Vienna, Austria

    After my dad left, my mom and I recovered for a few days and then headed out on a road trip to Austria with my friend Anna Simpson and her sister, Mary Kathryn. We had a blast!!

Our first stop was Vienna, which is the capital city of Austria. 

This was a cool market that has been around since the 16th century. There were tons of produce, spices, clothing, and little restaurants. 

Some Art Noveau buildings nearby...

Karlskirche or St. Charles' Church

One year after the plague, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI, pledged to build a church in honor of Saint Charles who was revered as a healer of people who suffered from the plague.   

Belvedere Palace

Built by Prince Eugene of Savoy in the early 1700s. It now houses an art museum. 

The gardens were definitely the best part. 

Lunch at Schubel-auer Heuriger. A heuriger is an old wine tavern. 

It was a fun stop, but the wine was way more expensive than the wine here in Italy!!

Our second day in Vienna it rained like crazy. So of course, I sported the giant red poncho!!

Vienna's famous Opera House. 

Even though it was raining, we still had to get good pictures! 

Turtle Shell rain jacket

Providentia Fountain

Karntner Stase was once an important trading route and now is a famous shopping street.

Sachertorte is a special type of chocolate cake created by Franz Sacher. It is 2 layers of chocolate cake with apricot jam in the middle and coated with dark chocolate icing. I have had a lot of chocolate cake in my life time and this was not very good. Too dry.

Hofburg Palace

The Hofburg palace was the home of the Hapsburg dynasty and now the residence of the current President of Austria. We were able to see the apartments of Franz Joseph and Eliabeth aka Sisi, a museum all about Sisi's life, and an impressive silver collection. 

Mozart spent the final 10 years of his life in Vienna. He was married in St. Stephen's Cathedral and most of his children were baptized there as well. 

St. Peter's Chruch

St. Peter's church which is on the the spot of the oldest church in Vienna, dating back to the Middle Ages. 

We took a nice break for some beer and rattlers. 

St. Stephen's Cathedral

St. Stephen's Cathedral stands in the ruins of 2 earlier churches, the first built in 1147. There was severe fire damage done to this church during WWII. 

Tomb of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III.

Ostmark was Austria's name when it was part of Nazi Germany.  The sign of the Austrian resistance to Nazi rule was O5. The 5 stand for the fifth letter in the alphabet- E and OE is the abbreviation for Osterreich, therefore not "Ostmark" anymore. This is still on the side of the church today. 

Unique tile roof.

This night we ate at a Beer Garden and laughed so hard we almost peed our pants. 

First, the waiter, who clearly knows we are Americans, brings us a menu in all German. We were completely lost!! 

We do get a kick out of the Kid's Menu which has dishes called Teletubbies, Darth Wader, and Pokemon. 

After being teased by the waiter, Anna killing a fly with her bare hand, and odd looks from other guests  we finished the meal with apple strudel. Mmmmmmmm.

Rathausplatz

During the summer time in Vienna they host a festival and show Operas on a big screen in front of the Rathausplatz, which is the town hall. They have all sorts of food stands set up and bleachers to watch the show... and it is entirely free!!

Dinner at Esterhazy Keller