Once again, I travelled back to Vienna to try to finally sort out my UK visa. We arrived and dropped off my passport to the local immigration office, and were told it would be sent to the UK and should be returned in three weeks at the latest.
Then, we headed out of the city to our accommodation, in a village called Klosterneuburg. We were staying with another woman from the travel group I was part of, who ran a dog sitting company in her home. At one point, we were surrounded by 12 dogs in the house, and it felt very 101 Dalmatians.
In an effort to save money, we spent our days watching YouTube videos, sunbathing in her garden, and exploring the local scenery. We hiked up to the highest point in the town, where the Schwarzes Kreuz stands (a religious monument) and also ventured down to the Danube river which ran through the area.
A few days before I was due to have my passport returned, I received an email from the UK Home Office, asking if I still wanted to renew my visa, as my passport had not been delivered. I, naturally, freaked out, and the next day we travelled back into Vienna to figure out what was going on. After sitting in the waiting room for four hours, we were told first that they didn’t know where my passport was, and then that it was in Serbia. After waiting many days, I finally received an update that the passport was en route to the UK. Safe to say, I did not leave a good review of my experience with them.
My partner left Vienna first, needing to go to the UK to start his new job, so I moved on to another village, called Münchendorf, and stayed with a lovely woman and her two cats. We went for beautiful walks, made gingerbread cookies, and she taught me how to make fruit jams.
While in the area, we took a trip to Vienna for a Christmas market — truly as beautiful as its reputation suggests. We visited the market at Schönbrunn Palace, where I tried Kaiserschmarrn, a famous Austrian dessert made of shredded, fluffy pancakes served in bite-sized pieces with fruit compote. According to legend, it was created by accident when a royal cook messed up the recipe for Emperor Franz Joseph I, but the mistake turned into a beloved treat.
Finally, after 10 weeks of waiting, I received my replacement passport with the visa, marking the end of my time stranded in Europe. Although it was often expensive and stressful, the experience turned out to be unforgettable. I had the chance to explore parts of Europe I might never have visited otherwise, made many new friends, and saw countless stunning sights along the way.