Vienna- Vibrant and Vivacious!

Ok, so I love using alliteration to title my blog posts. Please forgive me!

Over the first full weekend in June Kate and I went to Vienna. Kate's days in Europe were numbered and it was still a site left on her list.

Thanks to my sister, AGAIN, we were able to stay at a super fancy hotel that we could not have afforded otherwise! We had a room that looked down on the Opera House and had a small balcony that you could peer down below from. The Opera House shows the live operas on a large screen outside where you can sit and watch the show for free. The opera that is performed changes each night and every day the sets and costumes are moved to and from the main opera house to storage locations outside the building. This we learned on an Opera House tour. We were able to go backstage and see the crew preparing for the night's show. While we were in Vienna they offered The Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola. 

the view from our room- Opera House and the big screen

behind the scenes

beautiful chandeliers

We toured St. Stephen's Cathedral in the heart of Venice. In it's earlier days, the windows had stained glass but much of the glass was ruined during World War II. Now, they have a pretty cheesy set up, with regular glass and colored sheets of plastic adorning it, but it still produces a pretty amazing effect. I'm particularly fond of St. Stephen's roof, with its excellent geometric design. 

outside of St. Stephen's

a Hipstamatic filtered version of the interior

wow!

We also toured the Hofburg Palace and Treasury. This was the central Vienna home of during the Habsburg Empire, home of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth, Emperor and Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. The life of the Empress Sisi, as she was known was more predominantly displayed at the palace. There's also a museum dedicated to her life and her 1898 assassination. There's a Spanish riding school at the palace that has daily performances of the famous Lipizzaner stallions. We didn't have time this trip, so maybe a return weekend is in order.

nearby the Palace is this much more interesting building, which I think is a library

We had beautiful weather in Vienna and enjoyed exploring the city and stumbling upon some unexpected things, like a canal-side set of small stages with a variety of local bands playing. I enjoyed a Radler (lemonade and beer) while waiting for a tram tour of the city ring. And, we had a few minutes to stop and smell the roses literally and take some great pictures.

yum.

wow! one of my favorites!