Upon arrival to Vienna, I felt very at home again. This being my second visit to Vienna, I was looking forward to using my German again, revisiting some sites, and getting to know some new ones!
Most exciting was the fact that I was able to grab the boys and show them all of the places that I had previously visited. In two days, we were able to hit some of Vienna's most beautiful sites.
We spent our first day walking the "Ring". This street is a great place to start walking if you want to see pass the Parliament building, the museums of Natural and Applied Arts, Hotel Sacher, St. Stephan's Cathedral and many other beautiful historical monuments.
The highlight of Vienna was being able to tour (*for the second time*) and attend a classical concert at the Orangerie at Castle Schönbrunn, the summer residence for the Hapsburg family.
Below are a collection of pictures from our stay in Vienna.
Inside the beautifully lit St. Stephan's Cathedral
Tony being serenaded by a viennese subway violist!
View of the newly renovated St. Charles Church... Christmas Markets all around!
Snack Time at Hotel Sacher, before walking the Ring; Sacher Torte & Melange!
Outside of Hotel Sacher!
Inside the Orangerie
Entrance to Castle Schönbrunn
Now Budapest:
Visiting Budapest was an eye-opener for me. As soon as our group arrived to the train station, I felt for the first time on the trip that I was in a really foreign country. Once again, as in Prague, I had to kiss the comforts of knowing the local language goodbye. No more easily navigating though restaurant menus, translating road signs, directions, etc. for our group. We had left the land of Schnitzel and Sacher Torte, and had entered into the unknown territory of Goulash and Paprika, and the most interesting language I have ever heard.
To describe Budapest here just does not do it justice. It was one of the most "majestic" cities I have ever seen.
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| The lion guarding the chain bridge in front of the Buda Castle |
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| Budapest Central Market |
Dan and I outside of the breathtaking Hotel Basilica
Yes, I know this looks fake, but this was our view from our skylight, of course we had to sit on the roof.
(It's obvious why our place was called Hotel Basilica... Unbelievable!)
Christmas Market situated right in front of St. Stephan's Basilica. One of my favorite pictures.
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