My first swapping experiment begins. The thoughts of indulging on pieces of chocolate cake in Austria neutralising the sour taste left by the hectic double sector of only hours before.

Vienna comes as a welcomed surprise. A city I always wanted to explore, yet never on top of my list. The layover is a bit short of twenty-four hours, however, the scheduled back-to-back flights promise to secure enough time to explore the heart of the Austrian capital.

I call this ‘The Vienna Deal’.

Leaving Doha early in the morning, half asleep passengers board the aircraft at the unison complaint of the heat. Air bridges are still not part of the Doha International Airport layout, creating a challenge with the elements in the middle of the summer.
The flight is not full. An Indonesian singing group watch movies and take selfies whilst our service is performed in an almost silent cabin. At one stage before landing, I am pulled by the arm and asked to have my photo taken with them, which I agree to do with the most blushed of the faces.

At the Museum Quarter, the tourists take pictures of every possible corner, for every building around us is delicately sculpted in grey stones and tell us stories of Medieval ages, kingdoms, battles, wars, victories and most importantly, music.

Currywurst and Apfelstrudel for dinner, whilst Mozart is being played in the background of the shiny-steel food cart. A relationship between Austria and music once created and never broken.

The Royal Palace now lodges the National Library, the solemnity of its grounds now invaded by families having picnics and youngsters throwing frisbees. A food fair is being set next to the Rathaus late in the afternoon whilst the rest of the city closes down for business and the streets around us grow quieter.

I retreat to my hotel bed shortly after the late sunset and sleep until I am awoken by the reception call, only breaking my fast with the carefully prepared -and famous amongst crew- catering service at Schwechat prior to departure. The flight, quiet as the city we have just taken off from, lands in Doha at night, providing only the minimum time to rest for Vienna in the morning.

Despite the early departure, the passengers on my second flight to the Austrian capital prove demanding and though the six hours of flying seem to rapidly pass by, I am forced to give my back a good one-hour rest upon arrival.
For this visit, I decide to walk without any definite path.

     ‘I was really stressed about the fact that we were having such a beautiful and sunny day in Vienna and I was just inside my hotel room doing nothing, so I decided to go for a walk on my own.
There’s something I really like about doing this my own, and it is the fact that I can do everything on my very own rhythm, walk a lot , take pictures and just notice on the small details. The bad part is that there is no one to talk to or comment things with and of course, no one to take the ‘I have been here pictures’ for me.’

Accidentally, I cross a white wall and enter the Belvedere Gardens, which line flower arrangements in a tapestry of pure garden art, a place inviting enough for a brief picnic of apfelstrudel and cider, continuing through the narrow streets of the Old Town to Maria Anthonien Platz and Stephandom.

The city once again dead quiet at sunset, only a McDonalds to save me from starvation at the end of my walk.

The back and forth sectors to Vienna have exhausted me. I return to the hotel and sleepily watch the sunset hiding behind the roof of the Dom from my top floor hotel window. A precious sight that inspires me for a second, for this is the life I longed for when I join the crew life: the sunrise in the Middle East, the sunset in one of the most beautiful capitals of the World.

At nine in the morning, the wheels detach from the airport runway and I say goodbye to two days in Vienna, perhaps visited in the most strange way possible.

Upon landing in Doha, a reminder: there are no kangaroos in Austria. Japan is next.