Weekend in Vienna Day 2

The next morning we had breakfast and Ron's friends Dietrich and Klara, along with their kids Mina and Heda, joined us for the day. They had went to college in Vienna and we were grateful they were available to show us around. 

We spent the day taking every form of transportation available (tram, bus, subway) touring the city. Ash was delighted! 

Pic going up to the city from the subway

We began at the Hofburg Palace where all the business happened during the days of the monarchy and where the Royalty lived during the winter months. 

Within the giant palace is the Spanish Riding School famous for their beautiful, well trained horses. This performance and structure has been around since the 1700s. We attended a practice session. 

Outside of the palace there are some newly unearthed Roman ruins of a villa.

From there we walked through the city center to the main cathedral. It was unbelievable. 

Neat monument on the way. 

City center

The cathedral 

The inside

Dietrich pointed the marking on the outside of the church to me

It is preserved now, but I guess when Austia was taken over by Germany during WWII there was an Austrian resistance movement that carved numerical codes into buildings as a sign to the people that all was not lost and they were still Austria. This was one of the codes. 

From there we had lunch in a museum quarter and checked out some more really beautiful buildings around the center. The kids started getting a bit restless so we went to the University courtyard and found a playground to unwind at. 

My only request was in the evening to check out a vineyard (something Vienna is known for) so Dietrich and Klara took me to the outskirts of the city for an authentic Austrian meal and some fine wine.

Pic of the kids hard at work there. 

We fit so much into one day. I really enjoyed seeing Vienna, such a beautiful place!