Today Tibor and I took a 2.5 hour drive to Vienna, Austria. It was well worth
the trip. Vienna is a very beautiful city and (once again) a photographer’s
delight. We saw most of the major sites inside the Ringstrasse, and after that
we went over to Schönbrunn (the summer home of the Habsburg’s).

The shocker
of the day was when we stopped in Starbucks (yes, they have them in Vienna)
for a drink. A grande iced mocha, which normally costs $3.30 at home, cost €4.80
here — that’s six dollars!

I forgot to mention yesterday’s surprise: if you
think gas prices are bad in the US then you haven’t seen anything. A tank
of gas here in Hungary cost us $100!

Anyhow, pictures are after the link. Since you aren’t allowed to take photos
inside Schönbrunn, I only have exterior shots of that.


Votivkirche, complete with scaffolding and an advertisement


I love doors, in case you haven’t noticed


I don’t recall the name of this church


This one I do know — Stephansdom. Not the greatest time of day for this photo.


The inside of Stephansdom was just incredible


The view from the top was impressive as well


Back on the ground now — this is the opera


Can’t remember the name for this, but it was some kind of conservatory for
plants


On the other side is the Schmetterling Haus – butterfly house.


Lots of great sculptures can be found here


This is the Hofburg palace


Good stuff!


Can’t remember what this is


A tribute to my Stanford hallway photos


Parliament building


Parliament with the Rathaus (City Hall) in the background


There’s a film festival at the Rathaus


A theater

Okay, now let’s move over to Schönbrunn, which is outside the city center


Not the best light for this frontal shot of the palace


The lighting was better in the "backyard"


I have to get myself one of these


… and I most certainly need to hire their landscape architect

That’s all for Vienna!