Post Cruise - Vienna

Another reason for this cruise was that the post cruise extension was in Vienna, a place that I have always wanted to go to, largely because of the Spanish Riding School and the Lipizzaner Stallions. 

Following the tour of Budapest, it was a bus ride to our hotel in Vienna.  What a spectacular hotel! We stayed at the Palais Hansen Kempinski. Amawaterways always uses 4- or 5-star hotels. Some are very American but some are truly unique. It was late in the afternoon when we arrived so after settling in at the hotel, we asked our cruise director for some tips on where to eat nearby. 

Light switches - high tech hotel

Lobby

Our room

The bathroom

Our cruise manger recommended a beer garden at a restaurant close by. We actually walked by it because it looked so small, but we turned around after not finding anything else. We found out that you went through the restaurant into an inner courtyard. We had a delightful meal.

Courtyard garden

The next day in the morning there was a bus and walking tour of Vienna. Again, like many of the tours on this trip things seemed a bit rushed. It was still an interesting tour.  We visited a garden dedicated to Empress Elizabeth of Austria and St Stephan's cathedral.

Horse and carriage behind Peterskirche in Vienna

Stephanplatz and St Stephan's Cathedral

Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Princess Sisi)

Many in our group were going to a Mozart concert that evening. This was an optional excursion arranged by Amawaterways. We had decided not to go to the concert so we had the afternoon and evening on our own to explore. We took the transit out to Schönbrunn Palace. Once we arrived, we found a place to have lunch at the edge of the Palace grounds. We ate outside on the patio. The interior of this restaurant was amazing but except for one group there was no one inside. 

The Golden Throne

After lunch we headed over to walk the Palace Gardens. The grounds are free but you have to pay to go into the palace. The main gardens were very nice and we walked all the way to the top of the hill to get the view of the palace. We certainly got our steps in here. 

We walked all the way to the top.

Schönbrunn Palace

Fountain

View from the top.

Once back in Vienna we looked for a cafe but had a hard time finding anything that looked nice. Most places were just a couple tables right on the street. We finally found a place where most of us decided to have a Viennese coffee, at least that's what the waitress called it. It was so good. We probably should have gone back to this restaurant for dinner. Instead, after going back to the hotel for a while we walked back to see Stephanplatz at night. After having so many great meals, the restaurant Cafe Europe where we ate dinner that evening was quite a letdown. 

St Stephan's Cathedral at night

This was our last night in Vienna and the end of our Amawaterways journey but not the end of our vacation. We had booked train tickets to Prague on a train that left Vienna at 3:10 in the afternoon. This was so I could cross off my bucket list a visit to the Spanish Riding School to see the Lipizzaner Stallions. Ever since I saw the Disney movie Miracle of the White Stallions, I've always wanted to see them. Performances are only on Saturday and Sundays but there are training sessions on weekdays that you can go and watch. I had purchased tickets online before we even left for the trip. I'm certainly glad I did as mostly it is standing room; we had tickets for seats along the side of the menage. You're not allowed to take pictures or video once the riders and horses enter so all I have is the memory. I hope someday to go back to Vienna and see a performance and to have a piece of sachertorte.

After the training session, it was a short walk back to the hotel to finish up packing, put out our bags and take a taxi to the train station. Next post will be about our visit to Prague.