Vienna

 When the bus arrived in Vienna, we checked into the hotel and then headed out for a sweet treat of iced coffee and a slice of the traditional Austrian Sachertorte. It's a sponge cake with apricot jam and a chocolate glaze that was definitely as good as I'd read about!

We then took a walk to the beautiful Belvedere Palace and gardens. Honestly, we hadn't heard of this UNESCO heritage site before, but we're so glad we stumbled upon it. It was immaculate!

Next to our hotel was a Russian Orthodox church that we had to check out, because we couldn't NOT see a church in every city!

 

After some exploring, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner & a special evening, which was to include a classical concert in Vienna! It was in a beautiful mahogany concert hall, and the program included classical music, opera, and even some ballet. It was the most breathtaking thing I have ever experienced!

The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and before heading to Budapest, we were able to spend a little more time in Vienna. We enjoyed a driving/walking tour of the Ringstrasse, which is a 3-mile long ring boulevard that has most of Vienna's most historic sites along the way.

Before getting on the bus, I had to snap a picture of the THREE Karin's (spelled the same way) that were on the ship with us this week! What are the odds of that????

We drove by the Vienna Opera House...

The Austrian Parliament building...

The famous Burgtheater...

The neo-Gothic Vienna City Hall...

When we got off the bus, we walked by some sites as well, including the incredible grounds, statues, buildings and monuments of The Hofburg Palace.

We walked by the Plague Column, which was built as a memorial to those who sadly lost their lives during the Great Plague epidemic in 1679.

And we found a church! This time it was the beautiful and famous St Stephans Cathedral.

Vienna has some very high end shopping districts...

And another Karin and I even found our own designer store!!!

As you might expect in the city of music, we found a wonderful street performance, and found one of the violinists there from our concert the night before! 

This performance was so sweet with all the kids and people singing in the square, and it made me think of my Grandma Barb who always loved this song...

On our way to lunch, we found ANOTHER church. This time it was the prominent Baroque Roman Catholic Church, St. Peter's, but we were too hungry and had seen enough churches to go in.

We finally came across the highly rated Dom Schnitzel restaurant and their schnitzel did not disappoint!

We had enough time to grab a latte on our way back to the bus, and it was time to say goodbye to Vienna and head to Budapest!

When we arrived at the next ship, the Avalon "Visionary", which would be our "floating hotel" for the last two nights, we could see why the boat couldn't leave the dock. The gangway to get on the boat was SO steep, because the water level was so low. The captain told us they had been stranded there for almost 3 months, as they wait for the river to fill enough to be on it's way. 

We made it on the boat for happy hour, and in time for an amazing Farewell Gala dinner (even though we had just arrived and we weren't leaving for two days... still not quite sure about that one)?!?!?!?! 

The ship was amazingly attentive of my nut allergies, and they marked up my menu every day with what alternatives they could make for me. This night I got a one-of-a-kind dessert (literally one-of-a-kind since I'm the only one who got it). It was one of the most amazing things I've ever had! A blueberry cream-filled crepe with a caramel sauce to die for! It was a very close second to my strawberry-nutella crepe in Regensburg!

After dinner, Brian and I ventured out into Budapest for a sneak peek that night, and to find a cocktail bar. We enjoyed a little time to regroup and recharge before starting again in the morning!