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We arrived early in the morning in Vienna and made our way to the hostel. We were immediately excited to see a lot of computers, a bar, and a comfy lounge to hang out in. There was a lot of information about what to do in the city there too, so we planned out our two days. We couldn´t check in yet, so we headed out right away to check out the Nachsmarkt that was right outside our hostel. It was basically like an outdoor antique store, garage sale, and farmers market all in one. Definitely just jumped right into the culture. Afterwards, we headed to the city center to see the famous clock called Jugendstil Ankeruhr and the spectacle that ensued at noon. Dana was delighted to finally get a starbucks coffee again while we watched the life sized figurines parade around the clock face with a musical accompanyment. The whole thing lasted about ten minutes, which is more than our attention span, but we endured like the troopers we are. Afterwards we went to a famous coffee shop and tried the melange, Vienna's traditional coffee drink, and the sacher torte and contemplated life's mysteries, i.e. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? (we never came to a conclusion).
We made our way through the museum quarter and witnessed the start of yet another gay pride parade. The participants went all out on the attire...we didn't really want to look, but it was one of those things you couldn't not look at. We went to the Freud museum, which is located in his old apartment. The museum consisted of pictures of people he's encountered and documents from his work and personal life...but we did get a book that explained all 286 items in the museum in great detail. Our attention span did not endure that one. After we took a free tram to the northern outskirts of the city with the intention of treking through wine country. What we ACTUALLY did was find a heuringer (restaurant and winery) that's been around since the 12th century. We enjoyed our traditional Austrian meal that consisted of meat, sauerkrat, potatoes, and more meat. Hearty meal. We may not have found wine country, but we did enjoy a glass with our meal. Success in a sense.
We eventually made our way back to our hostel (it's easy to get lost when the street names are at least 17 letters long). At least it wasn't raining...oh wait, yes it was. When we made it back, we chilled out, did some laundry, and went on the internet. We called it an early night in our spacious room that still smelled like new!
On Sunday, we enjoyed our delicious hostel breakfast before heading to The Schönbronn Palace and its extensive gardens. We didn't think anything could compare to Versailles, and this one may have had less fountains, but it made up for it with the world's oldest zoo, a great view of Vienna, a palm house, and even an obelisk(!). We toured the inside of the palace and found out what really went down in the daily lives of royalty. If we lived in a place like this, we decided we would play the best game of capture the flag ever. Don't worry, pictures to come!
After the palace, we headed up to the world's oldest amusement park called Prater. We stopped for lunch and then walked around. We were going to go on the ancient ferris wheel, but all of the prices were a little out of our range. It was cool to see all the other rides and how they differ from an American theme park. Mel and Kristi attempted to go on a 117 meter high swing ride, but rain interfered again. Boo...oh well. Then it was time to head home and get ready to go see the Vienna Boys Choir! We were so excited to see them perform in the Vienna opera house. We got all fancied up (jeans and our best tops) and headed to wait in the standing room line (because we're too cheap to buy the real tickets ahead of time). Once we got there, we found the line, but no choir. It turns out that the Vienna Boys Choir doesn't perform there...oops. And we didn't want to see an opera we didn't have a chance of understanding, so we retreated back to our hostel yet again. We decided to just eat dinner at the bar in our hostel, which turned out to be pretty good (and cheap!). We stuck around to play some pool while we drank our free drink. Naturally, we found the only people in the bar that didn't speak English (or German, or Spanish for that matter), so our lengthy conversations consisted of the international language of hand gestures (exaggerated for the full effect, somewhat comically).
Monday we got up super early (okay, Kristi did, Mel and Dana got up at 7), and headed out for the train to Salzburg. We were surprised to see that we would be riding in Harry Potter style with our own compartment. Though our trip didn't take us to Hogwarts (we wish), we arrived at the beautiful mountainous town of Salzburg. We checked into our hostel, which is just as nice as the one we left in Vienna. We set out to explore the sights with a convenient path laid out in our map. It took us by 97 churches (okay more like 7), and led us to Hohensalzburg Fortress. We decided to save three euros by treking up a mountain...at an unreasonably steep angle. But hey, we got our workout in. It was well worth the hike as we saw a breathtaking view of the town and the Alps as its backdrop. We walked around the rest of the fortress and through the museum. We decided to save our calves by taking the train back down the mountain. Once down, we walked around until we found a coffee shop..where Melissa constantly itched her bug bites (thanks a lot Venice). After coffee, we headed back to the hostel for dinner and the showing of the Sound of Music (which plays on a loop). Tomorrow we'll be heading to Munich.
Hasta la vista Austria!
- comments
Audrey This blog is worth it's weight in gold!!:) We so enjoy hearing about your trip & just to know that you are well & enjoying yourself. Sounds great. Memories for a lifetime. We had a wonderful time at the Outback yesterday, just missed you, Kevin, Steph & Danny. Went shopping with Deb & Mary for a stove, nothing. Wish I was rich instead of so dang good looking:) Love you, hugs, Grandma & Grandpa