Vienna

From Prague we took the train to Vienna. But this train did not just have a number-- it had a name: the Franz Schubert. (Look hard-- second from top, left). So that set the mood nicely.

There was much more in Vienna than we could possibly do, but among the highlights:

-- Visiting St. Stephen's Cathedral, and climbing the North Tower

-- Touring the Imperial apartments of the Hofburg, the palaces used by the Hapsburg Emperors.

-- Learning about Emperor Franz Joseph's fascinating and troubled wife, Elizabeth, also known as "Sisi." She was a forerunner of Princess Diana, in almost every way, but even more complex in terms of her story.

-- Going to Vienna's Opera House twice. We got cheap standing room tickets for the ballet the first night. We didn't know it was a ballet-- we thought it would be an opera. They came out in tights and started dancing, and we thought-- when does the singing start? We asked people next to us-- can you hear them? By the second act we were resigned to the ballet (which turned out to be great in its own right). So we went back for a second night, got standing room tickets again, and this time they were putting on an Opera-- "Tosca." Bravo!

--Said hi to the Lipizzaner stallions, who were just hanging around.

--The Leopold Museum, packed with paintings by Klimt and also Egon Schiele.

-- The grand 'Kunst" museum-- part of the palace grounds.

-- Enjoying the original "Sacher tort" (with wonderful Viennese coffee).

-- Well, we had to try the torts at "Demel," too.

-- And some great sausages in bread out in the street.

Finally, one of the things we liked the most was the atmosphere in the cafes. They have an old world elegance, but they are also very relaxed. People come in, grab a free newspaper lying around on one of the tables, and drink coffee or wine or beer at their leisure. People stay for hours. No pressure. Sometimes people bring in (well-behaved) little dogs in sweaters who sit with them. The whole scene just seemed part of a very civilized lifestyle.

We hope to get back to Vienna one day, maybe in warmer weather when the palace gardens, and wine and beer gardens, are in full bloom.

We took off from Vienna for a train ride to Salzburg. That train did not have a name posted on the schedule, but we knew what it was: the Julie Andrews train. (Apologies to Mozart).