Ah, Vienna — Vienna, Austria
We've had a couple of great days in Vienna now in spite of the lackluster look of the weather. It was a heavy gray sky when we got here and that has not changed a bit. We walked about three miles around the center and the altstadt when we got here on Tuesday which was a great relaxer after being in the car for a few hours. Last night we had a really great visit and dinner with and old friend and colleague, Dana Sachetti and his lovely girlfriend, Brenda. They've been living and working here for some years now and it was great to get an insider's take on the place. We ate at a favorite of Dana's, Wild Gasthaus. Like an idiot, I thought it was going to be some kind of "wild" hipster place...it was a literal use of the word in German...wild meaning game. So I had venison for dinner and it was spectacular! Today we spent a chunk of the day in the Kuntshistoriches Museum and were nearly overwhelmed by the enormous and impressive collection. Then we walked...and walked and walked all over the old center again. We did take a time out for a little Viennese respite at the iconic Cafè Central,never a bad option. Then more walking and window shopping before we tucked into Figlmüller's a little after 8:00pm. We figured that with all the walking we could do with a little schnitzel so we did! We had been to Figlmüller's some years back and we weren't going to go again. Too touristy, I presumed. But in doing some online research, the Viennese give the place and their signature dish, consistently high marks. So, we thought, what the hell?! We had another short walk back to the ubahn station in Stephansplatz and took the train home. We weren't sure about the whole ticketing thing -- we rode with Dana and Brenda last night without tickets. Dana explained that they nearly never board and check for tickets... We were going to do the same again but then we figured out the ticket machine and bought two tickets. Good thing... At the very first stop a metro police guy got on the train and announced that he was checking for tickets. The Austrians all dutifully fished their tickets out and the very first one checked turned out to be invalid. The young woman was taken off the train at the next stop for whatever the requisite punishment is... We're back in the hotel now and ready to make an early evening of it. Tomorrow our plan is to drive through the Wachau along the Danube and see some of Austria's Napa Valley. I'm hoping we will get to see the fortress abbey at Melk as well, before we press on to Linz.
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