Europe - Vienna

Today's Garmin Step Mileage: 11 km

Vienna has been a place where I think of a romantic place to go, that is full of imperial nostalgia, opera houses and exquisite cakes and coffee houses. In the mid to late 1600's many great aristocratic families flooded in to build palaces, giving Vienna it Baroque character. Ghosts of Freud, Klimt and Schiele are now some of the biggest tourist draws.

The inner centre is only 1 km wide, making it very easy to navigate

and get around. Most of the sights are located within this radius and concentrated around the Ringtrasse - a series of traffic and tram clogged boulevards that form a ring around the centre. One of the most impressive building complexes in the centre is The Hofburg. It is highly ornate palace that houses Vienna's key imperial sights. They have imperial apartments you can tour, the Schatzkammer (medieval craftsmanship and imperial jewels and Roman relics), as well as, going to see the performances of the Vienna Boy's Choir and the famous prancing Lipizzaner horses.

The Spanish Riding School in Vienna is the only institution in the world which has practiced for more than 450 years and continues to cultivate classical equitation in the Renaissance tradition of the Haute Ecole – which can also be found on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

The north side of the Hofburg Palace is the home to the imperial stables; home to the white horses of the Spanish Riding School, known for their extraordinary and intricate performances. We were fortunate to take in the "morning exercises" of the Imperial Horses inside the riding arena. It is the most grand and elaborate inside riding arena that I have ever seen, right down to the chandeliers.

From the Hofburg Palace we headed over to the Naschmarket (Gary stayed across the street from the

market in his last visit to Vienna) for a spin around Vienna's largest marketplace. Located at the Wienzeile over the Wien River, it is about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long.

The Naschmarkt has existed since the 16th century when mainly milk bottles were sold (as milk bottles were made out of ash (wood from an ash tree), "Asch" (German for "ash") led to the name "Aschenmarkt"). From 1793 onwards, all fruits and vegetables brought to Vienna with carts had to be sold there, while goods arriving on the Danube were sold elsewhere. Nowadays, one can buy fresh fruit and vegetables from around the world, exotic herbs, cheese, baked goods such as bread, kaiser rolls, and torte, meats, and seafood. There are also many small restaurants which offer e.g. sushi, kebab, seafood, traditional Viennese food such as Kaiserschmarrn or Palatschinken (compares to rolled up crepes) and

stalls which offer clothes and accessories. Since 1977, the market extends further along the Wienzeile to an adjacent area every Saturday, when a flea market takes place there. The atmosphere of the Naschmarkt is famous far beyond the borders of Vienna, and large numbers of tourists visit the market every year.

After a busy morning of exploring the Spanish Riding School, the Hofburg and the Naschmarkt, we found a great little place to have some cold refreshments and fresh olives. A great way to spend some time in the afternoon.

Back onto the U-Bahn train we decided to head over to Prater to explore the area. We thought originally that it was another district in Vienna with a large ferris wheel, but it actually is an amusement park that is open all year long. Very interesting place.

We decided to head back to the inner circle of Vienna and get off at Stephansplatz; with a nice walk home to explore the areas that we have not explored before. On our way home we stopped off for an early dinner /late lunch at the Cafe Central. Definitely one of the busiest cafe's in town. Over coffee, cake and the odd cigar, some of the greatest poets, philosophers and storytellers the world has ever seen, got together in Vienna’s most attractive coffeehouse. It is where revolutionary Trotsky, psychoanalyst Freud, several writers

and poets (including Polgar, Zweig and Altenberg) would gather to sip coffee and relax in the afternoons.

We ordered the traditional Viennese coffees (much like cappuccinos) , Sacher Wurstel (sausage, roll, mustard and fresh horseradish) and Milchrahmstrudel (sweet cheese curd strudel with vanilla sauce). Great choice for a shared meal. Many of the portions are larger in the cities and sharing meals are easy to do.. not to mention it allows for more sampling of local cuisine throughout the day.

Another wonderful day in Vienna. What a great place to explore. It is very ornate with grand buildings every where you turn. The development of the transit system makes it easy to get around. We have enjoyed our stay here throughly. Sadly we say goodby to Vienna, as tomorrow is a travel day to Prague. We are spending a quiet evening in, getting packed up and organized for tomorrow.