In Vienna!

Vienna from the Ferris Wheel at the Prater.

We arrived at Vienna overnight. After breakfast we joined our excursion. The tour we chose included riding the U-Bahn into the old town. As it turned out, only one other couple had chosen this tour! The others had taken a tour which used a bus. I was glad we took this one, the guide was very good and I enjoyed traveling using the Metro.

As I said, our guide, Karl, was very good and as a bonus, he was up on "Third Man" minutiae, too! At one point during our walk, he pointed out an area that was used in the movie!

One of the places seen in "The Third Man"!

We walked through various parts of the old city, at one point we passed the Stables of the famous Lipizzaner Stallions; we could just see them in their stalls.

The Albertina Museum

At the conclusion of our tour we returned to the boat and had lunch on board. After lunch we walked over to the Prater, an amusement park which features a 100 year old Ferris wheel which figured prominently in The Third Man. The Prater was only about a mile from our boat so we decided to return the next day.

The next morning, we walked along the waterfront looking for a clothing store. I picked up a wicking T-shirt and a couple of pairs of shorts at a discount shop, preparing for a bout of hot weather which was forecast.  While walking along, we noticed an inordinate number of little bunnies on the verges!

A Viennese bunny! 

We then walked to the Prater and rode the Wheel, taking lots of pictures. After the ride we stopped at a cafe and had a bier, (a Stiegl, of course!).

Enjoying a beer on the grounds of the Prater.

We returned to the boat for lunch. That afternoon I attended a tour of the Pilothouse which was pretty interesting. The entire structure can retract to allow for low clearances. Late in the afternoon, we set sail for Budapest!

Vienna Pictures here:  Vienna pictures