Vienna, Austria
May 3-4, 2008

We decided to spend the weekend in Vienna, since this is probably the last trip we'll be able to take for a little while (meaning weeks, not months) and because it is 1) close enough to get back to Budapest in case the baby decides to come and 2) if we couldn't make it back, I would be more than pleased to have an Austrian baby in our family.
We left Saturday morning and made it quickly to Vienna, since the borders are now open (this is fantastic, and although it never cost us hours except for once, it was always a 15-30 minute hassle). We checked into our hotel and then went over to the Naschmarkt, where the popular, weekly flea market happens. I would imagine that if either Heather or I had an eye for antiques that there would be some good finds there, but since we don't and since the strength of the Euro probably erodes any good deal one could find anyway, we just mostly looked and walked, pushing the girls in the stroller through the crowds.
From the market we made our way to the Hofburg where the Vienna festival was happening this weekend. They have all sorts of activities set up on the grounds of the Hofburg and sprinkled throughout the city, particularly throughout the walk from the Hofburg to St. Stephens cathedral. There were a lot of people, but not too many to make it unbareable. We let the girls play around for a while, running on a "track" and running through a simple obstacle course. We then walked to St. Stephens, or rather to Zanoni's gelato, which is right in front of the cathedral. We passed a number of the street performers, including the traditional "gold" person (this time it was a lady) as well as some musicians and jugglers.
We ate Zanoni's before walking back to the car to return to our hotel for the night. I took the girls swimming while Heather rested in the room. After we finished swimming and got showered and ate some sandwhiches for dinner, Ashley was asleep within 5 minutes of starting a movie and Katie soon afterward. I fell asleep not much later than the girls(it was 8:30 at this point, by the way, so nice to get to bed early!).
We woke up and got ready for church. We made our way to the ward on Gregorygasse. Seven years ago Heather and I attended church here while we were visiting over Christmas. I saw the family that I used to live with when I lived in Vienna in 1997 and we visited for a brief second. They told me that they still get a letter every once in a while from the bank that I had an account at while I lived there, saying I still had money in it. I guess the next time I am in Vienna I will stop by and see if I can get any of it. It was Shillings back then, but with the conversion to the Euro and the strength of the Euro over the years, maybe it is worth more than I thought when I left!
Unfortunately Sacrament Meeting was last, and since it was hard enough for Heather and the girls to sit through a German speaking Sacrament Meeting, let alone Relief Society and Sunday School, we decided to quickly drive over to the Boecklinstrasse building and attend there. Once we arrive there we found out it ALSO had Sacrament Meeting last, so we gave up.
We went over to the Natural History Museum, which Katie and Ashley really enjoyed. We parked the stroller at the front and let them wander through the aquarium, the Dinosaur exhibit, and the animal exhibits. This was a perfect museum for them.
We left there and got some Bratwursts that we ate in the Volksgarten. The weather was fantastic and it was nice to just sit in the middle of this park with the flowers mostly bloomed and relax for a few minutes.
We left the Volksgarten, checked out of our hotel, and drove back to Budapest. As I have said, we love Vienna and never get tired of it.