We awakened in Vienna and started a city tour right after breakfast. We drove the Ringstrasse and saw the Danube Canal. And oh so many monuments. There are some wonderful buildings, and things are on a rather grand scale.
Amongst all the grand buildings like opera halls and palaces, etc., they also have a charming 1897 Ferris wheel that looked like it would be fun to ride.
It is clear from the comments of our two tour guides that Austrians are very proud of Austria's status as a neutral state and their role as the site of many diplomatic missions and conferences--both historically and even today. One of our first stops on our walking tour was the building in which John Kerry spent many hours working on the Iran deal.
The Hofburg Winter Palace:
To bring us back to the less political world, this is also where the Lippizaners perform. Monday is their day of rest, but we did get to see their stables and glimpse a couple of the celebrity horses.
We went by the Opera House and walked Kohlmarkt street and down the Graben, a stately boulevard filled with people and cafes. There was so much to see and really so little time to visit anything in depth.
Our tour was at an end, and we had about an hour to wander on our own--not really much time when things are rather spread out over the old section. You had to pick one thing and do it, leaving enough time to meet up with the group and walk to our bus at the appointed time. It had started to rain, so we also wanted to make efficient choices. Choice #1 was to figure out our way to an underground station and a WC. Not an elegant choice, but a practical one. Now on to Choice #2.
One thing that was on my must do list was to visit one of the old Vienna coffeehouses. We found one and walked in. It was really more of a pastry shop than the coffee houses we had in mind, but our time was dwindling. We were able to see some of the pastry chefs doing their thing, but there were no tables available and we ended up having to sit outside--under umbrellas of course. We had our lattes and some Viennese cakes. So we may not have found quite the right place, but it had a classical, historical tinge to it and made for a nice little Vienna memory.
Vienna is definitely on my must revisit list. There just wasn't enough time to do more than get the slightest suggestion of what it has to offer. It is beautiful and vibrant, and 2 hours can't do it justice. Hmmm....looks like Austria will have to remain on the trip planning/wishing list.
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