The Culinary Capital

Sundays in Lyon are most notable for the markets set up across the city. We chose one to check out that was located along the river and on our way to some tourist sites. This particular market was full of fresh foods of all types but most notably fish and cheese. I again was a little sad I didn't have any way to utilize or store these amazing ingredients but I did enjoy just taking a look at all of it.

Fresh shellfish!

We went looking for a breakfast spot and ended up at the base of a beautiful church outside of a small cafe. I ate a chocolate crepe and drank a cup of espresso. After fully recharging, Keegan and I began the hike upwards. I spoke in the last post about how the center of Lyon is a peninsula that is surrounded by water and bridges. Once you cross the bridges into the outer part of Lyon, it turns into a very steep and hilly landscape. All of the buildings are built into the side of those hills and there are huge old staircases which lead  to different levels. We were looking to get all the way to the top to see the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Lyon.

Looking downwards from the top of a staircase carved into the hill

Picture from way up top shows the peninsula surrounded by water

 The basilica towers over the city and can be seen from nearly anywhere. Its beauty is stunning and was only matched by what I saw when I entered. I have been to nine countries in Europe including Spain (which has some of the very best cathedrals) and I think the interior of this structure beat all the other churches I have seen. There were amazing murals in stunning colors and every inch of the place was taken up by these images. When we entered, there was still a mass going on but we were able to stand in back and observe. When it finished, we got free reign of the place and were able to walk all the way up to the front. We spent a lot of time just staring in awe.

The Basilica of Notre-Dame at the way top looking over Lyon

Impossible to appreciate in a picture, the interior...

Just one of the ornate and colorful murals that fill the walls

When I finally managed to detach myself from the basilica, we headed towards a second site on the same level of the hill and just down the street. Gaul was a state in the Holy Roman Empire composed (approximately) of France. Lyon was one of the capital cities of the state and was a major center of politics and trade. Modern archaeologists have been provided with a plethora of Roman ruins and treasures in Lyon as a result. To house some of these artifacts, the Roman Museum was constructed. This building is designed to blend into the hills and is hardly visible from the outside. As you tour all of the finds, you work your way deeper and deeper into the hill until you reach the basement which has actual working archaeological pits that you walk over on bridges.

Half of an old legal document that had been inscribed on metal

Its position was also chosen because outsideare excellently preserved ruins of a large Roman amphitheater. Lyon still utilizes the space today for concerts and other events.When we had our fill of Roman ruins, we made the trek back down the hill, across the bridge, and towards the food district. We selected a Belgium restaurant and both got a pot of mussels. After lunch we walked around for a bit but, as is often true in Europe, everything was closed on Sunday.

Two different shots of the amphitheater. Gladiators would have performed here.

That night we went out for the most traditional Lyon meal we dared to eat. A real traditional establishment is called a Bouchon and has to be certified as such. They serve multiple course meals which include things like soup made from animal stomach, chicken liver salad, pork head cheese and other unusual delicacies. The place we went had more tourist friendly dishes and I enjoyed a salad, meat, and unlimited french fries (the latter of which seemed to be common with every dish in every restaurant).

One of the only two-dozen traditional Bouchons

On Monday, we began by walking to a bakery we had noticed the previous day. There had been a line out the door so we had to try it. I chose two pastries and was not disappointed. I took them to go and ate on our walk to the Lyon Museum of Fine Arts. I really enjoyed this museum and was impressed with the wide array of of artwork. What was especially interesting was the buildings history. It was a convent that was turned into an art museum. The building was used to protect artwork from the invading Germans in the World Wars. Enjoying the full collection did me in and we decided to hit a simple falafel stand on our way back to the hotel.

The Lyon Museum of Fine Arts

I especially enjoyed the antiquities section. This is a real mummy head and hand.

That evening we decided we needed to hit the classic steak and frites type of restaurant. There is one particular place in town which literally serves only that. You sit down, the waitress asks you how you would like your steak and if you want red or white wine, and then she does the rest. The steaks come out slavered in a light cream sauce and the waitress cuts it into strips table-side before placing it in front of you. It was probably one of the better steaks I have ever eaten and dipping the fries in the sauce was delectable.

