A Taste of Vienna

Sadly, it is time to leave Salzburg.  We had a great time there as a group seeing all the sights and enjoying being surrounded by the mountains.  The travel time from Salzburg to Vienna was only a two hour train ride, so we were there in no time at all.  Our hotel was not quite as nice as the previous stops, and seemed to be more like a hostel, but we will only be there for one night.  We had to say goodbye to our wonderful guide Manuela shortly after arriving.  We are sure going to miss her!  We sang her the goodbye song from the Sound of Music with personalized lyrics, so we hope she liked it.
 
We went to a small cafe for lunch, and afterwords went out walking to explore Vienna. The first stop was the opera house of the city.  Vienna is known for their operas, and I definitely would have tried to go, but we had too little time in the city.  We then traveled farther to the city center, which is the oldest part of the city and functions now as a tourist attraction with a lot of shopping options.  The stores there are way out of the range of a college student, especially Kohlmarkt street with stores such as Gucci, Dolce and Gabana, Tiffany and Co., and a bunch of other ridiculously expensive shops.  We went inside one to check a price, and they did not even display price tags on the clothes.  The St. Stephens cathedral is right in the heart of oldtown, and it is absolutely beautiful.  It was completed in 1160, and features Gothic and Romanesque style architecture.  The last stop on our short exploration of the city were the Imperial Apartments of the Hapsburg dynasty.  They are available for tour, so we will probably come back tomorrow to check them out.

Before our guide Manuela left us, we asked her for a restaurant recommendation, and she suggested Augustiner Keller.  The restaurant is located in a renovated section of a very old monastery.  The restaurant featured vaulted brick ceilings, and multiple rooms that were all different from each other in their shape and size.  Several of us ordered traditional Austrian meals such as wienerschnitzel or gulash, and it was delicious.  Tomorrow will sadly already be our last in Austria, and I definitely want to come back someday to see all the amazing sites this historic city has to offer!