UP THE DANUBE TO VIENNA, AUSTRIA!

We are in a travel whirlwind these days!  Yesterday Slovakia, today Austria!  And we got to ride a high speed catamaran up the Danube to get to Vienna!

We sped past a lot of this and a lot of that…not knowing what any of it was!  But we all enjoyed a great ride!

Our only regret was that it wasn’t any longer, as it only took an hour and a half!  We docked in Vienna where graffiti was everywhere (beautiful graffiti, mind you), as were the people!  Busy, busy place!

We thought of you, Mike and Patte!  O-H-I-O!

We grabbed a quick lunch, Austrian style!  We loved each and every bite!

We loved walking the streets in the Stephansplatz (Vienna’s city center).  It was hard to believe it was a weekday, with all the people milling around! 

Vienna’s most prominent cathedral, St. Stephen’s, was AMAZING, both inside and out!

John and I visited Vienna in the early eighties, on our very first international trip.  Nothing looked familiar (to me, at least) except the chocolate Mozart balls found in the souvenir shops!  You would think I would remember some of these magnificent buildings!

We made it to the Naschmarkt, the most famous market in the city!  It boasted nuts from all around the world, fresh produce, t-shirts, linen pants, shirts, hats, olives, purses…seriously, anything you could ever need! 

We needed drinks!

And a backscratcher!  John got me a backscratcher!

Val and I ran out of energy a bit earlier than usual (we have averaged 5+ miles every day of this trip, thank you very much!) and decided to relax in our rooms while Matt and John went to dinner!  It was a GREAT decision!  I indulged in a nice warm bath and discovered we actually had a wash cloth—the first one since leaving the states!  (Too bad it won’t fit in my suitcase, or I would “borrow” it!)

Hopefully we’ll all be refreshed tomorrow, because we have A LOT on our list to see!  Until then…good night!