Bratislava, Slovakia

For our last day trip from Vienna, we decided to head out of Austria and go to Bratislava, Slovakia.  It sounded sort of off the beaten path and unique, and it was only an hour train ride away, so we thought it would be fun.  Well, it was fun... once we finally got there!  Because of a new train station in Vienna that was very poorly marked, unmarked tickets, and unhelpful workers, we literally had no idea where to go to get our train.  After almost 2 hours of  searching and not knowing where to go, we finally found where we needed to be (which was at a separate location than the train station we were at).  We were frustrated and tired, but so happy to finally be on our way!

When we arrived in Bratislava, we found that it was not very tourist-friendly.  We couldn't find a place to buy a map for the longest time!  But we had made it!

Finally, we managed to find our way to the Old Town, which was so charming!  There were cobblestone streets and ornate buildings in every color imaginable!

 

We loved walking around and seeing all of these fun statues!

Then we headed to the Devin Castle ruins, which was a site that had been destroyed by Napoleon and his troops.  Turns out we couldn't get inside, and we were just about the only tourists there, but we had fun walking around the outside of the castle anyway!

To end the night, we warmed up at a quaint coffee shop before catching our train back to Vienna.  It was definitely an adventure of a day, but we had fun!  Traveling is always an adventure!

Overall, our trip to Vienna, Salzburg, and Bratislava was amazing!  We got to see and experience so many beautiful things!  And best of all, I think Vivi enjoyed it too!

Salzburg, Austria

Ever since I was little, I have loved "The Sound of Music".  It was a childhood tradition for me to watch the movie, while singing all the songs and doing all the dances.  I would even make my brother dance around the living room on the couches with me singing "Sixteen Going on Seventeen"!  In college, I was able to play the part of Liesl in a community theatre production of "The Sound of Music", and that was definitely fulfillment of a childhood dream. :)  So when I had a chance to visit Salzburg, Austria, see all of the real Sound of Music sights, and further fulfill my childhood dreams, I jumped at the chance.  Yes, it's cheesy and touristy.... but it was completely necessary.  Of course, Tim is not as big of a fan of the movie as I am, but he still had fun. :)

We took the 2.5 hour train from Vienna and arrived in Salzburg in the late morning.  Since we had a few hours before our Sound of Music tour started, we did some sightseeing on our own in Salzburg.  We loved it instantly!  

First, we walked down to Mozart's birth house.  We had seen one of his houses in Vienna too.

Next, we went to the Salzburg Fortress, which was built in 1077, and is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe.

On top of the mountain at the Fortress.

 The view from the Fortress.

Walking around the inside of the Fortress.

After we visited the Fortress, we walked around the Old Town of Salzburg for a while.  The streets were so quaint and picturesque!

Then it was time for our tour to begin!  Check out this tour bus!

 Our first stop was to this lake that was used as the Von Trapp family's backyard area.  This is where Maria and the kids fell from the boat into the water.

 Then we got to see the "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" pavilion!  And yes, I sang the song in front of the pavilion too. :)

 In "Confidence Alley", where Maria sang "I Have Confidence".

The Von Trapp house!!

 Nonnburg Abbey, where Maria was a nun.

The hills are alive with the sound of music!

 Loving these mountain views!

The church where Maria and Georg's wedding was filmed.

The inside of the church.

Eating crisp apple strudel at the same place Julie Andrews and the kids ate during filming!

 Hitting the high do on the steps of the park where Maria and the kids sang "Do Re Mi".

At the end of the day, we boarded our train and headed back to Vienna.  But it had been an amazingly memorable and meaningful day!  I would say it was one of "my favorite things" of the week! :)

Vienna, Austria

I'll be honest... one of the reasons we decided on Vienna, Austria for our November vacation was because we are having a little Vivienna!  Since one of her possible nicknames is Vienna, we thought it would be a good idea to check out this city before calling our daughter by that name. :)

Well, it turns out Vienna is a perfectly wonderful place to be named after.  We loved it!  There was culture, music, history, beautiful architecture, and fall weather!  What more could you ask for?  Here is a photo recap of our trip...

On our first night in Vienna, we went to see "The Barber of Seville" at the historic Vienna Opera House.  It was a gorgeous building and an incredible show!  We had amazing seats on the main floor, and it was fun to get all dressed up and feel cultured. :) Tim and I both agreed that the tenor was the best singer of the night, but of course they all were amazing!  Vivi even enjoyed it!  As soon as the overture started, she was flipping and fluttering around in there.  I don't think it was a coincidence!

On our first full day in Vienna, we visited the Schonbrunn Palace, most famous for being the former residence of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth.  I previously knew nothing about this couple, but throughout our time in Vienna, came to know a lot about their fascinating and somewhat tragic lives.  Inside the palace, we got to walk through about 40 rooms of the many emperors' and empresses' living quarters, and it was gorgeous!  So many stories to be told!   

 Behind the palace was a huge garden (more like a huge park) that had endless paths, fountains, trees, and beautiful structures.  Our favorite part about it was the fall leaves!  It was such a treat to get to play in and crunch the leaves, and to smell that fall aroma in the air.  Cairo doesn't have a fall season like this, so we felt like kids again being able to experience it!

 Yay for Fall!

 One night, Tim and I went to a Mozart and Strauss concert in the Orangerie, a small concert hall that Mozart had played in!  

 Tim is a huge animal lover, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit the world's oldest zoo!!  It was really well-kept with interesting looking buildings, and great animals!  They even had pandas!  We can't wait to take Vivi here. :) 

 St. Peter's Cathedral.  Beautiful architecture!

The Belvedere Palace, now an art museum.

We visited the cemetery where Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, Brahms, and Schubert are buried!  We were as close to these great musicians as we could get!

 Here is Tim at the Naschmarkt, a market of fruit, vegetables, desserts, clothes, and lots more!  We had fun wandering around and sampling different foods.

The St. Charles Cathedral, just a few blocks from our hotel.

Me in front of the Opera House!

 The Rathaus, a government building in Vienna, and probably the most beautiful building we saw on our trip.  It is perfectly picturesque, especially since it's all lit up at night.

 Our awesome hotel!  We would seriously do commercials for this place!  It was an amazing place to stay.  Among other things, we had free breakfast every morning, and free cake, tea, and coffee in the lobby at all times.  As you can imagine, we were happy. :)  

Needless to say, we will have to bring Vivienna to Vienna so she can see for herself this awesome city she is named after. :)  More later about Salzburg, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia!