Category: 2024_Nov/Dec Europe Christmas Markets

It is so good to be home after 3 weeks in cold Central Europe. Of course, it wasn’t exactly toasty here either. It was only 29 degrees when I woke up on Wednesday but it warmed up during the day.

The flight home was uneventful. We left Amsterdam on time but an interesting side note. Remember that I had bought my train ticket to Amsterdam for Tuesday instead of Monday. Well, if I would have had to travel on Tuesday, there was a good chance that I would have missed my flight as the 8:30am Antwerp-Amsterdam train had mechanical difficulties and didn’t arrive to Schiphol until 1040, which would have only given me 30 minutes to get checked in, get through security and onto the plane before they closed the doors. Thank God for the kind train operator who allowed me to get on the train even though my ticket was for the wrong day.

After only about 90 minutes on the ground in Heathrow, I boarded my LHR-PHX flight on time.

We were wheels up at 3:30pm and chased the sunset almost all the way home. It was very pretty.

The first course for dinner was a delicious roasted pepper tomato soup.

The sun kept getting lower but didn’t disappear until about 90 minutes before we landed.

Main dinner course was a Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings,

This was as dark as it got as we flew over Canada.

We had a final meal of chicken.

I watched 4 movies one of which was Back to Black; Amy Winehouse was really a hot mess! I napped a little, ate a lot and counted the hours until I touched down at PHX.

As you know I love to travel and explore new places, but it’s always good to get home. My next adventure is in late May when I head to Sweden to visit family. I’ll be gone for 2 1/2 months, checking the rest of Europe off my to-do list (Finland, the Baltics, Poland, the Balkans and finishing with a Greek cruise out of Athens). Of course, that entire trip depends on our esteemed world leaders not started WWIII before then.

As always, thank you so much for traveling with me. I had a great time but it’s good to be home. Happy holidays everyone.

Love,

Lynn

Some people focus on the bad, assume the worse and are afraid of anyone who is different. I prefer to think people are good, kind and will do anything they can to help, regardless of who they are or where they’re from. I had evidence of that again today when I had a near travel disaster.

Long story short, I purchased a train ticket from Antwerp to Amsterdam for the wrong date (there’s a first time for everything). I didn’t realize it until I tried to get on the train and the agent stopped me and said that my ticket was for tomorrow (Tuesday). My response was a horrified, “What???” While the morning train would have gotten me to the airport in time for my 1140 flight to London, I would have been a nervous wreck for the next 24 hours.

I told her I had to get to Amsterdam today and asked about my options. She just smiled and said, “get on; I’ll figure it out.” I got on the packed train and waited for her in the cafe car. I figured I would have to stand for the one-hour train ride but at least I was on the train and that was all that mattered.

About 20 minutes later, she had taken my information, said she’d call headquarters to transfer my ticket and found me a seat. The only place to put my rollaboard was on the top rack, which I couldn’t reach, so yet another kind stranger helped me with that. I must have looked incredibly stressed because when I finally got settled, all 3 of my seatmates smiled at me and one of them said, “it’s okay now; you’ll get there.” He chit chatted a little to help me relax and the rest of the trip was totally uneventful.

I got to my hotel and was able to check in early (it was only 1045) and Sara was very helpful. In fact, she went out of her way to ensure I was comfortable and had what I needed for the day, Actually, she was so busy telling me how to get into Amsterdam Central, where to get a mani/pedi and how to find the market that she forgot to finish my check in. As a result, about 20 minutes after I got to my room, someone else used a key to get in. It was a minor mix up that got straightened out very quickly. It also got me a free Bailey’s in the evening, so it turned out okay.

I’ve traveled all over the world and while people may not speak the same language or have the same customs, they all want the same thing – a happy, safe and healthy life for themselves and their families. There are the few who want to hurt and hate, but most people will bend over backwards to help if they can.

Enough of that. The bottom line is I made it to Amsterdam but before I tell you about the rest of my day, here’s a final pic of Antwerp. This was last night on my way to the concert.

Here’s Amsterdam Central Station, another beautiful building.

