Day 354, Vienna, Austria
We had to say goodbye to our view of the Danube to drive three hours to Vienna, Austria. The owner and his friend came to clean the apartment and helped us take our bags to the car. I got to see the tight parking job Paul had to do into a concrete cubicle. It was impressive, maybe 3 inches on either side, max. That’s with the mirrors folded in. The lights in the underground lot were timed, and went off as we were packing up. We finished loading up the car by the light of phone flashlights.
The drive was to Vienna was all highway. At the border there were just a couple of men standing by the side of the road, choosing which cars to pull over to check for whatever their reasons. They waved us through.
We’ve been to Austria before, but never to Vienna. Beautiful city with an air of affluence to it.
Our hotel was a family run business, third generation. The couple was very friendly and the man reminded me a lot of Captain Kangaroo, but with a German accent.
Here we stayed in a three person room with a bathroom and a two person room with no bathroom. There are showers and toilets at the end of the hall. This is one of the cleanest hotels we have ever been in, ever, ever.
Cali had to get a bit of work done, so we stayed in while Paul went out to explore the city. I stayed back with the girls and we ate at the hotel restaurant, along with the owner’s huge black dog. The owner said he is like a Golden Retriever, but black. He was enormous and very gentle.
We ordered the traditional Austrian meals on the menu. Madi ordered the chicken and rice, but it turned out being a huge schnitzel with sliced almonds in the breading. Not what she was hoping for, so she ate some of Kier’s turkey and my fries. The owner commented how there is a word in German for everyone sharing their meal with each other. It’s true that we all did end up sharing our plates. That’s how we’ve gotten by, since it’s often an unpredictable result when we order food.
The owner was so nice to us, making jokes and just being very attentive. Nothing better than family run places. We were only staying in Vienna for two days. The owner asked where we were going next and we replied Prague for four nights. He said it would have been better to stay in Vienna for 4 and Prague for 2. And there you have it.
Meanwhile Paul got a few pictures of the city center, which we will explore tomorrow. He also got some exercise by walking the 3.5 miles from the center to the hotel. He does that sort of thing for fun and all the more reason why he needs to do that sort of exploring on his own.