The City of Music: Vienna

We arrived in Vienna (or Wien) after a 5 hour bus ride from Prague. The ride was uneventful and it was raining as we pulled in to the Praterstern station. We saw the famous Ferris wheel and a giant circle swing at the amusement park nearby. We hopped on a trail to Huttledorf stn and got picked up by our hosts who we connected with through Mennonite Your Way. Erwin and Christine had a separate little apt. in their basement and we enjoyed breakfasts with them each morning.
That first night was the night of churches, an event in Vienna and Prague (perhaps beyond) wherein all the churches are open through the night with various music and programs. We joined our hosts in attending a choir concert at a local church designed by Otto Wagner, an "Art Nouveau" architect who designed many of the public spaces in Vienna around 1900. It was a super neat church located on the property of a sanatorium, and the design catered to the patients who were in the hospital.

The next day we went on a brief audio tour of the Schonnbrun palace where the last of the Hapsburgs lived and spent their time amongst lavish surroundings. We proceeded to find our way to a little sausage stand to eat with the locals before making our way to St. Stephan's cathedral, napping in the park and enjoying a wonderful dinner. For dinner we shared a Wienerschnitzel, which is tenderized veal that is breaded and fried. My mom made this when I was growing up, but it was only after being in Vienna (Wien in German) that I realized that wiener meant that it came from Vienna. After that tasty tidbit we returned to the church for the English mass.

On our second full day we headed to the tourist info center by the opera house and found that all the Vienna museums were free that very day! We went to the museum near St. Charles church (which was also spectacular) and saw the first couple floors about Austrian history and an exhibit on Gustav Klimt. After that, lunch in the subway stn, and a drink in the historic Landtman cafe. We ran into a cheeky British family who were friendly towards us, though dissatisfied with their server. The nearby Volksgarten was filled with roses and people enjoying the day. After the roses we traveled over to, and walked down the blue Danube on our way to get Italian gelato from a store that's served since 1886. We finished our day by heading over to the big ferris wheel, but opted for the swing instead as it was a greater adrenaline rush.

As of this morning we headed out on a train to Villach, in southern Austria, caught a bus, and are now in Venice!!!