Loving Vienna

We were completely wiped out when we got to Vienna, so we spent a good part of the afternoon sleeping, then took a stroll around the city center.

We're staying at Hotel Am Stephanplatz, and it's absolutely the perfect location. Our room looks out over Domkirche St. Stephan (St. Stephan's Cathedral). It's a gorgeous view right in the center of town. We literally walked out of the subway and our hotel was right there.

The weather is incredible as well--very fall-like and Alpine-y. It was ideal for an early evening stroll to get our bearings and grab a bite to eat. We found a busy pub nearby and decided to give it a try despite not being able to read most anything on the outdoor menu. Scott had wienerschnitzel, which we characterize as the German version of sweet and sour chicken; it's fried veal and was served with cranberry sauce and parsley potatoes. And of course being in Austria so close to Octoberfest, he had to have a beer. His choice: an Ottakringer, a light (vs. dark) variety. I'm not a beer expert, so that's about all I can tell you. And I enjoyed Tiroler Grostl (see photo in next post), which was a skillet of potatoes, roasted pork, bacon and a fried egg.

We've started to plot out our activities for tomorrow, but it's time for me to take a Tylenol PM and try to get on local time. It's 5 p.m. Eastern at home and 11 p.m. here.

Austria this summer?

It's been more than 3 months since our list trip (our honeymoon), so it's well past time to begin thinking about and planning for our next excursion. High on our priority list at the moment: Austria in late summer.

I'm particularly inspired by this super cute homestay in Weyer. I doubt we'll actually make it there, but this photo is one of the things that sparked my recent interest in visiting Austria.

I imagine we'll visit Vienna and Austria's wine region. But there's so much we want to see. My in-laws bought me a guidebook for Austria for Christmas, so I've been pouring through it in my limited free time since, and the challenge will undoubtedly be one I face often - narrowing the list of places we want to visit down to a select few to keep us from traveling to a new place every day and wearing ourselves out.

Perhaps this rainy Atlanta weekend will provide the ideal opportunity to think further about our potential plans.
-Dana