Manon in Vienna

Oh dear, I see I have neglected my blog for 3 months. Well, since I am stuck on crutches for a while, I now have the time to catch up. OK, sooo... what happened since end of march?

My sister Manon ditched her family and came by herself to Vienna for a short week at Easter.  This was the first time in I don't know how long that we have vacationed together (except a weekend at a spa a couple of years ago).  It was great to have Manon all to myself for a while, no mother, husband, kids, or outside life interrupting. Manon arrived on a Thursday, and we did the requisite walking tour of the Innere Stadt (inner city) that afternoon.  The very next day we got on a bus to Prague, about 4 hours away. The trip ended up taking about 5.5 hours, as we got stuck on the highway due to an accident. But this worked out fine: we'd spent the first hours chatting and admiring the scenery, but were both quite tired, so we used the extratime to have a nap.  Once in Prague, we had a short walking tour with a guide, and then some free time before getting back on the bus to go home. What a lovely city, I must go there again!

At the castle, we got to see the president - OK, he just drove by. But the guards took this very seriously: they told people in Czech where to stand (e.g. Don't go there!) and then just shoved poor tourists who couldn't understand out of the way. The gates of the castle had some rather violent statues. Is this a warning not to piss off the Czech?

Towards the end of the day we fed Manon many yummy things, including this dessert called Trdlo, a kind of dough wrapped around a spit and cooked over coals. I couldn't have any because it contained nuts (of course), but I'm told it was delicious! I did a little Easter shopping and picked up some hand-made easter eggs, but  passed on the lamb-shaped pastry.

Back in Vienna, Easter Sunday was another gorgeous day, so we took the bus up to Kahlenberg and walked through the vineyards down to Grinzing.  From Kahlenberg, there is a great view of the city as well as the vineyards. We ended up at a Heurigen, a kind of outdoor pub but for new wine (vin nouveau) instead of beer.  Had some delicious food and wine, purchased a few bottles, and then went home.

I was quite exhausted, being out of shape and not used to walking so long. My calf muscles also did not appreciate going downhill for 2.5 hours.  Manon, on the other hand, went for a 10-km run with a group of runners from the same organization as her running group back home. A great opportunity for her, they ran out in the countryside, it was really nice.

The rest of her time here, Manon and I "did" Vienna: Schönbrunn palace, Hofburg, several churches, etc. One highlight was in Karlskirche: they have set up scaffolding up to the top of the dome, as they are restoring the frescoes on the ceiling. They set up an elevator and viewing platforms waaay up there, so people can get super close to the paintings. What an opportunity to see these frescoes from just a couple of metres away, instead of several stories up!

On the last evening, Manon and I treated ourselves to a fancy dinner at Meinl's. It being Tuesday and not high season, we had the restaurant almost entirely to ourselves. We had delicious food, a great view of Am Graben, and fantastic service. A perfect end to Manon's visit!

And of course, here are a couple of odd-ball pictures to end this post:

Yummy!

Found the Easter bunny!

Manon "en pénitence", in the naughty corner.