A day in Vienna

A huge cotton candy! We also had a dough boy. The vendor thought we were crazy when we asked for powdered sugar instead of garlic sauce or cheese.

We arrived in Vienna with no plan at all. We didn't even know whether we would spend the night there or take the train somewhere else. We considered going to Berlin and then to Zurich, but the Berlin train, and almost every other night train out of Vienna, was booked. Rather than bother searching around for a place in Vienna for the night we decided we might as well go back to Zurich. That turned out to be a good choice. But it meant we only had about twelve hours to see Vienna.

Our first stop was ice cream. We went to a very good shop near St Stephen's and then walked over to the church. No photos allowed inside. That's okay. The best thing about St Stephen's is the roof, anyway.

Currant and apricot. Soo good!

 From the church we walked down the main tourist drag. We stopped into a souvenir shop and T instantly fell in love with a little stuffed dog/bear. We didn't really want to get it since it was expensive and he has plenty, but for whatever reason we gave in. I was glad we did when we left the store and T told us the dog's name is Chubby. T had a very special stuffed animal at our apartment which he called Chubby, but we had to leave it behind because it wasn't ours. He's been very sad about that. L got a little bear she calls Bearbear. T doesn't like that because L calls him Bearbear and he doesn't want to share his name.

We had lunch at a cafe and then Viennese pastries for dessert at another cafe. We walked down to the opera house and then got on a tram. We hoped it would take us around the ringstrasse (which circles the center of town) in a loop so we could see all the sights without walking. It took up partway around and we saw a lot, but then it veered off course. We thought it would turn back toward the ringstrasse, but we were wrong. We got to see a less touristy part of Vienna.

 Our next stop was a grocery store for some snacks and water, then on to St Charles church and the playground across from it.

Look who was in the church! A counterfeit Infant of Prague.

We planned to go to Prater Amusement Park after the playground since we had so much time and it is open late. But a Dutch woman told us to go over right away because teenagers roam free at night. So we went immediately and had a great time. There were no lines at all. At one point it was only E, R, T, L, and one other guy on the bumper cars. E got lots of video footage and photos to use for his classes this semester.

Yes, that is R and S!

L was glad to see them down safely.

This was a highlight of the day for L and T - a carousel with real ponies!

There were lots of fun houses. It was kind of interesting. I think every ride must be individually operated, kind of like a carnival. So there were duplicate rides, sort of. There were a few different fun houses, two crazy mouse rides, several bumper cars. (The sign is a pun, Hallo = hello, and Wien, pronounced "Veen" = Vienna.)

 S says this was the best ride ever! I was pretty amazed when I saw it - it looks exactly like the playmobil carnival ride that I got for the kids.