Last day in Wien

Yep, leaving this evening to visit the relatives in Klieinmutchen. Hope I spelled that right. Ive had a pretty nice time here in Wien. Arrived after a fine flight, and didnt really suffer much from jet lag. Either Im immune, or old age makes it less noticeable. (by the way, I cant find the apostrophe on this keyboard, so ill just ignore it)


On Tuesday, I went to the Schloss Shonbrunn, the home of Franz Josef and his ancestors through the years. Saw the zoo, which I could have skipped. Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My. But all I found were bears. Lions and Tigers must have been sleeping in the nice warm weather, around 30 C (84 F), and humid. Also on the grounds were the Palm House, (a huge tropical plant hothouse with some really nice flowers), a tour of the residence, or royal chambers, which was quite elaborate, they lived very well and very nice grounds in general. Nice view of the city from the Glorriette, top of a hill overlooking the grounds. More on Schloss Shonbrunn on Thursday. Had to come back, as my camera battery ran out, and although I had a spare memory card, I left the spare battery in the Pension. Smart, right?

While at the Schloss, there was a lot of thunder. Remember Richard the Rainmaker AKA Droughtbuster Dick from NZ and AU? Hes here also. But luckier. At an outdoor cafe with umbrellas my table was the only one that kept dry. Most of the others got somewhat soaked.

On Wednesday, I took a train ride to the Hungarian town of Sopron. My relatives took me there the last time I was here, and I enjoyed it, so I went back for more. Train ride was about 1.25 hrs, very pleasant. Walked around the town for a while, and found the old town in the center. Had a nice lunch there in an outdoor cafe. In fact, all my meals except breakfasts at the Pension have been in outdoor cafes. Sopron is a nice day trip, if you are ever in the area.

When I got back, I just wandered around town until I found a nice looking restaurant to have supper in. Wien (Travel snob, arent I?) is really a nice city to wander in and practice getting lost. Im getting good at that. Not really. With a map and a little bit of luck, its really easy to find your way around. And by the way, the U-Bahn, or subway system is great. Easy to use, runs often, gets you anywhere you want to go.

On Thursday, I wandered the town a bit more, taking photos of all the interesting buildings. There are plenty of them, too. Found, of all things, an AU pub, so I stopped there for a very good cheeseburger, and my favorite AU beer, Victoria Bitter. What a treat.

Then back to Schloss Shonbrunn for more photos and a visit to the Carriage House, A display of many of the truly ornate carriages used by the royalty. Even tiny ones for the royal kinder. Lots of hand work went into those, let me tell you. Another spot there to visit was a simulated desert environment. Looked a little like my days in AZ as a kid.

And the highlight of the day was the fact that there was a concert there by the Wien Symphony Orchestra. To be seated, one had to have an invitation, which I think came if one donated to the cause. I didnt know about that, and probably couldnt have afforded the expected donation. But the common folk could sit on the ground around the periphery and hear very well. Glad I got there 2 hours early. The crowd really built up. And they had two huge TV screens, so we could see it as well. An unexpected highlight was that Bill Clinton was there to accept the donation, 1,000,000 euros, if I heard right. Couldnt tell what the cause was.

P&P R, While there, I spoke to a Canadian couple who were visiting their son. Hes the coach for the Vienna Vikings, the local football (not soccer, US football) team. Sounds like something you might be familiar with.

I think thats about all I have for Wien. Next edition will probably be from Copenhagen next week sometime. And yet another keyboard to get used to. Now to copy this into the blog.

Love,

Dad/Grandpa/Dick