herring sissy vaca: Vienna

Hello! Back with the second country on the Herring sissy vaca: Austria! You can check here for the first, the Czech Republic. 

We slept on the train from Prague to Vienna and arrived early early in the morning. We went to the hostel we found on WeHostel to drop our bags. It was called Wombats. I highly recommend this place, we stayed in a couple of them throughout our trip, and they were great! 

We walked around in the morning once we arrived. Vienna is the English word for the city, but they spell it Wien in Austria. Here's Karlskirche, which translates to St. Charles Church. I LOVE the architecture on this baby. 

We rented bikes and rode around the city a bit. I have severe anxiety just thinking about it. I had my huge camera-bag-sized purse that made me a bit off balance, and I'm pretty sure we biked in areas where bikes weren't allowed. I almost was run over by a trolley at one point. If I had been more comfortable with the surroundings, I probably would've loved it! Binky had no problems navigating, while I almost hit a group of old ladies several different times. Oops. 

We biked to St. Stephen's Cathedral and went inside. Some pics, shall we?

Here's the Vienna State Opera House.

After some sightseeing, we went to the Naschmarkt, an open air market with lots of delicious treats. We bought some meats and cheeses to snack on.

Pardon the glare on these, just wanted to show all the glorious meats you could choose from! 

YUMMMMMM

And for all you rabbit food enthusiasts, veggies! 

After that, we went back to the hostel to finish checking in. They were having computer issues, so it took a while. It looks like she's faking, but Bink took a nap in the lobby while I checked in with people back home while we waited. 

We finally got checked in, took showers, and headed out for the evening.

Midnight that night kicked off Rachelpalooza 2014! Of course we had to celebrate with some beer. We went to 7 Sternbrau for dinner. They brewed their own beer. Delicious! 

You have the option of a half liter or a whole liter of beer, and every chance we got, we went for the whole liter. Duh.

This particular place had chicken wings (!) so of course we got some. I also got wiener schnitzel, which is a lot like country fried chicken or steak. Yummy! 

After dinner, we went out in search of a place to get some drinks for Rachelpalooza! We found a little hole in the wall called Kreisky. It wasn't too busy, so we sat right at the bar. We made friends with the bartender and some others sitting there. Shortly after, a man ran in, made himself a drink by reaching over the bar, then threw his leftovers against the wall. We were in shock with mouths open until the bartender told us that was his boss/the owner. We spoke with him briefly and told him it was my birthday, and he so nicely poured us these vodka drinks!

And by vodka "drinks", I mean straight vodka. 

Soon after that, we became really good friends with the other patrons haha. This girl's name was Jolene, and she thought it was hilarious all my items were teal/minty green, and made me take a pic. She was from England, so it was very easy communicating with her and her friends. 

The boy taking these pics needed some lessons..

They had the European Budweiser, which we should've had in the Czech Republic, because that's where it's from. 

Binky gave me this delightful cake to continue celebrating haha

The next day we ate lunch in this delightful little cafe. Again, I got the wiener schnitzel. It's scary to try new things, y'all! 

After that, we went to Schonbrunn Palace. 

It was a glorious day! They were setting up for a concert later that night, which you can see on the right. 

Back of the palace. 

I came here before with my mother after my study abroad classes were over. It is huge! Tons of gardens, fountains, etc. 

There is also a zoo on the grounds at the palace, so we decided to check it out. 

I'd like to think this guy is saying HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYY! 

I have no idea what they're saying about rats here, I just thought it was funny it warranted a whole display. 

After the zoo, we hightailed it through the gardens. We had to catch a train that afternoon. 

 We hopped in a store to get some items for the train. I thought the mayo packaging was interesting..

We took some prosciutto and champs for the trip. Birthday champs are my fav! 

The countryside! Reminded me of Kansas. 

You don't know fancy until you drink lukewarm champagne out of a bottle on a train! 

 A little to much sun that day. I remember walking around with a map on my head because the sun was too much haha! 

 After a few hours, we arrived in Budapest, Hungary! One of my favorite places!