Directionally Challenged

I’m no idiot, but sometimes I can’t follow a map or directions to save my life. I think this is part of the reason why I so enjoy wandering – when you don’t have a set route, there’s no way to screw it up.

Yesterday I was in Vienna and my top priority was to go to the Spanish Riding School and watch the morning exercise program where the horses prance around the ring to classical music by Beethoven and others. I made it there with little difficulty, figuring out how to navigate the metro and tram without much issue. This proved to be my one and only real navigating success of the day.

Once I had my fill of watching the horses, I decided to head in the direction of the Schönbrunn Palace, which I was told is a must see in the city. I studied the map, determined I was on the correct street, and rather than take bus 54 as I was told I could, I opted to get some exercise and walk – an hour’s walk is nothing to me now that I’m accustomed to my legs being my main form of transportation.

Not seeing any signs that appeared to say the name of the Palace (German is a difficult language when you’re not familiar with it!), I continued marching along figuring the signage would appear as I neared my destination. Eventually I got to a very commercial area that reminded me of Champs-Elysées in Paris. I was (of course) captivated by all of the shops, and found myself weaving in and out of them as I trekked down the street. Finally I reached some grandiose buildings that looked as though they would be part of the Palace grounds – it also said Museum Quarter, which made sense to me since there are tours of the Palace. No such luck.

After finding a park bench, I unfolded my map once more and with a bit of searching, found the Museum Quarter – on the opposite side of my starting point from the Palace. That’s right, I just walked not one, but two hours in the wrong direction. I felt like such a moron, and, thanks to having a train to catch, I knew there was no hope of making it to the Palace on this trip. I turned around and walked back from whence I came, this time stopping and taking the first metro I came across – I was done with walking.

Later that day I found myself at one of two train stations in Prague, and my hostel had conveniently given directions from each of them. As the sun was setting, I exited the station and, not seeing the street name I was looking for, I walked the 10 minutes I was supposed to until I found a McDonald’s (which is about as good of a landmark as Starbucks). I didn’t see the tram tracks that were mentioned, so I looked at my choices – go straight on a street not too crowded, or stay on the main street to the right, which had people buzzing about all over. I turned right and walked for many blocks, clinging tightly to my bag as I’d been warned of pickpockets and felt like an easy target with all of my gear on.

Not seeing anything familiar from the hostel’s directions, a stranger pointed me back in the opposite direction to get to the metro station. After walking a couple of blocks, there was a girl about my age walking nearby – I asked her if she spoke English, which she did, so she was able to not only tell me where the metro was, but walk with me there as she was already on her way. She guided me to the Info Office where I picked up a map, a metro ticket, and guidance on which metro and tram to take. Finally, I was on my way.

It wasn’t until I was aboard the metro that I realized my blunder: I had been following the directions from the wrong train station. Realizing my careless error, I was able to follow the correct directions and find the hostel without issue. Apparently I’m not always an idiot when it comes to following directions, but I sure can goof up something simple.

It amazes me how one can travel so independently, but suddenly in a foreign city where nothing is familiar – not the streets, the people, or the language – one must depend on the kindness of a complete stranger to be steered back in the right direction. Whenever possible, I think I’ll just stick with my wandering ways - it’s much harder to go in the wrong direction when any direction is the right one.