Day Five In Austria

At this point, our Jet Lag had completely caught up with us, and we were POOPED.  The following pictures were taken in a couple hour span that we did some neat things.  The other hours of the day, we were in our hotel room zonked out.
We had been on the go so much, we just needed a down day.
So we took it.  And thoroughly enjoyed it!!

We started the day with breakfast at the Demel, acclaimed as the most famous pastry shop in all of Austria.



Rob and Jamie were with us-  they were quite the troopers and had stayed up all night watching the gamecocks compete for the national championship.  The game STARTED at 1:00 am, austria time.



You do not like them. So you say.
Try them! Try them!And you may.



It was interesting to me that they served is water in glass bottles and gave us glasses to pour it in.... it was this way everywhere we went.  And "water" as the drink of choice, was NOT free.



After breakfast, we walked down the road to the Spanish Riding School to watch the Lipizzaner stallions  in their morning exercise routine.
I snapped this picture before realizing that photography is strictly prohibited.  Whoops.



These people love their dogs.  At first glance, it might appear this man is pulling a child behind his bike.... nope.  It was his dog in there.
Also, please do note the sign on the bike rack.
"Gute Fahrt" means, "have a good trip!"
Much like WeinerWald, we had fun with this one.




You can also, Parkeinfhart, if you wish.
Actually, that means, DON'T park there.
Confusing, I know.  But funny.  :)



Dogs in the bookstore?
Sure.  Why not?



Dogs going into a ritzy restaurant?
Absolutely!  Let me get that door for you!



Inside McDonalds.
Don't judge us for going to McDonalds in Austria.
It was the only place that had FOUNTAIN coke.  WITH ICE.
(although, you did have to ASK for the ice!)



Benjamin and his giant fish.
Ok, not really.
It's a calzone.  But I think it looks like fish.  Ew.
It was really very good though.



We ate at Danieli either two or three times while we were there.  
This was another Jamie Find for which I will be eternally grateful.  



Inside St. Peters Cathedral



And below:  the back of St. Peters (this pic was from day one, they were doing renovations on the front, hence the unconventional angle)



And this one's actually from day six.
This incredibly talented artist was in the the town square sketching famous places and then painting them with watercolor.  I ended up buying two prints.  The Vienna town hall (where we date on day three  and the Hoffburg Palace where we were privileged to visit and dine on day six.
Souvenir Cool Factor: just slightly below my little cup and saucer.












And tomorrow, last but certainly not least, day six in Austria.

Austria Day Four { Sound of Music Tour }

On Day four in Austria, we actually left Vienna and took a three hour train ride through the countryside to Salzburg, where the Sound of Music was filmed.

If you've never seen Sound of Music, then you probably won't appreciate the following blog post, and if that's the case, then you shouldn't even READ the following blog post.
You should stop what you're doing.
You should NOT pass go,
you should NOT collect $200,
you should go DIRECTLY to the movie store and rent it and not proceed onward with your life until you've watched it.
It's a classic.
And your life will be richer once you've heard Julie Andrews sing
"Dough, a de-ah a Fee-may-el De-ah..."
and it's likely to cause you to skip around all day and wish that you could make play clothes out of curtains.
And speak with a English Accent.


This was my first experience on a train.
It was basically like a bunch of tour buses hooked together on a track.



Here we are in the Mirabell Gardens where parts of the Sound of Music were filmed.

It's difficult to tell where the statues end and Lula Begins.



One of the main streets in Salzburg...
There's an ordinance that states all signs on this street must be made of iron...
Look for the McDonald's :)

Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me

Small and white clean and bright

You look happy to meet me

Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow

Bloom and grow forever

Edelweiss,  Edelweiss

Bless my homeland forever.

This is the market where Maria juggled oranges... 

Vendors selling pastries....



St. Peter's Cemetery, according to our tour guide, is the "Most Romantic cemetery in the world"



'Til Death Do Us Part, My Love!



This is the fountain Maria danced around and sang, "I Have Confidence..."



The beautiful cityscape...



Bikes.  EVERYbody rode bikes.



50 cent Euro (about $0.65) to use public restrooms...
living in Austria could get very expensive for someone like me...



The back of the Von Trappe Family Mansion where they fell out of the canoe...