When I got back to the hotel that night I was surprised to find a letter from Air France in my inbox notifying me that my flight had been cancelled for the next day. As often happens in France, one of the unions was striking and in this case it was the air traffic controllers. I got on the phone with them and tried to figure everything out. I found that there was a possible flight late in the following evening from Paris if I could get there. I went ahead and changed to that flight and asked for a partial refund on my ticket. I then used that money to purchase train tickets from Lyon to Paris.

With all of the travel changes, we ended up having quite a lot of time Tuesday morning in Lyon before we had to leave. I went out for a pastry and in search of macaroons for my mother. With both of those missions accomplished, I took a walk around the city and continued to marvel at its beauty.

Last shots of Lyon!

At 3 PM, we left on our train for Paris. We made it to the airport in plenty of time and were able to check in at the airport without any difficulties. On the next, and final, leg of our journey we were renting an apartment so I sent the owner an email telling him our flight had changed and I would be in later than originally planned. Our flight was the only one leaving to Berlin for the entire day so there was a large and impatient crowd waiting to board. Unfortunately, the time to leave came and went without much word from the airline. We finally left about 2 hours late and arrived in Berlin at nearly midnight.

Realizing how late we were, I made an immediate effort to contact the owner of the apartment when we touched down to let him know where we were. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the telephone number he left me to work. I decided I would simply get in a cab to his apartment and worry about contacting him there. When I arrived at the apartment, I saw that it was in a quite area and there were not any payphones to be found. It was now well past midnight in Berlin and I was panicking a bit that I would be spending the night on the streets. I went looking for any phone I could possibly find where I figured I would offer someone cash to use it.

Only about a block away, I saw a closed restaurant with many of the waiters out front enjoying a cigarette. I walked up and asked if the restaurant had a phone that I could use. Luckily, one of the waiters clearly felt bad for me and walked me inside to use his iPhone. He then helped me figure out the number I was supposed to call and I managed to reach the owner. He was very nice about waking up and coming and letting us in.

I don't think I have been that panicked very often so I was very happy to get inside. The place was simple but very nice. There were two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. It looked like it would work great for our stay. That night I went to bed hoping things would turn around after my bad start but having no idea just how amazing Berlin would turn out to be.

Ein Prosit (a toast)!

Thursday morning in Munich we woke up to embark on a very ambitious mission; visiting the Deutsches Museum. This gigantic structure houses the world’s largest science and technology museum and sits alone on an island in a building that looks a lot like an old power plant. Before we get into that adventure though, I must say something about the breakfast at our hotel.

I have never seen a free breakfast like this. In many ways it was a traditional German breakfast, this includes sausages and a variety of pastries and breads. What was crazy  was all of the extra stuff they had from real jams to mimosas and espressos. I have to say, it was a good way to start a day.

But enough about food… We hopped on a tram after breakfast and made our way towards the river. Once we got off we had to cross the single bridge that leads to the island and enter a giant courtyard where we were faced with the huge decision of where to begin. You must understand that you could never see this whole museum; Keegan and I estimate that we actually saw 20% of it and maybe glanced at another 15%, all of which took us about five hours. As horrible as spending that long in the museum may sound, we hardly noticed the time flying by and were pretty shocked when we finally got a look at a clock.

The Deutsches Museum with the river flowing by

The main area we focused on was flight which was perfect for one future pilot and my own lifelong fascination with space. Also, lucky enough, the floor of that wing had a large nautical section as well. It was like it was a wing designed for the Department of the Navy. We began by looking at some very interesting ships, some of which go back to very early in human history. We then checked out a couple of subs which were, appropriately enough, in the basement. Any good student remembers Germany’s rich history in submarines. Their actions were the reason the U.S. entered WWI and a major annoyance for the allies during WWII. Let me tell you, looking at those subs made me very grateful to be in the Navy today.

