Day 15 Salzburg - Vienna

April 18, 2005. Today we set out on the 4^th phase of our trip. After our usual European breakfast we said good bye to the Goldener Hirsch Hotel and set out for Vienna. Again check in was a breeze and the security line was non existent. A nice touch was the trays in security that you put your laptops on. The bottom had a piece of foam to protect your computer.

We decided to economize and have a light lunch in the Austrian Club lounge in Vienna. Great soup and a tasty sandwich. After lunch walked down to pick up our baggage and it was waiting for us beside the belt.  You buy a ticket for the taxi inside the airport and you get a discount if you book your return ride at the same time. Very efficient.

Vienna, with a population of 1.8 million, is a city of cafes, waltzes, parks and pastries. The capital of Austria has been an architectural show place since the Hapsburg dynasty. It has managed to survive two world wars unscathed.

We’re staying at the Hotel Imperial, considered the grandest in Vienna. Richard Wagner stayed here on several occasions with his family. The hotel was built in 1869 as the private residence of the Duke of Wurttemberg. It was used by the Nazis as their Austrian headquarters during the 2^nd world war. The rooms are elegantly laid out with antique furnishing. Our canopy bed has guilt pictures on each side of it.

After we checked in we took a short walk around the hotel to get our bearings and that’s our exploring for today. Tonight we’ll go across the road to a café to enjoy our first taste of Tafelspitz, an Austrian dish that consists of boiled beef and cabbage.

One great thing about the hotel is the business center which provide free Internet access 24 hours a day.  Plus I can access a CD-ROM drive so I can send files. Couldn’t do that at all in Salzburg.

Tomorrow we’ll start exploring the Imperial City of Vienna.

Stay tuned for Day 16 in my “Around the World in 30 Days” saga.

Alan Salmon
eClub One