Actually, there’s not much to tell you about today. I got the train from the hotel to Central Station, where I got on a tram to the nail salon. The foot massage felt so good, I almost cried. I’ve put a lot of steps on these poor feet over the last 3 weeks so a pedi is just what I needed.

After the salon, it was back on the tram. I got off one stop early to have lunch at Dutch Masters Pancake restaurant.

On the way to the restaurant, I passed a decorated tree in a small square.

I was freezing cold (mid 30s with a 20MPH wind; crazy cold) so I started with a hot chocolate.

Then I had a delicious Dutch ham and cheese pancake.

After lunch it was back to the station to catch the train home.

I’m settled in for the night and looking forward to going home tomorrow. I had a wonderful time, but it’s always nice to go home.

Out of all the markets, the one at the Vienna Town Hall Square was my favorite. It was so much more than booths of “stuff” and food. The others were nice, and I enjoyed them, but Vienna was special.

As of tomorrow, I will have been gone 21 days. So much has happened over the last 3 weeks, it seems like an eternity since I arrived in Budapest. I’m very glad I made the trip as I’ve been wanting to visit Christmas markets for a long time. As others have told me, though, after a while they all start to look alike. That is very true, so I think I’ve enough for a few years. If I decide to visit them again, I’ll go to France and Germany.

Of course, the highlight was this past weekend. Meeting Dana and attending her concert was beyond special. I’ll never forget it. Just in case you didn’t have enough of that last night, here are a couple more videos.

This one is of her backup singers and their version of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.

Here’s one more of Dana. The song is familiar as it’s one of Peter’s downloaded songs, but I don’t know the name of it.

As always, thanks for traveling with me. I’ll report in tomorrow or Wednesday morning to let you know about trip home.

With love and gratitude.

The main reason I’m in Europe happened this weekend. Almost exactly one year ago, I bought a ticket to see Dana Winners in concert here in Antwerp. Who is Dana Winner you ask? Well, if you traveled with me and Peter on our Epic European Adventure in 2022, you may remember that she is a Belgian pop singer and Peter was absolutely her biggest fan. He was a member of her fan club, was friends with her on Facebook and listened to her music constantly. The concert in Oct 2022 was one of the highlights of the trip. I’ve included a link to that blog page in case you either want to refresh your memory as to what happened or have no idea what I’m talking about and want to catch up. The Most Amazing Evening EVER!

Last December I received an email stating that she is having a 35th anniversary concert this weekend and I knew I had to be here. If Peter had been well, I would have given him concert tickets for Christmas last year. But since he is gone, I knew I had to attend the concert for him. Because I didn’t want to come all the way to Belgium for a concert, I decided to catch some of the famous Christmas markets as well, which is what took me to Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Prague, Brussels and Bruges. But without the concert, I wouldn’t be here at all.

Last July, I saw that she was having a meet and greet for her international fans. International meaning anyone from outside the Benelux countries (Belgium and the Netherlands). Since Arizona is very far out of the Benelux region, I signed up for the event and it was held yesterday (Saturday) afternoon.

After a delicious lunch of real Italian pizza…

… I hopped on a bus to the Mercure Hotel about 25 minutes away, where I joined about 17 other fans in a small meeting room.

The main reason I wanted to meet her was to give her my thanks for all the joy she brought to Peter, especially in those last few months of his life when all he could do was watch TV and listen to music. He watched her YouTube videos constantly and listened to her music on his computer.

During the meet/greet I spoke with her a couple of times and during the 2nd conversation, I showed her the photo of me and Peter at the 2022 concert. It was as if a lightbulb went off in her head and she remembered what happened. In case you didn’t look at the original post, at one point during the show, she said, “I understand there are people from Arizona here tonight. Where are you?” That was us. The joy on Peter’s face when she acknowledged us was indescribable.

When I showed her this photo, her face brightened and she said, “I do remember you. You put a card in with the flowers.” And we did, which is how she knew we were from Arizona. She said she “got shivers” when she recognized us.

During our 2nd conversation, her assistant took these.

