Vienna, Austria - 18th April to 25th April, 2011

For our April Break, Devin booked us a trip to Vienna where we stayed with some friends, using their guesthouse.

Day 1 - Flight from Bucharest to Vienna

We flew from Bucharest to Vienna on Monday evening of our spring break. It was nice, as we got to spend the weekend relaxing at our house. Well, it wasn't quite relaxing, as David and I spent a lot of time gardening. We tore up some dirt and planted some flowers. Hopefully when we get back in town the flowers will still be alive!

Devin booked our flight on AirBerlin, but the flight seemed to be operated by "Niki." It was barely 1/4 full, so we got to spread out a bit and relax on the short flight. Heck, they even served food for free! We're so used to flying budget airlines (not that we spent too much money on this flight...Devin found round trip tickets for about $130...) and having to buy food and luggage extra that this ended up seeming like a luxury flight.

Arrival in Vienna was early, so we hopped a bus out towards where we were staying, and a taxi for the last leg. Once we know the train and bus system, we'll probably avoid the taxi altogether for the trip back to the airport at the end of the trip. We got settled in our place and crashed after a long day (made longer by Lowell locking the keys in the car in Bucharest!).

Day 2 - Hanging out in Vienna

Today we hopped a subway to down town Vienna after purchasing a one-week train ticket for Devin and I for 14 Euros each. And since it's a school holiday, David rides all public transportation for free. Woohoo! In the downtown train station where we got out, there was a Starbucks. It's mandatory that we stop at a Starbucks at least once in every city we visit, so we made this our stop. (Lowell's prediction: We'll stop at least twice more this trip.) After loading on sugar and caffeine, we walked to one of the of the Tourist Information Centers near the Opera House. Something I found a bit weird were gentlemen dressed in what you might call 'Mozart apparel' out in front of the Opera House selling tickets. It struck me as over-the-top touristy, and for some reason I didn't expect that in Vienna.

After the Tourist Center, we hopped on a tram to circumnavigate the downtown area just to get our bearings. We spotted the Parliament building, the museum district and a few parks. So after the trip around the city center, we headed to the parks to walk around a bit. We ended up at the museum area and found the National Library. Sadly, the Museum of Ethnography was closed, so we went across the street to the Natural History Museum. It was full of cool displays. Heck, even the building itself was a piece of art.

At the train stop to head back to the house, we grabbed some spring rolls from one of the food stands. We heard the woman in front of us speaking Thai to the cook. Devin and I agreed that it made us homesick. Crazy, really, to think of Thailand in that way. We really miss it. But we're having fun here in Europe too...so no complaints here.

We got back to our place and hung out for a while, including some family Uno games. During one of our marathon games, David's songlist was playing on the computer and Falco's 'Rock Me Amadeus' played. Very appropriate. And Devin would get mad at me if I didn't mention that she won the marathon game.

Check out the pictures below.  Remember you can click on each image to see a larger version.

David enjoying a Frappacino and a sweet at the Starbucks.	Devin and David in front of the Opera House.	The Opera House.	I couldn't resist this picture. Check out the dog in the bag. He's lovin' life.
Devin and David on the tram.	The Parliament House.	A bed of tulips at the park.	One of the statues in front of the National Library.
And the other statues in front of the National Library.	The front of the National Library.	And the adornment on the side of the entrance.	Being the book-lovers that we are, we had to visit the National Library.
Devin and David in front of the Natural History Museum.	Looking up in the entrance.	Lowell and David by a huge amethyst geode.	A HUGE Calcite crystal bigger than David's head.
The Hall of Minerals. The room was just as cool as the stuff inside.	Those of you that have lived in Thailand will appreciate the fossilized ice cream.	Lowell next to a big white furry rocket.	A triceratops skull.
The view of the ceiling while having a snack break at the museum.	David checking out some Daphnia.	And David playing at the playground near the house.

Day 3 - Shonbrunn Palace and the Imperial Zoo

Today was a fantastic day, but it had a few rough spots. We woke up pretty early (without even setting an alarm), had some breakfast and hopped a train to Shonbrunn Palace. It is HUGE! So as we're walking towards the Palace, I pull out the camera and go to take a shot and get an error. "Unable to save." Crap! I'd forgotten to put the memory card back into the camera last night after downloading the pictures. This was the second time I've done this on a vacation. Lucky for me, there was a gift shop right nearby. Unlucky for me, the SD card I purchased was expensive!

