Austria: Vienna

Early Wednesday morning, we talked Yuri into getting up an hour earlier than normal just to serve us breakfast so that we could hit the road.  He was a sweetheart and agreed to our request.  We drove three hours to Vienna and checked into the Courtyard Marriott.

Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria.  Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million and is the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political center.

The day was hot and sunny and we were still pretty worn out from the miles and miles we had walked in Prague the day before.   We started off the morning by visiting the Hofburg Palace and toured three of its museums--Musical Instruments, Arms and Armour, and the Treasures of the Habsburgs, which hold the crowned jewels.

The Hofburg Palace is a palace that has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria.

The Hofburg area has been the documented seat of government since 1279 for various empires and republics.  The Hofburg has been expanded over the centuries to include: various residences, the chapel, museums, the Imperial Library, the treasury, the national theater, the riding school, the horse stables and the Hofburg Congress Center.

 

Amber is standing in front of the library

  

We arranged for an audio tour of the Arms and Armour Museum, Ephesus Museum (which we quickly walked through), and the Musical Instruments Museum.

The inside of the museums.  Isn't it gorgeous?

 Then we toured the Treasures of the Habsburgs Museum

This was a blessing gown and blanket for one of the princes.  I want it for a little girl!

We were done with museums and starving so while we checked out the main squares and plazas, we grabbed Doner Kebabs from a street vendor and continued to the St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Opera House, and took an audio-tour of Mozart's Apartment.

Stuarts and Aikeles in front of the Opera House

St. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna.  Its current Romanesque and Gothic form seen today, situated at the heart of Vienna in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Rudolf IV and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first being a parish church consecrated in 1147.  As the most important religious building in Austria's capital, the cathedral has borne witness to many important events in that nation's history and has, with its multi-colored tile roof, become one of the city's most recognizable symbol.

 

This is the staircase that led us up through Mozart's apartment while taking the tour 

Our truly talented concert pianists standing outside Mozart's apartment

We grabbed a delicious Italian dinner that evening and relaxed until the sun went down.  Then we sat in the plaza and enjoyed watching the street dancers and spray paint artists while eating gelato and searching for a Wi-Fi spot.  It started to sprinkle rain and we laughed at how quickly the square cleared.  We were almost the last ones to leave as we headed to the Subway and back to our hotel.

That evening we had an Internet Cafe in the Aikele's hotel room and stayed up talking, making plans for the next day, and Amber took pictures of the men doing pull-ups.  Yes, the bar went on the plane squished into a duffel bag, and yes, the bar was packed in and out of the van every day.  Sam is very dedicated to his workouts ;)