May 2, 2013 - Vienna, Austria

Our day in Wien (Vienna) started early since we had so many activities planned for one day. The buses took us around the inner ring road "Ringstrasse" of central Vienna with our guides pointing out the most famous palaces, grand residences and monuments. Once the buses let us out, we broke into several groups with guides taking us on a walking tour of downtown Vienna after which we had just enough time to have hot chocolate, coffee and apple strudle in one of Vienna's famous coffee shops. After a quick lunch on the ship, we got back on a...

Jan 10, 2013 - Vienna, Austria

My friend, Basilio, got up well before the sun to take me to LAX. I suppose I could have taken a shuttle, but I have this weird feeling that when you are traveling to the other side of the planet, someone should care enough to see you off. One of the many reasons why I am grateful for Basilio. I know that some think I travel all the time, but the truth is I barely put in enough miles every year to maintain my Gold status with American Airlines. However, American doesn't fly to Armenia. American doesn't even have a partner that flies to...

Dec 23, 2012 - Vienna

We arrived safe and sound in Vienna from Nice, and it was lovely to see some familiar faces - Kerri and Daniel were waiting for us at the airport after flying in from London. It was a shock when we stepped outside the terminal building and embraced the cool air. The temperature was around 3 deg and you could certainly feel the difference from the temperatures we had experienced in Spain and France. We have been busy taking in the sights of Vienna - the Opera House, The Hofburg (Imperial Palace), the Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens which were...

Dec 21, 2012 - Vienna

Friday, 21 December and Saturday, 22 December We visited the renown Schonbrunn Palace, at present the inner courtyard is full of Christmas Markets (our seventh), and after a guided tour of the Palace, we explored these different vibrant markets. In the old city of Vienna itself, we visited St Stephen's Cathedral, watched the Lippizan horses practising in the Spanish Riding School, toured the State Opera House, and revisited the Sacher Restaurant, famous for its Sacher Torte. There were more (our eighth) Christmas Markets near our hotel....

Dec 20, 2012 - Lots of walking

Not a great start to our short holiday - we slept in and nearly missed breakfast! However, it was a lovely cold day and we wrapped up well before we went out to see around the Museum District. The first port of call was the Natural History Museum but once we had spied the cafe/restaurant the thought of a warming cup of coffee or tea was very attractive. We came out into the cold again and decided that an afternoon siesta could do wonders for our still-tired limbs! Even in the late afternoon the day was still suitable for a brisk walk and...

Dec 19, 2012 - It's the leaving of Glasgow !

We left Glasgow at 10.35 am on a BA flight to London and then boarded a further BA flight for Vienna arriving at 6.00 pm. The worst part of flying anywhere that requires a change of plane is the necessity to pass time in aimless pursuits such as shopping and eating endless snacks on an airport concourse. However, both flights were on schedule so no complaints there then! When we arrived in Vienna via the City airport train and a short Underground trip, it was damp but not actually raining. We had a walk to our hotel but it took much longer...

Dec 10, 2012 - Castles and Christmas on Crack :)

Vienna was my last trip abroad with my friends, and it was for sure worthy of its Christmas market fame! We had so much fun hitting all the markets and seeing the lights, and we even got snowed on quite a bit! It was the perfect get ready for Christmas weekend! We flew in on an actual airline so we already felt like we were living large when we were given a chocolate croissant and a drink before we got there! It was a short train ride and metro hop to our hostel and we were ready to get going! The place we stayed was overlooking the...

Oct 22, 2012 - TOUCHDOWN!

We are here in Vienna. a long and unmomentous day of travel with some interesting processes to go through. Being in the air is fine; it s the parts in between that donèt go a smoothly as you d like them to. When in Vienna (Wien) we had to have Wiener Schnitzel for dinner so thatès what we had. Early night to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Oct 13, 2012 - Destruction's Travels - Nolan's traveling teddy

Hi Nolan. This is Destruction again. I am still in Vienna and I have been so busy. I have been on a cruise on the Danube River, which wasn't very blue--really quite gray. I went to an opera--Don Giovonni, and to a ballet--the Nutcracker. They were both in the beautiful Vienna Opera House. I have some pictures for you but can't seem to send them on this machine. I will get them to you later. So Nolan and all of your classmates, work hard and know that I am having a wonderful time just for you! Au revoir Destruction

Oct 11, 2012 - Destruction's Travels - Nolan's traveling teddy

Hi. This is destruction. I am in Vienna Austria and staying at the beautiful Hotel Romischer Kaiser. I will get pictures of it for you. Today I will travel around the city and learn about the history of Austria. Then I will tell you more about it. Please say hello to everybody in the class from me. Destruction

Oct 8, 2012 - Vienna is a gem!

We flew to Vienna yesterday afternoon. It was actually a bit of a downer to leave France after such great times there, and to top it off it was raining in Vienna. We realized when we were flying here that we had done nothing to prepare for being here other than to book a hotel. We didn't know anything about the city, we speak none of the language and had no idea where we would go. On top of that it was raining. Well out we went yesterday, into the subway and popped up in the middle of the city by St. Stephen's Cathedral and we were...

Oct 7, 2012 - Vienna, Klimt, Ephesus

Oct 7 It was a drizzly sort of day - a day for museums. First we walked over to the Upper Belevedere Museum which owns the largest collection of Gustav Klimt paintings in the world. All of those painting were on exhibit in this, the 150th anniversary of Kilmt's birth. Klimt is Aunty Lina's favorite artist. Klimt and his brother began as very successful muralists, creating huge works for long interior public places. His brother died young and Klimt continued painting and evolved an elegant, unusual style. The exhibition was arranged...