Happy Halloween!

Halloween isn't that big of a deal in Zurich (the only Halloween stuff I saw was at the Coop Grocery store and it was only 1 meter by 1 meter!) But were invited to a Halloween party and decided to to go all out! We only had 1 day to find a costume (and Nathan refuses to buy "only make") so we went with Zombies! I went to H & M and found the cheapest clothes I could buy and Nathan ripped up his Brooks Brothers' stuff - good times!

I really wanted (needed) fake blood but I can't find any to buy, so I decided to make some and looked up how to do it online. I was super excited b/c there were only 3 ingredients - corn syrup, red dye, and chocolate syrup. Surely I could find that in Zurich - right? Wrong! They don't have corn syrup in this country:( What's up with that? I was slightly depressed when I was walking out of the Coop then as if a gift from God I saw 1 package of "fake blood" out of the corner of my eye! Yeah!!! I think it really made our costumes..... We definietly got some looks and several people took pictures of us on the train:)

Happy Halloween!

xoxo, Mandy

Hiking... and Oktoberfest in Zurich

7 hours of hiking then several 1 liter beers at Oktoberfest - you can't get much more Swiss and German than that!

Yesterday we had planned a day of hiking with our friends Miriam and James. We wanted to go somewhere near Zurich (basically to cut down on travel time and train cost) and to go to Oktoberfest that night. Miriam had a book of hikes "in and around Zurich" and said she would pick a "blue" hike. What is a "blue" hike you ask? The book described blue hikes as easy and good for young children.

W.T.F. Never trust the Swiss and their hikes - especially if you aren't Swiss! Easy enough for a 6 year old? Really. No - really? I want to see these 6 year olds.

The hike started in Lachen, said it would take around 5-6 hours, and had a vertical change in height of 1000m. Miriam told us she thought the 1000 meters was 500 up and 500 down. Okay - we have done that before. No biggie. But.....I'm pretty sure they left out a couple words in the book, because the 1000 m were definitely all uphill (and then of course 1000m down hill) and we were hiking through cow pastures and cow crap. Good Times:)

But after all the bitching (sorry Miriam:)) the view from the top was amazing! One of the best panaramic views we have seen on our hikes!

This was also a great hike b/c with all the cow pastures and cow crap came.....the cows! We were definitely up close and personal with them - so much fun!

This is one of my favorite pictures I have taken in Switzerland!

So I finally got to see one of those Swiss 6 year olds. After we stopped for a coffee at a little restaurant, we headed down for our last 1 1/2 hours of the hike. A dad and his son were there - which I didn't think much of - but after they left (who knows how long AFTER us) they basically ran by us and down the very steep hill at Olympic speeds. Seriously - I wanted to trip them but I refrained. This of course after we had already been lapped by some 65 year olds hiking UP the mountain!

There was snow - it really was treacherous!

I'm probably just jealous. But come on - that was a tough hike! It definitely wasn't "blue"! I started sweating and breathing heavy after the first 15 minutes of hiking straight up the side of a mountain! Whatever - I don't need to justify my physical abilities to you people. I'm simpling going to say the book had a typo and that the 6 year old was on speed. And all I know is that this is how I felt after we were finished.

The only thing that kept us all going was that we planned on heading to Oktoberfest in Zurich when we were finished! Of course this seemed like a great idea when I thought we were going to have a leisurely hike through the country side, but half way through the hike - I was drenched, pretty sure I smelled, and had cow dung all over my shoes. But hey - a plan is a plan - right? And we were meeting another couple so we couldn't bail!

We arrived at the Oktoberfest tent near Burkliplatz around 6:30 pm. We didn't have reservations so we had to stand in the "ohne" (without) line. Our other friends, Sarah and Zann, joined us shortly after and we waited for nearly an hour before they let one person from our line in the door. However, it really didn't seem that long and it was definitely worth it once inside! Granted it wasn't the Haufbrahaus, but I think Zurich did have a pretty respectable showing!

