When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly. ~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Yay, Europe! Steve and I got a very big treat last week when we had the chance to travel (sans kids!) to Vienna, Austria. Steve was accepted to present at the European Geosciences Union, which was a massive conference from scientists all over the world. We stayed near Karlsplatz in the heart of city in a beautiful apartment for 7 amazing days.
The night we arrived there was a reception for many of the presenters at the Natural History Museum which meant we had a free tour of the museum and a roof tour for an amazing view of Vienna, which was a great way for us to see the layout of the city.
When Steve went to his conference I had the chance to visit my good old friend, Chris Lyke, from college. I took a train to Linz where he has settled down with his beautiful wife and young son. It was such a treat to see a good friend who is doing so well and living an interesting Austrian life!
I also toured around and visited as many churches (they are always free!) and coffee shops as I could find. The beauty of this city is almost overwhelming...which means I needed to eat as many croissants and drink as many cappuccinos to keep me in the right mind set to enjoy the city.
One of my favorite memories is the dinner we had at Wratschko...an amazing hole in the wall restaurant where we had the best meal of the trip. After we were eating, the waitress asked if we were there because of Anthony Bourdain...she explained it was his favorite restaurant in Vienna and it was on an episode of his show. Guess we have good taste!
On the last day, we took at boat ride down the Danube River to Bratislava, Slovakia to visit the capital city and explore. It was a beautiful and different than Vienna and was a special day we will always remember.
Once again, this adventure will always be a special memory for us. Unlike our European travels just after we got married, when I was pregnant, we could actually afford to eat well and I could drink good European beer on this trip. We felt like adults this time!
Here are some pictures....
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| Steve at the EGU. |
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| Jet-lagged, but happy couple. |
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| Vienna from the rooftop. |
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| Chris and Finley in Linz. |
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| Same old Chris and I...just a few years older.... |
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| This is seriously my travel pet peeve! The stranger who took this picture cuts of Mozart's head but there is still an inch of ground below my feet...Are you kidding me? I have almost the same picture of me at the Eiffel Tower....annoying! And I took such a good picture for him!...rrrr.. |
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| Our beautiful apartment building from our courtyard. |
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| The door to our apartment. |
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| Dinner (almost every night)...I was in heaven! |
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| How I spent my days. |
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| Cheese. Cheese. Cheese. Yum. Yum. Yum. |
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| Beautiful innerstadt Vienna! So lovely. |
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| THERE is Mozart's head! |
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| My amazing meal at Wratschko. Cabbage, cheese, tomato in a flakey crust...with parsley potatoes, salad and Austrian beer. Meal to remember! |
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| Steve at Schonnbrun Palace...the summer palace of Maria Theresa and the Habsburg rulers. |
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| Trying to take a cool picture in a mirror maze. |
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| The Danube cruise to Slovakia. |
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| Fairy-tale like Blue Church in Bratislava....amazing! |
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| Back wall of the cathedral in Bratislava. For some reason this is probably my favorite picture of this trip. |
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| Gate to the Bratislava Castle. |
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| Beautiful shots in Bratislava, Slovakia. |
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| Our Slovakian lunch. |
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| Downtown Bratislava. |
