Vienna Trip part zwei

Here is the slimmed down version of our Vienna trip.  I could go on and on about it, but I am playing catchup on the ole blog so these are just a few of the highlights.
But before I really get into all that, I can't go on without mentioning our "charming" hotel.  They say the whole star rating system is different in Europe, to expect the worst, you get what you pay for, etc.  But when you are road tripping here for 8+ days you have to cut corners somewhere, and Vienna just happens to be a really pricey place to stay.  Anyway, we gambled on a priceline hotel, and it was a real gem!  The combination of elegant old world decor and modern conveniences was exceptional!    (this is all sarcasm, by the way, I have tried living without irony and have decided I'm not capable.  I know I'm not a hipster, but sometimes sarcasm is unavoidable).  No elevator, 4th floor room, "2 full sized beds" meant 1 pull out couch and a WATER BED.  Yes, you read that correctly, they still exist but this one was at best on an endangered species list if not on the very verge of extinction.  Let's just say we drifted off to sleep in the most literal way for 2 nights in Vienna.  Photo proof…that poor kid on the floor didn't even bother with the sofabed...

Okay, on to the highlights…

In case you were confused, this is Austria, not Australia!

Schonbrunn Palace, definitely the highlight of Vienna...

If guns are still legal in 10 years or so, we are probably gonna need the big stuff to defend these beauties.  3 gorgeous girlies, we are in BIG trouble...

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And this one still believes the camera will capture his soul, apparently...

Did you know wiener schnitzel is breaded veal/chicken/lamb or a some sort of mixture of meat?  I thought it was a hot dog, like a bratwurst type of thing.  More like chicken fried steak...

I had to try it, it was pretty tasty.  Not as good as Ryan's order though, some type of hearty goulash stew.  It had really tender meat and veggies in it, with a fried egg on top.  Sounds weird, but it was delish.

This is the Cafe Sacher, home of the famous Vienna sacher torte...

We didn't eat one there, but we had one at our restaurant at Schonbrunn along with some authentic apple strudel.  The sacher torte is chocolate cake with apricot filling and rich chocolatey frosting served with whipped cream.  It's sounds good, but we thought it was kind of overrated...

Now I can say that I have sung at the world famous Vienna Opera House.  My fans were screaming for an encore, but it was kind of a one time deal.  Sorry.  No recordings, no autographs.

St. Stephen's Cathedral was AMAZING!  We loved the tiled roof that the people replaced piece by piece after WWII...

Posing by a statue that had something to do with surviving the plague (i think)...

Doing a little window shopping...

Don't mind my bulky pockets, I think I had just shoved my travel book & map inside.  Gotta squash those pregnancy rumors before they start, right?

Here's Belvedere palace, the city home.  We didn't go inside, but I was pretty fascinated by the Habsburgs by this point.  Especially Sisi, I would love to go back and check out her museum full of dresses...

By the famous Mozart statue, he's kind of a big deal in Vienna...

At the end of the day, we stopped at a park and let the kids play for about 20 minutes before getting back in the car to drive to Prague.  After being asked what their favorite part of Vienna was, each of our children individually said "going to the park."  We are enveloping our kids in culture and history early on so they will develop a life long curiosity and love for it.  I think it's working, don't you?

That was Vienna.  I left out the parts about getting lost on the subway and driving on the wrong side of the road in the tram lane…equally important although there are no pictures of these memorable events.  Vienna was packed full of interesting sites, the food was good, and the weather was pretty nice too.  Overall, a very happy and memorable trip!