You weigh and print the produce labels yourself. They ring you up so fast and you have to bring your own bag or they charge you for some. It was a bit strange trying to convert dollars to euros after converting liras to dollars for so long. I feel like stores close early- I thought all European cities had a late nightlife but not Vienna apparently. And no one cleans up after their dogs- ewwww. I noticed more youth and varied dress and appearances and grafiti here than Turkey. And you can drink from the tap!People aren't really the friendliest but in the elevator you always say grüss got (a formal hello) and auf wiedersehen (good bye). 
So yeah, I thought they spoke something different in Austria but it's German, although softer sounding for sure. Marie is learning it a bit but some of the sounds are difficult for me to make!
So yeah, I thought they spoke something different in Austria but it's German, although softer sounding for sure. Marie is learning it a bit but some of the sounds are difficult for me to make!Tom's been studying none stop so Marie and I spent most of the time together (I'm sure he's glad to have her out of his way for a bit :P and she didn't do too many toursity things yet). He lives in Florisdorf so we take a combo of the metro, trolley, or underground to get into the city center or district 1. Marie got us these daily passes which let us go on pretty much any form of public transportation- although no one actually checked it. I wish the states had decent cheap public transportation.
Saturday we had frankfurts for breakfast and Marie turned me onto Vegamite and then we headed to the city center. Went over the rivers including the Danue and saw the ferris wheel at Praterstern which I guess dates back before the wars. 
Saw the famous Stephansdom church and went inside. There were people dressed up outside performing or selling things, not sure. The buildings here are very European looking and actually remind me of France or something. There are some mostly pedestrian streets where a lot of shops are. We tried finding an orange dress for Marie for our friend Molly's wedding but there just aren't any! The shopping selection in that area wasn't great- we saw 3 H&M's and 2 Zara's (I love those stores but it was just the same stuff- although one of the H&M's was in a really cute older building with a winding staircase). Saw Hofburg Palace and National Library from the outside. It was so cute there were horse drawn carriages around!
Saw the famous Stephansdom church and went inside. There were people dressed up outside performing or selling things, not sure. The buildings here are very European looking and actually remind me of France or something. There are some mostly pedestrian streets where a lot of shops are. We tried finding an orange dress for Marie for our friend Molly's wedding but there just aren't any! The shopping selection in that area wasn't great- we saw 3 H&M's and 2 Zara's (I love those stores but it was just the same stuff- although one of the H&M's was in a really cute older building with a winding staircase). Saw Hofburg Palace and National Library from the outside. It was so cute there were horse drawn carriages around! We bought tickets to a Mozart and Strauss show at the Palais Palffy- it was a much smaller production than we had imagined and the guy selling it had made it sound, but it wasn't too expensive so it's ok 
(although the guys did not wear wigs like Marie was expecting). It also featured some opera and ballet- although the small stage kinda creaked when they would dance haha. Made a pit stop in one of the nicest McDonald's I've ever seen and got some snacks from the 1 euro menu. Went to the Bermuda Bar afterwards for a post-bday celebratory Ottakringer beer and some American music!
(although the guys did not wear wigs like Marie was expecting). It also featured some opera and ballet- although the small stage kinda creaked when they would dance haha. Made a pit stop in one of the nicest McDonald's I've ever seen and got some snacks from the 1 euro menu. Went to the Bermuda Bar afterwards for a post-bday celebratory Ottakringer beer and some American music!
Sunday we went to Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetary) where a bunch of famous people are buried. It was much larger than I imagined and somehow we found the musicians area and saw Beethoven, Strauss, Schubert's graves. We though Mozart too but actually that is in another older cemetary that is no longer in use (don't worry we made a trip there my last day). 
It was FREEZING and I decided not to wear boots that day so my pants were getting soaked at the bottom. But it was really pretty covered in snow.
