Vienna, Austria
October 8-10
Day 12 – Vienna
See Mauthausen page to read about the day trip we took to Mauthausen Concentration Camp on the way to Vienna
Once again, we arrived to our hotel in Vienna, Hotel Am Stephansplatz, just before dinnertime. Our local guide, Wolfgang, led the group on a quick orientation walking tour before setting us free for dinner. Carolyn and Mike had been on another tour with Fabian where they had a group dinner at a great place, so we managed to find that restaurant and enjoy an enormous, family-style dinner of all sorts of wonderful Austrian foods.
Day 13 - Vienna
Today, we continued with Wolfgang to tour a couple of Vienna sites in detail. First, we were granted entry to the Hofburg Imperial Apartments prior to the regular opening time. We then explored the jewels of the Hofburg Treasury. And finally, completed our walking tour with a visit to the Kaisergruft (Imperial Crypt) to see how the Hapsburgs buried their dead.
After the tour, we were on our own for lunch and had free time until our last dinner with the tour group. A few of us found our way to a church where there is a free organ concert every afternoon.
Fabian took us all to Schübel-Auer Heuriger, in the vineyard village of Nussdorf. We all piled into a streetcar for the ride out and back, and enjoyed many glasses of great local wine, along with a fabulous buffet dinner.
As this was the last night the whole group would be together, we took the opportunity to gather email addresses from the group and take some last photos before saying goodbye.
Day 14 - Vienna
The tour was over after breakfast this morning, however, a few of us stayed an extra day or so. I had reached out to the hotel over the summer to confirm an extra night, so I was able to stay in the same room for a discounted rate. When I did go to the airport on Tuesday, I walked down the street from the hotel to where I easily found the airport bus and before I knew it had arrived at Vienna International Airport.
Until next time, happy travels!
