It was raining again today. We went for Breakfast at our favourite cafe - Linda had an egg with her roll and I had a latte to start the day. We then went and visited another Christmas Market, before going back to the Hotel to pack the cases and then leave them in reception for the day. It was still raining so we took the tram to the Rathaus.
I am confused - not difficult I hear some of you say, but when you go the zoo and go to the Elephant house you see elephants or the monkey house you see monkey - but when we went to the Rathaus I didn't see any rats! Well apart for a few drowned ones – there was not even ratatouille on the menu.
After walking through the Rathaus and the Chrismas market we went to Cafe Griensteidl for coffee. It was very expensive especially as Linda wanted a cake as well. It got even worse - you had to pay to go to the bathroom as well.
After this we got on another tram, which was very packed, and went for a ride and I found her another Christmas market - but this one appeared to be closed probably due to the rain. We then went for a walk and found my favourite market near the museum where they do the berry punch and so I had a cup of this - before we walked to the Opera house. There are a lot of old buildings in Vienna and some are very beautiful.
We needed another cup of coffee and really to use the bathroom – so we went to the Cafe Mozart and got caught out – the coffee was nice, but you had to pay to use the bathroom – and Linda will not pay under any circumstances.
It was now 3.30pm and still raining so we went back to the hotel using the underground and finally able to use the bathroom without paying! We collected our bags and then was going to get a tram to the underground station – but it was going the wrong way – so we walked.
We got the underground to Wien Mitte – and from their the S-Bahn to the airport. We arrived with plenty of time to check in and have a snack and coffee before we boarded the plane.
It took about 2 hours to get back – and then we landed back in England.
I haven't even been to Starbucks today!!
You can see some photo’s here
Today is Linda’s birthday but I am not allowed to say how old she is. She spent half of her birthday in Austria and the other half in Slovakia. When she woke up this morning her first question wasn’t about presents or birthday cards – but could I switch the computer on so she could do her farm as her crops would be ready for harvesting!
I did remember to get her a birthday card and even brought it with me – my reputation will be in ruins! Although it was one she had made and I just added the envelope.
The Hotel breakfast was too expensive so we went to a local cafe. Linda had tea and rolls with honey, I had boiled egg with rolls and honey and a coffee. It was very nice and a lot cheaper than the hotel.
After this we found another two Christmas markets to look at in Vienna – they were both different but Linda didn’t buy anything – she must be ill! After this I had another surprise for her – we were going to Bratislava for the afternoon. It is only an hour on the train and it was a pleasant ride. It was raining in Vienna and it was raining when we arrived in Bratislava.
We arrived about 13.40 and it is about 20 minutes walk into town and we got wet. We saw the castle on the hill and then went into the old town – and another Christmas Market for Linda – she has now seen hundreds! Slovakia is a third world country – there is no Starbucks, so we had to go to a local cafe overlooking the main square. It was called the Scokocafe Maximilian Delikateso and Linda had a latte and I had a cappuccino. It was quite nice and relaxing. We then had another wander around the market and Linda had a garlic and cheese crepe to fill a gap. We then walked back to the railway station to catch the train back to Vienna – it was still raining.
We got back to Vienna about 5pm and then as it was still raining we used the underground to get back to the hotel.
We did some reading – I was reading Lord Moran’s book on Churchill and the ending was sad – Churchill died! Lord Moran was his doctor and gives a different perspective on Churchill's life. Linda is going to read it next, as she has finished her book, but she will be asking me questions every five minutes as she will be confused by the politics mentioned in the book. At the hotel we had a rest, checked in for the flight home tomorrow and there was even time for Linda to plant some raspberries.
About 8pm we went to the Christmas Markets, it was still raining so there were not so many people there – which meant you could see the stalls better. I had an apple punch, but it was not as good as the berry punch yesterday. Linda had a cake and then we shared some garlic bread. We wandered around and bought some gingerbread to take home.
