Vienna 2

Vienna Day 2

Today, after some much needed sleep and oddly feeling wide awake at 4 a.m. here. Brian and I set off to find some breakfast and get our day started.  Our hostel does have breakfast, but we wanted to find some cute Viennese café and try that out.  His harp teacher (oh, by the way Brian plays the harp) recommended us a bunch of cafes.  She lived here for a year and had a lot of advice for him.  We ended up on the Ring at Café Schwarzenberg eating the “Vital Breakfast.” This included wheat bread with avocado spread, vegetables with a dip, yogurt with fruit and granola, coffee, and a vitamin drink.  Everything was amazing and it felt good to get a healthy breakfast.  Plus, the coffee was the most amazing that I have ever had!

With breakfast done, we headed out to do some sightseeing.  First, we found the Musikverein, which is a music venue that Brian really wanted to find.  After that, we got back on the train to go to Brian’s mom’s hotel to meet up with her for the rest of the day.

Once we met up with Brian’s mom, we set off to go to the cemetery where Beethoven and many other composers’ are buried.  This meant taking a train and a tram so that was a new experience!  Everything worked out well and the cemetery was very beautiful.  It was strange to be standing amongst those famous composers and it was really neat to see them. 

After the cemetery, we took the train to Prater to ride the “giant ferris wheel.”  This theme park was really cute and fun!  It was a traditional theme park, but most of the rides were closed for the winter.  That was perfectly fine with me since all I was looking forward to was the wheel.  We walked around and then got on the ride.  This was a great way to see the city! It was fun and provided us with some amazing views of Vienna and it’s surroundings.  After our ferris wheel ride, it was off to see Beethoven’s house!

After a quick train ride, we had to walk around some of the Ring to get to Beethoven’s place.  This walk supplied awesome views of some famous Vienna sites.  We saw the Parliament building. the Burgtheater, and the University just to name a few. 

Parliament

Rathaus 

Burgtheater 

University

Beethoven lived in Vienna for quite some time, and it was really neat to see where he lived.  In the apartment, there were many artifacts about and by Beethoven.  Also, in the apartment building, there was a cute Beethoven shop.  Brian’s mom had a lot of fun here J

Now that we had seen where Beethoven lived and died, it was time to eat! We headed off to find Figlmuller which was recommended as having great, traditional Viennese food and the most famous schnitzel.  I, of course, ordered their specialty and Brian and his mom ordered the vegetarian option.  The schnitzel was HUGE and fantastic, and the potatoes it came with were amazing as well.  IT was a great meal and the perfect way to celebrate Viennese food. 

This restaurant was also near the Mozarthaus and so we walked over to check it out after dinner.  The Mozarthaus was three stories of museum all about Mozart and his life.  The exhibit starts on the top floor and ends with the floor Mozart actually lived on.  We also got an audio recording to listen to as we walked through the house.  There were many neat paintings and artifacts accompanied by Mozart quotes and stories about his life.  I really did not know must about the guy and I learned quite a lot. 

After Mozarthaus, we walked over to St. Anne’s Church where we were to hear a concert of the Four Seasons.  We were a little early, but that worked out well since the Church was right off of a fantastic shopping district.  We checked out shops and walked around until it was time for the concert.  The concert was very beautiful and further enhanced by the beautiful church it was set in.  It was awesome to hear some music which on this trip and I had a lot of fun.  After the concert, Brian’s mom caught a cab back to her hotel and we walked off to find Café Demel, which according to his harp teacher, is the best of the best when it comes to pastries.  Sadly, Café Demel was closed and so we found Café Hawelka nearby and also highly recommended.  We ordered coffee and hot chocolate and got their specialty: cake rolls filled with plum jam.  Woah, I was amazed by how delicious these were and Brian and I couldn’t believe that no one in America makes these.  We decided to open our own restaurant that specializes in Viennese food and serve this for dessert.  I’ll let you know how this works out…

Our night ended perfectly with drinks at Bermuda Brau.  We both ordered Radler, a lemon-y beer, and enjoyed the fun and lively atmosphere before our train ride back to our hostel.  Once again, I am exhausted after an amazing day and it is time to sleep!

