Sightseeing in Vienna

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On Sunday morning, Mom and I went to mass at St Augustine Chapel. It was perfectly pleasant the first forty five minutes, then it just got old. I was bored out of my skull. An hour and a half long mass is too much for me! I entertained myself by giving all my pew neighbors names and fabulous backstories. Little did I know I'd keep running into these new 'friends' throughout the day...haha!!

After this, it was on to the beautiful Palmenhaus, which houses a butterfly garden. We figured seeing butterflies in such a remarkable setting would be worth the entry fee, and we were right. We wandered around the small garden's paths, trying to photograph the glamorous bugs. I learned that the prettiest butterflies were the most elusive, and the less attractive ones were a bit slower, and sat still for pictures. Therefore, the photos show only brown butterflies, but I assure you, colored ones do exist. The place was a bit steamy inside, and kept fogging up my camera. It was a nice enough visit, and didn't take too much time. We had a snack at the Palmenhaus Cafe, which was super busy that morning. We had more fancy coffee, and probably my favorite strudel of my entire trip, served with a mound of vanilla cream. Yum!

We spent a little time at the Burggarten Park, watching locals as we rested our legs. We had been pretty lucky with the weather this week, and this was no exception. There was a major marathon being held in Vienna on this day, and we actually saw a few of the runners passing by, which was pretty cool.

Next, we were off to explore the Hofburg Palace. All the museums housed inside were included with our Vienna Pass, and we decided on the Imperial Treasury, the Apartments, and the Sisi Museum. We weren't interested in the Silver Museum, and only I was interested in the Weltmusuem, which is a collection of world treasures collected by the Hapsburgs, including some items belonging to James Cook. I think it that would be fascinating, so I suppose I need to return one day.

The Imperial Treasury was really cool. I saw jewels, crowns, royal robes, weapons, even a narwhal tusk!! It didn't take long to go through it, and was really interesting. The Sisi museum was of less interest to me. The apartments were nice enough. If I were to return, I'd see the treasury again, and check out the Weltmuseum. The buidling itself is a real beauty. Even if you aren't interested in any of the museums, I'd highly suggest going to the Hofburg just to see it from the outside.

After this, we headed to the Freyung Easter Market, which was amazing! It was the Easter version of the European Christmas markets I always wanted to go to. There were plenty of stalls selling crafts and treats, and large collections of the prettiest painted eggs. There were eggs everywhere! We didn't buy anything, but had a blast looking at everything and taking some photos. This area of the city was quite nice. We stopped in an Italian restaurant for a change. I had a goat cheese penne and some wine. Surprise, surprise, another wonderful meal!

We were quite beat after this, and returned to our apartment to vegetate for awhile. It's so nice to have a comfy place to chill out in after a long day of sight seeing. We weren't hungry enough for dinner, but in the evening, we ended up walking to the Prater for a snack. Mom got pizza and I had this thing called a langos, which was a fried dough with garlic butter. It tasted just like pizza dough. We walked around the park looking for souvenirs. My sister loves Klimt's Kiss, so I got her an umbrella with that image. I bought myself an apron because it was cute, and I need one. For my lunch buddies at work, I chose a bag of Mozart Balls and some Manner cookies in different flavors, even though I haven't tried either of these yet. We had gelato after shopping, which was a real treat for me. Gelato is hard to come by in my neck of the woods. I always lean towards the unusual, so i chose Mozart Ball flavored gelato, which was pretty damn good. I so love being near the Prater!!!

Whew, what a long day!! We are feeling pretty good, though, and not killing ourselves. We have been taking plenty of breaks and always return home when we get too tired.

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Photos

Palmenhaus and the butterfly garden
It's all proportional: the lovelier the butterfly, the harder it is to capture on camera. These plain Janes were great models.

Palmenhaus and the butterfly garden
This cafe was quite busy on a Sunday morning, but what an elegant setting

Palmenhaus and the butterfly garden
Best apple strudel ever at the Palmenhaus Cafe.

Vienna
This statue is dedicated to plague survivors

Easter Market
Beautiful hand painted eggs