Wien

In case you are wondering, Wien is the Austrian name for Vienna. I had a long day today trying to see as many places in as little time as possible. That means a lot of walking. After a while I got a little tired and tried to take the tram. But, I didn't see much with the tram. Then I saw someone getting a bike from one of the bike racks that you see on the first picture. This is a free bike that you can ride around the city. It's free for the first hour and after that you have to pay something like 1 euro per hour. So, I registered and borrowed one of these bikes. It was great. I was able to get to a few more places a lot quicker.

Vienna is a city of museums, beautiful buildings, etc. However, it's different from Prague in that it has not been under communist rule all these years and has kept up with development in the west. So, it's like any developed city, with all the traffic and name-brand shops. However, all the old buildings all very well-preserved and they represent Vienna's glorious past, especially when it was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ruled by the Habsburg family for 600 years.

I visited and took tours of both the main palace (Hofburg) and the summer palace (Schonbrunn). It is amazing to see how the royal family lived with all their exquisite furnishing, banquet stuff, etc. You have to see it to believe it.

This afternoon we are taking the train from Vienna to Zagreb, then the night train from Zagreb to Split in Croatia. The sleeper on the train costs 22 euros so we don't exactly save a lot of money by not staying in the hostel but we save time by traveling at night.

Bikes that you can borrow for free for the first hour.

St. Stephan's Cathedral, one of the most important landmarks in Vienna. There is a pedestrian mall that runs from the cathedral to the museum area.

The Hofburg Palace

Opera House

The Heldenplatz

Parliament House

Dishes used by the royal family

Schonbrunn Palace

Vendors at the food fair selling home-made cheese and sausages.