Austria: 23 Dezember 2009

Our first stop of the day after breakfast at the hotel was at Fingerlos. This is a Salzburg staple, and we can certainly see why. They serve breakfast all day and have wonderful cakes and assorted pastries. (I should pause here to explain that we actually DO eat food other than sweets (honestly), but these are just the most exciting to talk about because they are so prolific.) Here is a photo from outside the restaurant.

Our next stop was at Mirabell Gardens and Palace. (Assuming we'd need to walk off a little bit of pastry.) We didn't go inside the palace, but rather focused on the outdoor portion. The photo below is of Pegasus - one of Salzburg's most publicized statues.

Here is a shot of the gardens in winter. If' you'd like to see more beautiful summer shots, click on the link above to the external site. (Notice in this photo how they have strategically aligned the gardens to focus on Salzburg's highlight - the castle.)

Back to the hotel to quickly grab our bags and head over to Bubblepoint laundry to finish the wash for week one. Here’s a couple of photos for you. This facility was completely automated, including the opening and closing hours, washers, dryers, soap and Internet services. Big signs warned you when the gates came down at night, so best not be tardy! (For a fun video, click on the link above to their national site and see about how BP suggests their facilities may just help you meet a new mate!)

Next we were off on our train to Vienna. This was an excellent time of day actually because we got to see the Alps (at least part of them) at dusk just before nightfall, as well as Austria’s lake region which was just stunning and a most beautiful icy blue.

The trains in Austria are run by the ÖBB. This is the equivalent of Germany’s DB. These trains are not quite as nice or well equipped, but they still do the trick. The attendants, however, are certainly not as nice. (We are pretty sure they hate Americans generally.)

Here is a photo below of two drinks we tried in Austria that are not available in America. One was an orange-flavored cola, the other a sparkling apple juice drink. Those are the Alps wizzing by in the background.

Off to our Viennese hotel, Pension Dr. Geissler. The pension system is a step between hostelling and fancy hotels. Most pensions are owned by locals who have a few rooms to rent. This is also the case with Dr. Geissler’s join that sits atop an apartment building and utilizes 1 and ½ floors of the building for guests.

We should tell you we have one central message for you about Vienna, and that is SMOKING! We are realizing as we go further east that we are probably going to experience an increase in smoking preference. The only downside is that smoking is allowed EVERYWHERE here, and you don’t realize what you’ve got until it’s gone so to speak. (We miss non-smoking public spaces so very much.) Our clothes all smell like smoke now, so we’ve decided to live like Europeans and keep what we have on for a couple of days. Why taint all our other options?

We next needed to conquer dinner and a night stroll. Here's a photo from outside Pfudl. It was recommended by our pensioner and we're glad we took his suggestion.

After dinner we had gelato at Zanoni and Zanoni, a Vienna favorite. Their overstuffed cones at € 2,50 each were a treat!

Just outside the gelato joint was this beautiful street scene, covered with magnificent red lights and globes. This seems like a good way to bid you farewell for today - more tomorrow.