Two Days in Vienna

The train from Salzburg to Vienna was two and a half hours long. We were in Vienna by late afternoon. We checked into our hotel Appartement Hotel an der Riemergasse. It was a two bedroom apartment that gave us room to spread out. After quickly freshening up we headed out to get a feel for the area and dinner. We walked towards to Opera House which has a large screen outside and you can stand and watch the opera live! The kids were not too impressed.

We found a steak place nearby, Steak Point and had dinner.

It was really good.. though M's potato did come with far far too much sour cream. Afterwards we headed to the original Sacher Cafe.. to try to original Sacher torte.. The cake consists of a dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam on top, coated in dark chocolate icing on the top and sides. It is traditionally served with unsweetened whipped cream.

The cafe was uber fancy.. unfortunately the torte was such a major disappointment. Four people, one slice and we struggled to finish it. 

The next morning we discovered it was going to be a cold and rainy day :( We dressed in layers, borrowed an umbrella and headed out.

First stop Gerstner K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker Cafe for breakfast. 

This place was beautiful. It was right across the street from the Opera House. We ordered a slice of cake each.. 

They were divine. The ones in front of the boys were the best... they were like eating sweet clouds.. it was an unimaginable experience. The chocolate one on the right was also pretty good.. the one of the left was just fine. 

Our next stop was the Schonbrunn Palace. Vienna did have Uber and it took us 20 minutes to get there. The rain had stopped but it was still quite cold.

Schönbrunn Palace was the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers. The 1,441-room Baroque palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural, and historical monuments in the country. Within the grounds they also have what is known to be the world oldest zoo. 

We bought tickets for the children's museum. It was a wonderful museum.. lots of great information and tons to do for the kids.

When we exited hours later the rain was coming down hard.. we had planned on walking some of the expansive grounds and exploring but that seemed to be out of the question. We ran to the on premises cafe for lunch and to rethink our options.

We ate at Cafe Restaurant Kutscher Gwölb, which was not bad or we were just that hungry.

We had noticed a hop on hop off panoramic train nearby and decided to take it.

We didn't do much hopping off considering the weather. You can see the palace far in the distance.

It was still lightly drizzling when we made it to the front gates and into our next Uber, destination Naschmarkt. The market has existed since the 16th century. Half of the market was closed thanks to the crappy weather.. We grabbed coffees and ducked under shades to save from the rain. 

The shop sellers were all eager to have us try various samples for free.. we bought some dried strawberries and pineapples and some fresh fruit as well.

It looked like we were finally done with the rain..but it was still windy. We grabbed another Uber to Hundertwasser House. It is an expressionist landmark and apartment building. It was the brainchild of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser and architect Joseph Krawina.

We ended the day with pizza and pasta at Vappiano. 

       
The next day we had just half a day left of exploration left.. we had a 3pm train to catch. We started off with breakfast as Cafe Diglas. Cafe Diglas was founded in 1875. The one we ate at was opened in 1923.

It was fine.. the staff was a bit snooty or maybe just leisurely... that was a conclusion we came to mid trip. In America everything is fast.. the moment you enter there is someone to seat you.. a waiter is at your table within moments of being seated.. the bill arrives while you are still putting the last bite in your mouth. Here, everything happens slowly.. you wait minutes on end for service.. I guess you take your time and savor every moment? 

Unfortunately after yesterdays cake-tastic breakfast no other breakfast could ever come close. 

Afterwards we wandered about the Inner Stadt. We saw St. Stephan's Cathedral, St. Peter's Church, walked around Hofburg the once residence of the Empress Elizabeth.

We strolled Kohlmarkt and Graben - both prominent streets full of eateries and designer stores. Above is a statue of Mozart.

We ate gelato at Demel an salon establish in 1888 while M had a delectable pastry.

We had planned on having lunch at Cafe Central.. known for it's exquisite interior but the line was so long.. so we settled for a quick bite at Chattanooga instead and then off to the train station we went.

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