Austria - I'll Have to Come Back

Well there's no question about it, Austria is not a place you can see in just one short trip, I suppose no country is.  One day port calls work a bit better for small Caribbean islands, but when you get to countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Australia, Japan,etc. well, that's like making a port call in New York and then saying you've seen the United States.

The city of Vienna is one of the most beautiful I've ever visited.  Another monument, palace, memorial, concert hall, opera house, museum, cathedral or statue everywhere you look.  Rococo mixed with baroque and classical styles.  The Lippizaner Stallions, Mozart, Strauss, the Hapsburg dynasty, Schonbrunn Palace, AND the Swarovski Crystal store (ooh ahh). The mountains we passed through on the way here were were spectacular with the fog hanging over them.  Not a bright, sunny day, but the mist coming over the mountains was compelling.


Today started with a city tour in the morning and then I went to Schonbrunn Palace this afternoon.  Of course there was another Christmas Market in the courtyard at Schonbrunn so I filmed the carolers for a little while.  Having spent the last two hours trying to get the video to upload, I'm giving up, maybe I can get it to load on FaceBook. Here's me in front of the palace - yes, it's still cold.

Did I mention the pastries in Vienna?  OMG.  Here's one I saw in a window, it was an actual TV playing inside a confectionery box.

And, of course, there's the Hotel Sacher - home of the infamous Sacher Torte.  Rumor has it that George Clooney is in town filming, wonder if he's staying there.  Nah, probably the Intercontinental.

Sorry there was no blogging yesterday.  Fever, chills, headache but thankfully it was only a 24 hour thing.  I missed seeing Melk Abbey, but due to the revised schedule of the cruise (owing to the low level of the Danube) it was a five hour excursion, mostly sitting on a bus.   I stayed in bed and drank fluids.  Next time I cruise the Danube I'll put Melk Abbey on the MUST BE SEEN list.

And there will be a next time! This has been so fabulous that I am planning a group Christmas Markets Cruise for next year (and I just know that the water level on the Danube will be back to normal - or maybe next year I'll do the Rhine ... decisions, decisions!). 

Back to the ship, and next stop is Budapest, except that the ship can't make it all the way to Budapest (low water levels again) so we'll go part of the way by bus.  We're actually going to be docking in a small town in Hungary (Komarom), from which you can walk over to Slovakia, so I may just do that as I had planned an extra day in Budapest anyway, due to flight departure times.  An unexpected chance to visit Slovakia - who would have expected it?  I'll play it by ear.

Oh you were wondering what the weird souvenir of the day was?  Some lucky family member might just get this in their Christmas stocking!  I'll just have to choose the right victim. Actually, I don't think the souvenirs I've purchased will fit in my luggage and this is giving me concerns.  Maybe a relative will be spared.