A Rainy Day in Vienna

Since Budapest is relatively close to Austria we thought it might be fun to take an excursion to Vienna and see a little bit of what the city has to offer. We took a three and a half hour bus ride to Vienna (including a half hour "technical break" to use the restroom and get a snack) and then had an hour bus tour of the city. The bus tour helped us get our bearings and see where the main points of interest were. When the bus dropped us off for a short walking tour we were ready to see the city. Unfortunately, about fifteen minutes later it started to rain and continued to do so for the rest of the afternoon. We spent our four hours of free time trying to keep dry while experiencing as much of Vienna as we could.

Here are a few historical things that we saw:

Saint Stephen's Cathedral which is situated in the heart of the city and is the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna.




The Royal Palace of the Hapsburg Family who ruled Austria for many years. The portion on the right is being touched up and repaired.




This wall which was uncovered when some digging on the palace grounds was being completed dates back to the time of Christ.




This is a sculpture of the Royal Crown of Austria which is on part of the Royal Palace.




This statue is of Franz Joseph who died in 1916 and was the emperor of Austria for almost sixty-eight years.




We also saw some non-historical, but still interesting things:

This wedding dress was made entirely out of sugar.




This was a shop filled with wooden toys. Oops! I lied . . .




Not much business at the flower shop on such a rainy day.




This is a sandwich shop and Allyn noticed the "Frisch" written on the menu board. "Frisch" is fresh in German and was the last name of Allyn 's ancestors when they immigrated to the United States. They changed their name to Fresh in an effort to Americanize themselves.




Someone ready for and enjoying the rain!




Since Bryon had visited Vienna a few months ago with the BYU MBA Program he gave us some "must have" food suggestions. The first was to go to a Wiener Wurstl for a Kase Kriener which is a bratwurst with cheese inside.







In an attempt to dry off we found a little restaurant called Heyferl. It was small with quaint decorations and seemed to be totally populated with locals. Allyn had schnitzel with parsley potatoes, and I had creamy tomato basil soup with pretzel bread. We had apple strudel with real whipped cream for dessert. It was all delicious!







I bundled up to venture out in the rain again. Actually the only place I was wet and cold was my feet . . . I had sandals on!




We finished our dining experience with gelato from Zanoni and Zanon. It was kind of weird eating ice cream in the rain, but it still tasted good!




On the ride back to Budapest we warmed up, dried out, and took naps!

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