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Vienna
Entry 5 of 6 | show all | print this entry |
Another stunning city. A quick cruise along the Danube and we were in the capital of Austria. The Hapsburgs knew how to live, that's for sure. The palaces, the cathedrals, the summer residences, the gardens, the planning of the city (and this with a substantial amount of destruction during WWII) are mind-blowing. When we arrived, the weather was beautiful so we checked out St. Stephan's Cathedral/Plaza, drove around the ring, and then decided that it was time for some activity - off to the Prater we went! The huge amusement park has roller coasters, ferris wheel, etc. as well as the typical carnival-type games littered throughout the park. The Minnesota boys were with us, so Zack took charge and organized some friendly competitions, put Jack on his roller coasters (if successful, then I had to eat a chocolate dessert of Jack's choosing), got Andy near some archery, Quinn in his race car, and Grey near some ice cream! Minnesota was up for the challenge, and after three hours, there was a deadlock, and that was how it ended. We rode the underground back toward the center of the city, and walked through some of the parks. Money didn't go as far in Vienna as it had in the other cities, but no one cared since the chance to play in the amusement park beat seeing another castle (at least for the day). After the park, we continued some sightseeing as we strolled through pedestrian areas.
We returned to our hotel and went out for dinner, in a quaint little town along the Danube, just outside of Vienna. Our second day, we visited the summer palaces, saw a few different plazas, and went back to Stephansdom for lunch and walking around. While we were strolling around, the boys were approached by a group of teenagers who challenged them to a dance off, a laughing contest, and a "wave" demonstration - big mistake for the Euros who failed to realize that the Jersey boys never miss a chance to grab the spotlight and refuse to decline a challenge. I'm not really sure what was going on, but Grey dominated the dancing competition (on the Stephansdom plaza with hundreds of onlookers), the NJ/MN contingent easily won the laughing contest, and the Euros won the wave thing - I still don't know what was going on, but it was funny. It actually got a few of the street performers to stop and watch!
Since Jack went on his roller coasters, I had to eat a brownie (actually a rather large slice of very rich chocolate cake), but was able to pull through without any problem (I'm sure Andy will provide footage, though everyone witnessed it). After watching some street performers (they are everywhere that tourists congregate), we grabbed some more food and went for a walk around districts 1-3. An evening concert at the Opera House featured the music of Strauss and Mozart and provided cultural entertainment, but also meant no food for two hours! Immediately after the concert, we returned to the hotel, before heading out to a delightful seafood restaurant situated along the Danube. Andy's catfish was sick (good) and the boys enjoyed their last night in Europe with their new friends from Minnesota. In the morning, Grey, Quinn and I went to the town center to visit some bakeries and brought some fresh basked goods back to the sleepy-heads (truth be told, Zack and Andy got up very early to bid adieu to the MN boys who had a very early morning flight - Jack just decided to sleep). Throughout our time in Vienna (and the suburbs), wonderful meals and snack foods provided the nourishment everyone missed from home cooking. Even though food has been mentioned already, the food was really good here!!!! Sadly, the trip will be over soon - the boys have been awesome and have kept me laughing for the better part of two weeks. There will be many pictures.
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