Friday, February 26, 2010

Save Vienna for Me

Ever since we moved over here Dad has been saying, "Save Vienna for me!". Uh. OK. You don't have to twist my arm for me to hang out with you in Wien. Just tell me when. Lucky enough, Dad and his philanthropic ways were in need of a trip over to Israel. So, why not just stop over in Vienna for a couple days? Everyone's doing it. No brainer. Two for one special. Plus, it was Josh's birthday!

Such a good time. We must have walked at least 7-8 miles a day venturing out in all directions around the city. We took in all the sites. Museum Quarter where we checked out the Leopold Museum and MUMOK. The Rathaus, Parliament, and University buildings were neighbors to our hotel. Imperial Palace. Albertina Museum. Schloss Schönnbrunn. Karlskirche. Sigmund Freud Museum. The Danube River. The list could go on and on.

The city was beautiful. I had said previously that friends had told me this was one of the five top cities to visit in Europe...not sure if I would say all that, but it was definitely a worthwhile trip. I think my body is just ready for some warmth and a new set of scenery. Vienna is filled to the max with old Euro buildings. Massive on scale and overwhelming to take in. It's like being in a museum everywhere you go. And, you know how you need a break after a few hours walking through a museum otherwise you start to glaze over? This was kind of my feeling in Vienna.

Outside of the tourist ring (literally there is a ring around Vienna enclosing the inner-city), we got a nice break from the hussle and bussle. We really got a taste of the real city...and a taste of lots of food! Any time you travel with my dad, you eat your way through the city. I wonder where I get my food obsession? A couple places to try for those of you looking to visit Wien. Check out 7-Stern Brau and have yourself a Dunkle or Märzen bier before heading over to Pedro's Meson or Ilona Stüberl for dinner all in the Neubau area. And, for some true Viennese dishes try Palatschinkenpfandl for savory pancakes and the all-famous Kaiserschmarrn dessert. Good stuff. I think my pants just got a little tighter.

And, of course when you are over in Vienna, you must, must, must see some live music. We got tickets to a small show over at the Mozarthaus to celebrate Josh's birthday. Mozart actually played in the same room where we saw the concert. It was all very special. The only issue was trying to keep jet-lagged Dad awake. Classical music, trains, and religious ceremonies are like drinking warm milk before going to bed for him.

It was a surreal trip.

What can I say? I love being the excuse for someone to visit a new city in the world. It's great to hear someone say (especially when it is a parent), "I never would have seen this place if you guys hadn't moved over here". It's like music to my ears. It makes all those miles in between us and family a little less horrible.


More pictures on Josh's and my flickr pages. The editing process takes forever!

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