Before we knew it there was but one day left. Our time had just flown by and there was still so much we wanted to do and see. Above all we just wanted to do nothing in our new favorite cities. We'd brainstormed about having the cats stuffed into a FedEx box with some holes poked in the side and shipped to us. BMS has offices in both Prague and Vienna, and I can take pictures anywhere... can we move here? I think this is a common question amongst travelers. How can we move here and make it work? But I digress...
We started our day with a subway trip to the Prater Amusement park to ride on the Wiener Riesenrad (Giant Viennese Ferris Wheel) which also happened to be another great location from The Third Man where Orson Welles delivers the great speech: "Victims? Don't be melodramatic. Look down there. Tell me. Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever? If I offered you twenty thousand pounds for every dot that stopped, would you really, old man, tell me to keep my money, or would you calculate how many dots you could afford to spare? Free of income tax, old man. Free of income tax - the only way you can save money nowadays." The Riesenrad sits in a giant amusement park that is open 365 and looked like it might have been a nice time at night. The view from the top is expansive, but not impressive as Vienna really doesn't have a very impressive skyline. It seems like the majority of buildings are 7 floors or smaller...
Next we made our way to the Stephansdom, an iconic church in the heart of Vienna and apparently also the thing to do for every other tourist in Vienna that day! The plaza was mobbed! So much so that it took the wind out of our sails and we had no interest in waiting in line to press up against people in another church. So we contented ourselves with a few pictures outside (despite the scaffolding) and made our way to the next stop which was right around the corner...Mozarthaus.
This was not Mozart's first home in Vienna, nor was it the last home he owned, but it is where he lived during the 5 most prosperous and creative years of his life. The tour was wonderful and spanned through the entire building and highlighted his work, his gambling addiction, and his dedication to the Freemasons. It was really fascinating and I recommend for both fans and non-fans alike.
Now we were fast running out of time as we had dinner reservations at Figmueller's (considered the very best schnitzel in the world!) and still wanted to browse a street filled with shops that we'd discovered on our first night to Vienna, but also had the Hofburg Gardens to view... we decided nothing could possibly beat the Shonnbrun's gardens and so the Hofburg's was off the list and it was time to shop! So back to the hotel to freshen up and change and then we were off once again and to our surprise and delight we arrived to find the street was having a festival with most of the shops participating! We strolled up and down checking things out for a bit until we realized that most of the places were packing it in! Oh no, we still had gifts to buy! What started as a leisurely stroll ended in slight panic as we rushed around trying to find the perfect gifts... well some of you know how this turned out already :) In the end we found some very nice things that evoked the perfect Vienna and to celebrate we found a nice sidewalk cafe to rest until it was time to eat.
Figmuller's is the mecca of schnitzel! If you go to their website: http://www.figlmuller.at/ you will get the full lesson on choice cut meats, best flour, and the 3 pan process for cooking! I can't imagine how many dishwashers this place employs! I'm not one to judge value on quantity, but if you are the type that likes to see food flowing over the sides of your plate than this is for you! I kid you not, they pound out the meat until it is almost paper thin and one schnitzel is as long as a man's arm from finger tip to elbow...and they even offer a double portion plate! We both chose to get a small salad, a side of potato salad and one schnitzel each. The side salads have a lot of potato salad and the side of potato salad has greens and such with it, so order one or the other but not both. I'd also recommend ordering one and splitting it and ordering a second if still hungry. Also note that they don't serve beer here, only wine... in giant beer glasses! But anyway, note that while not every one's cup of tea, the young wine that the region is known for goes well with the breaded and fried pork you have come for :)
The trip was winding down. We took or last stroll back to the hotel and stopped for the last "street-vendor bought" beer and Jager shot then headed home. We had an early morning to what would be one of the worst travel experiences ever and we needed our sleep...
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