Slow down you crazy child…

We had a great Easter in Vienna, and managed to slow things down a little after a crazy first week in Prague and traveling. After our homecooked Easter breakfast at McCafe in the Budapest train station, we hopped on the train and showed up to a gorgeous day in Austria. I had been to Vienna two years ago and loved it, so I was excited to be back and able to show everyone around. Turns out I wasn’t much of a tourguide (I remembered the meals I had there better than the names of buildings… embarassing) but the city was as majestic and awesome as I had remembered.

Our hostel was about a 20-minute walk from the inner ring where all the sights are, so we set out down the main shopping street to get there. Everything was closed for the holiday, but there was some good window shopping / longing for more clothing considering we each had only a small backpack with us and were getting just a little smelly. However, after the long train ride we were hungry and ready for lunch, so hurried down to the center for some typically Viennese food- wurst, schnitzel, sausages, goulash and sacher tortes, yum. It was a reality shock to be back on the Euro- lunch cost multiple times what we pay in Prague! Obviously worth it, though.

The cobblestone streets were packed for the holiday, with lots of adorable families out and about and dressed up for the

services. We enjoyed watching all the street performers outside of St. Stephens Cathedral, or Stephansdom, the most important religious building in Austria and also one

of Vienna’s most recognizable landmarks. Emily and Ann went in for the Easter service, which they both really enjoyed- even though it was in Latin and German.

While they were at church, the rest of us wandered through the rest of the inner ring, which includes the Hofsburg Palace, the Spanish Riding School, the Library,Parliament, and the Museumsquartier. While each individual building was impressive on its own, together they were very powerful, and it was easy to imagine the Austro-Hungarian Empire in all its glory.

Tired of walking, we rented bikes, which was a key move. The city is designed for them, so there are great paths along all the major roads.

We headed out of the inner ring, and explored the rest of the city, ending up at the Riesenrad, Vienna’s famous Ferris wheel at the Prater fair. The weather was perfect, and it felt great to be stretching our legs and sightseeing at the same time. We headed back to meet up for the night with other kids from our FSP also in Vienna for the weekend. Dinner consisted of more great food (garlic soup!!) and more good beer, followed by gelato at a nearby shop- life is tough for us these days.

When we got back to our hostel, it was hopping. There was a bar and common area, and kids from all over the world were hanging out, whether they were pregaming for a night on the town or about to go to bed. It was a very friendly and welcoming scene, and fun to experience the hostel culture.

After sleeping in yesterday morning, we headed out in the pouring rain to Schloss Schonbrunn, which was the Hapsburg family’s summer “cottage”- it only has a modest 1,441 rooms. It was a cold, miserable day but we still enjoyed walking around the gardens. It was incredible for me to compare them on a frigid April day to how they had been when I visited two years ago in June—hopefully Spring will come to Europe soon! (We hear it has been 80 degrees in Hanover… waiting for that to get here)

Outside the Palace we enjoyed the Easter markets and all the treats for sale, but even better was the Apple Strudel show we attended. After getting our samples, we were herded into one of the Palace’s kitchens, and learned how to prepare the apple strudel ourselves. The show was quite an experience- the girl giving the lesson was going back and forth between English and German, but at times it was hard to tell which language she was speaking. Regardless, the strudel was delicious. Maybe we will try to prepare it for you when we return. Maybe.

Our last night on the road was spent at a delicious Italian restaurant, and then we relaxed at the movie theater. Luckily, the movies were in English, but it was still an experience to go. The theater itself was way more beautiful than any at home, and we had assigned seats. We finished the night up with hot chocolate and some more torte- all around great night.

This weekend has been incredible, but we are excited to go back “home.” It is crazy in the last few days we have been in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria. The train makes it so easy to get around- we’re on our way back Prague as I write.The next few days should be crazy- We are going to the Slavia hockey game tonight. Slavia and Sparta are the two Prague sports clubs, but have a rivalry comparable to Red Sox/Yankees. I’m not sure which one is like the Red Sox, but if its Slavia they will definitely win tonight. (Emily probably disagrees with me on this one.) Tomorrow we have 3 lectures (for all you Dartmouth kids, that’s like a 10a, 2a, and then ANOTHER two hour class… brutal), and Thursday we have our first all day class excursion to North Bohemia. We are planning to stay in Prague this next weekend after all our traveling this one! Looking forward to getting to know our home city better.

Love to everyone.