Wien (Vienna)

I started my day in Wien at the very early hour 7 am. After taking the train into the city, I checked into my hostel, where I tried to dust off my rusty German skills. Not speaking the language for a few weeks made me forget a lot, but I think I'm back to my normal level of bad German now. After dropping off my bag, I headed into the city to do some exploring before the other tourists got there. (I don't like most other tourists. They are annoying. Especially other Americans.) I discovered a new obsession: taking pictures of myself making the same faces as statues. This is very difficult, but here's me and Mozart: Rock me, Amadeus.

After wandering around the Hofburg, I went see the Morgenarbeit (morning exercises) at the Spanische Hofreitschule (Spanish Riding School). Morgenarbeit is when the riders warm up their horses, so at the beginning they are just walking, maybe doing some cool sideways walking or pausing halfway through their stride so it looks like they're in slow motion, and at the end they did some exciting tricks. The riding hall was very beautiful and for the first hour I was there, none of the horses went to the bathroom, which I was impressed by. Magical horses...??

Following the suggestion of my trusty guidebook, I went to eat lunch at a microbrewery that had amazing lunch specials. As a tourist, I just couldn't resist the possibility of eating Wiener Schnitzel in Wien. It was probably the best Schnitzel I have eaten. In my life. If you are ever in Vienna and looking for a good lunch place, I highly recommend the Siebenstern Bräu. Seriously, this schnitzel was SOOO good.

Fortified by my delicious Schnitzel and Bier, I followed another guidebook suggestion and went to the Schatzkammer at Hofburg, where many of the treasures of imperial Austria are kept (z.B. Maria Theresa's jeweled shoes and gloves and the crowns the kaisers wore.)

The Schatzkammer was nice, but after awhile I became numb to how beautiful everything was. "Oh, this one only has 50 diamonds. Lame."

My next stop was Schönbrunn palace, the summer palace. I didn't go inside because I didn't want to be in close quarters with tourists, and decided to take a walk around the grounds.

Schönbrunn with Vienna in the background.

Keep off the ice! I totally took this picture after I'd already been on the ice. I didn't see the sign.

I started out my second day by checking out the Staatsoper (State Opera) building and then taking a walk around the city, seeing the Rathaus (city hall), Parliament, and some other stuff. Then I went to the Museum of Applied Art, because it is free on Saturdays, and I have no money. Then I met some members of one of my favorite families, the Gartmans.

Tim and Lindsey, along with the other Gartmans, were in Vienna due to AmEx points, which meant that they had access to the magical executive lounge, where there is always food and top-shelf liquor. That was pretty magical, and the rest of the day was spent with pauses for fortification in the EL. We went to the Leopold Museum to check out the collection of Klimt and Schiele, as well as the Hundertwasser Haus, a really cool apartment building designed by painter Friedensreich Hundertwasser. After dinner, we headed to the 1516 Brewery, an American microbrewery translated into Austrian. 1516, if you are not a beer fanatic like Tim, is the year the Deutsche Reinheitsgebot was enacted. This is the famous law that states only water, hops and wheat are allowed to be used in beer. The beer there was quite delicious and college basketball was on TV. Magical.

The next day, I sadly said tschüß to Wien and headed back to Aachen, die Stadt der Wissenschaft. During my trip, I was surprised to find how much I missed Germany, as well as speaking German (that only applies to my Iron Curtain adventures. I def. used my deutsch skills in Vienna). Arriving in the Aachen Hauptbahnhof felt like coming home, so although I was sad to end my traveling adventures, I am glad to be back. Stay tuned for my latest Aachener Abenteur.