But we proceeded to the palace and took our tour. They won't allow pictures inside the castle, but it was well worth the tour. Each room is different and has a history behind the layout, furniture, paintings and art. After the palace, we walked around the garden for a while, then hit the maze. On our way to the maze we had crisis #2. Somehow in all of our packing for the day, we (translation: Lowell!) forgot to pack sunscreen. This time the gift shops weren't able to save us. Walking through the maze, I felt like Harry Potter in the Tri Wizard Tournament, trying to navigate. Luckily Devin found a way out and we survived.

After the maze we hit the 'Imperial Zoo.' I kept waiting for the Star Wars Imperial Anthem to play as we walked around. Different kind of empire, I suppose. The first few exhibits ended up being empty. The animals were in hiding. But we found some playgrounds for David, had a nice lunch and visited the Gloriette that is part of the Shonbrunn Palace compound before finding our way back to the train to head home after a long day of walking around.

Dinner was quite simple and was followed by another marathon session of Uno. That's become a favorite evening activity, and we all seem to enjoy just hanging out together.

As usual, a few pictures are below. Click on the image to see a full-size version.

Devin and David in front of Schonbrunn Palace.	Devin and David in one of the private gardens that was part of our ticket.	A view of the side of the palace.	One of the gardens.
My lawn isn't the only lawn that has a dandelion problem!	The back of the palace.	The maze.	David playing at one of the playgrounds near the maze.
The view up the hill to the Gloriette.	The view down towards the Palace with Vienna in the background, taken from the Gloriette at the top of the hill.	Some cutout animals at the zoo. We laughed that the cutout animals were more abundant than the real animals. (Not quite true...)

Day 4 - Lipizzaner Practice Session, Butterfly House, Starbucks, Naschmarkt and Augarten Park

Today we set the alarm for 7:30 AM so we could get to the Lipizzaner Practice Session. Tickets for this were only 12 Euros, whereas standing room tickets to an actual show start at 23 Euros, and seats are over 100 Euros. So this is a much better alternative for us. The family ticket was 24 Euros for a 2-hour session. The horses came in groups of 5-6 horses and were worked out by trainers for about 30 minutes before exiting. The horses did some amazing stuff, from diagonal walking to prancing a few different ways. They even worked on having a few of the horses stand up. They didn't do any of the jumping, but it was still awesome.

We walked around the Opera district for a while, snacked at Starbucks, planned some stuff for the next day, found lunch, then went to the Butterfly House. It reminded us of Thailand, with the heat and humidity. We could only last about 30 minutes, and walked around the small loop, taking pictures along the way. It was nice, but not overwhelming. We then found our way to the Naschmarkt. It's relatively famous as a market, but apparently is even busier on Saturdays. Well, this was one of our favorite stops. They had tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits (mango!), spices, and tons of other cool stuff. On the way home, we stopped at a candy store down the street from our house here. Then we gorged on the strawberries, chocolate and jelly beans that we picked up along the way. Good thing we're walking so much during the day...

We relaxed for a while at the house, then the friends that are hosting us here took us to a nearby park to toss the Frisbee. On the way back, we stopped at a Chinese/Thai/Japanese place for dinner. Needless to say, we left absolutely stuffed on good food that reminded us of our time in Thailand.

Check out the pictures below.  Remember you can click on each image to see a larger version.

A view of the arena for the Lipizzaners. (Once the horses arrived for practice, no cameras were allowed.)	The family portrait, while waiting for the horses.	Some ruins within the city.	Outside the Spanish Riding School there were guys dressed in their best 'Mozart' attire trying to sell concert tickets. You can't get away from touristy stuff, I guess.
Walking a small side-street, David was attacked by a giant bear!	One of the statues near the Opera.	The Butterfly House.	Devin and David braving the heat and humidity to see the butterflies.
One of the more colorful butterflies.	And another one.	This is my attempt to take a picture of a butterfly that landed on my hat. Didn't work.	Devin and David at the Naschmarkt.
The spices.	David at the 'Cheesehouse'	The lineup of chocolate bars at one of the specialty shops.	Look at the fresh produce!
And the end-result of our spending spree at the market. (Well, only three cherries left. David ate them all on the walk to the train.)	David watching a movie and eating some grapes while we relaxed.	A huge structure, built in 1943 during WWII, at the park where we tossed the Frisbee.