We ended up sitting with some cool Zurichers and started making "friends" immediately. Nathan loves the waitresses and I got to meet Bond, James Bond.

Nathan loves him a woman that can carry 6 1 liter beers at a time!

This was Bond. James Bond:)

The band was fun and since I had Miriam to translate all the cheesy German songs for me it was really hilarious! There was a song about a red dingy boat and one where the crowd shouted "you horny pig" (in German of course). It really made me wish I had studied up on my German a bit more.:) Of course they also played German classics like Sweet Home Alabama and Country Road too!:)

This was the crew:

Zann - "Sweet Home Alabama"

Sarah - "Peace Dude - now give me back my glasses"

James - "This wool hat is really hot!"

Miriam - "Wow - you speak really great German." "That's b/c I'm German."

Nathan - "Wow that's a really big pretzel you have there"

And Me - "You can have her for $5...I need another beer."

So here we all our - getting a bit tipsy off our 1 liter beers. And yes we are standing on the benches with our cow dung infested shoes - but don't judge us - we were in the moment (and probably had been overserved). :) But I wouldn't go sit down at the 2nd table from the front on the right side of the stage either - just sayin'. Surely they do a thorough cleaning every night - right? I mean it is SWITZERLAND.:)

Another great day living the life of a Swiss German! Now I've got to go to bed - I'm still not feeling that well.....

Prost, Mandy

View Album from Hiking in Lachen

View Album from Zurich Oktoberfest

Cheese Fon-DO's and Fon-DON'Ts

For all you married folks, out there, is there anyone that DIDN'T get a fondue set for a wedding present? How many of you have it stored away in a dark & dusty place waiting for that perfect occasion.

For your information, there are some very good "Non-traditional" uses for a Fondue Set.

1) It can be used as an oversized Potpourri burner
2) For all you high tech Red Necks, you can use it as a stove on your next camping & hunting excursion
3) Most importantly, you can always "Regift it" to another lucky newlywed couple.

Joking aside...It is time to break out that Fondue set and fire it up.

First of all, let me explain how fondue started. It is a a Swiss-born dish (cooking lore says it was created in the 18th century in Neuchâtel to use up cheese rinds and stale bread). Fondue reached its height of popularity in North America in the 70s and 80s. Like all old fads...there is always a comeback. OK I AM STILL WAITING FOR JAMS AND PARACHUTE PANTS TO MAKE THEIR RETURN

We have lived in Switzerland for almost 6 months continuously trying to adapt to the Swiss culture. Now with the onset of Winter, my wife has been pressuring me to buy her a Fondue set. Well yesterday was the big day. Keep in mind that this is very stressful buying experience as there are only about 40,000 to choose from. After hours of searching, we found the one we were looking for....THE ONE THAT WAS ON SALE!!! (Love you mom...thanks for teaching me how sniff out those deals).


Do's

1) For Cheese Fondue, Ceramic, stoneware or enameled cast iron are best because the heavy bottoms keep it from scorching.

2) By the premade packages. The ingredient list on the Swiss Fondue package ($4.99 for 400 grams) is close to classic homemade – emmental and gruyère cheeses, white wine, potato starch to thicken, kirsch and brandy were the main ingredients.

3) Do always add a little extra kircsh and white (dry) wine....as it enabler for a more enjoyable evening.

4) Consume alot of white wine and kirsch to assist with the digestion process. (ARE YOU SEEING THE TREND? ALCOHOL IS KEY TO GOOD FONDUE)

5) Do prepare the fondue on the stovetop before transferring it to the burner. Melt the cheese completely. Over an alcohol burner or candle alone, it will never get hot enough to eat.

Don'ts

1) Don't make cheese fondue from scratch. If you do have the time, inclination and "Martha Stewart" or "Susie Homemaker" will, here is a good recipe. If you're doubling a cheese fondue recipe, don't double the liquid. Increase the liquid by 1 1/2. Otherwise, the fondue will be soupy, not thick.

