22 years later.

In May 2010, our tour of Vienna started at the Schönbrunn Palace, which used to the the imperial residence. It is a huge expanse with everything from a zoo and a glass palm house, to a carriage collection and of course an apple strudel show, all spread out within a labyrinth of greenery and fountains.







Apfelstrudel part 1 of 3.


Then came the Holocaust memorial. Designed by Rachel Whiteread, the memorial to the 65,000 Austrian Jews who died in the Holocaust has more symbolism than being a bleak, concrete block. The outside was made to look like rows of hundreds of books to symbolize the Jews as "People of the Book" and the untold stories of all the victims. In addition, the "doors" in front are carved with no handle, driving home the message that it was a horrible time of no way out.





Of course there were lots of cool buildings like the Parliament house, and the always lovely European streets.



We didn't to see the famous Spanish horses preform, but we watched them get escorted out afterward. These white horses definitely get the celebrity treatment.


The crown jewels museum had so much gaudy stuff it was hard to believe it was all real. This royal crown was in the beginning, not even the final hurrah of the museum.


Usually when we try to eat at a place our guidebook suggests it is not there. But this time we actually found our destination and it was the best decision ever - a quaint cafe with only about 13 small tables and awesome open-faced sandwiches.



For some reason there were several over the top Swarovski stores in the center. They had glitter on the outside and inside, were three stories tall, and seemed more like a tourist stop than anything else. They even sold pencils.


The best part of our trip was the Opera House. You can wait in line 3 hours before the show for standing room tickets for only 4 euros! The cheap price is worth the wait to go inside the elegant building. It wasn't free-for-all standing either; they have velevt arm rests that mark spots and just like the normal seats they have the little screens to choose subtitles (English or German options) to help you through the Italian performance. It was a little tricky at first to balance looking at stage and down at screen, but really cool!






But none of these things were at the top of my list to see, nor reasons my reason for going to Vienna in the first place.


What was? Seeing the gorgeous hotel where my parents got engaged. I wonder if they could have imagined their first born would find her way out front of the same place only 22 years later.