Vienna

So.....it is actually January 2016. Yes, the closer it got to Baby, the more I slacked on this blog. So I am trying to catch up. It feels overwhelming. These next few posts will be mainly pictures, but it is important to have some kind of record. So here we go!

We made our train to the beautiful city of Vienna! After checking into our hotel, we took the metro to an outdoor food market to get some lunch. Due to the big belly, we decided to find a cafe where we could sit down. Our food took awhile, so we were a little late getting to Schonbrunn Palace, one of the residences of the royal family back in the day. We were not able to tour the palace that day, but we were able to walk the grounds. No flowers were in bloom yet, but the palace has some spectacular gardens. We walked up the hill where we had a gorgeous view of the palace and grounds. After working up quite the appetite, we ventured back to the city center, saw some sights along the way and finished off the day with a yummy Vietnamese meal. It was just a hole in the wall type place, but it was delicious! On our way back to the hotel, we found a Viennese pastry shop that sold some gluten free delights!

The next day, we went back to the palace to do a proper tour. Vienna was quite the powerhouse back in the day! The extravagance reminds you of French palaces, though a little different in style. We also got to see the royal carriages. We went closer towards the city center and got to walk through Mozart's home. He is probably the most famous icon in Austria besides the royals. Tickets to concerts playing his music are sold at every corner and you can almost here his music in the air! His house wasn't very big and his furnishing were auctioned off back in his day to pay off his debts.  But they had a very informative exhibit up on display and we got to learn a lot about his short life and his compositions. Pretty fascinating!
Afterwards, we ate a late lunch at a little pub that served traditional Viennese cuisine, and then walked through the Hofburg palace grounds. We took a picture by a statue of Mozart and then toured the Albertina Museum, a beautiful collection of art. We particularly loved the landscapes and Impressionist works!  We did some window shopping around town and then found this chicken restaurant where we got a nice big meal. If there is one thing we love about this city is how gorgeous the architecture and lights are! It is truly stunning!

Our evening ended with a lovely concert in one of the music halls where Mozart himself performed over 250 years ago.  It was a very baroque-style music hall that was a perfect venue. About eight musicians, including a very entertaining violinist, played the works of Mozart and Strauss. There was also a soprano who sang some beautiful arias.  We felt so cultured! You have to listen to some classical music when you come to Vienna!

Another highlight of the evening was stepping into the Vienna State Opera House. There was an opera going on, so we couldn't see the stage and seating, but we got to walk through the hallways and main foyer. Talk about wow!

The next day, our last day, we went to the Prater and rode the big iconic Ferris wheel. It was a quirky sort of ferris wheel, but we had spectacular views of the city. We then went over to the Homburg palace and toured the royal residence. We also saw an exhibit on Cissy, the famous queen to King Leopold, who had quite the sob story of a life.....which tragically ended when she was stabbed outside the Beau Rivage on Lake Geneva. Yikes. It was interesting for sure. But by the end of the tour, we were quite palaced out. And, my ankles were pretty swollen and I practically hobbled back to out hotel.

We loved Vienna! How amazing that we got to see so many of its beauties!