 |
| Having fun at the Plague Monument! |
Oh. My. Goodness! What a simply wonderful day!!! After a restful night of beautiful, glorious sleep we set out to show George the Vienna city center.
We took the U-bahn right to the heart of the city, Stephansplatz. Riding the underground with George is a bit different, simply because we have to find the elevators. We never really noticed before but there are lots of little ones being pushed in strollers here, so we certainly aren't alone. I think people the world over love babies, so George continues to make lots of friends and seems to be fluent in German.
 |
| St. Stephans |
 |
| George is mesmerized |
We ducked in St. Stephans cathedral to give George his first European cathedral experience. He was not disappointed. In the words of the lovely Australian lady he impressed, George was "mesmerized". I couldn't help but think of the first time I visited this cathedral. It was for Easter Mass in 1998. I would have never imagined being back over 18 years later with a 7 month old!
 |
| Manner and horses with my buddy, yay! |
 |
| Yes, I would very much like to try this, thank you! |
Next stop? Manner store, of course! We purchased some lovely treats, Manner Museli cereal (OMG!!!), and a Manner onesie for George (because George can totally pull off wearing pink, watch for pictures to come).
 |
| Heldenplatz with a royal view |
 |
| Isn't he adorable!?! |
We all enjoyed strolling around the pedestrian zone and people watching. George just happily took it all in. We grabbed some picnic fare to go from the fancy Julius Meinl grocery and then headed to the Heldenplatz for lunch and fun in the shade.
 |
| I spy my guys in the Volksgarten (Burgtheater in the background) |
 |
| Having fun in the Burggarten |
 |
| The elephant was too hot to sit on today |
From here we walked through the Volksgarten and the Rathauspark pointing out the Burgtheater, Rathaus and Parliament buildings. Then through the Theresienplatz for a photo opt at the elephant statue outside the Natural History Museum and then more fun in the shade in the Burggarten.
 |
| Hotel Sacher (the opera house is just across the street) |
No visit to Vienna is complete without a stop to the Sacher Cafe for a coffee and a slice of their famous torte. It's a bit touristy, yes, but the atmosphere is delightful, the staff is lovely, and the refreshments are delicious! George made friends with our waiter and enjoyed watching all the busses, cars, motorcycles, and people passing by. He really wanted to try the torte too, but made do with a clean spoon instead.
 |
| Loved the white interior of the Augustinerkirche |
 |
| Minoritenkirche, took almost 100 years to build during the 13th and 14th centuries |
We explored two, new to us, churches - the Minoritenkirche and Augustinerkirche and took a final walk around the grand Hofburg palace complex before heading back to Stephansplatz and then home for the night.
 |
| George asleep at the Hofburg |
 |
| George asleep on Augustinerstrasse |
 |
| George loving life with Mommy at the Mozart Statue, Burggarten |
A big treat for me today was some Mommy alone time shopping for music in the
Musikhaus Doblinger, THE place for the musician in Vienna. I picked up several interesting looking flute pieces for myself/students and a CD of kindermusic for George (music of Smetana and Mendelssohn on the Deutschegrammaphone label, so I figured I couldn't go wrong there!).
George is doing so well with the jet lag, but he still gets a bit upset in the middle of the night. Still, we are all sleeping much better in real beds than on the plane!