Vienna 1

Vienna Day 1

Today marks my first trip outside of the United States.  Seriously, I haven’t even been to Mexico or Canada! So, I must say I am extremely excited.  I will be traveling to Vienna and Salzburg in Austria and then Munich, Germany.  I am embarking on this trip with my boyfriend and his mom.  Brian’s mom has wanted to make this trip for some time and was gracious enough to ask us to come with her! 

Technically today spanned January 2^nd as well as January 3^rd because of all the traveling.  Our flight took off from Chicago O’Hare around 6 p.m. and arrived in London at 7:45 a.m.  We had to taxi above the airport for around 30 minutes due to high winds.  These high winds also caused a 3 hour delay for our plane to Vienna.  We sat at Heathrow until around 2 p.m. and then arrived in Vienna at 5 p.m.  It was a long day of traveling, but I was lucky enough to sleep quite a bit on the first flight and in the London airport. 

When we arrived in Vienna, we were fairly exhausted, especially Brian and his mom since they slept much less than I did.  However, WE WE’RE FINALLY IN VIENNA! Brian and I took a shuttle to our youth hostel and his mom took a taxi to her hotel.  We freshened up a bit (I NEEDED to brush my teeth, it was grossing me out) and then we met up for dinner and to do some sightseeing.

When I say we met up, I actually mean: Brian and I got seriously lost walking to his mom’s hotel, did a ton of walking, and finally found her.  The hotel is about a mile away from our hostel, but after missing the street, not being able to find street signs, and actually getting the street name wrong, we did a lot more walking than one mile.  We finally found her hotel, which looks very nice, and we asked the front desk for directions to the Stephensdom (smart move this time).  We were also pretty sick of walking at this point and so we asked the lady for directions involving some form of transportation.  She recommended the U-bahn, which is the high-speed subway system in Vienna.  I was a little nervous about this because I really did not want to get lost again, but it was really easy to use and the directions we received were extremely simple and clear.  We hopped on the train and made it to the Stephensdom, no problem. 

The Stephensdom: the number 1 must see attraction according to our Vienna travel book.  It did not disappoint.  This giant, gothic cathedral was absolutely stunning.  I was completely awed.  It was under construction and we could not access all areas, but what we did see was amazing. 

After the cathedral, we walked around and found the Mozarthaus.  This was closed, but we were glad to find it and at least see the outside.  We might make it back to check out the inside, but we only have three days here and our trip became even shorter after our travel delay. 

After all of this, we were STARVING.  It was around 8:30 p.m., which in Austria is called 20:30, and therefore, our bodies felt like it was 1:30 p.m. and that we had missed a whole night of sleep.  Needless to say, we were feeling a bit strange, but we wanted to eat.  We found this cute restaurant/café called cafe Diglas near the Mozarthaus, and I was sold as soon as I saw the dessert display in front.  Oh my goodness, desserts in Vienna are unbelievable! All three of us ordered omelets and then we tried a piece of the Sachertorte.  This is supposed to be one of the most famous desserts from around the world, the number one dessert in Vienna according to our book, and it did not disappoint.  It was amazing! This chocolate cake was coated with an apricot glaze and then covered with a thin layer of chocolate frosting.  Wow, it was good.

After dinner, we successfully made it back to the hotel by train (I was really excited by how good we were getting at this) and then Brian and I walked back (the right way!) to our hostel. 

The hostel is really very nice.  It is small, but it’s perfect for what we need: a place to sleep and use the bathroom.  There is even a breakfast area, bar, and laundry room.  Everyone here seems nice and the area is great.  We are on the Mariahilferstrasse, which is known for it’s great shopping.  Anyways, at this point in my day I was just so glad to be able to lie down and get some sleep.  Day 1: such a success.  I can’t believe I am here!  More to come tomorrow J Goodnight!

Door County Day 4

Today is the 4th day here in Door County and it is New Year's Eve!

Before this trip, I made a TON of puppy chow (or muddy buddies) so that we would have a delicious snack.  This giant batch has lasted us the entire trip and we plan on taking it to my brother's friend's house for New Year's.  It is the perfect snack/dessert and everyone loves it.  Plus, this batch turned out even better than any other batch I have ever made.  I made some adjustments to the recipe on the Chex box and I am very pleased with the results.

