vienna- what else is there to say?

Serbian Airlines made the trip 2 Vienna in 2 stages, Split to Belgrade in just under an hour- during which time they served a decent sandwich, coffee and bottled water- (Air Canada and Westjet charge for that privilege!) The Belgrade to Vienna run was 2 hours long- turboprop-I didn't think anyone had those any more, again a sandwich, no coffee this time, but a choice of juices. Customs was a breeze and the trip to downtown was a 20 minute bus ride through, judging by the smell, a coal gas plant and industrial area- hard to tell since it was dark.
  The hotel was a 15 minute walk from the bus stop- thank God for GPS. AllYouNeed Hotel Vienna2 looked like a student dorm and the room itself an Ikea display complete with Billi shelving and wardrobes.
 A quick breakfast this morning and then touring St Stephen's Cathedral by 10am- perhaps the most magnificent building I have ever seen.
 A walk through the downtown core brought me to the Museum area for a tour of the Kunst  Historisches Museum. Featuring artworks from well known European painters from the 15th century on, this palatial building needed a full afternoon to see completely. As an extra the ticket also included the Neue Berg Museum too. Featuring a whole section devoted to Ephesus as well as Medieval armour and musical instruments, this again was a visit requiring several hours, although we settled for just one- all our tired feet would allow.
 A slow walk through various parks and squares brought us back to the hotel for a quick rest before supper.
 Clearly Vienna requires a good week to see properly-the two days I allowed will barely offer a taste of some of the key sights and the rest will have to wait for another visit.
 Thursday,
                Pissing down rain left any plans to see the world on hold. A  trip by metro to the Schonbrunn Palace with its 1441 rooms allowed a brief glimpse of how the other half lived- from what the audio guide told us- rather miserably and obsessively!!
Lunch was back at the hotel- take out from a local diner- while my clothing dried a bit.
A stab at a final photo -op of various churches and the Parliament and Rathaus ( town hall) turned me into a semi drowned rat,  leaving plans for Vienna a total washout!
 A trip to Vienna could not be complete without a taste of local food so dinner at a small local beer hall/ restaurant was Wiener Scnitzel ( made with real veal) potato salad and red cabbage. Dessert was plum dumpling- a whole plum smothered in a light dough and covered with plum jam. Not neccessarily the perfect end, but a fitting end to the trip.

View from Cathedral tower- Vienna

Memorial to Jewish people of Vienna who died during WWII

Parliament Building- Vienna