Day 9: Fighting the chill in Vienna, and Budapest

Checked out of the hostel this morning, locked up our backpacks, and go on our way to checking out the Schonebrunn palace and the Belvedere, another palace in Vienna.

After so many nice, sunny days, we were not expecting the chill we got when we walked out of the door. Thinking it would warm up as we went along, we were severely disappointed. On the plus side, I busted out my rain jacket/windbreaker and got some good use out of it!

We started with the Schonebrunn palace on the outskirts of town, which was the summer palace for the Hapsburg family. Although we couldn't afford the 11euro tour of the inside, the grounds were AMAZING! So, we spent a while hiking around, making our way to the top of the hill where the "gloriette" looks down on Vienna. Apparently, Maria Theresia used to have her breakfast up here while her servants released zebras to frolick for her while she ate.





I couldn't resist having a cup of tea in the gloriette, but Rachel and Clay refused to frolick for me, so I didn't really have the queen's full experience. Still, amazing views of the gardens and the Vienna skyline.


After freezing on our tour through the palace grounds, we decided to stop back into the hostel and bundle up in our fleeces before heading out to the Belvedere. It was a beautiful building, but the grounds couldn't really compare after seeing the palace (which, by the way, was based on the principle of out-doing Versaille).



There are also a few museums at the Belvedere, but nothing we could afford, so we skipped that and headed to lunch.

It was "Wok and More" again, because it was so delicious and Rachel was jealous she didn't get to have it the day before. But seriously, can you ever really have too much sushi or mongolian bbq? I think not.

Due to the blistering cold (and seriously, with the wind, it was COLD) we decided to take an earlier train than planned and head on to Budapest.

We arrived around 7:30pm, and made our way to the Backpacker Hostel on the "Buda" side of the river. At first I was a little concerned, it seemed maybe a little too "alternative" for my taste, but as it turned out, everyone was super cool and it is a cute and unique place.

We took it pretty easy last night, cooking in the kitchen and hanging out with the other guests, and watching the soccer matches in the living room. Tomorrow we will go out and explore the REAL Budapest!