Caile's visit to Vienna!
Caile came to visit me this past week, which meant life was pretty hectic for 8 days but also tons of fun. It would've been better if I hadn't had to work, but some things are unavoidable, especially with short notice. It worked out fine in the end.
Here is a laundry list of what we did:
Saturday - Caught up on sleep and jet lag, then went out to Pickwick's, which is where the pub quiz used to be held, to meet with some of my knitting friends for a birthday. We then proceeded to be led along on a pointless mission to find a house party with bad directions, then go to a sketchy club, but we girls aborted that mission after about an hour (or more?) of wandering and waiting and went to 1516 instead, which is an American style sports bar. Had food, got home late.
Sunday - Took Caile on a tour of the city center, the first district. We caught the last day of the Wiener Eistraum in front of the Rathaus, which consisted of lots of ice rinks and some cute little stands like they had at Christmas - which meant that Caile got to try some real Viennese Glühwein! After that we hit up the outside of nearly every important building in the center, with extra time devoted to Stephansdom, which is kind of THE city landmark. And we went into the catacombs underneath it, where they stashed urns containing organs of the Habsburgs, as well as mass graves for plague victims from about 1740-1780. It was SO COOL, but sadly photos were not allowed :( Next, we went to knitting group, picked up a couple more people, and went to a typical Austrian restaurant, the Esterhazykeller, where Caile got to have Schnitzel (pork though, not veal). After that we went to the Hotel Sacher to have some Sachertorte, which was tasty, per usual. THEN we went to an Irish pub, where a group of guys literally ran out on their bill. A street fight ensued between them and the pub staff, and eventually the cops and an ambulance came onto the scene to sort things out. It was really exciting!
Monday - We went to see the Alphonse Mucha exhibit at Belvedere, as well as the standard collection (which includes Klimt's The Kiss. Then we had yummy Asian food, went to a pub to play some Austrian Trivial Pursuit, and came home. But not before getting some Döner!! It's like Austria's version of Taco Bell - what else are you supposed to eat in the middle of the night? (Wurst)
Tuesday - Had to work! Eep! And then came home and took a very long nap. Caile went out and did something on her own, not sure what. But then we made Käsespätzle without a recipe! Though we didn't make the noodles ourselves. But it was sooooo good! Emmenthaler cheese (and a little provolone and Gouda, because we were low on Emmenthaler), onions, garlic, little bits of bacon, and some seasoning. YUM. It tasted like it came from a restaurant. After we gorged ourselves on that, we went out for gelato at Zanoni & Zanoni.
Wednesday - I didn't get home until 6 on Wednesday, and we had our new quiz night at 8, so that's pretty much all we did. I guess I'll post the questions later. We did win free shots for having the best group name, though, so that was cool.
Thursday - Went to Hopferl in the first district for dinner, where we had extremely yummy goulash. Then we went to one of the famous Viennese cafes, Cafe Griensteidl, which was kind of a center of intellectual activity at the turn of the 20th century. It's another landmark. And after that, we went to Pickwick's again and sang karaoke!! Which was a little crazy, but fun. It would've been better if there had been more tables participating, though.
Friday - Went to the Staatsoper and saw Tchaikovsky's opera, Eugene Onegin, which was really, really good. It started off pretty slowly, but I was totally loving it by the end. Also, the orchestral music was simply gorgeous on its own. I might have to go back and see that one again. After that we went to an American bar by me called Shooters, but they closed the kitchen right before we ordered :( So after a little while we left and got Käsekrainer, which are wurst with cheesy bits inside. So so sooooo good.
Saturday was a long day - went to the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery), where we saw many famous people's graves. Then we went to Demel (another famous cafe), then a great Tex-Mex restaurant, and an Eastern-inspired bar/club. Lots and lots of stuff done.
Anyway, sorry it was so long. If you made it this far, here are some photos from the week as a reward. I didn't take that many, though, so Caile's got all the rest. These are from the opera and Zentralfriedhof.
Here is a laundry list of what we did:
Saturday - Caught up on sleep and jet lag, then went out to Pickwick's, which is where the pub quiz used to be held, to meet with some of my knitting friends for a birthday. We then proceeded to be led along on a pointless mission to find a house party with bad directions, then go to a sketchy club, but we girls aborted that mission after about an hour (or more?) of wandering and waiting and went to 1516 instead, which is an American style sports bar. Had food, got home late.
Sunday - Took Caile on a tour of the city center, the first district. We caught the last day of the Wiener Eistraum in front of the Rathaus, which consisted of lots of ice rinks and some cute little stands like they had at Christmas - which meant that Caile got to try some real Viennese Glühwein! After that we hit up the outside of nearly every important building in the center, with extra time devoted to Stephansdom, which is kind of THE city landmark. And we went into the catacombs underneath it, where they stashed urns containing organs of the Habsburgs, as well as mass graves for plague victims from about 1740-1780. It was SO COOL, but sadly photos were not allowed :( Next, we went to knitting group, picked up a couple more people, and went to a typical Austrian restaurant, the Esterhazykeller, where Caile got to have Schnitzel (pork though, not veal). After that we went to the Hotel Sacher to have some Sachertorte, which was tasty, per usual. THEN we went to an Irish pub, where a group of guys literally ran out on their bill. A street fight ensued between them and the pub staff, and eventually the cops and an ambulance came onto the scene to sort things out. It was really exciting!
Monday - We went to see the Alphonse Mucha exhibit at Belvedere, as well as the standard collection (which includes Klimt's The Kiss. Then we had yummy Asian food, went to a pub to play some Austrian Trivial Pursuit, and came home. But not before getting some Döner!! It's like Austria's version of Taco Bell - what else are you supposed to eat in the middle of the night? (Wurst)
Tuesday - Had to work! Eep! And then came home and took a very long nap. Caile went out and did something on her own, not sure what. But then we made Käsespätzle without a recipe! Though we didn't make the noodles ourselves. But it was sooooo good! Emmenthaler cheese (and a little provolone and Gouda, because we were low on Emmenthaler), onions, garlic, little bits of bacon, and some seasoning. YUM. It tasted like it came from a restaurant. After we gorged ourselves on that, we went out for gelato at Zanoni & Zanoni.
Wednesday - I didn't get home until 6 on Wednesday, and we had our new quiz night at 8, so that's pretty much all we did. I guess I'll post the questions later. We did win free shots for having the best group name, though, so that was cool.
Thursday - Went to Hopferl in the first district for dinner, where we had extremely yummy goulash. Then we went to one of the famous Viennese cafes, Cafe Griensteidl, which was kind of a center of intellectual activity at the turn of the 20th century. It's another landmark. And after that, we went to Pickwick's again and sang karaoke!! Which was a little crazy, but fun. It would've been better if there had been more tables participating, though.
Friday - Went to the Staatsoper and saw Tchaikovsky's opera, Eugene Onegin, which was really, really good. It started off pretty slowly, but I was totally loving it by the end. Also, the orchestral music was simply gorgeous on its own. I might have to go back and see that one again. After that we went to an American bar by me called Shooters, but they closed the kitchen right before we ordered :( So after a little while we left and got Käsekrainer, which are wurst with cheesy bits inside. So so sooooo good.
Saturday was a long day - went to the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery), where we saw many famous people's graves. Then we went to Demel (another famous cafe), then a great Tex-Mex restaurant, and an Eastern-inspired bar/club. Lots and lots of stuff done.
Anyway, sorry it was so long. If you made it this far, here are some photos from the week as a reward. I didn't take that many, though, so Caile's got all the rest. These are from the opera and Zentralfriedhof.