At one point I got a little teary, as I was wishing Peter was with me to meet her; he would have been thrilled. She understood and she gave me a big hug and told me they were “happy tears”.

When she found out I was traveling alone, she became concerned that I was going to be able to get to and from the concert safely. She even tried to connect me with some of the other U.S. fans. She really is the nicest, most genuine person. You can tell she really loves her fans and is very grateful for their loyalty. I thanked her again for her beautiful music and congratulated her on 35 years of doing what she loved.

The event lasted just over an hour and it was an incredible experience. I was a little concerned that there would be so many people all we’d get was a handshake and a smile. But with only 18 people, everyone got to spend as much time with her as they wanted. Luckily, no one took advantage and monopolized her time.

Then it was back to the hotel with my new Aussie friends. Debbie and Calvin are staying at the same hotel so we shared a cab.

Today (Sunday) was a quiet day. The forecasted rain didn’t happen but it was still cloudy, damp and chilly so I put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on my door and hung out in my room all morning.

I went out a little after noon and headed to the Christmas market. I had seen it in the square on Saturday but didn’t get a chance to wander around as I was in a hurry to get to lunch and the meet/greet.

I found this high on a building.

Just like in the other places, there were smaller markets scattered around the city. In one of them, I finally found a brat that didn’t have 1/2 pounds of bread in the bun. It was good and worth the wait.

I skipped the onions.

I found an ice skating rink.

And some very ugly sweaters.

The larger market was in the Grote Market or main square. Antwerp is not known for its Christmas markets and it is small but nice. Of course, they had the giant tree.

Grote Market with the Cathedral in the background.

It was getting chilly so I stopped for some hot chocolate.

I went home a different route and stumbled into a church that was built between 1615-1611. It originally had ceiling tiles by Peter Paul Reuben (native son of Antwerp) but they were destroyed by a fire when the building was struck by lightening in 1718.

I only took a peak inside.

Here is today’s sweet treat photo.

And, of course, I couldn’t get out of Antwerp without trying on a piece of jewelry.

Then it was back to the hotel for a few hours before heading out to the Lotto Center for the concert. It’s only about 4 metro stops from here and I’m meeting my Aussie friends there.

Talk again when it’s over.

Well, I’m back at the hotel and it’s now just after midnight on Monday. As expected the concert was amazing! She not only has an amazing voice but she puts on a wonderful show. This one was “smaller” than the last one which had a cast of about 100, a full orchestra and several big name guest artists. Tonight it was her and her band, back up singers and one guest artist. But it was no less entertaining than the one we attended in 2022.

I met Debbie and Calvin at the Arena. They were seated only 4 rows in front of me.

Just like in 2022, something amazing happened tonight. As I was trying to take a selfie, a man offered to take a photo for me.

Then he asked me where I was from and I said the U.S. His reply was, “I thought so. You’re from Arizona aren’t you?” Well, I almost fell over. Turns out that he and his wife were at the concert in 2022 and remembered me from when Dana called us out from the stage. Can you believe that?

Oh, but wait, there’s more. The woman sitting in front of us heard our conversation and told me that she and her husband were sitting next to us at that concert. Seriously?!?

Of course, they both asked where Peter was and once I explained what happened, they were very glad I came to the concert for him.

Once Dana came onstage, it was magic just like the last time. She sang for over 2 hours but this time with only 2 very short breaks as there were no guest artists. Of course, all her conversation was in Dutch but she sang more songs in English this time. But even when I couldn’t understand a word she was singing, it was still beautiful. As I said before, music transcends language barriers.

I took about 20 videos. Don’t worry, I’ll only post a few of my favorites.

This was one of the first songs she did. It’s a medley of some of her Dutch hits.

She did several gospel numbers.

Ed Sheeran’s Song: Perfect Symphony. I don’t think I’ve heard all the lyrics in English as I usually listen to Ed’s duet with Andrea Bocelli so most of it is in Italian. It’s a very pretty song.

Barcelona was originally done by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe. I didn’t hear the name of the woman Dana sang with. I couldn’t get a video of the guest artist as she was standing directly in line with a spotlight and any time I put the camera on her, the screen whited out.