Puppy Chow/Muddy Buddies

Ingredients:
15 cups Chex Cereal (divided in half into two bowls)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
8 tbsp margarine (or butter)
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. place about 7.5 cups of Chex in a large bowl
2. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup peanut butter, and 4 tbsp butter in a microwavable safe bowl for about 1 and a half minutes.  Stir in 1 tsp vanilla and then microwave for another 30 seconds or until mixture is smooth.
3. Pour over the Chex and mix until cereal is covered thoroughly.  Place mixture in a large ziplock bag and pour in 1 cup powdered sugar.  Shake until cereal is coated.  You may need to add some sugar.
4.  Repeat 1-3 with the other half of the ingredients.
5. Keep in freezer (Muddy Buddies are amazing when they are cold and crunchy!)
Enjoy :)

New Year's Eve started off with a nice mommy-and-me work out. After that, we all got ourselves together and returned to the Village Cafe for lunch.  I got an omelet and I swear it came with the best breakfast potatoes that I have ever had! Lunch was really nice and I think it's fair to say that the Village Cafe became our favorite place.

After lunch, we decided that it would be nice to bring a dessert over to my brother's friend's for later.  We went to this place called Sweetie Pies, but unfortunately it was closed for New Year's Weekend.  This was  bit of a bummer and the grocery store didn't have any good pies either! My parents dropped me, Brian, and my brother off at the hotel and they went off to do some shopping and search for a pie.  They found one! White Gull Inn had whole Door County Cherry Pies for sale.  Finally, we were all ready for our New Year's Eve get-together.

So many snacks!

We went over to our host's house, which was beautiful, and we brought a ton of snacks and the cherry pie.  We snacked, made our own pizzas, and played Scattegories as we waited for the New Year to approach.  The pizzas were amazing and they were made even better with home-made pesto and tomato sauce.  Everything was delicious!

Zack and his friends made a balloon drop and they had purchased a ton of fireworks and poppers earlier that day.  I love how fireworks are legal in this fabulous state.  As midnight came, we set off the balloon drop and ate dessert.  The Cherry Pie was a tad too sweet for me, but it was gorgeous and Brian loved it!  This is saying something since he is a huge cherry fan.

Then, we headed outside for a bonfire and to set off the fireworks.  This ended up being even more epic than we expected as Zack's friend's dad lit the wrong side of the firework and it started shooting towards us and the house.  We all went screaming and running inside.  After that, we read the instructions more carefully and had a great time watching the fireworks go off.

Happy New Year's!
Picture: Sparkling Cherry Juice 

Brian and I shared our third New Year's together and it was made even more special by being surrounded by family and new friends.  This was an amazing New Year's and, now that I have not been burned by fireworks, one that I will always look upon fondly.  I can't wait for all the new year has in store for me.  Any New Year's resolutions? What will I cook? Where will I go? What will I do? I am excited for it all! I hope that everyone had a great New Year's and I wish you all the best in 2012.  Enjoy :)

Door County Day 3

Door County 


Today is our third day in Door County.  We discovered this fantastic place called Hands on Art and spent most of our day at this place.  Hands on Art is a fantastic idea.  They have a bunch of different buildings and in each building there is a specific art project that you can work on.  You do an art project, they finish it, and then you pick it up the next day.  They can also ship, but that costs extra.  We spent a ton of time there and we all made different projects.  I made a coffee mug, wine glass, and ornament.  I am not the most artistically inclined and I have to say I'm fairly impressed with myself.  My projects turned out pretty good and I'm excited to see what they look like when I pick them up tomorrow.  Brian made an adorable mug and the rest of my family participated in ceramics, glass work, and wine glass painting.  The center also had a metal working building, jewelry making, mosaics, and spin-art.  Everything was fairly inexpensive and there were plenty of employees around to help you out.  I can't wait to go pick up my stuff tomorrow and see how it all turned out!

Mom working on a platter

Coffee Mug and Snowman Mug

After our hands on art experience we went back to the hotel for a bit and then it was off for dinner at Mojo Rosa's.  This place was super cute and we got to have a really nice Mexican dinner.  After dinner, the plan was to go bowling at Sister Bay Bowl with my brother's friend and her family.  This didn't work out yesterday and so we were hoping it would today.  I guess it was just not meant to be because when we got to the place it was packed and we were going to have to wait hours before a lane would open up! We drove back to the hotel and while my family played games, Brian and I finally finished a movie that we had been watching before this trip.  Overall, it as a really good day and tomorrow should be fun as well since it is New Year's Eve!  Now it is off to bed...goodnight!