Vienna is a pretty special place, which I did previously know.  Brent and I competed here twice, at the Karl Schafer Memorial, and both times hold a special place in my heart.  The first trip marked our first international competition together.  Our second trip was the first time we won a medal at an international competition (half of our grand total international medal count!)

And during both of these trips I remember loving this city.  The sacher torte at the Hotel Sacher, climbing up to the old dinning hall at the back of the Schonbrunn garderns, and  roaming the streets in the evening, ducking in and out of the various beautiful churches.

But getting to visit Vienna outside of a competition is even better.  There is no practice ice to get in the way (yep- we pretty much don’t practice while on tour) and I am way more likely to try unknown local foods and wine (the latter because our coach Robbie isn’t here with his judging eye. Just kidding Robbie.  I know, it’s just a rule.)

And, it must be noted that this past week I had a group of four “go getters” visiting, which really upped the level of activity.

And yes, I did really enjoy Munster.  But Vienna!  Vienna is one a the top-ten cities in the world.  It’s in a whole different category.

But with that comes a downside.  And that downside is that I already feel like a failure;  I just know I won’t do everything that I now want to do in Vienna.

Here is what has been accomplished so far:

-Spanish riding school:  best place to see horses prance to compulsory dance music!
(At least someone is keeping the spirit alive.)

-Naschmarkt:   best outdoor market with local specialties, a fair trade chocolate store, and a tiny restaurant named “Kim.” Obviously good.

-Madiani: delicious yet inexpensive Georgian restaurant in a smaller outdoor market.

-Demel:  best cafe to watch beautiful pastries being made while eating the delicious scrambled eggs.

-Cafe Speril: classic old school Viennese cafe with almost as good scrambled eggs.

-Cafe Sacher:  best classic Viennese setting with famous sacher torte.

-Phil: most laid-back, hip cafe that has wonderful falafel and books and records to browse.

-Cafe Dreschsler: great hang out most hours of the day. Pretty looking coffee.

-Orlando di Castello: funkiest cafe with a very unique and modern look.

-Heurigen Fuhrgassl Huber: typical wine tavern in the Vienna wine region, serving only in-house wine.  

-Julius Meinl: fanciest gourmet grocery store with wine bar below.

-1st American bar: most comfortable dark lounge that we thought was the...

-Loos American bar: famous, very small and smokey bar (I kind of preferred the previously mentioned American bar.)

-Sofitel hotel bar:  breath-taking view of the city, with spectacular interior decor to match.

-Schonbrunn gardens:  best place for a photo shoot, with scarves.

-Saint Stephan’s church: best use of lighting + stain glass

-Fledermaus bar: best place to lose track of time on a Sunday night. 60’s/70s music night!

this is actually us losing track of time after the bar.....

-Side trip to Budapest: best combination of history + scenery + nice tour guide + handsome tour guide + fun-loving tourists

Here is what is still on my list:

-Onyx bar

-Fluc

-Die Rote Bar

-Bettel-Am

-Klimt exhibit at the Belvedere

-ice skating in front of the Rathaus

-Klein’s cafe

-Le Bol

-MAK

-Sass Music Club

-Motto Am Fluss

-Viennese ball

-and some shopping!

It is just one of those cities that the more you do, the more you discover you want to do.

Damn you Vienna!   

P.S.  I love you.