oooooooooooh Vienna

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Oooh Vienna. Stupid song in my stupid brain ALL day!!!! So today was about Vienna. Up early we ate breakfast in the massive chandeliered room in the hotel (where Beethoven spent two summers no less) checked out and headed off. With both sat navs not working...... (Simon was sending us on a long back road route again ( cheers Simon!!) and Gert was inoperable with my internet having a melt down. Argh!!!! ) Fortunately we made it to the motorway 'freestyle' and by then Gert was back online and arguing with Simon. Sitting in the back was a new audition to the trip, Steve Gutenberg. Not the famous Hollywood actor but the 18 inch very fluffy teddy bear who until now resided at the last hotel but now sits in the back of the van wearing sunglasses........really. Not, I hasten to add, at my request but Ash felt sad that he was being left all alone so we bought him. Welcome to the madhouse Steve. We made it quickly to the next hotel nearer Vienna, parked up and headed for the tram. In pretty much fifty degree heat. Or sixty. Tram caught we broiled nicely on the way there, arriving in Vienna thirty minutes later. Vienna is full of big buildings and Mozart and, more entertainingly, lots of poor blokes paid to stand dressed up as Mozart, wig and all, to persuade tourists to watctheir orchestras. Fortunately there are also lots of places to get a drink from. We hopped of the tram, got a drink. Walked to the hotel Sacher (literally ten minutes away) stopped for a drink and one of Viennas must famous exports, Sachertorte (chocolate cake to die for, it's amazing) the we walked up to another cafe via some pretty big buildings for more drinks. Via some pretty expensive shops ( eighteen grand watch anyone?) to another cafe then back to the tram stop (with a bottle of water for the journey). The tram back had air con so we did make it back but the walk to the hotel nearly ended in beat us ( I'm complaining now but I guarantee at the first sign of a cold Friday evening in the UK I'll be wishing I was back in Vienna!) Once checked in, a rest in an air conditioned room was enough to get over another busy day and we figured that was it. And it nearly was until, after dinner, during enjoying a drink on the balcony, (waiting for yet more sachertorte which, inexplicably I had to wait forty minutes for as it 'wasn't ready') one of the waiters ran past wearing a head Video camera complete with chin strap giggling to himself. You couldn't make this stuff up........ Tomorrow, Prague and the start of the last week.

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