Sounds of Silence with her guitarist.

This is Winner Takes it All from her Abba Medley. At about the 9 second mark she looked right at me and gave me a big smile. I was sitting in the 3rd chair from the catwalk so she had a clear view. This one is long… sorry.

And, of course, her signature song One Moment in Time.

I’m so glad I had the opportunity to hear her sing again. It was even more special after meeting her on Saturday. It was an emotional weekend, missing Peter because I know he would have been so happy to be here. But I’m sure he was watching and smiling down on me.

Ok, so now it’s 1:45am and I have a 8:30am train to Amsterdam. I’m not sure what I was thinking going out so early but there it is. Hopefully, I can relax enough to fall asleep.

Good night everyone.

Bruges is less than an hour by train from Brussels. I got to my B&B (which is not on the town square but only a 15-minute walk) about 1030 but my room was ready.

It’s a lovely room on the top floor of a 3 story canal house. To say the stairs are steep is an understatement. They’re not quite as vertical as a ladder, but not far off.

Someone helped me with my bags. I only have a relatively light rollaboard and my backpack, but I’m lucky I can get myself up the stairs so the help was very much appreciated.

The view from the room is nice. This is a quiet residential street not far from the canal.

Since I had nothing special to do in town, I rested in the room until about 1pm when a miracle occurred…. the SUN CAME OUT!! It was still chilly but everything is so much better when the sun is shining. It didn’t last too long and by 3pm the clouds had rolled back in but a couple hours is better than nothing.

Burg Square is one of the oldest parts of the city.

The other side of the square is the Basilica of the Holy Blood.

By this time is was about 2pm and I hadn’t eaten lunch yet, so I found a restaurant on the square and stopped in for a bite.

After lunch I walked just a couple of blocks to the largest church in Bruges, St. Salvator’s Cathedral. Since I hadn’t visited this church in my other two trips to Bruges, I popped in for a few minutes. Besides, it’s been 3 whole days since I’ve been in a church, so why not?

St. Salvator’s started in the 10th century as a parish church. After a fire destroyed the church, construction on the current building began in 1127 and continued for a hundred years.

On my way back to the central market, I found some interesting buildings and shop windows.

And because I hadn’t yet had enough sweets today, I stopped for a Belgian Waffle.

I passed a smaller market that had a little entertainment.

By the time I got to the main square market, it was finally getting to be dusk so the lights were starting to come on.

This is the other side of the square.

The booths were a lot of the same things but I thought these were cute.

I really didn’t hang around too long as it was getting pretty dark, the relatively small square was getting very crowded, and I had over 15 minutes to walk home in the dark. In spite of only being out a few hours, I still had over 12,000 steps. I need 3 times more than that to walk off all the chocolate but I guess it’s a start.

I’m only here one night before heading to Antwerp tomorrow. I’ve got a very exciting weekend and Antwerp is the reason I came to Europe. The markets were just a bonus. But I’ll save that story for tomorrow. Night everyone.

I saw the sun!! It was Wednesday morning in the car on the way to the Prague Airport. Then I got on a plane, landed in Brussels to a cloudy, gloomy day. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

The flight was uneventful (1:20 minutes gate to gate), the walk through the Brussels airport long (it’s gigantic) and the ride from the airport to the flat expensive ($75; traffic was horrible). I arrived at the flat too early to get the key so I found a restaurant down the block for lunch.

I was finally settled into the flat around 3pm. I did a load of laundry then headed out to find the markets. My first stop was the Grand Place, the town square. Some say it’s the prettiest square in all of Europe. It’s big and it is beautiful, but it doesn’t have a Christmas market. Nope, not a single stall. It did, though, have a beautiful Christmas tree and a light show on the buildings.

Since there were no market stalls, I did a google search and found a market only about 10 minutes away, so off I went. I think Brussels is like Vienna; the markets are scattered all over the city. I passed a few along the way.

Eventually I found the one I was looking for, Place Sainte-Catherine, which is where most of the chalets are located. So, just by accident I found the biggest of the markets.