At the helm, have to keep practicing!

VERY VERY early submarine, you are pretty much looking at the entire thing. This is now what I see in my nightmares.

WWII German U-boat (I'm trying to hold it back)

From there we headed upwards. The next four floors had every type of flying vehicle you can imagine.  They claim the first flight, a man on a very simple glider, which preceded the Wright brothers by about a decade. They also had interesting information on all of the Zepplins including the tragedy of the Hindenburg.  The planes from the World Wars were on display including some American ones. I noticed something strange as I was looking at the set from WWII, there were no Swastikas. I asked about this and, strangely enough, no one was quite sure but they thought it may be illegal and knew that even on historical artifacts displaying them is strongly discouraged. Each plane had been repainted with a cross where the swastika would have been.

Keegan practicing for his future pilot photos

The hall on early flight with the ships mast sticking through

The final floor focused on space flight and was pretty fascinating. Germany as a nation was not a huge space power but many of the American scientists at NASA were born in Germany and emigrated around the wars. They also have been the largest funding source to the joint European Space program. We finished at the museum by checking out a couple of other things on our way out. The highlight of that was seeing Albert Michelson mentioned, the first American Scientist to win the Nobel Prize and a graduate of the Naval Academy.

Michelson's legacy

Moon-rock present from the U.S. to Germany

By the time we were done we just had time to get back to our hotel to clean up (ok and stop at a small outdoor beer garden for lunch) for a while before setting out in search of one of the world famous Bavarian beer gardens. We decided we would head towards one that was located within Munich’s version of Central Park (Englischer Garten). We walked alongside large crowds of Bavarians who were out enjoying their afternoon but saw very little to suggest that a huge beer garden would be somewhere inside. Finally we saw it, there was a large structure known as the Chinese tower with hundreds of long wood tables surrounding it. Around the outside are food and drink stands. We both got a variety of meets, a pretzel, and a beer so big it could be a struggle to lift. It was a bit like how I Imagine heaven to be.

Dinner at the Chinese Tower beer garden

The beer garden from afar 

Sitting there eating and drinking and just watching such a large mass of humanity interacting around me was pretty cool. I have found every time that I come overseas that I quickly switch from relying on language to communicate to simply picking up on emotions and expressions. Even though I understood none of the German around me, I still very much felt a part of the party. It was pitch black as we walked out of the park that night but there were people everywhere, it felt like a great sense of community.

Even after hitting the liter beers hard the night before, we woke up Friday morning to try to do another museum. The BMW brand is beloved in Germany and their museum is legendary. It is far out from the center of the city but it does sit right next to the 1972 Olympic Park which gave us two reasons for going. The BMW museum was good and I think though we both enjoyed looking at the new models more. The BMW brand also owns Mini and Rolls Royce (a personal favorite) so there were plenty of vehicles to look at. The architecture of the buildings was very modern and sleek. The one negative, not that this should come as a surprise, but the whole “museum” really felt like an advertisement for BMW. If someone would ask me, I would say don’t pay for the museum and just go to the showroom (which has all of the new models and a ton of cool interactives about the state of today’s company).

My future ride

My less-distant future ride

One of the cool architectural design elements of the building

Concept Car

Really cool motorcycle demonstration at BMW

Thought this was impressive, these little balls form all different shapes eventually combining to create the BMW car body

When we finished with BMW we took a walk into the Olympic park complex. The actual facilities were not very accessible because the X-Games are coming to Munich this month and they were setting up. I did jump over one fence to try to see where Pre ran but it was way too boarded up to get in. Quick reminder on the ’72 Olympics; this is where the infamous Israeli athlete hostage crises occurred (known as the Munich Massacre). After many deaths, the Olympics went on but some athletes walked out. Steve Prefontaine was one of the athletes participating at this Olympics.

