Hello, Hello! Vienna Calling...
Recuperating in our room after almost six hours roaming the streets of Vienna. I wish I had some good things to say about Vienna, but dang--it has been absolutely pouring down rain 99.8% of the time we've been here.
At least we sprung for a posh hotel and so we're sitting back and enjoying the free minibar while the kids play upstairs in the loft.
Sunday was our last full day in Prague. We decided to go and check out the sights on Petrin Hill. There is a funicular railroad that runs up the hill, but the line for it was dauntingly long (or let's just say, if it were the two of us--it would have been fine, but with two children, the thought of standing in line becomes frightening). Getting to the top via walking really didn't seem out of the question...it didn't seem that far.
Well, let me tell you...it ended up being FAR. But this pregnant woman and her two whiny children made it up. The views were worth the pain of dragging this extra 18 pounds up the hill. We had a little picnic in a rose garden at the very top and then Josiah, Annika and Hans climbed the observation tower, which is a 1/4 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower. Where do these kids find the energy? After climbing all those steps, we took a funny break at a mirror maze, which was a maze and funhouse mirrors all in one, then we headed the long, long way down the hill and back to the apartment.
Supper was out at McDonald's, so now Hans can add "Czech Republic" to his list of countries in which he has dined at McDonald's. After supper, we just wandered around, which is something I often enjoy more than hitting the tourist sites. There's nothing like just getting a little lost and wandering off the beaten path, seeing things that not every tourist has seen. Then it was back to the apartment and bedtime.
Prague gets five stars in my opinion. I wish that we would have booked two more nights and skipped Vienna. Not that it's Vienna's fault that the weather is horrible. I'm certain that Vienna is gorgeous when the sun is shining because it's not bad looking even in the pouring rain. We visited the Hofburg Palace this morning and watched the Lippizaners having their morning exercise at the Spanish Riding School. That lasted an hour...and then we were all bored. They didn't do any tricks! They just pranced them around in circles for an hour. I'll bet that 30 seconds after we left, all of them came pounding out and started practicing their routine. Oh well. After that, Hans and Josiah went to check out one of the Hofburg's exhibits and Annika and I went somewhere that would be guaranteed to give Uncle Peder cardiac arrest...the butterfly house. I'm pretty sure that some of those butterflies were moths posing as butterflies. And Lord, were they BIG! I'll spare Uncle Peder the pictures...
After Hofburg Palace, we took the U-Bahn over to St. Stephen's Cathedral, which is the hip and happening cathedral if you're in Vienna. For once, Annika's crawling on the floor came in handy as she scored Hans a free ticket to climb the tower. Since she found it, she got to climb with Daddy, while Josiah and I waited below. Josiah watched an episode of "Thomas & Friends" on my iPod while I reflected, genuflected, etc. God bless you, Apple.
Quick stop at Starbucks, another ride on the U-Bahn and we're back to the Hotel de France...another loooong post, sorry about that. We head home tomorrow morning and probably won't have any wild adventures for a couple of weeks, so you can all rest your eyes!
Oh, but there will be a few more pictures at some point. Tschuss from Vienna!
At least we sprung for a posh hotel and so we're sitting back and enjoying the free minibar while the kids play upstairs in the loft.
Sunday was our last full day in Prague. We decided to go and check out the sights on Petrin Hill. There is a funicular railroad that runs up the hill, but the line for it was dauntingly long (or let's just say, if it were the two of us--it would have been fine, but with two children, the thought of standing in line becomes frightening). Getting to the top via walking really didn't seem out of the question...it didn't seem that far.
Well, let me tell you...it ended up being FAR. But this pregnant woman and her two whiny children made it up. The views were worth the pain of dragging this extra 18 pounds up the hill. We had a little picnic in a rose garden at the very top and then Josiah, Annika and Hans climbed the observation tower, which is a 1/4 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower. Where do these kids find the energy? After climbing all those steps, we took a funny break at a mirror maze, which was a maze and funhouse mirrors all in one, then we headed the long, long way down the hill and back to the apartment.
Supper was out at McDonald's, so now Hans can add "Czech Republic" to his list of countries in which he has dined at McDonald's. After supper, we just wandered around, which is something I often enjoy more than hitting the tourist sites. There's nothing like just getting a little lost and wandering off the beaten path, seeing things that not every tourist has seen. Then it was back to the apartment and bedtime.
Prague gets five stars in my opinion. I wish that we would have booked two more nights and skipped Vienna. Not that it's Vienna's fault that the weather is horrible. I'm certain that Vienna is gorgeous when the sun is shining because it's not bad looking even in the pouring rain. We visited the Hofburg Palace this morning and watched the Lippizaners having their morning exercise at the Spanish Riding School. That lasted an hour...and then we were all bored. They didn't do any tricks! They just pranced them around in circles for an hour. I'll bet that 30 seconds after we left, all of them came pounding out and started practicing their routine. Oh well. After that, Hans and Josiah went to check out one of the Hofburg's exhibits and Annika and I went somewhere that would be guaranteed to give Uncle Peder cardiac arrest...the butterfly house. I'm pretty sure that some of those butterflies were moths posing as butterflies. And Lord, were they BIG! I'll spare Uncle Peder the pictures...
After Hofburg Palace, we took the U-Bahn over to St. Stephen's Cathedral, which is the hip and happening cathedral if you're in Vienna. For once, Annika's crawling on the floor came in handy as she scored Hans a free ticket to climb the tower. Since she found it, she got to climb with Daddy, while Josiah and I waited below. Josiah watched an episode of "Thomas & Friends" on my iPod while I reflected, genuflected, etc. God bless you, Apple.
Quick stop at Starbucks, another ride on the U-Bahn and we're back to the Hotel de France...another loooong post, sorry about that. We head home tomorrow morning and probably won't have any wild adventures for a couple of weeks, so you can all rest your eyes!
Oh, but there will be a few more pictures at some point. Tschuss from Vienna!
