Vienna to Zurich with Lexi

Headed to the airport just before noon. Checked in with Lufthansa, then headed to the Polaris lounge. Boarded our flight at 2:45, had great seats upstairs on a 747-8. Watched an episode of Survivor, had dinner, then went to bed. Got a solid 7 or 8 hours of sleep.

Had breakfast, then landed in Frankfurt. Spent some time in the lounge, Randy tried to sort out a credit card fraud thing. Boarded a 1-hour flight to Vienna. Picked up our bags and headed to the Sans Souci Hotel where we met our niece Lexi in the lobby.

Checked in, resolved the credit card issue, then went for a walk. Saw St. Charles Church and Stephansdom Nordturm churches. Stopped at Wein & CO for a glass of wine. They recommended EF16 for dinner, which was a cozy place with great food. Headed back to the hotel for bed.

Rick was up early for a swim in the hotel pool. Then we all had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Took scooters for a tour around, dropped them at the business and economics school. Rick ran around for pictures. Took the subway to the Gleiss & Garden for lunch.

Took a tram to the Schönbrunn Palace. Spent some time in the conservatories. Rick and Lexi had their hands nibbled at a botanical garden. Toured the palace. It was super busy. Headed back to the hotel for a bit of down time. At 6 we walked over to Der Dachboden for a couple of rooftop drinks with a great view. Walked around the corner to Pizzeria Osteria da Giovanni for some tasty pizza. Then it was back to the hotel for bed.

Rick swam early. Then we all had breakfast at 8:30. Took the subway to the Albertina Modern Museum.

Saw exhibitions from Edwin Wurm and Alfred Kubin. Took the tram and walked to the Belvedere Palace. Walked around and saw more art. Afterwards, we walked a couple of blocks to a "tapas" restaurant for a Mexican lunch.

Walked around the train station for more pics for Rick. Took the tram back to the hotel.

At 6 we took the subway to Sky Bar for sunset drinks. Then we walked to DO & CO for an Asian-themed dinner. Walked back to the hotel, stopping at Cafe Sacher to pick up some of their famous torte.

Rick did an early swim, then headed out for some photography. Randy and Lexi had breakfast at 9, then took the subway over to a park in the middle of the Danube. Happened to catch Rick scooting right by us! Walked about 2km, then crossed over the river and met Rick at the Millennium Tower for some coffee.

Took a tram back to the shopping area where we had Austrian hot dogs at Würstlstand, very tasty! Rick took off for more pictures, Randy and Lexi walked to the Albertina Museum where we saw exhibitions by Chagal, Franz Grabmeyer, and Robert Longo. Most importantly met the violin-playing cows! Walked back through the park to the hotel to rest for a bit. Had coffee at 4 in the hotel restaurant.

At 6, walked over to near the Opera house for dinner at Veggiezz. At 7, the doors opened and we went in, had a glass of wine, then moved to our box on the second level for a soloist concert by Sonya Yoncheva which lasted about 2 hours, with a 20-minute intermission. Great performance (though an English translation would have been helpful) filled with lots of applause. Afterwards we walked back to the hotel, had a glass of wine, then headed up to bed.