It was FREEZING and I decided not to wear boots that day so my pants were getting soaked at the bottom. But it was really pretty covered in snow.Some of the normal headstones for families or whomever were so huge and a little over the top. I bet it's expensive to be buired there and you have to go big if your neighbors is all grand. We walked around looking at names and Marie wanted to find her name- which was not hard at all! I think we found lucky number 13 (good thing she's not superstitious). We even found a few Stefanie's- even with the same spelling!!
We got a kasekrainer which is a hot dog injected with cheese stuffed inside a bun with mustard and ketchup. The meat was a little hard on the outside and the bread was doughy. Pretty much the must eat foods of Austria are variations of meat and cheese and bread haha.
Saw the Staatsoper which is the opera house. It's really pretty on both the outside and inside. This guy let us go upstairs to have a look around when the other lady wasn't looking which was nice.
Too bad we didn't see a show there but next time! The lady said it was 3 or 4 euro for standing and about 10 for the cheapest seat which doesn't seem too bad.
Too bad we didn't see a show there but next time! The lady said it was 3 or 4 euro for standing and about 10 for the cheapest seat which doesn't seem too bad.Monday we went to Schönbrunn Palace (well just the outside), walked through the gardeny areas which would be great during the spring or summer and went to go to the zoo to see the animals in the snow! It is the world's oldest zoo!! The weirdest thing we saw was probably the bright pink flamingos hanging out in the snow. We also went through a bat cave (we're so brave)!! Did some postcard and souvenir shopping. 
Went by Hofburg Palace again for some night shots and went into a super cute cake/sweets store. Saw Rathaus (town hall) where there is an ice skating rink setup! It was so cute with the lights and little food stands. We had seen a postcard with things to try in Vienna- we got a melange (coffee thing a bit too foamy for our tastes). We made schnitzel for dinner which is just like fried chicken- YUM.
Went by Hofburg Palace again for some night shots and went into a super cute cake/sweets store. Saw Rathaus (town hall) where there is an ice skating rink setup! It was so cute with the lights and little food stands. We had seen a postcard with things to try in Vienna- we got a melange (coffee thing a bit too foamy for our tastes). We made schnitzel for dinner which is just like fried chicken- YUM.
Tuesday was my last day. We did the small downtown Florisdorf area (not much here- much cuter at night!). We got some leberkase from the deli at the market which is like a sausage patty with cheese in a round bun. 
We got Then headed to St. Marx cemetary to actually see Mozart's grave. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere and super old. I guess they are restoring the headstones but some you can't even make out what it says and the dead trees and unkeptness really make it creepy. Thank goodness I wasn't by myself. And it was super icy; we almost slipped a few times! We then went to the Hotel Sacher for the famous Sachertorte- pretty good and not too expensive. Not too sweet either which is what I was afraid of. Apparently there are 36 precise steps needed to make this and other versions are just imitations of the original. We walked around some more in the city to look at the night views and saw another famous church Karlskirche. Marie made yummy chicken curry that was spicy but delish!
We got Then headed to St. Marx cemetary to actually see Mozart's grave. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere and super old. I guess they are restoring the headstones but some you can't even make out what it says and the dead trees and unkeptness really make it creepy. Thank goodness I wasn't by myself. And it was super icy; we almost slipped a few times! We then went to the Hotel Sacher for the famous Sachertorte- pretty good and not too expensive. Not too sweet either which is what I was afraid of. Apparently there are 36 precise steps needed to make this and other versions are just imitations of the original. We walked around some more in the city to look at the night views and saw another famous church Karlskirche. Marie made yummy chicken curry that was spicy but delish!
Had such a fun time with my friend. We stayed in warm and cozy at night and stayed up and watched movies and caught up. They took me to the airport in the morning and I headed back to Istanbul to wait a couple of hours for my next flight to Athens at around 5pm. Passport check was so long coming into Turkey- my luggage was one of a few left waiting for their owners. I really wish airports had somewhere to nap!
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It seems like every time i read your blog i get hungry. i wonder why?
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