I had scheduled some things for the next couple of days for us, as we would be in Vienna with some free time. Well, this put a wrench into Will’s plans as he had made arrangements for our anniversary as well. We got our wires crossed, but it all ended up working out great as we celebrated the night before on the ship and then again, the next night in Vienna.
Ah, beautiful Vienna! I was happy to be in Vienna, but also sad because it really meant our extended vacation was coming to a close. This time our excursion was a walking tour via the subway as opposed to a bus/walking option. So, we quickly opted for the subway tour as we had planned on going out later on our own. The subway in Vienna is on the honor system. There are no gates, you just get on. However, they will do an occasional ticket check and the fine is pricey. The annual pass works out to about a euro a day, so, really quite reasonable. Tourists aren’t so lucky as the charge for a multi-day pass works out closer to 7 euros a day.
The Lipizzaners 
St. Stephen’s Catheral 
St. Stephen’s Catheral
Sculpture Made out of 1¢ Euros 
After our walking tour, we headed out on our own to the Schönbrunn Palace. It’s a huge place and involved a lot of walking. So, back on the subway as we were meeting another couple for dinner before a concert at the Mozart House. Will had just enough time to try the Sacher Torte that Vienna is famous for. It’s a chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam between the cake layers and topped with a chocolate glaze. He said it was good, but he truly didn’t understand all the hype.
We got lost in the hedge maze.
We met up with Tom and Louise and had a nice dinner at a little Italian restaurant. Tom and Louise had also gotten tickets to the same concert after talking to us one morning. It was a concert of classical music done by a string quartet. The venue was in Mozart’s first apartment in Vienna where he performed many concerts. I think the room seats around 30 people, that night there were 17 of us. It was fantastic. We all really enjoyed it.
After, we decided to grab dessert at Aida’s cafe. I was happy as they had a couple of gluten-free options for me.
The next day, we had all on our own as we didn’t pick-up any of the optional tours. First stop, I had to take a ride on the world’s oldest Ferris wheel, the Wiener Riesenrad. It was constructed in 1897 to celebrate Emperor Franz Joseph I’s golden jubilee. We walked around the whole Prater amusement park, and it seems as though they are ready for Halloween year-round.
Will are you down there? 
Then we took a tour of the Hofburg Palace. Since we had visited Schönbrunn Palace, which was the summer home to Franz Joseph and his wife SiSi, it seems only fitting that we tour their main home as well. Our time in Vienna was up and we needed to head back to the ship for our final destination, Budapest, Hungary.