It was about a 50/50 split food/drink to stuff to buy booths. A lot of the booths were similar to markets I’ve already seen – woolen goods, jewelry, wooden goods and candles.

I found some new stuff as well.

There were more giant sausages but also French cuisine.

There were several crepe booths.

Of course there was lots of other sweets.

The market was less than 10 minutes from the flat so I was home in no time.

That was Wednesday. The forecast on Thursday was rainy most of the day so I spent the morning snug in my flat. I did another load of laundry (no I didn’t have that many dirty clothes but the washers here are very small), read a book, ate more quiche and started watching a couple of Christmas movies on Netflix. I didn’t get more than 10 minutes into either one of them so I found stuff to watch on YouTube.

About 4pm the rain had turned into a light mist so off I went to find more markets. There was another one less than 10 minutes in the opposite direction of yesterday but there wasn’t too much there.

They also had a tent for curling and ice skating.

Then I went on the hunt for sit down restaurant for dinner. There was plenty of street food but I had a taste for a bigger meal. Besides, I wanted to get out of the chilly rain. I found a place not too far from the Grand Place. It served mostly seafood but also had steak. I haven’t had steak in forever so I splurged.

Then I walked back to the Grand Place. On the way I passed a few interesting displays.

I found an entire store dedicated to frites.

Today it was dark when I got to the Grand Place, and, I was just in time for the light show.

Then it was back home to relax for the evening. Even though I didn’t go out until 4pm, I still managed to get over 7,000 steps. Not bad.

I didn’t get a Belgian waffle this time but I picked this up on the way home. A lemon tart that looks delicious. I’m so full from dinner I’m not sure I’ll eat it tonight. Hopefully it can survive the ride to Bruges in my bag.

Tomorrow I’m back on the train for the 1-hour to Bruges. I’m only there for one night but I think my B&B is right on the square, which is where the market is located. Hopefully, the weather will clear up.

Good news: It was marginally warmer today; 33 instead of 28. Bad news: it rained all morning. Not a downpour. Just a drizzle, but enough to get wet. So, I decided to pull out my folding cane because now the treacherous, uneven cobblestones were also wet and slippery. The cane wouldn’t keep me from falling if I rolled my ankle, but I thought it might keep me a little steadier. It did… no stumbles!!

First thing this morning I walked to the Old Town Square to pick up the hop on hop off bus. About 15 minutes later I was at the Strahov Monastery which is an abbey founded in 1143. The order was founded by Norbert of Xanten who later became Archbishop. He was made a saint in 1582 and his statue is one of the many on the piazza colonnade of St. Peter’s Square in Rome.

The tour started in the Library, which was smaller than the one in Vienna, but still very beautiful.

The hallway in front of the library had some cool stuff.

Then it was off to the Strahov Art Gallery which had some really old stuff as well.

The Abbey is still used by the Norbertine Brothers who live life according to the rule of St. Augustine as shown by their founder, St. Norbert. The building was a square surrounding a courtyard.

The last place to see was the Monastery Basilica but just like the library, I only saw it from outside a giant grate.

I headed out of the monastery back to the hop on hop off bus. As I got to the street the bus was there. I waved my arms (including the cane), the driver looked right at me and DROVE AWAY! I was not happy, especially when the schedule said the bus was in 30 minutes. So, it was back in a cab to the pier where I caught a 45-minute ride down the River Vltava.

We were about 10 minutes from the dock when a miracle occurred… the sun came out!! Not all the way out but enough so there was a glimmer of yellow in the sky.

After the cruise I hopped back on the bus for one stop and walked towards home from the Old Town Square. I stopped at the Irish Pub again for lunch.

Today there was entertainment. This is a short video as this was all I could get without a server walking in front of me.

I went full-on American with my cheeseburger and fries. It was delicious.

That was my day…. only 5600 steps. I was going to go back out this evening to check out the Wenceslaus Square Christmas market but decided against it. The square is a 20-minute walk from the hotel in the opposite direction I usually walk, so it’s unfamiliar territory. I was at the main market 3 times and didn’t think there’d be that much different at this one so, I decided to rest at home.

