We left Prague by train at about 10:45 am and arrived in Vienna at 5:30 pm. It was a long train ride, but absolutely did not seem like it! The day was beautiful and the green countryside rolling by us enchanting. It gave us a little time to reflect on our visit to Prague.

Prague is a treasure. That so many ancient and medieval buildings and roads still exist is a miracle given the number of wars and political take overs this country has endured. It is also now very touristy. After living under communist rule, which is manipulative and conniving, the people learned to survive by being manipulative and conniving. This lends an aura of distrust, especially for someone is gullible by nature like me. The people are very friendly and accommodating, but it will take time to weed out the old underlying communist personality. The Czech people are a resilient bunch and very fun loving, they will thrive.

Our hotel was an easy tram ride from the train station. We were greeted with graciousness and welcome. Our room is beautiful, much more luxurious than the simple room we took in Prague. Our hotel is not quite in the center of things, but within a fair walking distance to most sites. I figure if Viennese pastry lives up to it's reputation, we are much better off doing our fair share of walking!

We dropped our bags off and while there was still a little daylight walked up to Stephansplatz. Along the way the boulevard turns into a pedestrian mall lined with international shopping - mostly very high end. It is much like any other metropolitan city. We noticed many asian restaurants along our route and began to crave some Chinese! We stopped at a place called Shanghi inn. I know, in a land of schnitzel we have chinese. Oh well, it was very good. The restaurant was very beautifully decorated - I'll have to look up the history of Asian presence here, because there seems to be a large one.

The first thing we realize, is that my time spent trying to learn Czech would have been better spent learning German. In Prague, every sign had English, every menu did as well, and every one spoke English. Here in Vienna every sign is in German only, as are the menus. The wait staff all speak a little English which is comforting. I chose to learn Czech primarily because we were spending the most time there, but I really would have preferred to learn German - however somewhere in my childhood I remember a few phrases? Mom, do you know where that came from?

After dinner we continued our stroll and stopped at St. Stephan's. Another absolutely gorgeous and extremely huge baroque cathedral! Absolutely stunning. The Stephansplatz is nothing like the old town square in Prague as it is surrounded by upscale dining and shopping. So we began our meander back to the hotel to call it a night.

Oh, but wait. Look, there is the famous Sacher Hotel and you know what that means! The famous Sacher torte! We stop in and are seated in a charming dining room and order the torte with a cup of cappucino. (we also learn that water is served with meals - unlike in Prague where we couldn't get water anywhere without finding a little store to purchase an over priced bottle of it - I was desert dry by now!). The torte is a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and simply elegant. Mmmm. The decision to walk a little distance from the hotel is paying off.

Auf Wiedersen.