Austria
Extending our European journey a few days more, we took the train from Bled to Vienna. We stayed two nights at the Pension
Suzanne, a charming place conveniently near the historic city center with lovely pedestrian streets to stroll. We had dinner at Königsbacher, a restaurant across the street that offered outdoor seating. We liked it so much, we ate dinner there the second night as well.
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After breakfast the next morning we took the tram to Schloss Schönbrunn (Schönbrunn Palace), the summer residence of the Habsburgs. We took an audio-guided tour of 22 of the lavish rooms, including the huge Grand Gallery and the Mirror Room, and then walked around the beautiful gardens and grounds. We walked to the top of the hill to the Gloriette where we enjoyed ice cream in the café.
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In the afternoon we took a tram ride around the Ringstrasse
to see many of the sights of Vienna: Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera House),
museums, churches (including the Gothic Stephansdom) and gardens. We got off
and walked through the square at city hall where Vienna holds its annual City
Hall Music Festival. There was a food circus of stalls offering a variety of
food and drinks…and ice cream! In the evening we attended a concert held at the
Konzerthaus (Vienna Concert House), a beautiful building with an elegant Art
Nouveau interior. The orchestra was dressed Mozart-style with brocade jackets,
short pants, white tights and white wigs. The music was wonderful and the two
opera singers were spectacular.
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After the concert we walked to the Sacher Café for dessert. We indulged in a sacher-torte, a rich chocolate cake with a middle layer of apricot jam, coated with chocolate and served with whipped cream! This is a famous Viennese dessert, invented in 1831 by Franz Sacher. A great ending to our Viennese day! The following morning we took the train to Prague, for one more night in Europe before returning home.
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