Vienna from the Sky

We spent our last official European vacation in Vienna, Austria. Vienna is held in high regard internationally and domestically. Their quality of life, standards of living, and natives such as Freud are literally award winning. Vienna is also exceedingly beautiful, even when covered in ice and snow. We were very fortunate in Vienna and had some friends who planned our weekend and showed us around the city.

Saturday morning we got an early start, eating brunch by the university before walking through the city. We walked through the museum quarter before heading to the Rathausplatz, where their government building is located. There was an expansive winter market set up in the area. The largest, and most intricate, ice rink I have ever seen snaked between trees and along buildings. Behind the pretzel, beer, and hot chocolate stands was an attraction which allowed you to see Vienna from above. My dislike of heights and I were not initially thrilled to get on board, but I went for it.

Votivkirche - Votive Church

Vienna Opera

The view was outstanding and made for some excellent pictures. To recover from such an epic and nerve wracking adventure, we grabbed some drinks afterward. We walked through the shopping strip and I saw THE Julius Meinl. Julius Meinl is my favorite brunch spot back home, there are only two in the States, and it was nice to pay tribute to the original.

We spent our afternoon warming up at Cafe Diglas where we had cake and drinks. I had a mint tea and chocolate truffle cake. While apple strudel is what Vienna is really known for, I had to go with chocolate. The chandelier was my favorite, espresso mugs hung from the lights. While this made me slightly apprehensive the whole thing may fall on me due to the added weight, I want an espresso chandelier of my own.

Post cake, we took the train to dinner where we had schnitzel larger than our faces. Literally. Two people split one order, paired with the local Grüner Veltliner wine. Before calling it a night, we got a round or two of Moscow mules at a local bar with a balcony overlooking the city. We went to bed full and content we managed to fit so much adventure into one day.