Day 13: All Day in Classy Vienna. We'll start our day with a walking tour of this refined, graceful city. The rest of your day is free to explore more of
Vienna's highlights, such as the grand opera house, world-class museums, or cozy coffee houses. As it's our last night together, we'll enjoy a farewell Viennese feast.
We started off our Vienna stay with a tour of Schönbrunn Palace, on the outskirts of Vienna. The place is simply immense. The public is allowed in only a small portion of it, but that portion was huge! Afterward, we were able to tour the beautiful gardens before a thunderstorm rolled in and the rain started falling in earnest.
The next morning, we woke up to the quiet of no rain! We went on a walking tour of Vienna with Wolfgang, our very colorful tour guide. It was amazing to see excavations of ancient ruins still going on. The history in Europe runs deep, literally!
And then, over lunch came yet another highlight: Berner Würstel. Chris had ordered this magnificent dish on the road a few days earlier, not knowing exactly what he was in for. At the very next opportunity, everyone (except Chris!) ordered it: a sausage, stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon, and then deep-fried. With a side of fries. Simply delicious. Heaven on a plate.
After our feast, we headed off to the Kuntshistorisches Museum, seeing the fabulous work of old masters, including Rembrandt and my favorite, Caravaggio. We took a tram back to the hotel. While the kids rested, Chris went off to hike a church steeple or two. I had run out of Swiss chocolate (how did that happen?) and so headed off in search of a place to restock.
We rendezvoused with the whole tour group in the hotel lobby to walk to the restaurant for our last dinner together. On the way to the restaurant, it started to rain. By this time, we welcomed the rain. It had been our steady companion throughout the whole tour. Somehow it would have seemed wrong if we didn't see it on our last day. Umbrellas popped up, like popcorn in hot oil, and we smiled knowingly at each other. We were all very proud. We were now on record as Margaret's rainiest tour ever, and our bragging rights were solidified.
We lingered over the meal, swapping email addresses and sharing stories and laughs. Earlier in the day, as we discussed the possibilities for a thank you gift for Margaret and Keith, we knew there was really only one choice: Umbrellas, signed by all the members of the Soggy Dog Tour.