2) Drop your bread in the cheese. Tradition has it if you drop the bread into the cheese (often known as a swimmer), the entire table must take a shot of Kirsch. Other traditions are if a woman drops her cube of bread off her fondue fork and into the pot, she must kiss all the men at the table. If a man drops food off his fork into the pot, he must supply another bottle of wine for the table.

3) Don't drink cold water with cheese fondue. Cold Water & Hot Fat do not mix very well. Supposedly, the cold liquid and melted cheese in your stomach will congeal into an indigestible ball. (But keep in mind that if this were entirely true, a cheese pizza and a beer wouldn't be the excellent partners they are.)

4) Don't use a metal pot. Metal pots cause the cheese to burn. If you do happen to crisp the cheese, don't throw away the golden (not black) crust left on the bottom of the fondue pot. It's considered a delicacy, to be peeled off and shared among fondue aficionados.

Good Luck,

~Nathan

Ordering at McDonald's made me nervous!

I ate at McDonald's. There I said it. Are you happy? Don't judge me. It was the first time I have had Mickey D's since May - and you know what- it was damn good!:)

I haven't craved fast food at all since we moved to Zurich, but something about getting over the flu and the fact that both my sisters and all my nieces and nephews are in Raleigh made me home sick, so I thought what is more American than McDonald's - right? I needed a little "taste" of home!

But when I went to order -it was a little scary! First of all, all I had on me was 10 CHF (right now 1 CHF = $1) and I didn't want to (couldn't) spend more than that. Now you are probably thinking - how could one person spend more than $10 at McDonald's if they were trying to be spending concious? Well - Switzerland is home to one of the Most Expensive Big Macs in the World! So of course I knew I couldn't get THAT, but all I really wanted was a cheeseburger, small fries, and a coke light. I just wasn't sure how much that would be. The menu states that a cheesburger is 2.50 CHF, but none of the drinks (getrankts) or fries (pommes frites) are listed! Hello? What happened to informed buyers?

Anyway, when I got to the front of the line (yes McDonald's is crazy busy in Switzerland - they don't care that the prices are insane), I asked the cashier "Sprechen sie English?" - "Nein". Damn - I didn't think so (I was in Oerlikon). So I said a little prayer (so as not to completely embaress myself when I couldn't pay) and ordered. Guess how much it was? Guess.

9.90 CHF! Yep! For a cheesburger, small fries, a small drink, and 2 ketchups (.20 CHF a piece)! But a small price to pay for the only slice of Americana I could get today:)!

Once I sat down, I started reading their marketing and found out it was Schwiizer Wuche at McDonald's! (I think they were advertising this at the counter, but again I was too nervous to go over my budget so I wasn't really paying attention.) What does Schwiizer Wuche at McDonald's entail? McFondue, McRosti, and McRaclette burgers! Yum!

So what are on those burgers? Well the McFondue is pretty easy to figure out - it has swiss cheese on it:) (Le Gruyere & Emmentaler) and "fondue sauce". Rosti is basically Swiss Hashbrowns. So the McRosti had hashbrowns and bacon on top of the burger - yum! And Raclette is a type of cheese and an "eating process" here in Switzerland. The McRaclette has raclette cheese, gherkins, and pickled onions on it (typical toppings when serving Raclette at your house).

They all sound so good! But I am seriously going back for the McRosti! And since they stop serving it on October 20th - looks like I'll be eating McDonald's TWICE this week:)! Supersize Me - here I come!:) And you know what....

I'm lovin' it!
Mandy

So do I have the Swine or Not? A trip to the Swiss Doctor.

I haven't been feeling great since my parents left about two weeks ago (and yes this is my excuse why it took me so long to post on the trip:)!) Runny nose, coughing, headache, fever - the whole nine yards. Some days were worse than others. Nathan, nor I, EVER get sick - so I just thought I had a cold that I caught from my Dad (thanks Dad:)) during our travels. I mean - we even went hiking last Sunday (probably not a good idea in hindsight....) - I couldn't be THAT sick.

