Rain, Wind, and Cold - Yuck!

The rain was coming down and the winds were blowing as hard as ever.  These would be the conditions we would have to deal with on our last day.  Oh well the die had been cast, and we set out on foot for the Belvedere.  A baroque palace built by Prince Eugene of Savoy, probably the greatest military leader in the history of the Austria-Hungry Empire called home.  We were sopping wet by the time we arrived at this beautiful edifice which is now an art gallery.   It is the home “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt, and of course no camera pictures were allowed inside, so you will have to trust me.  We killed almost 4 hours in the palace admiring the art and the building.

This is just half of Belvedere and is called the upper house

After warming up at the hotel from our walk back from the Belvedere we headed off to the only Christmas Market we had not visited.  And probably was the nicest one we visited, but the weather continued to get worst.  Even Christmas Punch could not warm our feet.  Run to the underground!  We popped up a couple times, but for the most part our last day was trying to stay dry and warm. 

Dinner was a traditional Austrian restaurant and oh what an experience.  It was less than a block from the hotel and we were lucky that our reservations were made on Friday long before we knew the weather would be so bad.  

Cream of Potato Soup with Mushrooms, Wiener Schnitzel, and Potato Salad.  Everything was wonderful and it was all washed down with an Austrian Chardonnay.  The wine was perfectly balanced and was wonderful with our meal.  I must admit I was surprised.  And then there was dessert… a pfeffernüsse mousse with fresh raspberries and blue berries sitting in a cranberry wine reduction.  It was so good that I forgot to take a picture.  Trust me it was good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So by looking at the weather we are returning to a wintery mess, but if all goes well we will sleep in our own beds tomorrow.  If not we will hitch a ride with Santa.

I will follow up with a trip report that will cover the hotel, lessons learned, etc…

Thanks for following along  

T & J

P.S.  It has been brought to our attention that the first ferris wheel was at the Chicago World's Fair and was dismantled in the early 1900s.  The one here in Vienna was built in 1897 and is still operational - so it is not the oldest one, but the oldest in operation.  Sorry for any confusion.