Travelling across Europe in my 20s, I carry a stash of travellers cheques. They are secure, along with my passport, in a money belt tight around my waist. Over time, technology makes it unnecessary to carry funds with you; it’s easy to use debit and credit cards. While pickpockets are still a problem, they’re not the only problem. On day two of our three month trip, this text from my bank.

Holy heck – the bank has canceled my card! A look at my account on line shows the ugly truth: not once, but twice, some lowlife uses a fake version of my card. And the bank charges a transaction fee! I ring the fraud line to confirm this is not me and get assurance the charges will all be reversed. How did it happen? Skimming “the practice of electronically appropriating account numbers or other confidential data for illegal use” is the theory. I’m at a loss – we spend less than 48 hours in Wellington between arriving from the Sunshine Coast and leaving for Dubai. Was it the cab from the airport? The coffee shop? The other cafe? The Pharmacy? Or weeks and weeks ago? I’ll never know, but what I do know is I won’t be able to withdraw Euros or any other currency from an ATM for the next three months. I feel nostalgic for travellers cheques.

After a couple of days to see family in the desert hellhole that is Dubai, we arrive in the epitome of European cities, Vienna.  According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Vienna is the world’s most liveable city for the third year running. I am not familiar with the judging criteria, but it must place a high value on sweltering accommodation, a general aversion to air conditioning, and very expensive coffee.

But by God it’s a beautiful city, and what it does have in abundance is palaces, galleries, and museums. These often occur in combination, where a fabulous old palace is now a gallery, such as the Albertina. Here, in air conditioned comfort, I see a stunning 100 year retrospective of Roy Liechtenstein’s work.  

I discover an American photographer, Gregory Crewdson, whose large scale pictures require months of planning and set up, and utilise the skills of casting, set dressing, wardrobe and art departments. The images are deeply immersive and sometimes disturbing. Another temporary exhibition is one that really smacks me in the face. Im guessing it divides opinions, and you are caught up by the passion of the artist as I am, or, if you aren’t a fan of abstract, then you’ll turn and walk away. Franz Grabmayr is a modern Austrian artist inspired by nature and the elements. He slaps the paint on so thickly it is as much a sculpture as a painting, so much so his paintings can weigh up to 100 kgs. It’s this fat, seemingly messy, energy that is captivating – I don’t care if it doesn’t look like a rock or a river or a fire. 

All of that and a permanent Modernist modern collection of over 500 pieces which takes you through all the major painters from Impressionism (Monet and his contemporaries) through to a roomful of works by Picasso. 

Then there’s the State Opera House, a magnificent Renaissance building, built thanks to Emperor Franz Josef 1 and Empress Elisabeth’ love of music.

Now I’m more alt rock than aria, but we do want to see inside. But because of maintenance there are no visitor tours and the only way to see inside is to, well, go to the opera. But the season is over. But this week there’s a special programme. But it’s sold out. But there are scalpers. Of course there are. We pay €50 each for standing tickets that have a face value of €13. But for that price you need to buy them months ago, before the scalpers do. They know dumb ass tourists like us will pay four times the ticket price as it’s the only time we’ll ever go to the opera in Vienna. Bear with me now – this is the lucky part. I love John Malkovich. One of my favourite movies is the 1999 absurdly funny and weird Being John Malkovich. So how cool is it that John Malkovich is in Vienna, not for a movie but in a freaking opera, Their Majesty’s Voice, more operetta than opera I think. And for those genuine opera fans among you, you will be sorry to know the talents of Cecilia Bartoli were wasted on philistines like us, but we did enjoy ourselves immensely.

Next day, walking past Cafe Mozart we see him. Having coffee and just, you know, being John Malkovich.

Still with architecture, it’s not often you enter a colourful and creative public toilet, but that’s the case in Kawakawa, a small town in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser lived in New Zealand on and off from 1973 until his death in 2000. Hundertwasser was ahead of his time, designing in sympathy with nature. We visit part of his legacy in Vienna, an apartment building and museum. It must be hell to live in the apartments as every day hordes of tourists descend on the place. Of course there’s no entry to the building, but the external aspects are fascinating enough.

As you can see, uneven surfaces and colourful tiling are hallmarks of his work. He embraces natural aspects and gardens, even trees, into the building design, though apparently the shape of the rooms makes it difficult to place furniture. If you can’t make it to Vienna, you can visit the recently opened Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangarei. Or better yet, go to the toilet in Kawakawa.