Today pretty much ends my sightseeing. I fly to Brussels in the morning (Wednesday), then head to Bruges, Antwerp and Amsterdam. I’ve been to all of them at least twice (4 times each Brussels and Amsterdam) so I’ve seen all the sights I’m interested in seeing. I’m going just for the Christmas Markets. I hear Brussels and Bruges are two of the best in Europe, so I’m excited to check them out. Since tomorrow is a travel day, don’t be surprised or worried if you don’t hear from me. I may take it as a blog-free day.

Have a great night everyone.

I don’t think I even remember what the sun looks like. I’ve only seen it once in almost 2 weeks. I do remember, though, why I left Chicago. This damp, cold weather is bone chilling.

Anyway, before I get to today, here’s a wrap up of yesterday. I went to the Old Town Square to check out the market. This one is about 50/50 food and handicrafts. Here are some of the many pics I took.

Some yummy treats I didn’t try.

A local group entertained the crowd.

Then I headed to St. Nicholas Church for the concert.

So, that finishes last night. Today (Monday) started with a walk across the Charles Bridge, just about a block from my hotel. It is a medieval stone bridge across the Vltava River. Construction began in 1357 and finished in the early 15th century.

When I was here in 1993, I remember the bridge being also lined with people hawking their wares. Today I only saw 2 or 3 people setting up sales tables on the bridge.

Once on the other side, my first stop was the Church of Our Lady Victorious, home to the famed statue, Infant Jesus of Prague. It is a 16th century wax covered, wooden statue of the child Jesus and is a major pilgrimage site.

Then it was on to the 2nd of 3 churches I visited today, St. Nicholas. This one is different than the St. Nicholas I went to Sunday night. This one is in the baroque style, which means it is very ornately decorated.

This is when I had trouble with Hop on Hop off. I misread the map and was on the wrong side of the church so when the bus didn’t come, I hoofed it back across the Charles Bridge. I stopped at the hotel for a quick refresh and went back to Old Town Square where I know there was a bus stop. Once on the bus, I took it up the hill to Prague Castle, which was built in the 9th century. There are actually several different castles in the giant complex. Since I didn’t know one from the other, I went on the “Classic Tour”, which was a self-guided tour through 4 of the buildings. First was the Cathedral of St. Vitus.

The cathedral is considered to be a dominant place of worship in the Czech Republic. The main patron saint of the country, Saint Wenceslas, is buried there.

I also saw Golden Lane created at the end of the 15th century. This picturesque alley, with its small, colorful houses, is steeped in legends and myths that have also attracted numerous writers and artists, including the renowned Franz Kafka, who once resided here. 

Also part of the tour was the…

I enjoyed the tour but it was very windy which made a cold day even colder. And, just in case I wasn’t cold enough, it started to rain. Just a little but enough to feel chilled.

By the time I found my way out of the complex (it’s gigantic and I walked in circles for a while), I was freezing cold, wet and very tired. I could have gone back to the hop on hop off, but when I saw a taxi just sitting there, I decided it was fate and I grabbed the ride.

I rested at home about an hour before heading out for an early dinner at the Irish Pub around the corner. The food was good and the atmosphere wonderful.

I have one more day in Prague. Tomorrow I might get back on the hop on hop off and head to the monastery, on the hill, not far from the castle. The bus ticket also gets me a river cruise but the jury is still out as to whether I want to go on the water in the cold. The boat is enclosed but still…maybe not.

This post will be short as I spent 4 uneventful hours on the train. The Central Station in Prague is gigantic and I was wandering around trying to find an ATM (they use Czech Koruna) I stumbled into an old section of the station. I’ve noticed that in many European cities, the train stations are works of art. This one isn’t quite that fancy but it’s still pretty.

I arrived at the Charles Bridge Palace Hotel too early to check in, but they took my bags and off I went to lunch.

Prague is known for two things…. bohemian crystal and garnets, so of course, I had to help the local economy just a little. I bought a set of 6 colored, hand cut crystal glasses perfect for aperitif, sherry, etc. Sorry but I didn’t think to get a picture of them before he wrapped them up but if I pass the store again tomorrow, I’ll grab a pic of them.

