On December 12th, I had an 8:31 train to Vienna. I took a taxi to the train station and once I got there, my train showed it was delayed. I had breakfast at McDonalds and then I waited in one of the huts on the platform to get out of the cold. At the time my train was now supposed to arrive, a train rolled in. I boarded said train and found my car/seat assignment. As soon as the train departed, I realized I had made the dumbest rookie move by not checking the train number. After 10 years of traveling like this I like to think I'm not a rookie so I don't know what to say other than maybe jetlag had dulled my brain power! I was now on a train to Munich!
When I got to Munich, I went to the train company's help desk and they redid my ticket and gave me a new seat assignment on a train to Vienna. I was originally supposed to arrive in Vienna at 12:47 p.m (That 's before the original train delay though so I think it actually been about 1:15), but I would now arrive at 3:40. Since I've been to Munich 3 other times, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the hour and a half I had before my train left, so I stored my luggage and headed out to Marienplatz.
I took the S-bahn straight to the main Christmas market. I was able to make a quick run through the market and buy another star at the booth I like. You can find stars at all of the German markets, but this one in particular sells an electrical cord option for the U.S.
Once I made a loop through the Christmas market, I walked to the Viktulienmarkt.
I bought some clementines. She's grabbing mine in that pic!
Obviously my mistake had completely derailed my plans, but it's hard to be mad about a chance to hit up the Munich market for the 4th time!
I took the S-bahn right back to the train station and was finally on my way to Vienna.
A little about this trip to Vienna. I've been to Vienna twice before. It was kind of out of the way. It was a long train ride to get there. I would only have one night there. It didn't make a lot of sense, but I just felt like I wanted to visit Vienna so I did. There were three things I wanted to do that I hadn't when I visited before. One was the Justizpalast. I had to be there by 3:30 on that Friday because that was the last time I could enter and they were closed on Saturday. My unexpected detour meant I was going to miss this.
I took a taxi from the train station to my hotel. Traffic was terrible! I checked in, dropped my things off, and headed right out. Next door to my hotel, I discovered a Läderach. I knew they might be closed before I made it back later that evening, so I popped in. I love a couple of their candies but you cannot buy them in their U.S. stores.
Now moving on to the second thing I wanted to do...have Wiener Schnitzel at a proper restaurant in Wien!
I had 5:30 reservations that I was happy I was able to still make.
There was so much food! The waitress was convinced I hated it. I tried to tell her I love it but it was just too much to eat it all!
The third thing on my list was visiting the market at Karlsplatz. This is a makers market so it was fun to look around. It was a very foggy day in Vienna (very much like my first trip was).
I took the U-bahn over to Stephansplatz
Always love the chandeliers along the Graben
Peterskirche
I took a detour to the Am Hof market, but it was so crowded I didn't take a pic or really even look around. I made my way up the Kohlmarkt to Demel's to-go window.
I wanted a hot chocolate, but they were sold out because it was almost closing time. I also wanted to try the Kaiserschmarrn.
Oh my gosh! This was so good. They are little pancake like things with a plum compote.
Hofburg
Finally to the Christkindlmarkt!
I took the U-bahn back to my hotel area after I was done at that market.
I stayed a new-to-me hotel this time. I was at the Hotel Astoria Vienna which is a Hilton Curio Collection hotel. I didn't get exterior or lobby pics, so I borrowed these from them.
My room was one of those rooms on the left that had a balcony.
It was a very spacious room.
It had the prettiest floors.
And that's an end to a more adventurous than planned Day 2!
On December 22nd, I departed Salzburg train station at 8:00 and arrived in Munich at 9:40. The station is under construction and a real mess! I finally made my way out and found it was really raining. I made my way to a taxi and took it to my hotel. My hotel room wasn't ready but they kept my bags for me and I headed out. I have been to Munich a couple of times and wanted to see a couple of things I haven't had a chance to do before. I planned to to go to the Nazi Documentation Center first since it was raining, but when I looked it up on my phone to double check the hours, I learned they had just closed for renovations. So rain or not, I was going to have to head out to Nymphemburg Palace. I took the tram out and then walked to the palace. I don't know why, but I didn't take many pictures on the inside. I also bought a ticket to the Royal Stables Museum which houses lots of coaches. I really found all the sleighs to be a sight to see, bu...
Welcome to my Christmas Shin-Dig! I've never thrown a blog party before so I'm kind of nervous, but that can just be our little secret. I have lots of things I want to include in my party, so I've decided the best way to tackle this is to do several posts, so keep scrolling down so that you don't miss a single thing that goes on at this party! I always try to have party favors when I throw a party, and this one shouldn't be an exception, so I am giving away a prize. Here are some photos of the prize All you have to do to enter is comment on one of my Christmas Party Blog entries. I will put all the names in a hat and draw a winner. I will post the winner's name on my blog on Sunday, so check back to see if this cute little Santa bubble light is coming to your house! All entry comments must be posted by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time. If this is your first trip to my blog, Welcome! Please come back and see me again!
One week from today will mark 2 years since I started this whole blogging thing. I'm very excited about this blogiverary because an opportunity has come up for me to do a giveaway for you guys! My sponsor has many websites that sell just about everything... lately I've been looking at the site for luggage because I'm feeling the need for a new carry on bag for my upcoming trip to NOLA. But more about the giveaway! Here's a picture of a couple of samples... I will be giving you a set of Tervis tumblers! If you don't know about Tervis tumblers, they are great because they keep your beverage super cold and they don't sweat all over your table! As you can see, I'm feeling the collegiate tumblers in honor of the upcoming football season, but if you are the winner, I will give you a couple of choices: (1) You can choose from over a hundred different tumbler themes to fit your personality or lifestyle: Texas themes, Initial...
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