Olympic Park

We finished up there and headed back to meet an old friend of Keegan’s in old town. Julius had exchanged in Sheridan, Wyoming for a semester and now is working back in Munich. He took us out to one of his favorite bars and we met a female friend of his for food and drinks. We had fun socializing all night and talking about our cultures. Julius also introduced us to an old Bavarian drinking game called "nailing" where you compete to hammer a nail in with the back side of a hammer quicker than your opponents. This combined with Julius’s assistance in beer selection made me feel like a true Bavarian by the end of the evening.

Keegan and Julius after many rounds of nailing

Our time in Munich was done before we knew it. Saturday we headed to the airport to catch a flight to France. We had to connect through Paris but our final destination was Lyon. Due to some delays, we didn’t arrive at our hotel until late in the evening. Lyon is a good size city with the old town sitting on a small peninsula that sticks out into the water and is considered by many to be the culinary capital of the world. There are bridges everywhere and plenty of grand old buildings that line the water. It would compete with Prague (may even beat it) for the most visually stunning of our destinations.

The iconic Lyon sign

After dropping our bags in our room, we stopped by the front desk to ask about a restaurant that would still be open at 10 PM. They assured us we would find plenty and were sent to a “restaurant street” a short few blocks away. What we came across was a compilation of so many good looking restaurants that it made my tired mind spin. After perusing for quite a while, Keegan decided on this very hip looking restaurant that was completely open to the street and was filled with younger people.

The restaurant street

 What was really unique about it is that they only served salmon. There were about 20 choices for ways you could have your salmon served. Mine was baked in tinfoil with oranges so all of the juices stayed inside and marinated with the citrus; it was pretty incredible. Keegan went with salmon shish kabobs that were grilled with vegetables and looked equally delicious. Each came with unlimited frites. Nothing wins my heart like good food so I was immediately calculating how many more meals we had there to try various restaurants. Bon Appetit!

Everyday Life in Austria

It was Sunday morning in Vienna which meant there was only one thing to do... head to church. Somehow, I managed to be up reasonably early and walked a little over a mile to a small chapel. We then had to wait just to get in the door and had to pay if we wanted to sit down. Assuming you didn't pay, you stood in a giant tight cluster at the far back of the church along with many other tourists jockeying for position. So why would anyone go through this mess you ask; it is the home of the Vienna Boys Choir!

Now I can't say that I am an avid fan but have seen them on PBS a time or two and they are certainly famous around Vienna. These boys are no older than fourteen years old and perform nearly full time. I enjoyed listening to their music during the service but I was not able to actually see them, they were about three stories over my head. Nevertheless, it was a good experience and I was happy to find that the service was in both German and English so it wasn't too boring. I slipped out after about an hour and went to get a coffee and something to eat.

That afternoon Keegan and I went looking for some of the famous Austrian chocolate. I wanted to pick some up as a gift for my travels and I also wanted to be sure to try some myself. I had read online about a fantastic shop that specializes in rare chocolates. It is also known for being very hard to find. After making it to the correct street, it only took me about 15 minutes of searching (and asking in hotels) to locate the shop. It turned out to be worth it though. There were amazing display cases full of truffles and other chocolates as well as a back room that housed the rarer varieties.

Xocolot Shop

After spending way too long at the shop, we had to hurry out to make it to our evenings entertainment. We had purchased tickets for a traditional Austrian show. It is hard to come to Austria and not see something of this sort. The theater was housed in a very old building with a simple but elegant interior. The show we had selected included a nice mix of orchestral music, opera, and ballet/waltz. It was a lot of fun and well worth the money.

Performing Opera - one of my favorite acts

Monday morning we were on the train and headed out of the city. The ride was the best one yet as we crossed the Austrian countryside and climbed into the mountains for 3.5 hours. I couldn't believe the lakes and snow-peaked mountains I was seeing outside of the window. We arrived into the much smaller town of Villach, Austria around 1230 and were greeted by an old friend.

I had known Leslie since I was a child. Her family vacationed each summer where I lived and we were very close to her grandmother who was my neighbor. About three years ago, she moved to Austria to marry her husband Roland who she had met while working out in San Francisco. I was very excited to talk to her and find out what her experience had been like so far.

