Sweets, Treats, & Greets in Vienna

If the ornately decorated palaces, churches, and common buildings, lined with cobblestone streets and window shops weren't elegant enough, Vienna makes some of the best pastries, cakes, chocolates, and coffee in central Europe. It is custom to have coffee and pastries as an afternoon meal. And of course, pastries can (and should) accompany most every meal. I wasn't complaining. We visited many shops, including the Cafe Central and Aida. The meals were never short and very sweet.

The city itself is wonderful to explore. Walking around the first district, we passed churches, museums, the palace, the university, the opera house, the theater house, the legislative building and judicial building, shops, eateries, and plenty of Starbucks. There are also McDonalds. The one we commonly go to is three floors, with a separate cafe that serves cold-cut sandwiches... much better than the American specials. They even had a chicken cordon bleu sandwich. Delicious. We made a snowman in a courtyard behind the main city palace and had a photo shoot with him. We also got to see some of the most famous horses in the world. They are Lipizzan horses that put on a world renown equestrian show in the royal palace. I took a lot of liberty to explore the city on my own too. It was fantastic!

St. Stephen's Cathedral

After we visited the Schönbrunn Palace, we were presented with the optional excursion to climb the St. Stephen's Cathedral, which is the main Cathedral in Vienna. The building is huge. Cody, Morgan, Lindsey, and I went with Dr. Moser and climbed the 400+ stairs to the top of the bell tower. It was pretty awesome to see the city from that high up.

The Imperial Palace – Schloss Schönbrunn

On the morning of Thursday, January 24th, we went to Vienna's Imperial Palace. The Schönbrunn Palace is located in the 13th Viennese district of Hietzing. Since 1743, the palace was under Empress Maria Theresa and expanded to its current form. During the Austro-Hungarian Empire , it was called the "summer imperial palace of Schoenbrunn."

Schönbrunn Palace is the largest palace and one of the most important and most visited cultural assets of Austria. The castle and grounds are approximately 160-acres. A major attraction in the park is the oldest existing zoo in the world, the Vienna Zoo.

-source: http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Schloss_Sch%C3%B6nbrunn

I enjoyed walking through this palace much more than the one we saw in Berlin. I think the biggest difference was the decor and attitude of the royalty that resided there. Although the palace and the grounds are massive, the decor on the inside is very tasteful. All the walls were white with a gold trim, which expressed a more modest idea of royalty. It was easier on the eyes and a lot easier to take in. Regardless, monarchical royalty were obnoxiously rich.

Riesenrad - Vienna Ferris Wheel

After we visited Vienna's Central Cemetery, we went to one of the city's iconic attractions, the Ferris Wheel. Located on the city's carnival grounds, the Riesenrad has been in operation for more than a century. Because of the cold weather and time of year, most of the carnival grounds are closed, except for a couple of restaurants, indoor rides, and the Ferris Wheel. It was a lot of fun, although it was hard to see the entire city due to the winter fog.