So the fever thing really just started this past Tuesday, so it wasn't till then that I started thinking flu. But nah - I couldn't possibly have the swine - I work in MY apartment by MYSELF! Some days I don't even leave the chair in front of my computer (yes - it kind of sounds pathetic when I write it down - but truly I love my life)! Anyway, I just started downing the Theraflu every 4 hours as recommended and thought I could handle it myself.

The truth is - I dreaded going to the doctor in Switzerland. Well not really going to see the doctor, more like dreaded trying to FIND a doctor. I knew it was going to be a pain in the ass. First, because I don't speak German. Second, because I don't really know anyone that I thought I could ask for a referral for a good doctor (that would also have the same insurance as we do). And Third, because the whole International Insurance thing has me a bit boggled.

Well I was right - it was a pain in the ass. BUT our International Insurance provider was very helpful in trying to find me a doctor. AFTER they told me they only had referral doctors in Geneva and asked if it would be a "problem" to go there (obviously the girl I was talking to didn't know much about Switzerland). (I also thought it a bit odd they didn't have anything in Zurich since Nathan's company is headquartered in Zurich and our insurance is through the company but details -right?) So after I politely told her that, yes, traveling on a train for 3 hours to Geneva with a fever and a cough would be a bit of problem for me, she actually got a doctor on the phone to talk to me and he said I could either go to the hospital or wait a very short 24 hours to find a referral in Zurich. 24 HOURS!!!! What?!?! BUT then the very nice girl came back on the line and said since I was so sick she would try to speed up the process. THANK YOU very nice girl - I appreciate it! I really didn't want to go to the hospital - there are sick people there:).

So the insurance company called me back around 5 pm (my original call to them was at about 11 am) and said that they couldn't find a doctor with an opening (yes - THEY called around trying to make an appointment - me likey) and they suggested I go to Permanence Hauptbahnhof a walk in clinic in the main train station in Zurich. I called ahead just to see what the wait time in the Walk-in Clinic was this time of night and they said 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Oh HELL NO. I am not sitting around a bunch of sick people for 2 hours - you never know what you could get.:) So I decided to get up early and be the first patient at 7 am!

First off - of course I felt better when I woke up this morning and was debating on not going but Nathan "forced" me to. When I arrived at Permanence - my first impression was that of a very nice clinic - thank goodness (but honestly I didn't expect much less - we do live in Switzerland). I was patient number 4 and the whole thing from signing in, to seeing the doctor, to taking blood, to getting my diagnosis only took about an hour. A little info about Permanence - it is "the first private medical station in Zurich which provides urgent out patient care for local residents of the Zurich area and for tourists without prior appointments". I thought it was well run, clean, and the doctors and nurses were very nice. So if are in Zurich (for vacation or as an resident) and have a non hospital condition and can't get into your doctor- I would recommend it!

So what was the diagnosis you ask? WELL.... the doctor said that I had a VERY aggressive viral disease (some number he showed me was supposed to be around 8 and mine was 59.) And that my white blood cell count was down quite a bit - but since I DIDN'T have a fever this morning he COULDN'T diagnosis me with the SWINE. YEAH - I didn't become a statistic this morning!:) He said I probably DID have it though, and that I fought it off by myself. Yeah ME! He said this was better than getting the vaccination, so good job on my part for fighting it off. He then told me to still stay away from pregnant women and little people (not sure if he meant midgets or children so I'll be safe and avoid both) for another three weeks. He gave me a prescription for some cough stuff and that was it.

So there you have it - the SWINE (that I probably had) really wasn't that bad (for me anyway)!

Here's to good health for the rest of the season!
Mandy

Munchen

We arrived in Munchen (so much more fun to say than Munich don't you think?) around 4 pm and headed straight to Oktoberfest! I mean - HELLO! What would you do - right?

