....in Vienna on Valentine's Day

Dobry Den!

As many of you know, we (Hannah, Laura, and I went with a couple of our friends from the other flat) went to Vienna this past weekend. Other than being cold most of the time, we really had a fabulous experience. We traveled by bus (Student Agency) and it was a very pleasant experience. We enjoyed a movie and a latte while looking the passing scenery. I don't think it can get much better than that. We arrived in the late afternoon on Friday and found our hostel, which wasn't that bad. It did lack heat but after you put all your clothes on and got under the covers it really wasn't too shabby. :) No really it worked out fine. That evening we spent just wondering around and trying to get used to the fact that the language we were now hearing was German and not Czech. I don't know about the other girls, but my brain was confused. :) We found out that a lot of the city shuts down at about 8:00 pm so that was a little different. So, because of that we ended up heading back to the hostel and going to bed earlier in order to get up good time to start our sightseeing the next morning. Saturday, Valentine's Day, started with a nice warm breakfast at a nearby cafe that was inexpensive with a coupon we got from the hostel. Afterwards we set out to explore. We found several antique stores and little shops that were very interesting to search through. (You can see pictures on Laura's facebook). The picture at the top is one of the statues at the Hofburg Palace. The palace was incredible. I want to live there. :) For lunch we just had some snacks we got at a grocery store because our breakfast was so big. We stumbled on a market (rather we went in search of) that had all sorts of veggies, fruits, clothes, scarves, and many other random things. It was a sort of flea market. It was fun but after the sun went away we descided to find a warm cafe to have some coffee in. Oh, (Uncle Jeff and Aunt Taya, you will like this) I found those chocolate eggs that you always bring back for us. :) I was so excited I bought two boxes. :) It was our Valentine's presents.
Later that evening we went out for dinner to celebrate. It ended up being hard to find a place because in Austria, most places close early on Saturday and are closed on Sundays. We did find one though and it was a lot of fun. After filling our tummys we went ice skating at this amazingly huge outdoor ice skating place. It was a lot of fun. What a fun filled Vienna Valetine's Day it was.

The next day we checked out of our hostel and took an informal tour of the city by tram. We ended up finding another palace that I can't remember the name of and a beautiful chapel that I also can't remember the name of. (For names and more places that visited, go to Laura's new albums. :)) It was relaxing and fun. The trams were warm. :) We headed back to Prague in the evening with another adventure behind us knowing that whatever you say, if it ends with "in Vienna on Valentine's Day" it will always be that much more amazing.


Love,
Gracia

P.S. Today is Laura's Birthday. :) I had fun. hehe...and so did she. We had cake, sang Happy Birthday, had gelato, opened presents, and ate pastries. Not all at one time, of course, but throughout the day we celebrated. Laura is no longer a teenager. Woowoo!