It was then back to the hotel and Linda wanted to sit in the lounge and have a cup of tea and look at the Christmas tree. I didn’t get her a birthday cake – but did arrange for some apple strudel for her, which she enjoyed.
It was then back to our room to look at our photo’s, although most are quite grey and for Linda to harvest her crops.
You can see some photo's of the trip HERE
Linda did not have a clue where she was going. The only information she knew was it was a 3 hour flight, it was cold and they took Euros. Those who were putting their money on Prague or Paris were wrong. We had to leave home at 3.30am as it was a 6.45am flight from Heathrow on BA. We should have gone to bed early – but did not. I had booked in online and printed out the boarding passes so Linda was still unaware at the airport as with hand luggage we went straight to the security check.
As it was 5.30am nothing was open – apart from Starbucks! As we were hungry we had a coffee and Panini each. I fancied a skinny muffin, so I asked Linda to go and buy one and she asked “what flavour would I like”. I said “raspberry” and what did she come back with “blueberry”, but “I asked for a raspberry”. The reply, “oh these looked nice” – I will never understand her.
She then sat looking at the departure board and tried to work out where she was going – not very successfully. She did eliminate New York, Dubai, Toronto and Brussels and was thinking Barcelona or Sweden (Prague wasn’t an option). The Vienna plane was showing the gate number and as I hadn’t moved she eliminated that as well.
However I knew there was plenty of time and therefore didn’t rush. When we got to the gate, she realised we were going to Vienna and was excited as she has never been there. I have, as I stopped over for a visit when I was in Albania.
The plane wasn’t very full and it only took 90 minutes to get to Vienna ( I had slightly exaggerated on the 3 hours). We had a strong tail wind and used a fast jet stream according to the pilot. Its about 2 degrees here and a small bit of rain. We got the tube into the centre of Vienna and then had a walk around. Linda soon needed a cup of tea – and so we stopped at a cafe – and then she saw the cakes. that was it, she was hungry and a cake would fill the gap. She decided to have one with chocolate (of course), a vanilla mouse on banana and chocolate cake. I did try a small part, just to ensure it was suitable for my beloved. It was very good.
Its quite expensive here especially with the pound virtually at parity with the Euro. We had a wander around the city, found the Rathaus and several old buildings.
We are staying at the Hotel De France which was built in 1872. It is a first class hotel, free internet (Linda was very keen to find out about this – as she needs to check her farm), free mini bar and a nice big room. Breakfast is €26 per person, so we will do with the €2 croissants across the road. We are on the 6th floor and have a nice view of the north side of the city. As we had been up for many hours, we decided to have a snooze.
The reason I had chosen Vienna, apart for it being a romantic location for my beloved’s birthday, it has several Christmas Markets. Now Linda likes these- so I made a good choice. It was dark when we went out to visit the first one. It is in front of the Rathaus, rumour is they are going to hold ‘I am a Celebrity get me out of here’ here in 2010, it will be ideal all those rats in a house – save catching them in the jungle.
The Rathus was all lit up, the market was awash with little cabins and lights, we were having a romantic walk and there was a lovely Christmas tree – and the words of wisdom from my beloved’s mouth ‘that looks like the tree on my farm!’ I was speechless.
The market was very busy, with lot of people pushing and getting in the way. We bought some gingerbread and nuts and had a wander around. One stall was doing garlic bread so we shared that walking along. We then left that market and went to another one, it was more quiet. We bought some fruit punch and Linda, not realising it had alcohol in it, tried it – the look on her face was priceless. I enjoyed it and we bought some sausages and sauerkraut to go with it.
We then had a wander around the centre, seeing the museum and the old buildings and then I saw a star – and I though this would be good to follow it. So we followed the star – and no it didn't go to Bethlehem – but Starbucks. It was resting overhead – so it was natural to go in and have a latte!
After this we wandered back to the hotel through the streets and then watched some TV and Linda did her farm.
