Summer Eurotrip- Vienna

From Budapest, we traveled by train to Vienna, Austria.  This would have been a simple nonstop trip under normal circumstances, but the Danube was flooded.  Our quick three hour train ride took the entire day.  I will disclose that we waited in line for over an hour to buy tickets (there was not a kiosk available to purchase tickets and we were unable to buy them online days before) so we missed the 11:00am train and had to take the 1:00pm train.  As for the ride itself, we had to take a short train ride, then a 30-minute shuttle ride (standing room only by the time we got on), followed by another train ride.  But we made it!

Budapest welcomed us with friendly people and warm sunshine.  Vienna was rainy, cold, and austere.

  Europe's cultural capital is full of museums, opera houses, theaters, palaces, cathedrals... Everything is pristine and beautiful.  It's a yuppie's vacation paradise.

  We started our tour of Vienna with a trip to Schonbrunn Palace, the former summer home of Austria's Hapsburg monarchs.  It was breathtakingly beautiful, even in the rain.

We had lunch at Cafe Central, a famous coffeehouse in the financial district.  In the late 1800s it became the place to be and be seen for the Viennese intellectual crowd.

After lunch we went window shopping through the fancy schmancy streets of the city center.

 We stopped in a couple cathedrals including the Church of St. Michael (although we didn't get to tour the crypt)...

...and the beautiful St. Stephen's Cathedral.

 We even spotted a celebrity on the street!  (They're crazy about their homeboy Mozart.)

 We walked by some beautiful museums but didn't have time to stop.

We did, however, take the time to visit the Austrian National Library.  It was the most ornate library I've ever seen.

 We enjoyed some delicious food in Vienna...

...and Austrian beer.

Prost!