Vienna: Part 3

Next, the Griswolds eat through Vienna. I had heard that the sweets in Vienna were very good, and sure enough they did not disappoint. We found a very delicious shop with amazing truffles in all different kinds of flavors. Wil preferred the rum and chocolate, and I preferred the Bailey's and chocolate. Wiley liked them all!

One afternoon, we went to Demel, a famous sweets shop that has one variety of the Sacher Torte (the other one is at the Sacher Hotel). We had coffee and a slice of the almond chocolate cake to share. It was amazing. I wish I could have tried all of these cakes, torte, and pastries! You could also watch the pastry chefs at work in the kitchen. Wiley loved this and was upset when it was time to leave.

I thought the packaging was cute!

Yum!

Eating out with a small child is not very much fun. Especially when you don't speak the language. After our first night of eating out (yes, we had weiner schnitzel. no, i don't want any more weiner schnitzel for a long time.) being an exhausting experience that not only was expensive but unenjoyable (we even took Wiley to McDonalds before so we wouldn't have to buy him food he wouldn't eat half of), we were pretty much of the belief that traveling with a small child is not a good idea. The next day was much better and renewed our faith in travel, but we were still tired and cold at the end of the day. So, once we got to our hotel, I was not keen on leaving, nor did I want schnitzel. Sweet Wil went out in the cold and brought back pizza for Wiley and two doner kabobs for us! He also got 3 Sacher Tortes for us to sample! We were very happy with our affordable meal inside our warm hotel room where Wiley can wiggle and be loud.

The famous Sacher Torte

Dinner is served!

In case you travel to Vienna, we stayed at the Kaiserin Elisabeth which was very centrally located. We were able to walk to all the main sights (except Schonbrunn), the room was comfortable, the staff helpful, and the included breakfast was great. There were some pretty famous people who stayed here including Mozart!

And that is all I got for you on Vienna! My takeaway travel tip: Don't go in the winter.

Vienna: Part 2

Here are a few nighttime shots of our time in Vienna. St. Stephens is first, then mystery building (we weren't sure what it was, but it had an ice skating rink in front of it), then part of the Hofburg.

We toured the Treasury, home to the Austrian Crown Jewels. Now that was very impressive! I think that when Disney came up with their princess/prince and queen/king stories, they went to Vienna and saw the clothes that the Hapsburgs wore. They look just like what you have always pictured a royal person wearing.

This is supposedly a nail that was used to nail Jesus Christ to the cross. Interesting thought, but of course you never know. We decided that if there was much truth to this, that it would not be in Vienna, in a little museum, and in a not-so-prominently displayed area. Apparently the Hapsburgs were very religious folks (Catholic), and so relics like this would have been really important. There were loads of crosses, crucifixes, etc. in this room as well.

The family tree of Hapsburgs. Engraved on those little ovals were little pictures of them (I think). I liked this piece the best!

Dear Franz Joseph, having the year encrusted with diamonds is a little much don't you think? Tacky, with a capital T. This was the first bling to inspire that of 50 cent (see below).

And check out this massive emerald! It's a little trinket box. It had an actual term/name/purpose, but of course, I can't remember so I will call it an emerald trinket box. Sorry Franz.

We also saw the Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum at the Hofburg. Those were really great, and we both wished we had more time to read everything there. Of course, we probably did as much as we could with Wiley in tow. The Imperial Apartments were much better than those at the Schonbrunn, and included those of Sisi and her husband Franz Joseph I.

So, let's talk about Sisi. Her real name was Elisabeth, and she was a bit of a diva. Although, Wil decided in the museum dedicated to her, that she was really more of a hippie. Her clothing did not really give that "hippie" vibe, but I think he meant a hippie in that she was pretty revolutionary in her actions as an empress and quite liked the freedom that she lost when she became empress.

She had hair to her ankles that she was quite proud of, and she would spend hours brushing it. Well, someone else brushed it, while she practiced her languages. She also was quite a fanatic about her size, and obsessed about her diet and exercise. We saw the dressing room where her exercise equipment was (2 rings hanging from door, some contraption that I don't know what she did with it, and what looked like a chin-up bar) along with her massage table because you know, Sisi loved a massage after her workout. Who doesn't? I earlier had read/heard on the audio guide that she often did not have family meals because she did not eat very much. Apparently there are a lot of myths about this lady, so maybe that is an exaggeration. I will say she did have a 20 inch waist. It was really interesting to hear about her life. It was quite touched by tragedy, and she never seemed to be very content. So, while she might have been portrayed as a diva, I think I might side with my very insightful husband and agree that after all she was a bit of a hippie, a free-spirit, who wasn't quite cut out for the strict court life.

And that is your history lesson for the day.

Next up: the Griswolds eat their way through Vienna or Vienna is home to lots of yummy desserts. (As if you want to hear more about Vienna!)

Vienna: Part 1

We are back from Vienna! Also known as Wien. Boy, was it cold! -12 degrees celsius.While we were at the market we were stopped by a nice German woman who thought there was something wrong with Wiley. That's how he looked. His face was wrapped up in a scarf and his head was on his chest. That is how he rolls. Did I mention that we got up at 4:30 a.m? I can assure you, he had a breathing slit by his nose, and if you were that little and tired, you would look like that too.

To market, to market.

We also went to Schonnbrunn Palace, the summer palace of the Hapsburgs. We saw the Imperial Rooms, and then headed to the zoo. The Imperial Rooms were okay, but not nearly as impressive as those of Windsor Castle. I think it'd be okay to skip those if you didn't have enough time. You will want LOTS of time at the oldest zoo, also located at the Schonnbrunn because it was fantastic!!

Oh, hey little monkey running free in the monkey house. Can you see him?

Cheetah. Very skinny. Very fast.

Um, yeah. So this was not taken with zoom. He was that close.

Yeah. I was terrified. A piece of glass separated us from 3 pacing tigers. We have like 20 shots of these (thanks Wil). Those tigers are huge, and you could just see the power. We later watched them devouring raw meat. I kid you not. They were hungry, hence the pacing earlier. Therefore, I backed up when they came close to the glass where we were standing.

Hungry Hippos. They had an indoor pool (well, their whole house was indoors, at least during the winter) and if they had gone for a swim, you seriously could have touched one. Not that you would want to, but still. Scary/Awesome. I might add that if you've seen Madagascar, you can appreciate how good of a job Pixar did of the hippo character. I kept thinking of her and how sassy and diva-like she was while watching these guys. While these hippos may or may not have been sassy, physically, the animation was spot on. We saw these at the beginning, and then came back right before we left.

Sweet Cuddly Pandas. That is what I wanted to be doing.

We also laughed really hard at the penguins who looked so funny waddling and shaking their heads. We caught a sea lion show that despite a language barrier a Viennese mom had told us about at lunch (international language of mommy-ese) that showcased a large alpha seal who kept taking smaller sea lion's fish. I've never seen so many animals, so active in one day. Maybe it was because they were mostly inside being warm, and we were outside freezing. Maybe it is because they reminded me of the Madagascar movie, and they enjoyed putting on a show for the visitors. Either way: that was an awesome zoo.

No, it didn't snow while we were there. Yes, it was that cold.

(Garden at Schonbrunn)

Coming up next: The Hapsburgs in Vienna: their bling and their famous queen.