Oh And Vienna: Day 6

I wasn’t kidding when I said we decided (or more I) decided last minute to go to Vienna.  Some of my friends had been planning on it and researched a hostel and train tickets.  Wednesday they were talking about it, and I guess it is just my personality coupled with the travel genes I get from my dad that made me wonder if I should go.  Well I woke up Thursday and decided “Hey, why not??” and threw some stuff in my purse so I would be ready to leave straight from our tour of Radio Free Europe.

And we we're off!

Since there were seven of us, Will and I ended up in a car with two Americans who were teaching English in Prague.  It was interesting to hear their experiences and perspective on the Czech culture which still shows traces of its Communist past.  They shared that Czech people appear cold at first, but once they warm up and trust you, they are quite friendly.

One of 50 pictures we took during the 4.5 hour train ride to keep ourselves entertained.

Prague may be beautiful, but in my opinion, Vienna is BREATHTAKING!  The moment we exited the train station, we were met with an enormous, illuminated cathedral and streets lined with every designer store imaginable.  There was such a positive energy and liveliness.  We decided that an opera was a must and for only 4 Euros were able to get some standing-room only seats that were only 15 rows back at the State Opera House.

Welcome to Vienna.

For 4 Euros, not bad at all!

Our Hostel.

For dinner, Will decided to ask some locals on the street where the best place to go was and they all recommended the same restaurant: Figlmuller.  We had the most massive schnitzel (pounded, breaded chicken) I have ever seen in my life and it was quite delicious.  We spent the rest of the night wandering through the city, finding gorgeous architecture everywhere we turned.

We came across a crime scene they were filming for some TV show on our way to dinner.

Christmas decorations were already up!

The next morning we were up bright and early with a list of sights to see.  First off was the Schonbrunn Palace with its beautiful gardens.  It looked like it was straight out of Pride and Prejudice. 

My new friends at the market.

It was great to have Beau and Will figure out the directions the whole time!

Schonbrunn

Next up was the Christmas market at City Hall where we became like giddy little children. They had the most clever idea; with a 2 euro deposit you could get a Christmas mug filled with hot holiday punch to enjoy while you walked around the market and if you wanted, you could take it home as a souvenir.

The rest of the day was spent wandering through the city and Mozart Museum.  I have to say the museum, which was in his old apartment, was not too impressive.  Basically everything in there was all based on speculation and it did not focus as much on his music.

One of Vienna's many museums.

The following photos are ones I captured on a major shopping street in the city...

Look, the store was almost named after me.

The only time we paused all day was when we got some lunch and even then we didn't sit to eat it!

We ended the trip in a vintage little cafe which was a local favorite.  Waiters in tuxedos took our order without writing it down and came back with a silver tray to serve our Vienna coffee (coffee with whip cream on top) and sachertorte (chocolate cake).  I could not have asked for a better 36 hour trip!