Vienna

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We haven't had much luck with trains...

On Monday, we leisurely walked to the train station in Prague, thinking we had plenty of time to make our train. Once we got there, we couldn't find our train on the departures list. Though this seemed strange, we waited for a few minutes before asking the (quite rude) woman at the information desk. It turned out that our train was leaving from a different station, which we, of course, had not even considered. We had fifteen minutes. In panic mode, we ran, packs and all, down to the subway (without a ticket since we were out of Czech currency - thank god a tram cop didn't stop us since we haven't had much luck with them either!), found the other train staion on the stop, and made it to the train station with 5 minutes to spare. We were shocked we made the train.

We piled onto the train, ridiculously relieved only to find our reserved seats occupied by a group of traveling British 19 year olds. We evicted the two who had claimed our coveted window seats and got to enjoy the rest of the group's company for the 5 hour trip. Honestly, what train ride would be complete without a rowdy pack of teenagers practicing their American accents and drawing obcene things on each other?

As soon as we unpacked in our hostel we headed into the Inner Stradt to find some dinner and selected a lovely outdoor seating area since the night was so warm. We finished dinner just in time for a massive thunderstorm to roll in that left us running through the pouring rain in search of shelter. Then the ultimate symbol of safety came to us as Sarah happily screamed "BAR!!!" into the wind. ...it was there that we spent the rest of the storm drinking Austrian wine and nougat-filled dumplings. It was glorious.

Tuesday was spent exploring the Inner Stradt and by dinner we were famished and went in search of the most non-tourist joint we could find. We turned down a small side alley and came upon a tiny restaurant serving traditional Viennese fair. In an attempt to save a little cash, we both ordered soup and salad. It wasn't until the end of the meal when we realized we were the only people in the restaurant not eating weiner schnitzel. When we started to notice tourists stopping by to take pictures in front of the door, we looked up the restaurant in our travel guide to find that it was listed as the #1 place in Vienna to eat schnitzel. Wow. The #1 place to eat schnitzel and we were the tourists who order soup and salad. After promising the waiter we would return the next night to eat the appropriate dish, we exited the alley by the other side... only to find massive arrows and signs indicating the location of the "Most famous place for schnitzel in Vienna." Definitely not our finest hour.

Wednesday was spent on a wine tasting bike tour in the Wachau Valley outside of Vienna. We biked around to 4 different towns, tasting wines, liquors, and jams. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The hills of the entire valley were covered in terraced vines where the grapes could get the most sun. The majority of wines produced in this area are white, and the Austrians like to keep their wines local. It is very difficult to find Wachau wine in other parts of the world. We definitley bought a bottle. or five. Biking and wine tasting may not sound like the smartest idea to you, but we fully stand by its true brilliance. The bus ride back was a good time- more wine, and a little karaoke to go with it. We were lucky enough to be picked to sing part of "Billie Jean"...and those pictures are not going up.

Our last day in Vienna was spent enjoying the fine art at the Leopold Museam, going to the symphony, and then pretty much sprinting to the Hotel Sacher to make it in time for slices of their famous Sacher Torte. It was a very cultural day....

On we go! Budapest!

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Comments

[Martin]

I have a friend touring Europe before he starts med school at Hopkins and he is in Vienna at this very moment. See if you can find a man named Aaron Bobb and win a prize!

[Leila]

I am glad you guys got there safely and managed to survive a 5 hour train ride with rowdy teenagers. The bike tour looks incredible and that’s hysterical about the schnitzel. On a completely different note, I am amazed at how both of you manage to have absolutely perfect looking hair in every picture. Seriously, when I travel my hair is a frizzy mess in a pony tail.