Austria

So, in 2005 when I came to Vienna it rained and was cold and besides the opera, I was not impressed. This time, however, I had a blast. We stayed with my friend Amy in her apartment and I completely changed my opinion on the city. Amy toured us around the city through the Museum quarter and took us to a cool park with squishy purple lounge chairs and a fountain the first day. That night we had chicken schnitzel (fried chicken) and beers at the Bamraxler beer garden. I really like the atmosphere at beer gardens--tables outside with a playground and live music that is a really great place for families.
Saturday we rented bikes and rode around the city. We saw the Parliament building (second best in Europe, next to Budapest's), City Hall and Stadt Park. We took a picnic up to Schonbrunn Palace and Callie and I rolled down the grassy hills (we are growing up nicely.) That night we saw Falstaff at the Opera House-my favorite part. I love Vienna's opera house and the singing was breath taking. Then we met Amy afterwards at the Prater Amusement Park for a ride that threw us up in the air and spun around. Awesome. Afterwards we went to a bar on the Danube that was outside and faced the river. Everyone had their shoes off and feet in the sand. We also went to this part of town that has bars and restaurants called the Bermuda Triangle because you get lost there.
On Sunday we caught the three hour train to Salzburg, one of my favorite cities in Europe. It is where the "Sound Of Music" was filmed so we got a tour booklet and visited the garden where they sing "Do-Re-Mi," the cemetery they hide in, the church they're married in and then we climbed the mountain up to a really cool fortress. I loved the hike and the view from the top is totally worth it and amazing. The hills were alive with the sound of music.
I took a run with Amy on Monday morning down a horse path near her apartment. She ran the Vienna Half-Marathon in April and is a really great running buddy. We had to say goodbye to Kristen (she was starting her summer internship in London and had coffee at Café Kleine on Monday morning. The Café is quaint and frequented by young actors. I loved the "melanges," coffee and warm milk. In Austria I also tried apple strudel and the best bratwurst in the world. The chocolate's not shabby either.

Next stop, Budapest!