The view off Leslie's balcony

 She had taken off work to pick us up so she quickly took us by their apartment and then to get some lunch. The apartment was in a prime location, making almost everything accessible on foot. She took us to a small grocery store near her place to grab lunch. It was pretty neat watching her talk to them in German (which she has worked hard to pick up only since moving) and she was able to get two sandwiches made for us in the deli. It reminded me a lot of sandwiches from the Fish Creek General Store. We then stocked up on some candy, chips, and even soda that were from Austria or the region. We were trying to be quite adventurous.

Leslie dropped us off with our picnic at a large forest while she headed off to work. There were a ton of hiking trails and even some roads that were ruins from the Romans. The highlight for me was the hot springs. I had never been in hot springs before and I thoroughly enjoyed hoping in. It was pretty neat swimming out in these little pools far away from all of the tourists of the big cities of Europe.

That afternoon we got back to the apartment and did some laundry while catching up on our email and calling family. We waited for Leslie and Roland to get home so we could head out for dinner. Austrians work quite a bit later, they didn't get home until between six or seven, but they also didn't start until about nine in the morning. When they got home I was introduced to Roland (this was my first time meeting him) and they told us that we were going to be going to a church festival.

Now I don't know what your church festivals are like but I can pretty much guarantee they are nothing like this. From what I understand, a festival of this sort is put on every weekend of the summer but they are each held in different locations. They usually last Friday, Saturday, and even into the early week. This was Monday night and we drove about 10 minutes to a nice big grassy area with what looked to be a beer hall behind it and a couple of tents set up. We had to pay an admission fee to enter (10 euros a person, not cheap but Roland treated) and then we were granted access to a couple of bars and food stands as well as a band playing up on stage.

The band was one of the very top bands in this traditional music genre (we were told this over and over) and people were very into the music. The men came fully decked out in their lederhosens and many a women was wearing her dirndl. It looked pretty much exactly what you would expect a party in a movie that took place in a traditional Austrian small town to be like. We settled down at a long wooden table with a beer and bratwurst. The bratwurst was one of only two things on the menu, a roasted chicken was the other, and it was very different than in the U.S. First off, they were thin and long and there were two of them. Served alongside them was a hard roll and a dollop of ketchup and mustard. You ate it by picking up the sausage with your hand, dipping it in a condiment, taking a bite, and then taking a bite of the roll. It was a little messy but a good way to eat.

This is not from that night (there was no bun then) but this gives you an idea of how different looking brats are here

There was only one choice of beer on the menu, this is because in Austria it is traditional that almost every town brews their own beer. Thus, I was drinking the Villacher which is still one of my favorite beers of the trip. As the night progressed, we met a lot of Leslie and Roland's friends (this is very near where Roland grew up)  and really got into the spirit of the whole thing. Let me remind you, this was a Monday, but as the evening wore on it reminded me more and more of Beerfest.

We literally could not finish a beer before someone was handing us a new one. Everyone was so curious about why a couple of Americans were at their party (probably a couple hundred people were there) and anyone who spoke English was happy to talk to us. I ended up spending quite a bit of time talking to a couple of gentleman who were very excited to learn that I was from Wisconsin. At this point I have traveled quite a bit and I sadly must admit, most people outside of the U.S. do not know Wisconsin. I was a little surprised at their enthusiasm when I told them my home state. I came to find out that they owned Harley Davidson motorcycles, one of the guys owned four, and that Villach holds the fourth biggest Harley driver gathering annually.

I also was able to get up and dance which was a little embarrassing but I couldn't pass the experience up. The young lady I danced with was an excellent English speaker and a good teacher. We also learned to sing the traditional toasts which happen each year at Octoberfest which solidified my goal to come back for that holiday one year. Over all, it was a blast of a night and we returned back to the apartment late. Leslie put out a smorgasbord of meats, breads, and pickles and we had a little midnight snack as we chatted.