So the one thing I didn't know is that Oktoberfest is basically like a State Fair - well a real cool State Fair that has huge BEER tents that seat 8500+ people, but still a State Fair. Rides and everything. My question is - who rides rides after drinking several 1 liter beers? Okay, so say there ARE a couple crazy drunk people (guys I'm sure) who ride the rides. Do they puke? Are there huge puke buckets at each ride? Sorry so crude - but seriously these were the questions that were going threw my head, so basically we just stayed really far away from the rides!:)

The beer tents at Oktoberfest hold the "Big Six" Breweries. If you want to find out more about them go here. I think the history behind their origins is very interesting.

The first tent we came upon was Paulaner - but when we saw the white table clothes we thought - NO WAY - we need craziness and dancing on tables:) So we just walked around their tent and on to the next. But it was beautiful - see:

Paulaner

The next tent was J.W. Augustiner. We REALLY wanted a beer but were told that you had to have a seat to be able to get one. Of course there were no open seats, so I asked a waitress if we might be able to "get a beer". She said "Vate right here". She then continued to smoke two cigarettes and I was like "what the hell is going on" but I wasn't about to ask again in fear that she might say no - so we "vated".

Then she started yelling something at another woman - went away for about 5 minutes and then came back with our 4 beers and pulled us over to a table. We were on the "outside" of the fence and there were lots of signs that said "YOU CAN NOT STAND HERE" in big letters and NO ONE else was standing there - but hey the waitress said we could - so no questions from us!

The 1 liter beers at the Oktoberfest were going for 8.50 Euro, but the waitresses pretty much expected 10 Euro. A lot of them take unpaid leave from their "real" jobs to waitress at the Oktoberfest because it is so lucrative! Our waitress was really nice, and we ended up finding out a bunch of information from her. If you want a reservation for a table you basically have to make it ONE YEAR in advance, because that is how quickly they fill up. And when you make the reservation it is for 2 beers and a chicken:) I thought that was a fun tidbit:)

So here she is -our waitress - who Nathan now fondly refers to as "His Girlfriend" - don't they look cute together? She could carry about 12 of those 1 liter beers at one time! It was amazing! I tried to get a picture, but was never at the right angle, and I thought she might kill me if I stopped her while she was carrying all that and said "Can I take your picture?":) And yes, my husband has a Miller "Champagne of Beers" hat on at Oktoberfest!:)

So that tent was a lot of fun - we made some friends, ate some BIG pretzels, drank some beer but it was time to move on - next up Hofbrauhaus!

Now this is where it got interesting! The Hofbrauhaus is obviously the party tent! We tried the same trick with asking a waitress and it worked again! We were outside the "rail" but so were lots of people and obviously the Hofbrauhaus didn't care about fire safety!:)

We found out that this tent was set up a little different - so they still had the tables you could reserve a year in advance, but they also had standing tables in the back that were first come first serve. We started talking to the people on the "other side" of the rail at the tables - they were US Marines stationed in Germany and we had a lot of fun with them! They ended up giving us their place when they left by helping us climb the railing!:)

Here are some pics from the Hofbrauhaus - definitely my favorite tent! Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries around 8 pm so I don't have any of the late night craziness (it definitely got crazier by the hour). I'm also really bummed that I don't have a picture of the two Russians that Nathan gave his phone number to and told them to come visit us in the States when we get back - good times!:)

One liter beers are fun!!!!!

Most people were dressed up in the traditional Bavarain outfits of Lederhosen and Dirndls - these guys.... not so much:)

It was definitely a party atmosphere! People were singing with the band, dancing, and just having a good time. They played a lot of american songs - I think here it was Sweet Home Alabama:)

I'm not exactly sure how Nathan and I had the sense to get ourselves back to our hotel but we did! I say this b/c apparently I ate a huge plate of fried potatoes and honestly have no recollection at ALL of doing that:)

So needless to say Nathan and I were hurting a little the next morning (my parents were a little more sensible with the amount of beer they drank), but we rallied and went on the Sandeman FREE Walking Tour of Munich (Nathan had done one of these in Prague and really enjoyed it!) The tour is technically free, but they ask you to tip for what you think it was worth at the end.

