Matthäus' apartment was very thoughtfully & efficiently organized & equipped, & ideally situated. I was glad to be able to walk to all the places I wanted to visit -- & even more places that I'd never heard of until I stumbled upon them, such as the amazing Kleingartenverein "Zukunft auf der Schmelz." So the only real problem was that a week wasn't nearly enough time to explore & enjoy the social, gastronomic & cultural riches of Vienna! I hope to come for a month next time, though a year might be a more realistic undertaking. And I'll try to be in better shape for the climb to the loftbed, which (perhaps inevitably) made me feel my age.
The one thing that I really needed but couldn't find (on- or offline) would have been a comprehensive map of Vienna's streets & mass transit systems. The mass transit systems & maps (underground, train, bus, & tram) are very sophisticated & stylized, but not very well labeled -- or labeled at all; it's hard to get a sense from maps of how stops/stations relate to street or neighborhood; & bus & tram stops lack maps or signs. Locals are very helpful, & most of them speak English, but I should have taken a cab rather than tram & underground to the Erdbergstraße international bus station, which I suspect isn't used by many locals. Or maybe I should have used the words Busterminal or Busbahnhof?? Or maybe I should have allowed two hours to get there instead of one? As it was, I kept getting sent to the wrong train, or the right train in the wrong direction, & missed my bus by 15 minutes. The lockers in the station weren't working, & I had too much luggage to carry, so I was stuck in the station for 11 hours waiting for the next bus to Belgrade. So close to all the museums & coffeehouses, & yet so far! Sob!!! Worse, either my time in the station or my subsequent long bus ride -- usually, but not always, wearing a face mask -- meant that I tested positive for covid five days later -- just in time for Belgrade Pride, which was one of my reasons for coming to Europe. That was a real bummer! Nothing at all to do with Matthäus, more to do with the inexperience of people coming from underdeveloped countries such as the United States where mass transit isn't even a dream.... And all the more reason to dream of returning to Vienna & to Matthäus' place!