And, since garnet is my birthstone (January) I picked up a pretty ring.

Neither of my purchases were very expensive and every shop is having a Black Friday sale, so they were even more reasonably priced. Europe may not have had Thanksgiving last week, but they certainly have the Black Friday sales this weekend. I noticed that 2 years ago when we were in Athens for Thanksgiving.

With shopping out of the way, it was time to start the sightseeing, and the first stop was the Old Town Square. This is also where the main Christmas Market is located. I didn’t really explore the market yet, but from the little I saw, I think it’s the same as Budapest and Bratislava with mostly food/drink booths. I’m heading back out tonight to attend a concert at a church on the square, so I’ll check it out then.

Prague Orloj is a medieval astronomical clock on the wall of the Old Town Hall. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still in operation. It probably does something on the hour, but I didn’t see that today. Hopefully I can catch it doing its thing before I leave.

The square is surrounded by beautifully painted buildings.

I thought these were pretty as well.

It is crazy cold here…. upper 20s/low 30s, so before heading back to the hotel I stopped for some hot chocolate and a little dessert. The seating was outdoors but they have heaters and blankets, so it wasn’t too bad.

Because of the cold and the lack of public transportation, I decided to use the Hop On Hop Off bus for sightseeing. It will take me to all the main tourist areas without having to walk as much. I won’t have nearly as many steps as I’ve had, but it’s better than freezing to death. I got a 48-hour ticket so I can spread the sightseeing over both days I’m here. Maybe that will give me shorter days and less time in the cold.

The closest bus stop to the hotel is back at the square so I’ll explore that more tomorrow and report back. I’ll get to the square earlier in the morning before the market opens, so hopefully, it won’t be as crowded. Maybe I can get pictures without so many people.

Have a good day everyone and I’ll report back tomorrow.

Today is my last day in Vienna and I had just a few more stops. I started at the Spanish Riding School where I saw a performance by the famous Lipizzaner horses. Why not the Austrian Riding School? Well…. it was named for the Spanish horses that originated the breed. The horses were brought to Vienna in 1565 and they have been performing here ever since.

We weren’t allowed to take photos or videos of the horses so here’s one I found on Wikipedia. They are beautiful animals.

I didn’t know what to expect from the performance. They started with the younger (4-6 year old) horses whose coats had not yet turned completely white. They took them through their paces of walking and trotting. You could tell they were a little less disciplined as they were sometimes hard to control.

The rest of the show was watching the more experienced horses demonstrate their skill. They actually prance more than walk. It was pretty cool to see. Here’s a video I found on YouTube.

My next stop was the Opera House where I planned to take a tour, but the next available English tour was Sunday afternoon. Since I’m leaving Sunday morning, I won’t be able to tour the inside. I took a picture of the building and kept walking.

Here’s a picture of the inside I found on pixabay.com.

Next up was my last Viennese church, Karlskirche (Charles Church) built in the Baroque style. In 1713, one year after the last great plague epidemic, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, pledged to build a church for his namesake patron saint, Charles Borromeo, who was revered as a healer for plague sufferers. Construction was completed in 1737.

The composer Antonio Vivaldi (famous for the Four Seasons, the most popular of which is Spring) died in Vienna and was buried in this church in 1741, but his tomb has been lost to time. An interesting (or not) side note, actress Hedy Lamarr got married in one of the side chapels when she was 19 years old.

Once outside, I checked out the Christmas Market. I don’t know how many of them there are in Vienna but I think this was the 7th one I visited.

From there I walked to the Stadpark, or City Park. It’s where I went to the concert on Thanksgiving.

From the park it was a 10-minute walk home. So that was my day, except for the food. Let’s talk about food.

My cousin, who has been to Vienna many times, recommended a great restaurant for Weiner Schnitzel but I couldn’t get anywhere near it without a reservation and they book weeks in advance. A clerk at the hotel gave me an alternative restaurant and that was a no-go as well. But I was determined to have my schnitzel so I found a small bistro near the Opera House. I can’t compare it to the other restaurants, but this was delicious.