The next morning Keegan and I awoke to explore the town. It is a small tourist town, much like where I come from in Wisconsin, and is visited mostly by Austrians, Slovenians, and Italians. We first stopped for a pastry at a nearby pastry shop and then made the short walk into town. We stopped in some shops and checked out the local church before hitting the Villacher Brewery for lunch. That night we went out with Leslie for Italian food (Villach is so close to the Italian border that they have very good Italian) and stopped at the lake along the way for some really good views of the mountains. That night we again stayed up talking for a bit but went to bed at a reasonable time because Keegan and I had a train to catch the next day.

The View from the bridge that connects their main street downtown

The Villacher Brewery

The church in the town square

Our train left around 9 AM and was supposed to be a direct shot. Unfortunately, for those of you who follow the news, you know about the horrible flooding in the region. Thus it ended up taking us three trains and one bus over many hours of travel to finally make it to Munich. The whole time I was questioning if I was on the right track as very few people spoke English and I had no idea if I was getting on the correct forms of transport. Luckily, it all worked out and we arrived in Munich safe and sound.

That night we were too tired to do much but we did make it to a traditional beer hall that Roland had recommended. I was able to try a traditional Austrian dish and knock one of the many local brews off the list. We also got a good luck at old town Munich which looked to be pretty awesome. I knew there would be a lot to eat and drink over the next couple of days.

The beers from our first night in Munich

Entering into Old-Town Munich

Sbohem Prague... Hallo Vienna

Thursday morning, our final full day in Prague, was rainy and a little chilly. Keegan and I got on board one of the street trams to ride it to the other side of the city where the Veletrzni Palace is located. This building is a modern rectangular structure that houses Prague's modern art collection. It is a full five stories tall and houses a massive collection. 

We started on the top floor and worked our way downwards. The first two floors we saw represented primarily Czech artists. By the time we had reached the third floor, we were getting pretty tired. We decided we would skip to the 2nd floor and end with that one. This floor housed works from some of the world's most famous artists.  The museum was great but by that time I was definitely pretty tired.

Keegan checking out some art

I didn't keep good enough notes on this but some famous artist...

I had spotted a good looking Belgium restaurant on one of my runs and so we decided we would make our way there. The food was really good (we both went with different mussels) but the beer selection was even better. I was excited to see a couple of my favorites from when I had been to Belgium two years ago.  After we finished our lunch, we began to make our way towards something we had been waiting the entire time in Prague to try…

One of my favorite beers from Belgium, Kwak.

Everywhere you go in Prague there are signs for something called a Thai massage. You see these advertisements in hotels, on the streets, and on the many storefronts that offer them. They are fluorescent green and advertise very cheap prices. Keegan and I were a little skeptical about what this might mean so we did some internet research on it. We found out that it is simply a business that was imported by a group of Czech businessmen who liked this type of massage when they were in Thailand. Over the last couple of years, the business has exploded in Prague and they are now huge.

A Thai massage differs from a normal massage because they require participation on your part. The method incorporates some extreme yoga techniques that are assisted by the massage therapist. I was a little intimidated by this whole thing but still had to give it a try. It only cost about $30 for a full hour so it was hard to refuse. I went in and was handed a pair of crocks and a couple of towels and given a room.

I got undressed and laid down. I was soon joined by a small Thai women who proceeded to beat me up for the next hour. It felt pretty good but some of the stuff  is very strange. Basically, she will alternate pulling my body in all different directions with traditional massage techniques. They only bad part was the assault on my shoulders because, as many of you know, I had a pretty serious shoulder surgery. There was a total language barrier so it was hard to communicate that she had to leave it alone. I think I scared her half to death when I recoiled in pain when she grabbed it so I think she soon learned.

