Picture Motion: Wiener schnitzel

Wien! Home to the famous wiener schnitzel, apple strudel, sacher cake, and Mozart. My roomies and I went on a weekend trip to Vienna, Austria and saw as much as there is to see in the small time allotted to us, which was only a few days. It is pretty hard to see a whole country in a weekend but we did pretty well. We took a 5 hour bus ride on Friday and stayed in a hostel for 3 nights and left Monday morning. The hostel was pretty cheap but wasn't the best setup and maybe not the best first experience into the hostel world because of rooming with a preggers lady and older men. The vibe of the hostel was geared more towards the older crew and not the typical younger age backpackers. We live and we learn, not a big deal because it was clean and housed us for the few nights. Upon arriving to the city, we only had a few places in mind but kind of went into without knowing what we were getting ourselves into. The first day was the day that we were gonna get to know the city by walking around the town square that houses Parliament, Library, Museums, National Theater and an awesome park that sits directly in the center. Vienna is very similar to Prague because of being under the same rule but differs by a mixture of Romanesque and more modern mixed in with old. Took a mini walking tour of the city from the National Theater to one of the busiest squares in Vienna, but stopped to get sacher cake first. Hotel Sacher has mastered a special recipe of sacher cake and they are well known for it so we couldn't resist. I really enjoyed the cake but I wouldn't go to the country for it or anything. After chowing down on the cake we went on the walking tour and ended up on Stefansplatz Street which houses the Stephansdom Cathedral, aka St. Stephen's Cathedral which is tourist center. We walked up the 343 steps in the tower to see one of the best views in the city with a 360 view of the whole city. The windy steep stairs were well worth it. On Sunday night we walked inside and saw some of Sunday mass. It is one of the prettiest and most decorated Cathedrals I have ever seen and that is saying a lot considering I have been to dozens among dozens. On the way to dinner we stopped for the "best chocolate in Vienna" and then had an authentic Viennese food, schnitzel and wine. The food was absolutely amazing all weekend, we were in food heaven! Went exploring at night and saw all the buildings all lit up, it was beautiful. The next day was beautiful and we wanted to take advantage of the sunshine by heading over to Nash Market, a farmers market with flee market. I learned how to bargain and bought some cool stuff. Next was Prater Park Amusement Park that had some rides dating back over a half century ago. Got my lil kid on with cotton candy and sugar rush. Left the touristy area and headed to the outskirts to a beer garden or better known as a biergarten. It is exactly what the name says, a beautiful garden with tables and awesome food and beer. Saved the best for last and went to the Schönbrunn Palace on Sunday. Talk about amazing. I enjoyed this Palace a lot more than Versailles because the state rooms varied from room and room and the interior was more my taste. Monarchs residing here until 1918 which really is not that long ago. The backyard or should I say gardens expanded back for miles and are separated into sections. I managed to see some fountains, mazes, and perfectly kept plants. The view from the highest point was over the whole city skyline. There was not enough time to view everything in the garden because the Freud Museum was next. The Museum is his last apartment/home office. It was really interesting but I thought it would be more about his studies and not pictures that were in his apartment. It was a different kind of museum than the typical paintings on the wall. All the roomies met up for our last Viennese dinner and then headed home the next day.