Day 5: Vienna

Well, first impressions can be wrong. Vienna is a beautiful city to tour. Since the old part of the city is your main concern, Vienna becomes small and manageable. The tram/train system is superb, and the locals are very helpful. Having lived in NYC, it did not take us long before we were hopping on and off the trains like pros.

After breakfast at the hotel, we were at Sudtirolerplatz for our 9:45 Vienna City tour. We had a guided bus tour around the "Ring," where most of the tourist places are located, then on to magnificent Schonbrunn Palace, the summer residence of the ruling Hapsburgs.

The tour ended at noon, at the Opera House. Across the street was the Hotel Sacher, birthplace of the famous chocolate cake. We enjoyed viennese coffee and sacher torte (what else?) at the Sacher Cafe. Personally, it was a bit dry. When I next find myself in Vienna, I will need to try the version at Demel's.

The afternoon was spent strolling on the ring, using trams 1 & 2, and the U3 to move around quickly. If you are visiting Vienna, I would definitely read this section in Rick Steves' guidebook beforehand.

We completed circling the ring at the Stadtplatz. In keeping with our gastronomic tour, I had my first taste of Wienerschnitzel and Stiegl austrian beer, at a biergartl across from the Kursalon, where the Strauss brothers conducted their Promenade concerts.

From the circumference, we then went to the ring's center, St. Stephen's Cathedral. Here, we got a rosary and case to give to Rica, as a token of her upcoming first Holy Communion. Then down Graben Street, in the shopping district, to the Holmarkt. This is their version of 5th Avenue.

At 6:15, we met up in front of the Opera with a few other people for our evening tour: a Viennese dinner (Wienershnitzel again, and apple strudl) at the Albertina followed by a Mozart Concert at the Imperial Ballroom of the Hofburg Palace. This is "Celebrate Mozart year," and concerts are held all throughout the city.

The group consisted of a couple from Moscow, a dentist and his sister from New York, a retired couple from Mississippi now living in Mexico, and a pharmacist from Greece, in town for the Vienna marathon to be held that weekend.

We had a full day, and a lovely night, capped by gawking at the floodlit cathedral and buildings of the ring on the walk back to the hotel. Danke shein, Wien.