Vienna

Dear gentle blog-followers:
Off to slow start, in blogging terms, that is. Off to a fast start in all other ways. Hopefully, it won’t be another three days before we get a new post online for you.
Please be aware this is our first time on a blog. First surprise was that the blog lists our pictures in reverse order as compared to how they were posted. The text notes down the left column are in the correct order. Click on the first one (The B-777 . . .) and you’ll see the first picture. Or, start with the last picture and move forward, or start with the first picture and move backward, or whatever!
Also, click on any picture to make it full size so you can see more detail. This is especially helpful when looking at buildings and statues.

October 15 2008
Greetings from Vienna! What a beautiful and amazing place! We arrived here Wednesday morning at 8:15 after a really long flight. Judy was snuggly seating in a window seat behind a German passenger that liked to keep her seat fully reclined. David kept inching her seat up a bit at a time. Dan from the International University of Vienna was there waiting for us so we were whisked off to the school for a visit. We had a pleasant morning getting to meet the fine people at the school. They were all very nice! We met students from Lebanon, Albania, and Sudan.
Day 1 was tough—jet lag can get the best of you—so we napped a bit that afternoon. Later we took the trolley round “The Ring.” The center of Vienna is surrounded by a series of roads that form a ring. Two dedicated trolleys run the ring continuously: #1 runs clockwise and #2 runs counterclockwise. There are so many of them they show up every 3-4 minutes.
Day 1 weather was cloudy and wet, just like Day 2.
Day 2: October 16, 2008
Another wet day. For some reason, it was hard to find an umbrella in Vienna, but we eventually did. We knew they had to be out there somewhere because everyone had one.
We walked from the hotel to our first major target: Stephansdom. In English, it would be St. Stephan’s. It is a large (OK, huge) Catholic church and the home church of the Archbishop of Vienna. Words do not do it justice. The stained glass windows, the intricate carvings on the pillars paintings, and the countless statues were just amazing!! See the blog photos for pictures, but they don’t do the church justice. It is amazing.
Stephansdom has Mass several times a day. Visitors are kept out of the main sanctuary during Mass, unless, of course, you attend Mass. So, we attended the noon Mass. It was in German, of course. No altar boys in the Mass, just a priest and an adult assistant.
One thing we learned quickly about Vienna: there are no wrong turns. We walked most everywhere, just occasionally taking a trolley if it was convenient. This allowed us to see some beautiful parts of Vienna that tourists typically don’t see. Walking around, we happened upon beautiful, non-famous churches, neighborhood coffee shops, and regular Viennese going about their day. Every corner we turned, we said one of 3 things: 1) Amazing!, 2) These people sure love their statues, or 3) Wow, that is fantastic. There are no wrong turns in Vienna.
After our adventure, we wandered back toward the hotel and had a late lunch/early supper at Café Schottenring. Judy had the weinershnitzel and I had goulasch. Both were very good and quite filling. We promised ourselves we would come back later for dessert and coffee but didn’t quite make it.
October 17, 2008
Day 3: we took a leisurely day. Sigmund Freud, a pretty famous guy, lived and worked about 5 blocks from our hotel. The place is now a museum. Freud’s very own cigar box and cigar cutter were on display. A highlight of the visit to Freud’s place was that there is a picture hanging there of Alfred Adler. Adler broke ranks with Freud and developed his own theory of psychology (Adler was right!). The Freud museum refers to Adler as a defector but even so, his picture remains. After several hours there, we found a neighborhood grocery and stopped in for a look. Meat is a good bit more expensive than in the US. A whole chicken we could get at South Mills Supermarket for about $4 was the equivalent of about $9. I used what little German I know to order some freshly baked bread from the bakery. We actually got the item we wanted in the correct quantity!
Taking the long route to the Museum Quarter, we wandered around and found a lovely coffee shop for Der Kaffee (another word in German with which I’m confident) and some freshly baked goodies. At the Museum Quarter, we decided against the Museum of Natural History in favor of something more Viennese. We found a museum of musical instruments with many pieces that were owned by Brahms, Beethoven, and Haydn. There was also a museum of armor and weaponry that boggled our minds. First, it kept going and going and going. Secondly, there was more armor there, of more types, for more purposes, and over a longer period of time than we would have imaged. Much of it was original from the late 1500s. That’s old!
For supper on our last full day, we hit a genuine Weiner stand as we headed home from Museum Quarter. The hot dog—nothing like a US hot dog—was placed in a hollowed-out bun. It had a very tough hide and spicy taste. Quite a treat!
Tomorrow morning we board our first train for Prague. The adventure continues!