Vienna

Palaces, castles, cathedrals, a beautiful tram that circles the city, high-end restaurants and famous cafes all create a magical atmosphere that engulfs Vienna.

We left Prague earlier in the day and entered Vienna from a bus that dropped us off on the outskirts of town when public transportation had stopped running. We knew about this, had our backpacks strapped and became the turtles we embraced so dearly. Slow, a bit wobbly and began making our way to the bedroom we rented from a guy that told us to message him when we got there. One problem, we needed wifi and no cafes were open.

We weren’t distressed - we passed by beautifully lined apartment buildings with flowers draped over the outside of window sills, awe-inspiring baroque statues littered all over the city and beautiful fountains that seemed to pump life back into our travel-weary legs.

Which Direction Are We Going Again?

The worst words you can hear when you’re tired, hungry and just want to find your bed for the night.

We didn’t have Wifi/Cell service, so we walked closely along buildings, empty restaurants and cafes looking for a wi-fi signal.

1-bar. 2-bars!! Send the message! Did it go through? No!? Keep going.

Finally, we found a pizza shop that was open. No one was inside eating (it was late) and a tired-looking individual popped out from the kitchen and saw our bags. ah, what do you want? PIzza..and wifi?? “Sit here. The wifi password is ___.”
“And, can we place our bags here?”
This was a small place and the ind. graciously allowed us to set down our packs by the door.

I looked at the menu quickly and ordered a pie. The wifi came up, the message was sent and a message came right back to us! We were close and he would be there when we got there!

The pizza? Easily the best pizza I’ve ever had ; )

Sachertorte - For Breakfast

When we woke up, we rolled out of bed, popped in for a quick shower - pure bliss - stepped outside feeling fresh, stopped for two apples and walked to Cafe Sacher.

It was Breanne’s birthday.

We stepped into the Hotel Sacher, home of the original Sachertorte. Sachertorte is chocolate cake - but it’s so much more than just chocolate cake. The chocolate itself is creamy, complex and dark. A smother of apricot gives a luscious touch of sweet and acid that cuts through the richness. The icing on top is cooled to ensure your fork takes a moment to stop - see the tranquility of what chocolate can bring to society and a glimpse of possible hardships farmers go through to deliver chocolate to a clean white plate that’s sitting in front of you and even groveled over - and when the fork reaches the spongy cake and lifts to your mouth, brain synapses light up to bring a smile to your face.

A perfect way to start out your birthday.