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Friday, September 6, 2013

Europe Trip Day 9: Vienna


June 2nd was our 9th day in Europe. It was a rainy and cool day, shocker I know, and it was a Sunday so that means that many things were closed.

We all decided to sleep in which was like the first time we really did that on this trip. We had decided to do dinner in the apartment that night so we sent the boys to the grocery while Megan and I got ready and she did my eye makeup. Megan is great at makeup and has a big stash of it so of course I don't mind when she offers to experiment on me :) This time she went with a mauve-y purple look to go with my purple outfit. Yes I layered a shirt and a belt over a dress so it would look like a skirt. Complete outfit posts on Europe outfits to come. It's actually a blessing in disguise that I've waited on those since what we wore over there wasn't really summer attire so it will help you out with your fall wardrobe.

 
 
The boys returned. Sadly all they could find open was a small grocery so they picked up salad and chicken and hummus. We left the apartment to go walk around the city center a little and find a place for lunch. 
 



This looks like it would be inside a church or something but it was in a covered walkway area.

We wanted to go to lunch at a Greek place but it was closed even though it was supposed to be open. So we found Rosenberger Markt which was like a fancier food court or dining hall of sorts. It was all one place but had multiple stations inside for different kinds of food.
 

I had multiple levels of seating and the food area was in the bottom. Here you can see Megan and Keith looking at a station.



They had a variety of hot and cold food. It was not labeled in English but I'm sure someone could have helped out had we needed to ask what something was rather than just pointing and holding up our plate to the employees serving the food. I decided on roasted chicken, potatoes and zucchini (that I also shared with Eric who had roast beef). Everything was good and easy for a lunch meal but nothing that was out of this world amazing.

 
Next we went to on the Imperial Treasury Tour at the Hofberg Palace... the crown jewels and treasures collection. People, this collection was serious. We are talking 21 rooms. It is more than jewels... it is a collection of robes and other war and religious relics. You listen to an audio guide throughout the tour so you can really go as slow or fast as you want by skipping to whatever number you want to play that is associated with what you see in the room.
 

No photos are allowed but because I really like my readers (and because so many other people were doing it so blatantly), I broke the rule and decided to snap one hazy iphone photo.

What is this photo? Well I'm glad you asked. This is supposedly the right hand nail that nailed Jesus to the cross inside a jeweled pendant. Constantine wore this pendant when he converted to Christianity. Pretty cool right? It was in one of the last rooms in the tour.
 

Touring makes you need an afternoon snack so afterwards we hit up Eis Greissler, an organic ice cream shop. I had read about this place and the reviews were right. Not only was there a line (it moves quickly, don't worry) in the drizzling cool weather but it was just as delicious as described.
 

The flavors are only in German but you can usually just ask someone in line what something means and of course you can sample and just pick your flavor that way. I had the cookie ice cream and it was out of this world. I could use a scoop of that right about now.

We decided to hunt down a wine store we found on google maps since the grocery store the boys went to this morning didn't have that. In our quest we ended up stumbling upon an open large grocery store instead. Score! Not only did we pick up wine but we picked up food to have burgers and veggies for dinner instead and decide to save the chicken and salad for lunch the next day.
 


Then our sweet husbands cooked us dinner while we read in the travel books and relaxed.



We had a delicious dinner! I also believe this is the night I introduced Megan to gummy bears soaked in wine :)  If you have never had this and like gummy bears, I strongly urge you to try it! They are also good soaked in vodka if that is more your thing.

A side note: After reading in Rick Steves prior to coming, we had really wanted to do a day trip from Vienna down to Melk to see this pretty Abbey and have lunch and then you take a boat back up the river and return to Vienna. That sounds lovely doesn't it? Well it doesn't seem so lovely when it is rainy and windy so that is one thing that we didn't get to plan to do due to the weather.

Instead we did the crown jewels and had more of a lazy day. But hey, when you travel (especially in Europe) you have to be flexible about these things.

Next up is our last day in Vienna.

3 comments :

  1. Your trip was awesome and specially all your photos are glowing..they are explaining that you have enjoyed your trip alot..Even I will be traveling to Europe for 5 days with JoGuru..
    We have formed a group of 20 people who will be joining me.
    Vienna 3 day trip itinerary planned with JoGuru trip planner site.

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  2. Thank you for interesting series of articles about Vienna, i'll visit it in the end of Januarry. How u transfered from airport to your hotel ? Should i use train or taxi ? My friend recommend me booked taxi http://kiwitaxi.com/Austria/Vienna but i don't think that it's neсessary if my hotel is in the center.

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    Replies
    1. Lee thank you! We arrived via train to the city center area and walked to our apartment rental from there so if both are near the city center I do not think you will need a taxi if you can walk with your luggage. Another reason to pack lightly! With smartphones these days it's easy to see where you are and get a route by foot as well.

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