So when I met up with Marsha and company in Innsbruck earlier this year, we had discussed a future meet-up in Vienna; after one of my business trips. That never happened for various reasons, but when my cousin and I decided to go climbing in Italy, I decided to go to Vienna first!

I left Seattle in the midst of wildfire season. Shit was bad! It looked like Mars!

Getting above the ash… sort of

So I my itinerary was SEA-PDX-FRA-VIE. Why such a convoluted itinerary?

Because that’s what the cheap ticket dictated! It was my first time flying Condor. They have non-stop service to I could have flown SEA-FRA-VIE, but tickets were $400 more than the ticket I purchased #blackmagicticketpricing

Regardless, I didn’t mind, because AS had a good mileage bonus going with Condor, and well, I was flying in J.

Frankfurt was much less Mars-like, and the flight was surprisingly good! Like, really good! The catering was solid as reviews had indicated. I ate everything they served, watched Isle of Dogs, and got about 6-hrs of sleep. I would definitely fly them again!

I hopped over to Vienna on a Lufthansa A320, which was great as well. They served cake. It was very Austrian.

So, when I landed, I noticed this artwork on the luggage carousel. I thought that the someone had actually checked a Chagall piece as luggage, but no, it was just an advertisement for the exhibit. Pretty good ad campaign, right?!

I met M&T at the terminal, we went to their flat to drop of luggage, and we headed into the city. There was a summer festival happening at Rathaus (City Hall), where a lot of local restaurants open up pop-up shops, and folks can gather and enjoy the summer nights!

First meal was spaetzle! So simple! So delicious!

We walked around the city center for a quick tour

Vienna, where piles of bodies can make for excellent artwork!

Less of a pile. More of a tower.

A real tower, from St. Stephen’s Cathedral

We got ice cream afterwards at Eis Greissler, and headed back to their place. It had been a long day, so I fell asleep pretty quickly…

So the next day, I woke up at 2pm. Apparently, I had slept 15-hrs… Why? Apparently, I was really tired. Conclusion? I really needed a vacation… but didn’t know it…

Anyways, I ate a snack, and Marsha took me out on a condensed tour of Vienna. We first went to the market, and caught up on high school gossip. The crosswalk signs were cute, and the wine and cheese plates were amazing.

Check out those homes…

So. Much. Gold.

Check out that lamb feeding its kid. Seems wayyy too happy… right?

^Also, QAXi needs to work on his penmanship… and to stop graffitiing things.

We went by Rektoratskirche St. Karl Borromäus (another church, a Baroque church)…

And then the Wiener Staatsoper (the State Opera House)…

…and then met up with Tyler for dinner at a Moroccan restaurant, l’Orient, I believe. It was delish.

We tried visiting some palace grounds, but the gates were closed, we went to the train station to buy tickets to Slovakia, and went home. It was a solid first day.