Vienna - Day Two

On our second day in Vienna, we had a little delay getting going so Matt could run to the mall down the street to buy a few things to beat the elements.

So thankful for the slingbox to entertain the girls!  Lifesaver! (Also a tiny view of our apartment in Vienna.)

When we finally got started, it was actually sunny out, but very windy and brisk.  We walked past some statues memorializing the War.

We learned that Austria is neutral now, and not part of NATO.  Neither of us (or the girls) knew this, or if we did, we forgot it.  Now we know.

We headed over to St. Stephen's Cathedral

After a quick peek inside (it was closing), we headed towards The Graben.

Look how cloudy it is.....  The Graben means ditch.  Originally a roman military camp.  This was a three lane road until the 1970s, when it was turned into one of the first pedestrian only zones in Europe.

We then headed to the Hofburg Palace.

The girls basically commandeered the audio guides, and in order for them to remain sane, Matt and I wandered around reading our guide book and the few placards on the walls.  Grace came out of it fascinated with Sisi, Empress Elizabeth.

They were on the Princess marketing bandwagon, in Vienna....they even had Sisi Barbie dolls to buy!  We did NOT come home with one!!

As we were leaving the Palace, the bottom fell out of the sky.  It was raining cats and dogs, absurdly windy and COLD.  As you can imagine, every indoor space was packed with people escaping the rain.  We trudged along for a bit, and finally collapsed into a covered outdoor cafe with heaters.  We tried to ride out the storm with cake, ice cream, coffee and hot chocolate....  which, in Germany we've always noticed everyone stops for huge ice cream sundaes and cake in the afternoon anyway....I guess Austria, too!  So it was fitting.  When it finally let up a little, we decided to head over to the Prater.  The Prater is a sprawling amusement park with a famous 220 foot tall ferris wheel.

 We figured by the time we got over there, the weather might be better, and if not, we'd at least see something different before calling it a day.  We really lucked out.  The weather did start to clear and it was something fun for the girls to do.  So we headed up into the ferris wheel.

Audrey wasn't sure about it at first.....

But once we got going, she was fine.....

 

Some graffiti for our Iowa followers....

The weather was much better was we were back on the ground, so we walked around the park, and told the girls they could pick one ride to do.  The both picked the pony carousal.  With real pony's!

I really wish I had gotten video of this.  Don't let Grace's smile above fool you.  Once they got moving, she maintained a straight faced look of complete apprehension the whole time.  With good reason, too.  The pony's did not walk slowly.  They were in a full trot.  Which was quite unexpected.  But Audrey was over the moon, grinning from ear to ear.  Matt and I were so excited for her.  Maybe too excited.  One time she passed us, I started clapping, and it must have scared her horse.  It started bucking.  We were so terrified she was going to fall off.  But thank God, she was really tied into that seat tightly, she barely moved.  But her joy quickly turned into tears and fear.  Poor thing.  They didn't stop the ride, and she held on and calmed down by the time they were done....she was a little shaken up, but I think she'd do it again.

So after that fun, we headed to dinner at the Beergarden inside the park, and had dinner and some seriously big beers to unwind!

And on our way out......  the ferris wheel lit up, a clear sunsetting sky ....

Stay tuned for Day 3....