A Day To Remember In Vienna, Austria, St. Stephens & Figlmullers

2 / 8 / 17

The next morning, dad woke up up with coffee from McDonalds. I usually stick my nose up at coffee from Mc’Ds, but this was fabulous! He hurried us along as we got ready to explore Vienna. Good walking shoes? Check. Water? Check. Snacks? We were prepared. Across the street from our hotel was a bright green city train. The train went back and forth between the city and airport. It was a double decker train with comfy seats and flat screen TVs with the news and other local information. On our way to Vienna, the countryside looked a lot like the United States. There were a lot of industrial buildings. Nothing extraordinary. We went underground and got off in a mall. It was a strange place for a city train! The mall was vacant since it was a Sunday. What shocked me the most was that the mall had a fresh produce store inside. How strange! Once we walked outside, I was in shock. The beauty of the city surrounded us. Ancient buildings, stunning architecture. Every turn was a photo moment. Dad knew exactly where to take us.

We walked, trying not to run into people from looking up. The stores were delicately placed on a vertical slant and the roads were laid with cobblestone. Small storefronts looked too beautiful to hold a function. Cafes, oh there were so many quaint and cozy cafes! My camera didn’t stop taking photos. Jutka had us enter a cute chocolate shop. She explained there was a famous chocolate cake from Vienna we should try. It was called Sachertorte. This specialty is served in Vienna and a chocolate sponge cake. What impressed me was the beautiful little emblem on top. Even things you eat were beautiful here!

We put it aside and went to Figlmullers, a restaurant that specializes in Vienna cuisine. Dad made reservations for us in this tiny, narrow restaurant.

While we waited to eat, dad and Jutka led us to the center of town. I hadn’t ever seen anything so epic in real life as St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Wikipedia says this: “St. Stephen’s Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. The current Romanesque and Gothic form of the cathedral, seen today in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Duke Rudolf IV (1339–1365) and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first a parish church consecrated in 1147. The most important religious building in Vienna, St. Stephen’s Cathedral has borne witness to many important events in Habsburg and Austrian history and has, with its multi-coloured tile roof, become one of the city’s most recognizable symbols.”

Other special places we saw included the Column of Pest (Column of The Trinity), which is a late 17th-century sculpted Holy Trinity column, built to commemorate victims of the plague. Dad also had us walk and observe a Catholic Mass at another smaller beautiful church. At this point, we also tasted the Sachertorte, or chocolate cake. It was so so rich! I took a quick picture of it and only took a bite. It was almost too rich for me (if that’s possible). It really liked it, but with all the other food we were trying, only enjoyed a bit.

Once our table was ready, we sat down in Figlmullers. This little restaurant is world famous for their schnitzel. Schnitzel is meat flattened out and then deep fried in a breading. The traditional Vienna Schnitzel is made with veal. The dish doesn’t even fit on a plate! We also ordered fries to share. I didn’t get the veal and instead opted for the Chicken Cordon Bleu which had chicken, ham, and swiss cheese. It was absolutely amazing. In fact, Dustin and I tried to go back a week later but they were full.

After eating our full, we took a double decker bus around the city for a break on our feet. We sat on the top and just took in the sites. There were headphones and you could hear Mozart and other famous musicians from Vienna playing music. I learned so much just from that tour.

Love & Laughter,

A Pretty Cool Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands

1 / 17 / 17

January 30th: We landed in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The airport was epic. We were so surprised at the beautiful colors and …LIFE! There were people from all walks of life, speaking all different languages. A space in the airport had vertical gardens and sculptures to look like trees. While on the plane, I could see all the different waterways and greenery. It was beautiful. What really surprised us was a phone charging station where you could “bike” to charge your phone. Later, I learned this airport had won awards for it’s design and eco-friendly aspirations. Although we were tired, we buzzed around the airport, looking at things and made sure to eat. There was a food court with beautifully fresh sandwiches and Dustin bought Indian food. I had fun paying for a quick 5 minute massage in the waiting area. It was relaxing…even though there were hundreds of people around. The bathrooms were also interesting. The doors went up all the way and there was no space to see others.

Dad and Jutka treating us to coffee at the Vienna airport

Our hotel had a nespresso machine! Heaven!

International chargers and lots of snacks!

Before we knew it, we were boarding another plane for Vienna, Austria. Dad had told us this plane company was super nice…and it was. I believe it was a Netherlands flight. The stewardess all looked stunning and the food was even better than before. We were offered warm cloths to refresh our faces. The flight took a few hours. We hadn’t slept since leaving the night before. It’s safe to say we were exhausted and dealing with jetlag. Dad called and met us with Jutka at Vienna, Airport. It was so nice to see their faces. We immediately went to the hotel right across the street. It was called NH Hotel. It reminded me a lot of a Hilton. I took a hot bath and we drank some in-room espresso. After, we all went back to the airport for dinner and coffee. It was the best macchiato I’d ever had! We talked about their wedding plans, our flight, and just caught up. We went to bed early and were awoken early to explore Vienna, which was a quick train ride away.

Love & Laughter,

Getting to Hungary, Our First Overnight Flight Together

1 / 17 / 17

Montgomery’s Take On Europe (Not Before Age 25, But Before 27)

After the craziness of the holidays, on January 28th of 2016 we drove to Detroit. On our way, we stopped at Chili’s and enjoyed a nice dinner. The drive was relaxing, even though there was a little bit of traffic. We laughed and listened to music and prepped to explore Europe! We stayed at the Hampton Inn near the airport because it came with free breakfast and a shuttle to the airport.

January 29th: After sleeping in and relaxing, we grabbed waffles at breakfast. We spent as much time as possible at the hotel because our flight didn’t leave until the evening. After a bit, we took the shuttle to Detroit Airport. After getting through customs, I went shopping at the duty-free store. I had forgotten all of my eyeshadows! Eek! I bought a few things from MAC. We also decided to indulge in PF Changs in the airport. I, of course, excitedly told our waiter we were headed to Europe for the first time! Filled with excitement, we finally got aboard the plane. Soon after takeoff we were given our first meal…pasta! I made sure to wear leggings and a slouchy sweater. Dustin wore comfy jeans, a T, and a new zip-up hoodie. The food was good, and the movies were even better. Our eyes got BIG when we saw all of the new movies we could watch. We quickly decided NOT to watch movies together and instead indulged separately. There’s this picture of Dust holding the free eye mask and earplugs that cracks me up. Free things are so fun! I watched Brave, a Disney movie, and Dustin watched Jurassic World.

Love & Laughter,

Tiffany