Day 5 - Lazy Day, and Handscapes Painting

Today ended up being a lazy day for us. We did some laundry at a local laundromat (EXPENSIVE!) and basically just hung out most of the day. At around 4 PM, we went with our friend Angela to a performance of hers. She's an artist here in Vienna and one of her projects is called 'Handscapes: Landscape Painting in Hands.' At a local eatery on Friday nights she sets up shop and paints hands, then photographs them for her collection. She often has appointments, but had some open space for us. So we all got our hands painted. I don't have any pictures of the finished products, as they are Angela's works of art and she will be processing her own pictures for her collection. But I have some pictures below of the process and us just hanging out. (If you're interested, her website is........)

David getting his hand painted.	Devin checking out the pictures with Angela.	David relaxing.	Lowell getting his hand painted.

Day 6 - The Prater, and Dinner in Vienna with a Friend from AISB

David was nice enough to let Devin and I sleep in today. But once we got going, we headed to the Prater, which is a HUGE park here in Vienna. We rented bikes and rode down the 'Hauptallee' which is a 4-km long tree-lined boulevard that runs through the middle of the park. We stopped near the end and had lunch and tossed the Frisbee. The Prater is absolutely HUGE. Oh, sorry, I already said that. After our snack and Frisbee, we rode slowly back to return our bikes and have an ice cream.

After some time back at the place, we hopped a train to go downtown for dinner with a friend of ours from school that was visiting Vienna also. She recommended a place called Sparky's, which was sort of a TGIFridays. It was great to get a taste of home, with a big juicy cheeseburger for the boys. Devin stuck with a local favorite and had Wienerschnitzel. Once we were all full, we walked around the Stephanplatz area a bit, revisiting the area with the Spanish Riding School and doing some window-shopping. We also caught a few street performers along the way. We then caught a train home to put an end to another great day in Vienna.

A bit cliché, I suppose. But David's got the whole world in his hands.	The famous Vienna Ferris Wheel.	A view from inside our car.	Devin and David enjoying the sights.
The view from the top.	David and Devin riding their bikes down the Hauptallee.	The Purple Streak	The Bumblebee
The Blue Bomber	David and Lowell playing Frisbee.	Devin and David on the train.	A street performer doing amazing things with a Hackey Sack.
One of the more famous churches in Vienna, the Stephandom	A view of the Spanish Riding School building as the sun goes down.	A giant skull full of bling in a storefront.	Another street performer. This guy was putting on a show with his cello. We could have listened for hours, he was that good.
A portrait of Michael Jackson for sale in a storefront. Look closely at the price tag. Yep...you read that right. 200,000 Euros.

Day 7 - Prater (again) and the Amusement Park

For our last day in Vienna, we slept in, then David and I watched Star Wars Episodes V and VI while Devin took a long nap to clear a big headache. (Lowell's Note: David and I have seen them all, but a few weeks ago, we started watching Episode I, eventually finishing the series this weekend.) Once we all got going we headed back to Prater and hit the amusement park for a few rides. One ride that we all did was like the Mad Mouse from the Central Washington State Fair (for those of you from that part of the word) except it spun us around a bit. I guess that's why this one is called Dizzy Mouse. Then David and I drove around on the bumper cars. After lunch, we hit the park again and rode around in one of the family bicycles that we've always wanted to try. Needless to say, it wasn't very comfortable. But now we've tried it. We took a train downtown to walk around a bit more and visit Starbucks one last time (Final Starbucks Count: 4) as a surprise for David. On our way back to the house the dark clouds were looming. And as I write this, the skies have started to dump rain on us. I guess we can't complain, as we made it the entire week with fabulous weather. Hopefully tomorrow won't be too bad as we have a few trains to catch to get to the airport. (And back to reality...Ugh.)

But we had a great time here in Vienna and thoroughly enjoyed the family time and the sights. The top two spots were probably the Lipizzaner Horses and Schonbrunn Palace. But the park (Prater) was also great. It was all great.

Look mom, no hands!	David in his car.	And Lowell (barely fitting) in his car.	David hitting Lowell.

Day 8 - Back to Reality

And nothing to report today except we made it home safely. Now each of us has work to complete today. David: Water the flowers. Lowell: Mow the lawn. Devin: Laundry. And so life goes on, but we're thankful we got to spend a week together seeing the sights. And I would be remiss to avoid thanking my sisters. They know why, and that's all that matters.

Until our next trip report...