We arrived on Wednesday night from Prague, and things got off to an inauspicious start when, upon letting our cab driver know where we were staying, he replied “why are you staying there?” I’m not sure what a cab drivers salary affords these days, but I thought the Courtyard Marriot would suit us just fine. The hotel ended up being fine. Although in a quieter business district (EWS: and next door to a large theme park, which I tried to insist was calling my name—didn’t go over well), it was about 50ft from the Vienna metro, which Liz and I came to love (e.g. “Im serious, this metro is incredible, I think im going to write the mayor of Vienna a thank you note” – Elizabeth Sowa).
When we finally settled into our room, we were both tired and hungry from the long train ride (EWS: the schnitzel onboard just wasn’t enough), so the first order of business was getting internet and finding food. Liz and I have become big TripAdvisor fans, as so far we really haven’t had a disappointing meal based on a little research. When we saw that a highly rated, affordable Mexican food restaurant was located within a couple of metro stops of our hotel, we both thought that sounded great. Then, when we saw a trip advisor review from someone who was “Born in Texas, lives in Tulsa” raving about the chips and salsa, we bolted out the door.
The food turned out to be great, as you might have seen from the mobile pictures Liz uploaded yesterday. After a couple of (AMAZING) margaritas and Dos Equis’, and knowing that our one day to tour Vienna started EARLY the next morning, we called it a night.
Thursday started early with a 9am wake up call, so we could be on our way to Schonbrunn Palace by 10. After picking up a “Classic Pass” we toured the Privy Garden, the Gloriette, the Maze, and then the inside of the Palace. (EWS: the gloriette was about a 20 minute hike up a STEAP hill…I guess we needed the excersize, but boy my hamstrings haven’t been the same since). Note to anyone going to Vienna, you don’t really need to by a pass when you visit the palace. I thought seeing the palace grounds and the outside was enough (and the maze was a bit cheesy), so save yourself the 15 Euro. Liz, however, loved the palace tour, so depends who you’re with! Some photos from the Palace:
Where's Waldo?
View up to the Gloriette
View from the Gloriette
The Maze
After Schonbrunn, we hopped back on the Metro and headed to the Museum Quarter for lunch. After a very traditional Viennese lunch, where I had the best sausage and sauerkraut ive ever tasted, we walked through the Musuem Quarter (Spanish Riding School, Rathaus, Mumok – closed until September 9th, and Parliament). (sidenote: Stewart hit a Viennese biker while trying to walk across the street: got a Viennese earful of what we think were some f-bombs). A bit disappointed that the Mumok was closed, we decided to head over the Naschmarkt, one of Viennas largest farmers market. On the way, we saw a very cool café, and having heard that Vienna was the “coffee capital of the world,” we decided to stop in for a leisurely afternoon coffee….and beer. Pretty impressed with the spot we picked, we decided to see if it was in the guidebook….turns out theres a picture of our café, Café Sperl, on page 10 of our guidebook.
After a walk through the Naschmarkt, which we both agreed was very cool, we headed back to get ready for dinner. Liz had found a winebar she wanted to try called Vis-à-Vis that happened to be very close to our restaurant, Da Campo. As usual, Liz quickly made friends with the owner, and after our first glass of wine was already getting German lessons (which she forgot before we left the bar). After a discussion with an Austrian man in cowboy boots about being from Texas, at which point the entire bar (6 people, 3 tables) gasped in shock / horror, and the obligatory Dallas tv show chat, we decided it was time to leave for dinner. The guy actually followed us outside and told us he would be waiting for us next time we came to Vienna. Dinner turned out to be great, and I noticed something about Liz that I have always suspected, but am now able to confirm: Liz simply does not order something straight of the menu. I don’t think she has ordered something without trying to change how it is prepared or what is included since we started dating (eg from trying to have her Viennese Iced Coffee made with milk instead of ice cream, which I thankfully vetoed, to asking if the chef typically chose the “Chef’s Choice of Three Pastas,” or if she could choose instead).
So that was our day in Vienna. We both really liked the city (I thought it was even better than Prague) and wanted to stay another day. But Budapest awaits, so we can’t wait to tell you how our weekend goes there.
Someone has been taking quotation and parenthesis lessons from @thekidsdr
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