Vienna - Oh so beautiful - October 28 to November 2

We arrived in Vienna on Tuesday, October 28. It was very hard to say goodbye to Gene and Kathy.  Leaving them behind was sad. We had all planned this trip for such a long time and had high hopes for more good times together in Europe. It was late when we arrived and we disappointed to see our hotel was not in the city circle and it is also completely wrapped in scaffolding. When you look out our window, you see wooden scaffolding and chicken wire! Not the quaint European hotel in the city center.- we had expected.

The following day, Wednesday, we were picked up at our hotel, the Marriott Renaissance Wein for a city tour. Our guide, Gabriella did a fine job translating in both German and English. We got a real feel for the city center and our bearings as to where our hotel is located. The Schonbrunn Palace was beautiful as was our tasty apple strudel.

We ended the tour at the Belvedere Palace and we walked the gardens, past the Russian Soldier fountain and statue and on to the Opera House. We purchased tickets for a Mozart /Strauss Concert for the evening.

Following the tour, we walked to the Austria State Library via many side streets and plazas.  The library was interesting and beautiful.

We had dinner at a very traditional Austrian Restaurant, Landtmanns, build in the late 1800's. Tom had goulash, and I had four different types of sausage.

Then on to the concert at the Palais Auersperg. The orchestra played alone and also accompanied two opera singers as well as a ballet perfromance.  A stratavias violin was played by a woman in the orchestra.  Very well done.


Thursday, we took a bus to Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia. It was a quick start for us as our alarm clock did not go off and we were called by the desk as our car had arrived. We had five minutes to get dressed and ready to go.  Our guide, Veira was very knowledgeable and we learned so much about the history of this small country, about the size of Switzerland.  We had a traditional lunch which had a delious cheese starter, it was a creamy soft cheese log rolled up in a slice of cheese and then spread on bread. The meal was chicken goulash for Tom and a vegetarian broccoli and rice dish for me. Both were tasty.

Following the tour, we had some free time to wander around the city and then we took a high speed Cataraman back to Vienna on the Danube.  When we arrived back, we took the underground back to our hotel.  Now we feel like locals!  We shopped at the local grocery, the Billa, and had dinner in our room: fresh strawberries, bread and cheese and cornichons.

Map of the central city ring of Vienna

City tour of Vienna with our guide Gabriella, Tom with his apple strudel and me in front of Schonbrunn Palace.

Schonbrunn Palace

Many buildings in the Schonbrunn - over 1,000 rooms. 

The Belvedere Palace

Statue of the Russian Soldier in Vienna and the fountain in front of it.

Whimsical touches in Vienna

Happy Halloween

Some of the statues in fountains and on the top of buildings.

Goethe statue, small courtyard 

Sate Hall Library

Street scenes in Vienna

Bratislava, Slovakia

Our guide Viera, the Slovakian flag, and the city map 

What a beautiful city

Rubbing the head of the statue for good luck.

Gwen and Ramon, check out the coffee wagon, perfect for Hawaii.

Bratislava

Children's art center, American Embassy

The old fortified wall, a tribute to the Jewish people who lived in Bratislava before the war. There were millions living there before the war and now less than half a million.

This church was the site of many Hungarian coronations.

Halloween in Bratislava.

Vienna by night.  Mozart /Strauss concert and the restaurant where we had dinner.

Beautiful old church, Parliament building at night.