Vienna

So I am packing up to depart from Vienna, the third city on my Central European adventure. I had a great couple of days here. I arrived in the evening on Sunday, settled into my hostel and woke up early to hit the city on Monday morning. Little did I know, Monday was a Christian holiday in these parts, leaving the shop doors locked and the museums closed up tight. So instead of waiting in line to see art and listen to classical music, I led my own personal tour of the city. I saw the state opera house, the Hofburg palace, St. Stephen's cathedral, the Rathaus and many beautiful parks along the way. I grabbed lunch at a local festival that was going on in front of the Rathaus. It was a lively affair with carnival rides, live music and lots of food! My favorite spot in the city was the people's garden, which is a large public rose garden where I stopped to escape the heat and read a book in a spot of much needed shade. That evening I ate dinner at a little Italian restaurant and headed back to my hostel for the night.

On my second day in Vienna I went to the Schönbrunn palace just outside of the city center. It was a beautiful palace that was once occupied by the Habsburg family. After a short audio tour I headed outside to the extensive gardens on the castle grounds. The gardens were skirted by a giant ornate fountain and the gloriette arch. After the palace, I went to the Vienna zoo, which is just behind the palace. It was a wonderful and sunny day for a visit to the zoo. I saw pandas, polar bears, elephants, and even a white peacock. You name it, and the Vienna zoo's got it! I rounded out the day with a trip back to the center of Vienna in pursuit of what I had heard was the best chocolate cake in Austria. The famous torte is made from a secret recipe exclusively at Hotel Sacher, behind the state opera house. Although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, the cake was great! It had two layers of chocolate cake with an apricot filling inbetween and covered with a dark chocolate ganache. It's was a wonderful way to end my last night in Vienna.

In just a couple of hours I will be in Budapest, Hungary. Bring on the thermal baths!

With love, from Vienna

Mindy