Day 13: Vienna's Sausages

We arrived in Vienna around 8:30 in the morning, feeling quite gross. Luckily the station had bathrooms with showers in them (thank goodness for flip flops) and we were able to feel a bit cleaner. Finally refreshed, we stepped out into the Austrian air ready to explore the city.

We boarded the cutest trams… or should I say “S-Bahn” since we were in Austria… to take us to our hostel. They were retro styled cars that looked like they came straight out of the 50’s. Note to self: next time bring poodle skirt and black and white loafers.

Once we dropped our luggage off at the hostel, we bought metro passes (aka. U-Bahn) and rode that the rest of our stay, since it dropped us off mere feet away from the hostel’s front doors. We took the metro up to the city center and walked our way over to the useless tourist information. We at least got a number of brochures out of it, and found a walking tour to take.

Right before the tour, we grabbed THE most delicious bratwurst. They drilled a hole inside a large roll and shoved the jalapeño brat in, along with a bit of ketchup. DE-VINE! The tour itself was alright. It did seem to pale in comparison to the tour we had in Rome, but overall we got a fair amount of information on the center of the city. Plus, it did provide us with the morbidly romantic opportunity to see the crypt inside the private church of the former royal family. The Hofburg’s were all married in that church, and after each died, the crypt is where they left their hearts.

On the way to our hostel in the morning, my mom saw sales posters plastered on store windows. So, we decided to spend our afternoon clothes shopping…, besides, after that tour we really weren’t 100% impressed with Vienna.

Around 8pm, donned in our new outfits, we met a friend of mine at the Stephensdom Cathedral. She took us on a private tour of Vienna, which was much better than the one we had earlier. We walked down the Jewish Quarter and she showed us a building where all the Jews from the city were forced into. When they realized what was happening, sadly, a number of the Jews being held jumped from the building's windows.

She led us through the streets of Vienna over to City Hall, where during the summer months they have an outdoor music festival. Peter and the Wolf was playing on a large screen, and restaurant stands lined the pathway. The atmosphere was great, and the food was even better. Nothing beats strawberry filled dumplings!