment tour, I returned to the hostel to begin studying/writing this. Tomorrow, we get up early for Venice, Italy, so I will have more tomorrow from a different place. I am pretty stoked to see that. Anyway, until then, I will have to call it a night. I can hear the dream fairies calling my name. "May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!"
                                                                                               -Anthony-