After we finished, Keegan and I met up refreshed and better men for the experience. We decided we would participate in another quintessentially Prague experience, a trip to McDonalds. Now hold on before you all start judging here, this is not the McDonalds that you know. First off, they are pretty nice places and not all that cheap. More importantly though, they have one of the best cafes in town. The café portion is always separate from the restaurant and they are very hip coffee shops. Their pastry case looks absolutely amazing and their coffee drinks are delicious. Compared to other cafes, the prices are quite reasonable. I had a piece of apple pie and a hot chocolate for about $4.50. Everything is served on real plates and in real glasses with real silverware. I have to say, I hope these make it to the US soon.

One of our meals at McCafe

Night came before we knew it and we headed out to find some entertainment. It was Thursday night so we hoped that things may be picking up a bit. First we went to a very traditional Austrian restaurant for food and then headed out in town. We ended up finding an English bar in the main square with some really good live music. It was a lot of fun though the guitarist stopped playing way to quickly after we got there. He was playing some great American songs with a bit of a British accent. I was thus thoroughly surprised when he finished and it turned out that he was Czech.

Keegan at dinner

We went back to the hotel at a reasonable time because we knew that we had to be on our way the next morning. As soon as we woke up, we loaded up our bags and got on the metro for the ride to the train station. This would be our first time to use our Eurorail pass and so we wanted to be there nice and early to make sure we knew what we were doing. Luckily we got to our train in plenty of time and found  that our seats were two good window ones in a very crowded car. We spent some of our time napping and eventually woke up and went to the dining car for lunch.

Even though it was noon, the train had special happy hour pricing going on. This meant that everything on the menu was half off. I was able to get my lunch, which was a good pasta dish, a coke, and a piece of apple strudel all for about $15. I had expected it to be a lot more pricey so I was pretty happy with that. It was my first time eating on a train and I was really impressed. It is cool to sit there with the scenery flying by the giant windows and eat a nice lunch. The kitchen was right there and you could see the chefs cooking everything up fresh in a challenging space.

Four and one half hours later we got off the train in Vienna. A cab took us to our hotel, the Hilton Vienna City Center. I have to say, we hit the jackpot on this one. We had bid for it on Priceline, hoping for a a four star somewhere in the city center, and we ended up with this five star gem. We got it for $120 a night – the going rate on their website for the same nights was about $250. The inside was really nice and the staff was great. Everyone spoke flawless English and they were very helpful. When they found out they didn't have any rooms left with two beds, they upgraded us to the executive floor. Our room was on the 12^th story and had a great view over the city.

Cathedral in the main square of Vienna

The location of the hotel was just on one edge of the old town. Keegan and I made our way into the city to explore. We came across a ton of nice stores and historical sights. It felt a lot cleaner than Prague and a lot more imposing and imperial in the Washington DC sense of the word; there were huge marble buildings everywhere and impressive displays of wealth and power. We stopped off at a brick-oven pizza place for dinner. Afterwards, we made our way to one of the world famous Vienna cafes to check-in with our families on the internet.

Vienna’s café culture is world famous and it lived up to everything I had imagined. On every street there are grand cafes with a tremendous amount of history. They all have well-dressed waiters, a great cup of coffee, and a staggering amount of deserts. Keegan and I chose, Café Mozart for our first night based on the deserts. We each sat down and enjoyed a drink and a pastry. One very different thing than America, be it at coffee shops or restaurants, is that they really don’t care how long you stay. We had spent all the money we were going to spend within the first couple of minutes but they never again put any pressure on you to leave or order. They will never bring the check until you specifically ask for it. We sat there for hours and simply enjoyed the old Austrian atmosphere while reading our books and using the Wi-Fi.

My strudel at Cafe Mozart

We woke up to a brightly shining sun the next morning which was perfect for our walk to the huge open-air market in Vienna. The market was the biggest I had ever seen with stalls stretching for about 2 km. There was everything from antiques to books to food. The food was the highlight and made me very hungry. I was wishing I had a kitchen to cook some of it in and thought about how much my mom would love to get her hands on some of it. Luckily, I found a small restaurant at the market where I could get some breakfast. I had two chocolate and banana crepes with a hot chocolate. 

