The Snow Fell In Vienna!

Well, its official. Vienna was my last weekend trip while abroad. This has both positives and negatives. This means that soon I come home! But...my amazing trip is nearing its end. As of today, I come home in two and half weeks. Okay, I cant get a head of myself. The weekend of November 21-23, I went with my program to Vienna Austria. I knew it was going to be a good trip when on our way there, it began snowing. We stopped at a gas station and I was seriously so excited. I woke Meredith up on the bus so she could see the snow. Mind you she is from Montana where she sees snow often, but I was just too excited. We had a great bus ride and arrived in Vienna around three in the afternoon. We immeditely threw our bags in our room and went out to see the city. The beautiful snowy weather quickly turned on us as it began to pour down. This was not a typical Northwest shower, this was heavy drenching rain. In order to escape, we quickly found a little cafe' were we ordered hot chocolate and warmed ourselves up. We headed back to the hotel to change our clothes and figure out dinner plans. Our friends Cort and Andrew lucked out and got a huge suite on the top floor, so we hung out in their room a lot. Meredith's and my room was quite little, so it was nice to have a place to go and stretch out. We were told by one our program directors about the restaurant around the corner from the hotel that had Austrian cuisine. Since the weather was still quite bad, we figured the closer the better. The restaurant was pretty good. As with most eateries in Europe, it was very smokey. Everyone tried weinersnitzel, but I ordered a salad. To my surprise the salad was huge. It was literally a salad for a family of four. Everyone had to end up helping me finish it since it was so massive. Following dinner, we went to the Christmas markets where they sell home-made arts, crafts, and food. It definitely got me into the Christmas spirit.  Following our outing, we put on warm cozy clothes and hung out in the boys room and played games. We had a blast. The next morning, we woke up fairly early and made it to breakfast in the hotel restaurant. We were so pleased because it was the most "traditional breakfast" we have had since leaving the US. There was scrambled eggs, toast, cereal, and the list goes on. It was great. We were then split into groups of about ten, and were led on a professional tour around the city. Our guide was a lot of fun. Many of the guides are often mono-toned and talk endlessly about history, but she was really interesting and fun. After the tour, we walked around some more on our own and visited the museum of "Crown Jewels." It was the pocessions of the Hapsberg Empire, and of course all of the jewelry and clothing was just as elaborate as it was beautiful. When we left the museum it was snowing again. We got to have a snow ball fight which was a blast. We explored the city for a little while but it was pretty cold so being outside for long periods of time was not easy to bear. We then decided to grab some quick lunch from a street vendor, which proved to be a bad idea for me. I ordered a slice of cheese and spinach pizza, which ended up not sitting so well with my tummy. I did not feel well until we returned to the hotel, and got whatever was in my stomach out! Sorry if that was graphic, but I felt a lot better. That night I got to take my first bath since leaving home, which was amazing. I was so satisfied. The next morning, we enjoyed another great breakfast and departed Vienna. We made a stop at the Hapsberg's summer palace. It was beautiful. The snow covered grounds complimented the castle well. We ate at a famous cafe', had warm apple strudel, and explored the gardens behind the palace. It was so pretty, but quite chilly. After a few hours we headed for the bus and headed back to Prague. Vienna was such a beautiful city. I would love to visit again when it is not quite so freezing outside so I could spend more time outside. The city was completely prepared for the Christmas holidays. They had lights, decorations, and Christmas trees everywhere. Though it was my last trip which makes me sad, it means that I'm one step closer to being with those I love!