Rome to Vienna, 10/25-26

October 25, Rome

We went last night to the same trattoria and had the special, antipasto and entree with salad and potatoes; both of us had roast chicken.  It was really good.  We got some stamps and gelato before returning to the hotel.  Later in the evening we had coffee/tea and dessert at a cafe near the church.  There was a lot of traffic there at the cafe.

 

This morning we packed up and are now at the airport, a huge one.  We are going by Austria Airlines to Vienna in about an hour.  One of the drivers we had earlier came to pick us up in a Fiat Ducat van.  It is a fair distance to the airport and the streets are rough until you get to the highway.

Saturday, October 27, Vienna

When we arrived at our hotel (in a Mercedes), they had no reservation for us but soon worked it out.  The Hotel Savoy is beautiful and elegant, very opulent in design and furnishings.  I’m glad we are here.  It didn’t look like much from the street with about 20 steps to climb with baggage, but the staff is extremely nice.  Our rooms include a bedroom with table and chairs, TV, etc., a toilet, a bath with ceiling mirror, and ample closet space in the hall.

 

The lobby has old-fashioned furniture and a glass case with knickknacks.  You can eat your breakfast there if you wish or read the paper.  The breakfast room uses  white china similar to white Racine, but with garlands.  They do not expect you to go away hungry: several meats including braunsweiger, several cheeses including camenbert, cereals, yogurts, hazelnuts, milk, some Austrian dishes like liptauer and gemeuse salat, eggs, juice, sparkling water, cake.  Someone comes in  to ask what you want to drink and brings it.  There are several kinds of bread on each table.  We find that we only need one other meal each day.

Yesterday we took a city tour with Schonbrun and afterwards stayed to walk in the gardens and see the carriage museum.  It was interesting to see how the trees and bushes of the gardens were trimmed; it lookd like someone had used a ruler.  It was a national holiday, so most of the businesses were closed.   We returned downtown on the subway and found a place to eat about 4:30.  We learned quite a bit about one of the empresses, Elizabeth or Sisi, in the carriage museum and saw some fascinating vehicles and clothing.

 

 

The restaurant is a sort of cafeteria and was full of people.  I think many had the day off with their children.  We could go around the food area and pick from appetizers, salad, meats and vegetables, pasta, breads, and drinks.  Then we went through the cashier and found a table.  Garrett got a huge sausage and veggies for both of us, and each of us choose some salads.  Later we went back for dessert and coffee.  It was good food.

We walked from there to our hotel, about a 30-minute walk, comfortable, and stayed in for the night.  It is much colder here.  Garrett needs a hat.