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In the morning, we had a few more hours to explore Vienna before jumping back on the bus. I should mention that our entire trip had AMAZING weather, blue skies and in the 70s every single day. We really lucked out.

We stopped at the famous statue of Mozart, which is near the royal palace. In front of it is the clef symbol made out of red roses.

They really love their Mozart here.

We had a bit of time to kill before some of the museums opened, so we stopped to have a piece of famous Sacher Torte.

Instead of getting a big slice, we got two smaller pieces to enjoy.

It’s a bitter chocolate cake with apricots baked in and then covered with a thick fudge frosting. It was every bit as magical as you can imagine. I might have to get this again when we go to Salzburg next week!

We walked back through the grounds of the palace again for a few more pictures.

Also housed inside is the Vienna Boys Choir and the Spanish Riding School.

I visited Vienna back in 2003 and though I loved the city, there wasn’t a whole lot to see and do. Today, we only had time to do one or two things so we decided to visit this church which holds all of the Hapsburg’s royal family tombs in its crypt.

Many of them dated back hundreds of years, but the most recent one was a descendent who was buried there this year.

The most popular is Princess Elizabeth, most commonly known as Sisi. She was the ‘people’s princess’ of their time and the citizens of the Empire adored her.

Then we had just enough time to enjoy a walk through the palace gardens.

Finally we were hungry enough to have some more SCHNITZEL! There is a chain of places that are known for it called Wienerwald!!

They definitely delivered. Not as good as at the concert last night, but still pretty great. I got the chicken…

And Irving got the Veal (with potato balls instead of fries).

Then we said goodbye to Vienna before heading into Hungary.

We started our day with breakfast in Prague before hitting the road. The watermelon was to DIE for. It tasted SO much better than watermelon in the States. And it actually had seeds! I think it’s sad that we’ve reached a point where we will say “When I was your age, watermelon had seeds! I almost forgot that they’re supposed to even had seeds. It was so ripe and juicy, my mouth is watering now just thinking about it.

We didn’t get a chance to stop for a real lunch but we made due with a gas station rest stop. We pieced together a “meal” that included these! I love how it says “Original Gold Fischli”… I’m pretty sure those are not original. LOL But they were yum!

A bit later we arrived into Vienna.

Vienna was a bit of a departure from all the Cold War and WWII history we had been immersed in. And instead, we learned about the Hapsburg family and their century long reign over the Austrian-Hungarian empire.

We walked through around the grounds of their previous royal palaces.

The Hapsburg family ruled here until the first World War at which point the dynasty was dissolved.

To give you an idea of how much wealth and power they had, this was their carriage house! Complete with a giant dome overhead.

The royal cathedral that the family used for private worship.

Switching gears a bit, we visited a really powerful holocaust memorial in the center of Vienna. This one is a sculpted man with his head in the sand. It represents how Europe turned a blind eye to what was really going on during the darkest years of their history.

After we passed the largest Swarovski shop in the world. It was three stories of their famous crystal jewelry and decorative pieces. (We visited the next day with Contiki.

Vienna is a really pretty city with a deep love and appreciation for music and the arts.

Then we checked into our hotel and got ready for a night out.

We were lucky enough to get to see a Classical Music concert while in Vienna. They love their Mozart and music is such a vital part of the city.

And as if that isn’t enough, the concert was actually held inside the Summer Palace for the former Royal family.

We had a wonderful traditional dinner inside the palace before the show.

Irving was PSYCHED because there was schnitzel on the menu. Besides the music, Vienna is also known for having amazing schnitzel.

With apple strudel for dessert!

Then it was time for the show. Not only was the orchestra fantastic, but they also had two opera singers and some great dancers too.

We really enjoyed the evening and highly recommend this excursion.

Tomorrow we get to explore Vienna some more (and find some more schnitzel!)