Euro Trip 2011: Part 6

We arrived in Vienna after a short train ride from Salzburg.  We were excited to explore another city and see what it had to offer.  After getting checked into our room, we quickly found a delicious restaurant around the corner from our hotel, right outside the gates of the Schonbruun Palace.  We had one of the best meals of the trip at this delightful restaurant sitting on the patio.  Scott had a special named after one of the empresses of the palace, Maria Theresa which was chicken stuffed with feta cheese, wrapped in bacon with a creamy sauce.  I had the best chicken wings which were marinated in a light, tasty sauce with delicious potato wedges.  After our taste buds were completely satisfied, we went inside the palace gates and took an audio tour of the Schonbruun Palace which included the fascinating story of the Habsburg Royal Family.  On the grounds of the palace, there are beautiful gardens, fountains and hedge mazes which entertained us for quite a while.  In one of the mazes, two large rocks were placed by a famous Feng Shui Master to represent a male and a female.  The master said, if you embrace the opposite rock, you will have peace in your relationship, it has been working quite well.  After a delicious magnum ice cream bar for dessert, we headed back to get a good night sleep for our second day in Vienna.  

After getting into the center of town, the next day and figuring out where we were on the map, we had lunch at a little cafe that was very popular.  We quickly realized, if we wanted a table we were going to have to fight for one.  We staked out our territory and after a bit of waiting, swooped in on a table and were able to enjoy some  delicious sandwiches.  After lunch we took Rick Steve's tour of Vienna which was filled with fascinating sites.  St. Stephen's Cathedral was very unique, although it was under a lot of reconstruction, the stained glass was remarkable.  When we finished our walking tour of the city, we headed over to a cafe for some dessert.  I had the royal tart, Scott had an apple tart and we shared a banana milk shake, it was all very good, I especially liked my royal tart covered in raspberries.  We wandered around the city, exploring a little more, before heading back and getting some sleep for our trip to Prague in the morning.    We were pleased by the delicious food, interesting history, beautiful sites and especially the classy feel of Vienna and hope to return again.