Astron Suite Attersee Haus Vienna

... though we didn’t know what they were saying, they did an excellent job of conveying meaning through their facial expressions. The entire orchestra was decked out in period costume, including powdered wigs.

After a 30 minute walk back to our hotel, we checked our watches and saw that it was 10:40 p.m. That being the case, we decided to call it a night and be ready for breakfast at 7:30 with our suitcases packed for Prague.

... in district 13, which sprawls it's 1441 rooms over beautiful gardens. The palace itself is painted a drab sort of yellow, apparently by Emperor Joseph I due to cost and the fact that he hated the pink color that his grandmother, Empress Maria Theresa. The rooms of Maria Theresa were some of the most immaculate. If you ever go it is worth the "Grand Tour" which includes an english guided tour for just about 3€ more. There are also beautiful gardens, and ...

... phone booths in the station and smooched semi-privately for ten minutes or so, when I got a tap on my bright-red-jacket-clad shoulder. Five emergency rescue personnel were standing behind me. Tim and I looked at them and wondered if they were trying to get us to stop or leave. One of them moved to the next phone booth over. We peeked out. There was a belligerent drunk, also wearing a bright red jacket, just one phone booth down. The five EMTs converged on ...

... places on our handy little map to see while we were in Vienna and one of them was this apartment block designed by a local architect. Apparently the local council had commissioned an apartment block and because the old style buildings in Vienna as in much of Europe are very nice and classical this new apartment block was just going to be really plain and ugly so this Austrian artist - Friedensreich Hundertwasser - asked ...

... the border into Austra.. 2 countries down, 13 to go...;-) DAY 19 - Passau to Linz - "Snakes, Snow & bordercrossing" ( 1310km to 1412km) Austria here we come...around 4km out of Passau we crossed the border to Austria. Funnily enough when we crossed into Austria, the clouds dissapeared and the sun came out...well welcome you sunny thing! We had a stunning day along the danuble cycle way, a few hills again (something we hadnt seen for a a while ...

... a little bummed that I don't have time to explore like everyone here in Vienna, but I also live in a much smaller town (that is just as wonderful it is own way). I'm looking forward to showing Jess around Rennes. Yes, she is coming to visit me too!!! Next blog: Tuesday and Wednesday and maybe Thursday...depending on when I have the time to write another blog. :) I hope all is well! There is at least one thing in Vienna that has made me think of each and every one of my friends and family.

... an International Classical Music Festival which we were lucky to get tickets to. The program put on by the Prague Ensemble included: Mozart, Vivaldi, Dvorak, Schubert, Smetana, Schumann, Strauss, and Offenbach. My personal favorite was Dvorak's Largo. What we found curious about this particular symphony was that they insisted on getting a large round of applause and taking a bow after every selection. They had a high opinion of themselves ...

... just a random meeting in that shop around the corner Friday night . . . I heard Eine Kleine Nachtmusic playing live as I cycled home and stopped off for a gander . . . Just a few friends making music in a friends fashion shop so they invited me in and plied me with a glass of wine and tucker and the invite to tonight's soiree . . . This is all too excellent for one man . . . We are having amazing euro summer weather . . . 26 degrees and brightest sunshiny ...

... than 300 sad people lined outside the entrance. The exterior of the Schonbrunn is simply too plain, making it an ugly building, and we found out that it was supposed to be erected up the hill, but those cheap Habsburgs changed their minds because of the slight price difference. The inside was nice, baroque and shiny, not very different from the Hofburg I had visited in January last year. We didn't have time to stop for souvenirs (hate this tourist stuff!) and went for an overland ...

... interior decor that creates a retro, relaxed and very pleasant ambience. (I am never a fan of those giantic concert halls with massive staircases and extravagant chandeliers.) And of course I won't deny that the gorgerous host/violinist of that show was a huge plus for the place and I fell in love with Brahms's Hungarian Dance which he rendered so touchingly. Now comes to the least enjoyable part of my trip -- the ...