Vienna, just a great city in a BEAUTIFUL country
Trip Start
Nov 21, 2007
1
135
158
Trip End
Oct 01, 2008
Vienna,
Vienna,
Austria
Friday, August 29, 2008
After doing a bit of laundry in the hotel sink (yes, our room was covered with our clothes!), we headed into the city. We found a walking tour to join which helped us orientate ourselves with the main attractions. This city has so many museums and exhibits we did not know where to even start! We walked by the St. Stephen's Cathedral which has been under construction since 1147. We walked by where Mozart lived and created many of his masterpieces. We roamed down the prime shopping district of Vienna, as it is knows for its fashion and style. We visited a famous pastry shop called Cafe Demel.
Of course, after the tour we needed a coffee break to rejuvenate (and pretend to be European). We then were going to head to the Secession, a contemporary art building which was to be known for its Art Nouveau style
yummy milka chocolate
. However, we, well, Layton was very disappointed in the building. Thankfully, it was on our way to the Belvedere Palace so we did not waste too much time.The Belvedere Palace was pretty amazing. It was the summer residence of Prince Eugene. He used this for recreation, not every day use. We were amazed that it was free to walk on this palace. You had to pay to see the collections and such but people were jogging around the gardens. Jana was jealous of the cool places to exercise for free!
The Prater, home of the 1895 ferris wheel, houses lots of fun activities for locals and visitors alike. The area is kind of like being at a fair or amusement park, but you don't have to pay to get in! While we had fun walking around, we were on a mission to find Schweizerhaus. This restaurant is famous for its pork knuckles and beer. We sat under large chestnut trees (with LOTS of other people...supposedly they serve 100,000 people a year!) to enjoy some amazing pork with a crispy fat layer on the outside. These are the best pork skins Jana has ever had! We walked our stuffed selves to our Hilton home.
Our last day, we ended up going to the Schonbrunn Palace. The palace in its Baroque style is beautiful (and free to walk the grounds again!). While the palace is a sight, the gardens, fountains, and zoo make this place stand out. The oldest European zoo is housed in the gardens of the palace grounds! Crazy! There was also a cool place for kids of all ages to explore. We got lost in the maze of tree shrubs, and played games with chimes, water and springs. This part was awesome! We were really impressed with this palace.
RANDOM
We did miss the Vienna Boys Choir. They don't have any shows in August. Guess they need a break too...but Jana was a bit sad.
We had some good chocolate torte at Sacher Hotel. This is one of the things you are "supposed" to do in Vienna. It was good, but not Jana's favorite. Rumor has it that Sacher and Demel cafe have a long rivalry about their tort recipes! We did not try the Demel, but may be next time!?