Even more important than lunch was dessert. Across the street from the Spanish Riding School is a cafe called Demel. My cousin told me this was a great place to get the famous Sacher Torte but the line was pretty long.

A few blocks from the Opera House is the Cafe Sacher, originator of the torte.

I like sweets as much as the next person but I had no desire to stand in the cold for at least 30 minutes to get a piece of cake. But not being a quitter, I went the Cafe Sluka near the Cathedral to see what they had. This place had also been recommended by the hotel clerk.

I’m having a sandwich in my room for dinner and the cake will be dessert. But I had to try a tiny bite just so I could give you my report. I’ve never had a Sacher Torte to compare it to, but this is pretty darn good. It is totally worth the calories.

I’ve been in Vienna for 4 1/2 days and have loved every minute. Of course it almost killed me as I’ve walked about 54,000 steps since I got here on Wednesday. That’s about 23 miles!! My poor feet! But I may have walked off one or two of the sweets I had. One can only hope.

Tomorrow, I have an early morning, 4-hour train ride, to Prague. I was there in 1993 but am looking forward to seeing it again. Hope you can join me there.

Today’s adventure first took me on the UBahn (Metro) about 7 km (5.5 miles) out of the Ringstrasse and the center of the city the Schonbrunn Palace. The Palace was the summer home of the Hapsburg dynasty and has over 1400 rooms. In 1569,Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II purchased the land and lived in an existing mansion. Work started as early as the mid-17th century until the Palace in its current form was completed in the 1750s.

Since I had purchased a combo ticket yesterday at Hofburg, I was able to skip the long line at the ticket office and go right into the Palace.

You haven’t seen any pictures of the ceilings because except for one room, they were very plain. The room with the fancy ceiling is the Grand Salon, where large parties were held.

While crowded, it was nothing like yesterday when people were shoulder to shoulder. I think it was because this Palace is much larger so there was more room to spread out.

After touring the Palace, I went back out into the rain and walked around the market where I found a new sweet treat.

Then it was back to the UBahn for the relatively short trip home where I unloaded my bag and headed out to lunch.

I tried to go to have lunch at an Austrian restaurant where supposedly schnitzel was born but I couldn’t get in without a reservation. Since there are no reservations available until after I leave, I’ll have to find my schnitzel somewhere else. I still have tomorrow. So, I went with my favorite food in world… pizza. This place is just a few blocks from my house and has a pizza menu of over 30 types of pizza, even tuna. Seriously?? Who does that to pizza. Typically, the wider variety of pizzas the better the food. It usually means that they know how to make a good pizza. And they do. It was delicious.

After lunch I walked less than 10 minutes to the Anker Clock. The Anker Insurance Company built the clock in 1914 as part of the expansion of the headquarters. The company is now Helvetia Insurance, and the headquarters is still in this building.

My last stop of the day was the Mozart House Museum. Mozart lived in 13 different places during his time in Vienna but this house is the only one still standing in its original form. The plaque I saw yesterday was probably the location of one of the flats that no longer exists.

While none of the furniture belonged to Mozart, historians have his property list so they put things in the house that are similar as to what’s on the list.

The manuscripts are copies of the originals which are in the British Museum.

The walls and ceiling of the flat were plainly decorated except the for room adjacent to the study. Historians think it was the main bedroom.

That was my day. Tomorrow will be cold (upper 30s to low 40s) and cloudy, but no rain is predicted. Even so, I think I may go back to the long silk underwear for extra warmth. I have a few last things to see before I head to Prague on Sunday. Tonight I think I’ll wander to the market by the Cathedral for one last look. Never know what I’ll find.

Have a great night everyone.

Wait, I had already posted this when I realized I forgot to tell you about last night’s concert. In short…. it was amazing! Music was provided by a string quartet plus bass, percussion, piano, flute and clarinet. They played mostly waltzes but a few of Mozart’s works as well. There was no filming during the show but here’s are a couple of pics I was able to take.

It was a wonderful way to spend the evening. Beautiful music in a beautiful setting. OK, now I’m done for real.