A Few Days in VIENNA

We extended our lay-over in Vienna for a few days, so that we had some time to see some sights there. It was still winter in Vienna and coming from the gorgeous weather in Greece, this was a bit of a shock to our systems! Luckily, we saw before we left Greece that the weather was forecasted to be in the 30's and 40's with rain and snow, so we borrowed coats and gloves from the Frosts! Thank goodness! We would have frozen without them.

We stayed in the Vienna Marriott at 12 Pakring Circle. It was a great location and the kids loved the indoor pool. We also drank lots of creamy, frothy hot-chocolate to try to warm up after each outing! We took the metro or a taxi to get around.

Saturday, March 30 we spent the day at the beautiful, imposing Schonbrun Palace. The audio tour was very informative and we learned that Maria Theresa had 16 living children and Marie Antionette was one of them. The kids loved the maze and the children's museum. Outside they had an Easter market with foods and wares for sale. Dan said they looked just like the Christmas markets in Germany. I loved just walking and looking at the beautiful hand-made objects for sale. Mikelle bought a hand-made, leather bound book to make a scrapbook of our trip. I got some beautiful, glass etched votives for candles.

                                           The entrance to the park across from our hotel.

                                                           At the train station

                                                              Schonbrun Palace

                                                     Entrance to the Easter Market

                                                        The gardens behind the palace

                                                                      The maze

                                                           A playground for the kids

                                            We loved dressing-up in the kids' museum!

                                                Items for sale in the Easter Market..

                                                Games for the kids in the Easter Market...

 We ended the day with a carriage ride through the cobble-stone streets around the Stephensplatz.

Sunday, March 31 was Easter Sunday. We slept in that morning and attended sacrament meeting at the Vienna 4th ward. This was an international ward that spoke English. They had a nice meeting with music and scriptures testifying of the Savior and his resurrection.

That afternoon we toured the Mozarthaus--one of the actual apartments that Mozart lived in during his years in Vienna. The audio tour taught us about his family life, social life and musical compositions. I loved that the view looking out of the windows would have been the same that Mozart would have seen in his lifetime!

 Alyson told us about this yummy Cafe. We enjoyed apple strudel, weiner snitzel and chocolate crepes!

We ended our time in Vienna perfectly with a concert. The small ensemble (4 violins, 1 cellist, 1 pianist) performed 40 minutes of Mozart and 40 minutes of Strauss. They had a soprano soloist and 2 ballet dancers who joined in on a few numbers--just not at the same time! Some of the highlights were the "Blue Danube Waltz" and Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nacht Musik".

Much too soon, it was time to bid Vienna "Adieu!" I wouldn't mind returning sometime when the weather is much warmer!