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,

We Made It To Europe! Our Hungary & Austria Trip

4 / 8 / 16

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to travel and see the world. Perhaps it was my parents influence. Even though we lived in little Willard, Ohio, they always made it a point to take my sister and I to new and exciting places. Whether it was just a hotel stay in Sandusky thirty minutes away or the numerous trips we took to Florida as a family, the travel bug caught me. One of my earliest memories traveling as a family is when my grandparents and parents took us on an RV tour. We got to see Gettysburg and Chincoteague Island (wild horses live here and even hang out on the beach). It was cramped and sometimes hard being cooped up, but I remember staying on an old battlefield that was turned into a campground. All of us huddled together in the small RV and watched a VCR tape of Misty of Chincoteague, the movie based off the children’s books.

While in college, I had made a list of 200 things to do before I died. Of course, time seemed infinite at 18 and I put some hefty goals on there. When I met my husband, I told him boldly I wanted to see the 7 wonders of the world before I turned 25. Well, real life happened after we got married and travel seemed…expensive. We’ve done as much as we can and have gotten to see some really cool budget friendly places (Mexican Riviera, Niagara Falls, Las Vegas) BUT we hadn’t yet made it to Europe…until this year!

My dad is in international business and fell in love with a woman from Hungary. To be honest, at the time we were working on renovating our cozy cottage here in Mansfield, Ohio and trying to launch our own business. International travel wasn’t really on the radar for a long time (or so we thought). Dad and his bride became engaged and quickly and wanted to have a wedding in Hungary. So, my dad offered to use his frequent flier miles and own funds for us to come and visit. It was one of the most magnificent things I’ve ever done. Now, we just scheme how to get back over there again and see more interesting places.

Just like I did with A Southern Roadtrip, I’m going to break down our trip into sections which makes reading the posts easier! While you’re waiting patiently, here are some of our favorite pictures form the trip: