Rain, Rain, Go Away

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It was supposed to rain this day, so we planned indoor things. Well, the good news is that it never did rain!

We arose early and went for the free breakfast at the hotel. It was the same stuff everyday, but did not get old. I had the meats, cheeses, croissant, and coffee daily while we were there.

We went to see the Haus des Meeres, which is a WWII Flak Tower, turned aquarium. Now for me, this was a triple crown winner!

1. It has historical significance.

2. The views from the top terrace are wonderful!

3. It is a very well done aquarium that recycled existing facilities.

We really liked this place all around. I will say that it can get crowded and stuffy in there, but it was easy to let the crowds go by and then see things in peace.

It has 9 floors, with the top being the viewing terrace. There is one elevator, but it gets full and stops on every floor. Although it is a long hike up 192 stairs, that is what we did. That was my only drawback. When you get up those 192 stairs though, the view is well worth it! It was very windy which made being outside on the terrace difficult, but we did stay out 5 minutes or so.

Then, it was downwards, one floor at a time to see all of the animals. We did a leisurely pace that took about 2 hours or so. They really did a great job on this place, and besides sea life, there are other animals too. Kudos to whoever came up with the idea of this place. It cost 16.70 euros for adults, and our daughter was 7.60 euros.

After the aquarium, we went for lunch. We chose the Bizi Pizza again and it was yummy as before. After lunch, we went to the Albertina Museum. It is named for Duke Albert and his wife Maria Christina. It was very nice to see the art collection and visit the rooms of the palace. They had an exhibition display of Russian art on the second floor, but no photos were allowed for that. The museum was 12.90 euros for adults, and children are free.

After the museum, we did a little souvenir shopping nearby, before heading back to our hotel on the U-Bahn.

This time we all got a dürüm kebap, and had them for our dinner. I also had an Almdudler soda to drink, which I really enjoyed from there. I wish I could find this soda in the US.

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