Vienna

Had little less than a day in Vienna, so we picked limited destinations carefully.

1. Belvedere Palace

2. The Centimeter Restaurant

3. St. Charles' Church

First of all, this place is HUGE! There is so much to see and it's worth getting here to see it. At the Belvedere Palace we walked through the enormous and incredibly ornate gardens. We perused the many paintings and works of art including sculptures from the Baroque Era and Gustav Klimpt's work. The Belvedere houses the world's largest collection of Gustav Klimt paintings and if you've ever seen the Woman in Gold you'll be able to see why Klimt's works cause such a commotion. His paintings are mesmerizing in person.

You can purchase tickets to see the artworks.

Belvedere factsheet.

At the Centimeter Restaurant, which came as a recommendation from our hotel, we ordered some wonderful tasting food, including a dish called Lumberjack Dumplings which came served in a hatchet! This restaurant was fun because the menu was a ruler and you ordered your food based on how many "centimeters" of food you wanted.

Inside a Catholic Cathedral we listened to a stunning performance of Mozart's Requiem. I was astounded at the quality of the performance and the majesty of the venue. I've always been partial to Mozart, so I quite enjoyed this part of our trip as well. All three of us stayed awake during the entire performance. It was just that good!

NOTE: to drive in Austria you need to buy a toll vignette.

Vignettes can be purchased online, at gas stations, post offices and news stands.

Not having one will risk you HEAVY on-the-spot fines if you get caught driving without it.