Vienna

Tonight I have a skype date with Amy and Dylan :)  So I can catch up on my travel blog while I wait for 22:00 to roll around.

After Paris our next big trip was to Vienna or Wien as it is known in Europe.  What are the natives known as?  Wieners.

I had a great weekend with all of the Wieners (here ends the Wiener jokes).

 

This trip marks the start of slightly less well known touristy land marks (Berlin Wall, Eiffel Tower, Le Lourve...etc) and some

great random finds. 

 

When I was in Vienna I thought it felt like a very crisp, clean city.  In my other travels there has always been a hint of home in the air, but Vienna wasn't as inviting.  Not to say I didn't enjoy my time there--because I did.  The art museums alone were worth the trip.  Gustav Klimt's works were the main attraction (and I was in Modern Art heaven at the Munch exhibit).  We went to an opera/ballet/orchestra combo one evening--which sort of looked like a family talent show (but it was only a few Euro to go...we knew going into it that).  Mozart is a home town hero for the people of Vienna and as such he is on every t-shirt, coffee mug, and postcard.  The people that pretend to be statues (they are all over Europe) were all Mozarts as well.  We had some of the local treats like the Tortes from Hotel Sacher (which is a famous chocolate cake w/ apricot filling).  I was able to send some home to the family (and even after a week in the mail, they were (a bit drier) but still pretty good). 

The train ride to Vienna proved to be our most cramped one yet.  The five of us had to share a six person area in the train (think Harry Potter train compartments...and they even have a trolley that comes around...no every flavor beans though).  It was a long 12 hours and we were sore when we got there.  The ride back was not a night train, so it was less eventful.