Tuesday, 9/20-Friday 9/23

My name is so popular. We passed this restaurant (pic #1)while trying to find someplace to eat around ten o’clock at night. I was super excited to eat at Cafe Gloria but it was closing in fifteen min so instead we had a great Indian meal at place across the street.

Jessica and I had dinner with David, a guy riding in same rail car as from Wien, who also got off at our same stop, and who later showed up next to us while we were checking in to our hostel. He was a very interesting guy from MA with lots of good travel stories.

Our dinner and post-dinner-drinks talk have led me to add the following things to my to-do list 1) download skype app for ipod to make calls across Europe, 2) download map app so I never get lost, 3) go cave diving in Budapest next time I visit (and I will), 4) also visit Santorini in addition to Crete.

After we said our goodnights, I made plans with an NU friend studying abroad in Wien for fall. My friend George and I agreed to meet at Schönbrunn Palace (pic #3)the following morning for a stroll through the grounds and then lunch before his classes. This palace was the summer residence for the Austrian monarchy back in the day and it is described as the Versailles. I have to admit that I liked this palace better than Versailles but I enjoyed the grounds of Versailles more than Schönbrunn. 

OH, I forgot to mention that we never found George that morning. We arrived five minutes late and I couldn’t remember exactly which entrance we were meeting so instead of walking through main gates to the actual palace doors, I got the bright idea to walk all the way around to back entrance because the name sounded familiar. dumb idea. First attempt to meet George=fail.

I would say that the rest of the day was great but that would be a lie. My headaches in Budapest were the precursor to a cold/cough/headaches that started our first morning in Vienna. However, Jessica and I still saw some really beautiful places like the Gloriette (homage to my name again), Karlzplatz, and we had a scrumptious lunch along main circular drive of city centre. 

I can’t remember what else we did but we made plans to try and meet George outside his school for later that evening. The plan was to meet up then head over to “Loco” for their ridiculous Wednesday drink specials and American Karaoke except we couldn’t find him…again! We sat outside a closed cafe to eat our lunch leftovers while I tried to reach George again to figure out the next plan of action.

We headed toward the club on our own and miraculously he found us inside maybe 30 minutes later. Very surprised he found us but so glad he did. Third time is the charm.

The next day we met George again for lunch(pic #5) sightseeing and the opera. I had some bratwursts, sauerkraut, something potatoes and I loved the whole meal. Jessica really wanted weiner schnitzel so thats what she ordered and George got a goulash and ordered us all some sturm (or Federweisser, a young wine not done with fermentation) which I highly recommend to everyone.

After our personal sightseeing tour (pic #6), we met up with more of George’s friends to get standing room tickets for the evening’s opera, Don Giovanni, which was actually the first opera to be performed in the opera house when it opened (pic#8 and #10). The whole opera experience was the highlight of Vienna for me. THANK GOODNESS we had George’s friend Anna to guide us through the process of getting those 4 euro tickets. I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed the performance.

Also, a huge thank you again to George for trying so many times to meet up with us and for really making the difference for Jessica and I between a good trip and a truly fantastic trip. We did so much more because we had you to guide us and give us tips.