Since Friday was a day off from classes Matthew, Melissa and I decided to venture to Vienna for a long weekend. Just under 5 hours by bus ,Vienna was the perfect place to spend 3 relaxing days going in and out of museums, palaces, and restaurants.
We learned a lot about Vienna's history including-and most importantly- the royal family that reigned for over 600 years, the Habsburgs. We toured both of their palaces in Vienna, the Hofburg palace right in the city center and their quaint 'summer home' just a 20 minute walk from Hofburg. At the first palace we saw a great collection of diningware and silver that was actually quite fantastic. Then we learned more about the Empress Elisabeth 'Sisi' from the 1800s and her dramatic entrance into the world of royalty... and its equally dramatic exit. Finally we were able to tour the imperial apartments and see their digs. With a nice audio guide we left both palaces feeling the spirit of Sisi et al around us for the remaining time in Vienna.
With nice weather all weekend we successfully completed Rick Steves' walking tour of the city on Saturday afternoon. One VERY important stop was to the original Sacher cafe, home of the Sacher torte aka the best chocolate cake I've ever had in my whole life. I got a recipe but to be honest I don't think that magic can be recreated in my current kitchen-condition.
Habsburgs, museums, german, schnitzel, and good company took over the weekend and here I am back in Prague in the middle of another work week. Time is flying by and school is as busy as ever with Cambridge exam prep round the clock and new business clients scattered throught the city.
PS pictures to come--I'm uploading over 200 now to my Picasa web album but the central European internet speed is taking it's precious time... will share the link soon I hope!
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