Vienna

Vienna
September 18th

Another great day.

We travelled to Vienna from Salzburg...a 3 hour trip. We had a lovely carriage in first class to ourselves...very plush and comfortable.
A bit of a struggle finding the hotel...in retrospect we should have taken a cab from the station but we were advised at the Info desk that it was "just up the road...".... Indeed..
We were a wee bit discouraged once we found the place because there is no grand entrance...the reception is on the 2nd floor of a building, presumably a large house at some point now divided up...there are a mixture of apartments and hotel rooms and our room is quite spectacular. The decor is magnificent, as are the hallways, dining rooms etc.....extremely plush and very tasteful indeed. Not that I've had a chance to watch much TV but it bears mentioning the room has a lovely wall mounted plasma.....


After we got settled in we went for a bit of a wander to the centre of town...lots of magnificent buildings etc....we stopped for a bite to eat outdoors and had barely started when the heavens opened and it rained cats and dogs. While we were under an umbrella we still got a bit damp so headed off back to the hotel room to dry off and change.
Tonight we went to a concert of chamber music at the Palais Auersperg, a gorgeous building where Mozart actually worked and lived. The music, which was a selection of Mozart and Strauss, was wonderful, the performance by http//www.residenzorchester.at. All in all a good day. Tomorrow we have booked a 3 hour city tour leaving at 9:00 so we better lock up the mini bar and try and get some sleep. I'm told breakfast tomorrow includes champagne...wouldn't want to miss any of that.
Not sure about pics today. The hotel has free wireless internet throughout but somehow it doesn't like the blogger site and I can't get in. I'm sure I'll figure something out though.

September 19th

Breakfast this morning was sensational. Fruits and cold cuts, cheeses and breads, smoked salmon, all kinds of cereals with nuts and dried fruits, jams, marmalades, teas, coffees and champagne and orange juice.. All served in a very nice room.

Following breakfast we were picked up by minibus at the hotel at 9:00 and driven to the tour bus which left at 10:00. The tour was very good and it included an hour and a half guided tour of Schonbrunn Palace. It was quite incredible. The weather stayed good, not hot but no need for a jacket and the sun broke through occasionally. Following the bus tour we walked though the old town enjoying the sights. We got a couple of pictures of the Lipizzaner horses at the Spanish Riding School but unfortunately we were not able to see the horses perform. We also visited St. Stephens Cathedral, a magnificent building. We then worked our way back to the hotel and had afternoon tea and pastry. We rested up and went out later, Una looking for new shoes as her feet are causing her some trouble....(see pre-departure post re: orthotics....). No luck with the shoes but we scored a bargain at the off-licence, picking up 2 bottles of wine and 4 tall boy cans of beer for 7.35 Euros. That's just over $10. Great deal and now we won't be held hostage by Austrian Railways on our 8 hour rail journey tomorrow to Venice. Back in the room, I plugged in the internet phone and made a few calls to back home, then spoke to brother Peter in France who told me we have to visit Harry's Bar in St. Mark's Square. Una then talked to Mags for a while. Great reception on Skype and only cost pennies.
First fly in the ointment. I sent an e-mail to the B&B in Venice yesterday, advising them of our arrival time. Got an e-mail back saying something about a problemo with the property but that they were honouring our reservation and moving us to another property just down the street (canal). From what they say, we still have a view of the Grand Canal close by the Rialto bridge. Apparently we are to take Waterbus # 82 from the train station, get off at Rialto and they will meet us once they get out of work at 5:30.

September 20th

An ungodly time to be up. 4:30 am!
Picked up by cab for the short ride to Vienna Sud Banhof. Our train left bang on time at 6:30. We had already reserved seats and we are now sitting comfortably enjoying the scenery with the sun streaming in the window.