Rainy Vienna!

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Our hostel has free internet! I'm very excited about this.

We arrived in Vienna this morning at 8:30am from an overnight train from Venice. The first thing we noticed from the train was how green Austria is. We later found out that that is because it rains ALL the time here! Haha.

After finding our hostel (the one with the free internet! yay!), Phuong and I set out to find Shönbrunn Palace. We walked through the gardens in the drizzle and found a small restaurant with live music. I ordered a coffee and an apfelstrüdel, and both were amazing! The coffee in Vienna is a bit stronger than the coffee in America, but it's not as bitter. The strudel was fantastic! I wish I could describe it, but it had a strong apple taste, only not too tart, with a taste of pumpkin pie spices and brown sugar, only not too sweet. Yum!

After our small breakfast, we were going to head back to the gardens to take pictures of fountains and such, only it started to pour! We ran through the rain, laughing, as two of the only people without umbrellas. There was an Austrian family hovering under their umbrellas under the trees, and they encouraged us to run to them for shelter, but after even a minute in the downpour, we were so soaked that we continued on.

The palace was beautiful, but, although we don't mind the rain too much, we hope it lets up tomorrow so we can explore more without having to stop constantly at the hostel to dry off.

I've been battling homesickness recently, but I think being back in a German-speaking country where I can at least communicate a little bit to people helps a lot. That is, I don't feel as lonely here as I have been feeling the last few days.

Here's to good coffee and friendly people in Vienna!

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Photos

Ducks
Some cute ducks at Shonbrunn Palace.

Phuong and trees.
Phuong poses in front of the trees. It's so green here!

Puddles
Hmmm. It's really green here. And there seems to be a lot of water on the ground. We're beginning to suspect that it rains a lot of Vienna.

Statue and Shonbrunn
Here's a nifty statue at the palace.

Shonbrunn Palace.
A shot of Shonbrunn Palace.

Restaurant View
Here's a view from the restaurant we found at Shonbrunn Palace.

Becky at Restaurant
I'm a little wet from the drizzle outside. I feel a bit out of place next to everyone in this nice restaurant.

People in Vienna.
As we leave the restaurant to hike back, it starts to rain. Some people rush to take cover under the lush trees.

Singing in the Rain!
I decide to enjoy the rain. It's pouring!

We're wet!
Phuong and I are drenched!

Let it Rain
There is *so* much rain...

Becky in the rain
Wow, we still have a long way to walk in the rain.

Phuong and rain.
Weee!