Julius Meinl in Wien

So last week we were all still feeling a little skeptical about traveling after our experiences with food poisoning and hospitals in Budapest. However, we had already planned a trip to Vienna and Thursday we hopped on a train at 4:30 for the 4.5 hour train ride. The trip that was to ensue could not have been more different than our excursion to Budapest. Vienna was the best city I have seen so far and the weekend as a whole was incredibly fun. The great experience started off with our arrival to Vienna and then to the flat we were staying in (Max's place in Vienna). Not only was this not a hostel, but it could not have been in a better location. It was as downtown as you could get and at the end of the street was all the high end shopping and also the Hofburg Palace happened to be right there as well. Public transportation was not needed at all with the exception of getting to and from the train station.

Here are some pictures of the flat (Melinda happened to be in one of the better picture of the place). But this place was so much more comfortable than a hostel ever could be so this was already a great start to the trip. Thursday night by the time we went looking for food pretty much everything was closed so I just got a bratwurst on the street and we went and found some tasty gelato for dinner. Then we went back and went to sleep for a wonderful nights sleep in Vienna.
Friday morning we got up and simply started walking, we were so close to everything we could practically see it from the apartment and we just started going. We grabbed a quick lunch at a small italian cafe and then headed to the Hofburg Palace (about 3 minutes from us).
Here is the front of the palace, much of this post will be pictures taking you along the little walking tour we were on. If I forget the names of things I'll just describe them and you can ask me about them later or look them up. After the Hofburg palace we walked through the archway you see and headed up past the Spanish Riding School (horses) and to the National Library.
Here is the national library, we didn't actually go inside but the building from the outside was impressive and I imagine that the inside would be as well. After snapping some pictures of the library and some surrounding statues, etc. We kept walking straight ahead to the Museum Quarter. A large square of museums with everything from a Natural History museum to a modern art museum and the Leopold (the one we actually went to).
Inside the Leopold there was primarily Austrian art and the biggest exhibition was a famous Austrian named Egon Schiele. There was some interesting exhibitions in the museum but when we were done, we were ready to continue along and see a few more things. The next major landmark we hit was the Parliament building.

Yes the first picture is of Parliament, and yes there is a house on top of the Parliament building. We have no idea why it was there (maybe construction or something?) just that there was an entire small house on the top of the Parliament building. The second picture is the front of the Parliament building and the Athena statue. While the Parliament was very nic and somewhat impressive, it was nothing compared to our next stop, the Rathaus (town hall essentially).
Interestingly enough there was a little winter fest going on at the Rathaus with a large ice rink and some stands with hot chocalate, drinks, snacks, candies, etc. Regardless, this building was incredible and really steals the show from the Parliament building. After this we headed back in toward our flat to see a huge and famous church that was right down the street from us. I believe that roughly translated it is something along the lines of St. Stephans or Stephans Place Church. I can't really remember the exact name at the moment so thats why I forget what it is.
The church actually burned awhile back, not to the ground (and it was repaired) but that is why there are black char and burn marks on the outside. This church was beautiful both outside and inside, and it had a tower on the side that by paying 5 euro or so you could go up in and get a view of Vienna from above. As we left the church our sightseeing for the day was finished but it wasn't time to go back to the flat quite yet. First we headed over to Cafe Demel, a famous cafe often featured on the food network for their cakes and desserts, especially their Sachertort a treat invented in Vienna.

After we enjoyed our Sachertort we headed back to the flat to rest for a little bit before dinner. I actually headed out to a Starbucks for some internet so I could used skype for a phone interview while Maude, Jena and Melinda hung out for an hour or so. After hanging out we decided that we would get some real Austrian food for dinner aka Wiener Schnitzel. We found a nice little Austrian restaurant and had an enjoyable dinner. Later on we headed over to a bar called Zwölf Apostele Keller (Twelved Apostles Cellar) and enjoyed some quality Austrian beers while we were there. After a good and busy day we headed back to the apartment to get some sleep and get ready for Saturday.
Saturday we woke up with the intention of heading to the Naschmarkt (a big outdoor flea market of sorts) but it was raining in the morning so we decided to skip that and head to breakfast and then to the Albertina Museum. Breakfast was at a little cafe/restaurant called Coffee Day. Though this sounds very American, there are none of them in the United States and it actually orginated in India and is now also in Vienna and a few other West and Central European Cities. They did have some great breakfast foods and coffee and tea though and some comfy couches to sit on while we ate. It also happened to be right across the street from the Albertina so all we had to do was run across to the museum to wander around and see some more art.
In the Albertina we saw some famous artists like Picasso, Monet, Dürer, and Rembrant as we wondered through. We also got to see an interesting photography exhibit and some of the old rooms that former Monarchs lived in because the Albertina is in the palace. Finishing up with the Albertina we walked around the palace into another very small museum that held some of the old Hapsburg treasures.

Here we have 2 examples. First a crown of gold and all sorts of jewels (diamond, emerald, ruby, etc.) The second is some sort of stone that is 2680 karats, not sure what it was but impressive nonetheless. After leaving the Schatzkammer (museum with the jewels), we made the most important discovery of the weekend. While back near our apartment, right ont he corner of our street actually, we saw it. Julius Meinl. The best store ever. Its a gourmet grocery store the likes of which you have never seen. It was huge, 2 floors, with the its own bakery, deli, cheeses, the freshest fish I have seen in months, and the best and freshest fruits and vegetables. The food was so great and so much better than anything we have seen in Prague that we decided not to go out for dinner Saturday night and to just buy some food and cook dinner in the apartment. We ended up buying some fresh breads, meats, fruit and vegetables and made our own baguettes and had some fruit salad. We also picked up a few bottles of wine and somehow hours had passed before we knew it and we ended up spending all night in just hanging out on Saturday and drinking wine. For a picture of Julius Meinl see Maude's facebook, I'm pretty sure she put one up on there and I don't have them on my computer yet.
Overall, Vienna was an awesome city, perhaps my favorite. As a trip I don't know if it could live up to spending Valentine's Day and my 21st birthday in Paris with Maude, but it was certainly as close it possibly could be. It was a great trip and a city I will certainly return to in the future, if for nothing else then just for Julius Meinl.
The next two weekend I will be spending in Prague so I will try to do a post on the touristy things of Prague during that time and maybe another one on the visit of Maude's grandparents, cousin Connor and brother Ollie. They will be arriving a week from today. After that however keep an eye out for my post on Istanbul, Maude and I will be spending our spring break (6 days) in Istanbul at the end of March. Check back after this weekend for another post...