The walking tour was 3 hours long and highlighted many of the significant city landmarks made infamous by the Third Reich. I thought our tour guide was very knowledgeable and I would recommend doing this if you are in Munich. Munich has so much history - I can't possibly recap it for you here - but if you are in Germany I think it should be on your list of "must visit" cities (even without Oktoberfest:)) Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures to show you either b/c I was a little hungover and didn't take my camera out much:(

Dodger's Alley Tribute - This is the gold line painted in the road as a memorial to all who refused to salute the Nazi plaque on the wall in the main street and went down this alley instead.

The New Town Hall in Marienplatz - home of the famous Glockenspiel - rated #2 on Most Overated Tourist Attractions in Europe:)

We spent the rest of the day revisiting some of the spots on the tour (you don't get to spend that much time at each place), checking out the market, and finally walking through the English Gardens.

We stumbled across something REALLY cool at the English Gardens - Surfing! What?! Yes - surfing! So cool! So there are a bunch of streams running through the garden, but at this one bridge (I think it was on Prinzregenstrasse) there were waves (I'm not sure how there were waves but there were). Check out the video:

That night we ate at the Ratskeller - a traditional cellar restaurant in the Rathaus (city hall) basement. The Rathaus is the beautiful building with all the flowers in Marienplatz. I was worried it would be hard to get a table because there were tons of people in Munich but the place was so huge that it wasn't a problem at all. The food was really good and I would recommend it if you were visiting Munich.

The next morning we went to Dachau, the site of Germany's first concentration camp under the Hitler regime. Now it is a memorial to those who died under the Nazis. Some 200,000 prisoners passed through Dachau's gates between 1933 and 1945, of whom 32,000 lost their lives from disease, starvation, torture, execution, slave labor, and medical experiments. The museum with all the pictures of the horrors of the Holocaust, stories from survivors, and detailed explanations as to how such atrocities came to pass was a very sobering experience. We were at Dachau for about 3 hours, and still didn't get to read all the information in the museum. Visiting Dachau and walking through the gas chambers and crematorium gave us a creepy feeling that is hard to describe. How could people be so evil? There was a plaque near the museum exit that said "those who forget the past are destined to repeat it". This was the main statement throughout the memorial and the reason they are still educating people on the Holocaust today. If you are in Munich, I would definitely recommend this day tour. The memorial is free, but we purchased the audio tour. I enjoyed the audio tour, but the memorial is so well documented (in English) that it wasn't absolutely necessary.

The Gate at Dachau Translated to "Work will set you free", this sign hung over the entryway to all camps.

The "Roll Call" Area Everyday the tired and sick were forced to take roll call at attention, a long and painful process that was part of the torture

The Living Quarters - the camp was originally built to hold 6,000 prisoners but at its height it held 30,000

The Crematorium

Now back to the train station to head home to Zurich:( Why is it that when you are on vacation the time flies by, but when you are working sometimes the days seem to drag on?:) So not fair!

Well that was the end of our adventures for a while. Back to "normal" life. But what I want to know is "Hey Nathan, where are we going next?!"

Love to Everyone! Mandy

More pictures from Munich.

Vienna - The city of Weiners

Vienna or Wein as the Europeans call it is full of Weiners (people from Wein:)) Nathan loved Wein while we were there, and said he could definitely live there, but I'm not sure I could be a Weiner:)

Is this kind of like Wallyworld?:)

Anyway!:) We arrived at the Marriott which was right on the "ring" street! What an amazing location we stayed in! The hotel was located directly across from Stadtpark and within 10 minute walking distance from St. Stephan's Cathedral! Thank you Nathan!