Can't even begin to show how much there were but here are some cheeses

And here's some olives

My delicious chocolate-banana crepes.

After breakfast, Keegan and I split up again. He went to do some shopping while I went on my museum quest. There are a couple of huge complexes right near the downtown area with multiple museums a part of each. I am fascinated by royal families so I wanted to find one that could give me some information on the Habsburgs (ruling family of Austria). It was really hard to figure out which museum would do that for me so I decided I would get a combo-ticket which let me into a couple. It was a strange combination but it did teach me a lot about the ruling Habsburgs in the time leading up to WWI. 

I began with the strangest of all, a museum on Royal place settings. It was much more interesting than it sounds, though I will admit I would have never gone had it not been included. What was neat was seeing these place settings and hearing the history of who was entertained with them. Many were used for Europe's most famous Kings and one of the coolest was Napoleons'. It was also crazy to hear about the extreme pomp and ceremony that went into every meal.

One of the palaces largest centerpieces

The secret palace napkin-folding technique. Only two people in the world know how to do it and it is only passed down by word of mouth. There is a piece of bread inserted into each side (which you can't really see from here).

The second museum was called the Sisi Museum which came highly recommended. Sisi, formally known as Empress Elisabeth of Austria, was like the Princess Dianna of the later 19th century. Her beauty captivated much of the world including Hollywood. She became world famous because people empathized with her plight, a classic story of a poor young girl who lives the fairy tale dream of marrying a Prince but then falls apart when she can't handle the pressure. Sisi was the wife of King Franz Joseph I but was extremely reserved. She hid from the spotlight and enjoyed traveling to escape the attention in Austria. When her son committed suicide, it really destroyed her and she took to wearing black for the rest of her life. She suffered deep depression and shirked her Royal duties even more.

Palace in the time of Sisi

Adding to the sad story, the King was desperately in love with her his whole life and extremely faithful. In 1898, she was assassinated by an anarchist which broke the King's heart. Those of you who are students of history will know that King Franz Joseph I was the one who went on to lead the Austro-Hungarian Empire into WWI. The last museum was the Royal apartments. This museum passed through many of the private rooms of the royal family. It was pretty neat to see how they lived and imagine that they once were exactly were I was. 

One picture I snuck inside, the actual paintings the King kept on his wall.

When I finished the museums, I walked around the grounds of the Royal Palace. They are immaculate and I will try to illustrate this in some pictures. 

Front of Palace

View from in the garden

Amazing roses

Getting a little artsy...

While I was walking, I heard the sound of music and decided to investigate. What I saw was a giant parade going down a large avenue nearby. There were group after group of men and women dressed in their traditional Austrian clothing (lederhosen and dirndl) that represented communities all across Austria. From what I could understand, they were marching to the Parliament building as a show of the unity across Austria. Because each town has different colors and styles, it was pretty neat to see each group go by.

Finally I made it back to the hotel and met up with Keegan. We headed out to an Irish pub we had found the night before. The pub was a really lively place with many English speakers. We each ordered some food and watched rugby and soccer on TV. We noticed that there were bills from all over the world up on the wall and asked our waitress, Nelly, if we could put one up. She got us a marker so we could write a giant "USNA" across it and then stapled it prominently right in the center. We are hoping some midshipman make it in in the future and chuckle at the legacy we left.

Later in the evening, some amazing live music began so we stayed around to listen to that. Eventually, we thought we would go out to see what else Vienna had to offer on a Saturday night. We had heard of an underground club in an old metro station and we went searching for it. We finally found it and managed to get past the strict door policy. We were very surprised about what we saw when we got inside. It was like no club I had ever seen, it was more like a jazz club. There was a huge black man up on stage and a piano and he was singing a kind of R&B jazz mix. People were loving it though and there was a nice mix of all ages. It was very dark inside and definitely very classy. Keegan and I both danced out on the floor for a good while and Keegan even eventually asked a girl to dance. 

I think that we both love Austria so far and were looking forward to seeing even more of it.