Vienna!

Where do we begin for Vienna? It is a large city, much larger than Prague or Munich. In fact, those two cities put together would equal Vienna (over 2 million people). We took an early train and enjoyed talking to a couple from, of all places, Portland, OR. Small world. Once in Vienna, we had to purchase a 24 hour metro pass and find our way out to the hostel. It was a short walk (up a steep hill) from one of the U-bahn stations. We didn't have a ton of energy for sightseeing, although we did go to the city center and walk around looking at buildings. We found the tourist office and decided the walking tours were too spendy, but the woman at the desk gave us some information for a self-guided tour. While there, we happened to notice a concert was taking place that night in the Hofburg (the former Hapsburg royal palace). The concert was being put on by the Vienna Horn Quartet. Katie and I were able to get student tickets for 5€ a person! Good concert, uncomfortable pews since the concert took place in the Hofburg Chapel.

The next day we went to Schoenbrunn palace, the summer "hunting lodge" of the Hapsburgs, of which we only saw 40 of the rooms, all very ornately decorated. We purchased the audio tour...basically giant cellphones and wandered through the palace, and then out into the grounds. Supposedly modelled on Versailles, it had a complex of huge lawns, several outlying palace-type things and fountains. Needless to say, we spent several hours there. Went to the city center later for more sight-seeing. So many buildings are huge, imperial and regal, you really get a feel for what Vienna was like as the capitol at the heart of a sprawling international empire. For dinner, Katie and I went out to Heiligenstadt at the fringes of the city, which some of you may know was where Beethoven went to recover/dispair when he found out he was going deaf. We ate at a locally well-known restaraunt with great potato salads, giant soft pretzels and beer, not to mention the sausage dishes.

Finally, we had one more morning to spend in Vienna before riding the train to Budapest (only 3 hours on the "slow" train). We finally went to the Stephensdom (cathedral) and the Rathaus (city hall). Great buildings and very busy with tourists! We had lunch at another place called Figlmueller's, known for its GIGANTIC schnitzel (even bigger than the one we had in Munich). Of course, we had to get it, but we split it so as not to explode. Schnitzel explosions, though rare, are quite damaging to a person's system.

So now we are in Budapest, staying in an aparment owned by our neighbors in Brooklyn, Keith and Katia. Katia arranged for us to meet her friend Gabi, who teaches English here, to meet us at the train station and drive us to the apartment. She is basically our personal tour guide. Katia's mom, who speaks almost no English, came down from her country house to help us with the gas and the kitchen eccentricites. The apartment was built during the Commuinist era (1950s) but is very comfortable and is located pretty close to the city center. Katia's mom, Eva, cooked us a meal which was very tasty and of course incorporated peppers, known here as paprikas. She is cooking us dinner again tonight before heading back to the country tomorrow. She is really a remarkable lady!! Later this week, we will be going around with Gabi who will help us speak Magyar. So, we are in good shape and will report back later.

We found a cheap internet cafe ($1 per hour...so good!) in a mall near Katia's place which might even allow us to post pictures, so stay tuned!