AUF WIEDERSEHEN AUSTRIA

Ok, last full day in Vienna, and we have a plan. We are going to Schonbrunn, the Imperial Summer Palace, and we are going to Stephansdom, the huge catheral five minutes from our hotel. We get up, have breakfast (we never miss a meal), and grab a cab to Schonbrunn, as it is a bit further away. About 20 minutes away from the regular Imperial Palace. There must have been a much bigger temperature difference in the old days. Damn that global warming. We arrive at Schonbrunn and walk through the gates, and I am instantly reminded of Versailles... without as much flourishes on the building. We sign up for the super duper tour. I think maybe it was the Grand Imperial Tour. It gets you into 20 more rooms than the regular tour. We figure, heck, we came all this way, let's see it all! So we ventured through the palace rooms, as well as the gardens and the terrace. We even have access to the giant maze, but get too lazy to care. Lazy you say. What could be more important than enriching your mind, acquiring some culture, being a part of history? LUNCH. Yep. We were hungry. Time to go folks.

We grab a cab and make a pit stop at the hotel. Then we head out in search of food. We're at a loss, so instead of being adventurous, we go back to a winner, Zum Figlmueller. Once again, the salad queens get their salad, and I get a chicken cordon bleu. Amazingly enough, I don't think we hardly ever ate chicken on this vacation. You'd think it'd be easy enough to find, but this is central Europe, land of sausages and potatoes. It's all about packing it on and keeping it warm in those cold winter months. I subscribe to this philosophy, which is why I'm bracing for the cold California winter as we speak by having a red velvet cup cake, but that's another story (soon to follow).

So, we get our most excellent lunch along with Zweigelt, the local wine, which the girls drink half of and pass on to me. I hate wasting good wine, so I drink them, and we go drunk shopping. OK, I go drunk shopping. They're just shopping. We step outside and go to the first neighboring shop where I buy Lin a big calendar as a souvenir. Oh, a big calendar of naked girls. The great thing is, this calendar was so long, it wouldn't fit in my 26" suit case, so Vuong had to haul it around for me the rest of the trip. (thanks pal). If only she had gotten stopped by customs, it would have been fun to see their expressions. Oh well. Then we hit all sorts of shops on the way back towards the hotel, including Swarovski which originates in Austria. This is where I do the rest of my souvenir shopping. Too bad I never got my VAT back to save $75. Regardless, the gifts went over well, so it doesn't matter.

Amazingly enough, it's now time for dinner! By now it's raining, so we duck into a nearby Asian place. I know, what a bunch of fobs. I go for the sushi because I miss it, Gina gets something with rice, and I'm sure Vuong had something with salad. I think maybe she got korean bbq. After dinner, we stop in a nearby market to stock up on water and snacks for the plane. Once we drop our stuff off in the hotel, we go back out to see Stephansdom.

Upon arriving in Stephansdom, we realize we can't actually go in, as they are getting ready for the Pope who will be there the following Sunday. Vuong decides to exact her revenge by changing the time on the visiting hours clock. Yes, she is a bad girl. I stood far away for fear of lightening. Although we weren't able to really see the church, we were fortuitously located near... Zanoni & Zanoni. That's right, one last Topfen gelato for the road. So what if we're sitting outside, bundled up in rain coats and scarves. So what if it's cold and raining. I'm leaving tomorrow so I am going to have my fill darn it. And it was GOOOooood.

The next morning, we hurriedly have breakfast before the cab shows up and head out for sunny Dubrovnik. Heh.