Day 9: The capital of Austria: Vienna!

Day 9 of the Hom family's European vacation! Previously, we had been to relatively small, charming cities and towns: Regensburg, Vilshofen, Passau, Linz, Mondsee, Salzburg, Melk, Krems. Now, we were in Vienna, the capital of Austria! (Not to be confused with Venice, in Italy. Or Australia, a country on the other side of the world. Seriously, we Americans are terrible with geography.)

Our tour group. Auntie Nancy went with me, while Mary and Mom did another tour.

Starbucks! I need to take a photo!

Hey, from the photo you can tell I wasn't the only one!

Cathedral. I admit, I gotta look it up … it's St. Stephen's. I was totally gonna say that.

The front of the cathedral. It's called … St. Stephen's! See, I remembered!

This sign says, "Pimp your Burger!" Where was this? In a McCafe.

Actually, I was really happy to find the McCafe. I knew it wouldn't be overpriced, and they had Wi-Fi!

In the afternoon, I went on another bike tour. We would bike along one side of the Danube, then the other.

The Danube, it's really blue! Most of the way, the river was a, um, darker color. I think this part is bluer because it's isolated from the rest of the river. (They built a channel.)

A kid jumping into the Blue Danube.

It was a weekend, so many people were on the water. How many different types of transport can you see?

Yes, lots of people were enjoying the day!

Some people have private docks right on the water. How nice is that!

Waterskiing without a boat! If you look closely, you can see the skiers going in a rectangle: They're pulled via a track that spans the river. I recently saw a smaller version near Sacramento! Looks like fun!

My fellow bikers. Er, bicyclists.

We went through a GIANT park. Look how wide this bike path is! And how straight! You can see forever.

Forever.

Crazy architecture. This is part of the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Our bike tour. I feel like we need a break.

Yeah, sitting feels good.

Some had beer …

Mine? That's apple juice, maybe with some Sprite. Really!

A final group photo.

Whew! Long day! What's for dinner?

Months later, this dish strikes me as much plainer than our previous meals. However, I believe this was an Austrian delicacy.

And what's that drink on the left? I think I was mixing my drinks … maybe OJ and Coke?





Every night, I'd stay on the ship. But tonight, I had someone to meet in town!

The ship had chartered a bus to take people into town in the evening. I would be the only person, coming and going….

This is my friend Mariebeth. We met at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) years ago. What's funny is she'd always say, "Come visit me in Vienna!" And I'm thinking, "Never going to happen."

Ok, that probably is a beer.

Remember that "Geoffnet" word I saw on signs in Salzburg? I saw it again at our restaurant in Vienna!

I asked Mariebeth what "Geoffnet" meant, and she was like, "What are you talking about?"

"It's on the door of the restaurant. Go see for yourself."

"Really?" She went to look …

… and comes back laughing, of course.

"It's not 'Geoff-net'! It's 'ge-off-net.' It means when they're open."

Mystery solved!

Next time: Day 10: Bratislava!