Mrs. Lula just needs a few more grandkids and she could BE Maria!



I was sixteen, going on seventeen, when I fell for this guy...



The cathedral, Basilika Mondsee, where Maria and Captain Von Trapp were married...
and us reenacting it :)





On the way home, we drove through the lake district in Austria and had a chance to see the glacial lakes and the Austrian Alps.

Even looking at them now, I can't believe that I got to see these places in real life.  

If only I had brought my Tiger Rag!



Our tour guides had prepared for us to stop at a tiny little restaurant for a "traditional Austrian meat and cheese tray" for dinner.
It was dis.gust.ting.
So gross.
Totally not a fan.
I guess a traditional Austrian meat and cheese tray is an acquired taste which we did not stay long enough for me to acquire!



Mr. Tom decided to make the best of the situation and pile it ALL between two bread slices (which just happened to be very rye-like) and down it.  It's questionable as to whether he felt better or worse after this dinner.



They had some "authentic" entertainment for us at dinner, as well...



And this was the sunset from a rest area on our way home from Salzburg.
What a beautiful day!!!

Austria Day Three { Part Zwei (two) }

After visiting Abbey Heiligenkreuz and Seegrotte in Hinterbrühl, Austria.  

We stopped at a famous Hunting Lodge in Mayerling but we didn't have time to explore the lodge and instead just ate at the little eatery outside where we had a very odd looking, yet delicious "mixed grill"  (of four different meats) dish for lunch.

It was served on a cutting board.

Here's a nine minute clip of a 1957 TV movie starring Audrey Hepburn that takes place at the Mayerling Hunting Lodge and is based on the true story in which married Crown Prince Rudolph of Habsburg meets and falls in love with the beautiful Countess Maria Vetsera (Hepburn), only to join her in a murder/suicide pact at the Mayerling Hunting Lodge after his father Emperor Franz Josef ordered him to break off the romance...
This is the stuff Hollywood is made of! And it's a true story! And we were there!
 Well, not there, there, but at the location that it took place...

After our delightful drive through Weinerwald, we went back to our hotel room and got all prettied up and loaded a bus that took us to the Vienna Town Hall....

Where we had the privaledge of eating dinner at the Wiener Rathauskeller 
From their website:

Since its completion in 1883, Vienna's Rathaus, or City Hall, has been the headquarters of the city and provincial government. Architect Friedrich Schmidt designed the basement vault as a place for "food and drink". In 1899, Rathauskeller was inaugurated by then Mayor of Vienna Dr. Karl Lueger with a toast to "His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, Emperor Franz Josef I", and to this day it is known as the home of "good taste".

They had these sweet little children lining the halls to welcome us with "Welcome to Vienna, Farm Bureau" gingerbread cookies.  

Benjamin really embraced the culture...

They had all kinds of neat entertainment for us during dinner:

Some Knee Slapping...



And some other slapping...

Like. A. Dream... Seriously.

View of the Town Hall as we were leaving...

We decided to walk back through the town instead of riding the bus.
In the below picture the president's office is in front of us.  The two flags flying meant he was there!
There was some dissension among the group as to which way we were supposed to be going...

We passed the Hoffburg Palace on our way home...

And we could look back across the city and see the town hall.
Where we ate dinner.
We were standing there watching people take pictures of it and we had eaten there.  That night.
I can't even tell you how blessed we felt.

And on the way home, we ended our day, the only proper way TO end a day in Vienna...
at the Zanoni & Zanoni Gelateria

And when we got back to the hotel, we skyped with Benson.

It was 5:03 in the afternoon in Lexington, which makes it 11:03 at night in Vienna.

Now, in taking a look at this screenshot, your first thought might be that Benson is upset with us.

Upset with us for leaving him.
Upset with us for not taking him on our trip with us.
Upset because he misses us so terribly, awfully, bad.

But if you thought that, you would be wrong.  

He was upset with us because we were INTERRUPTING him.  He told us he was (and I quote) "busy."

He was having wayyyy too much fun at Nana and Papa's to stop and talk to his boring ole parents.  

"Can I pleeeease go play now?!"

And so, WE, as his parents, had an awesome time knowing that he didn't miss us one little bit.

Ok, well, we might would've liked him to miss us a little. :)

Day three in the books and on the blog! Check!