Day 1

So the first morning we got up and headed over to the Hofburg Palace to see the world famous Lippizzaner horses at the Spanish Riding School! We were there on a Tuesday so we couldn't see a regular performance (friday-sunday only) so went to see a morning exercise session. The building where they perform is really cool and the horses are amazingly beautiful, but my uncultured husband wasn't really into the "exercise" routine.:) I thought it would be kind of a rehearsal for the real show, but really they were just exercising - trotting, galloping, whatever it is that horses do:) But at one point Nathan held a fake gun to his head- so I guess that was our key to leave:)

Hofburg Palace

Lipizzaner Horses at the Spanish Riding School

Next up - Bonnie (Nathan's mom) had suggested that we take one of the site seeing buses around the city to get a handle on all the sites (Vienna is quite big and slightly overwhelming when you first arrive). She had done that and really enjoyed it - so that's what we did! There are several different bus tours, but we went on the Vienna Sightseeing bus - I thought it was very good and they had a lot of interesting facts and history about Vienna and the sites we were seeing! We definitely got to see more of the city this way - not sure if we would have made it out to Prater to see the Giant Ferris Wheel without the bus! We took the two hour tour and I think it was a good use of 16 euro!

Sightseeing bus

After this we decided to walk around the city and see up close the things we liked from the bus tour. We started with St. Stephan's Cathedral - Vienna's best known landmark.

St. Stephan's Cathedral

Then we had the best day just walking around the city! I love doing that! What a great way to get a really feel for the city! I have no idea how many miles we walked but it was a lot! We walked through Stadtpark, the Naschmarkt, Museums Quartier, Burggarten, little side streets and more that I can't remember!:) Nathan kept saying "I could live here":) Can you say we liked it?!:)

While we were waiting for the tram to take us back to our hotel I saw this sign!

Are you kidding me?! This was an ad in the middle of the city at a TRAM stop! I knew I liked Vienna!:)

So although they were talking about a party on Thursday we decided to take their advice and party it up at the Heuriges (local wine taverns) in Grinzig! Yes my mom and I are winos from WAAAAAAAAAY back! I 100% suggest doing this if you go to Vienna! Take Tran 38 from Schottentor to the end of the line.

We ended up at Heurige Zum Martin Sepp - great food and great WHITE wine! Yes - I said white wine! These heuriges mostly made white wine because of their location in Austria. But it was really good!

After Zum Martin Sepp we went to another place (that I can't remember the name of) but they served us wine in beer mugs - uh oh! Maybe we were over served but it was a lot of fun!:)

Two beer steins of wine? This can't be good....

Yes - two steins of wine leads to fondling of the statues - good times!:)

Great time in the Grinzig Heuriges!

Day 2

This morning we started our day at a local coffee house - the Viennese are very proud of their "coffee culture". My mom did say it was some of the best coffee she ever had!

Then on to Schonbrunn Palace. When they say you can take four hours here they aren't lying! We toured the Palace then all the grounds - more beautiful gardens! (My mom loves flowers which is one of the reasons I wanted her to come to Austria - they love their gardens in this country!)

Out front of the Palace

View of the Palace and Gardens from the Gloriette

Aren't those the cutest topiaries you've ever seen!:)

We didn't make it to the Rathaus the day before so we went to see it up close! There was a Circus there and we stopped for a bite to eat and some beer.

Rathaus

I got suckered into eating one of these whole fried fish - head, eyeballs, tail, and all! Yuck!

We were all a bit tired (my Dad and I had caught a cold on the trip) so we came back to the hotel so the boys could go to the sauna before the Opera! Good times:)

This night we headed to the Vienna Opera House to see the opera Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades). I had no idea I would love the Opera so much! I think it helped that they had little "teleprompter" things in front of each seat that translated the words - boy did that help! Either way the show and the singing were amazing! I purchased our seats at the last minute (why I didn't get them earlier I don't know....) so our seats were on the side and we could only see about 2/3 of the stage which was kind of a bummer, but it just makes me want to go back for another one! Does anyone know if all opera houses have those little teleprompter screens?:)

Can you see the "teleprompter"? It is to the right of my head:) Yeah for technology!:)

Such a beautiful Opera House!

If you have never been to an Opera please go if you happen to be in Vienna! Highlight of the whole trip for sure!

Day 3

We got up and headed to the train station for Munich - I hated to say goodbye to Vienna, but Oktoberfest was calling our name!

Prost! See you in Munich,

Mandy

Here are the rest of the Vienna pictures!