Our Last Full Day In Vienna!
We woke to a very rainy day. Sleeping later than usual, the intent was to have a quiet, wind-down day today as we leave Vienna tomorrow (waaaahhhhh). We breakfasted, showered and hung around the apartment until about 11:30. Deciding we should get a move-on if anything is to happen today, we hopped the #43 tram for the last time, and headed down to Schottentor station.
Kaisergruft (Capuchins’ Crypt)
From Schottentor station we walked down to the Kaisergruft to tour the Imperial tombs/crypts. Zur Kaisergruft (Capuchins’ Crypt) is the burial place of the Habsburg family in Vienna. These massive burial chambers are located beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery on the Neuer Markt (New Market) square of the Innere Stadt (Old Town) of Vienna, near the Hofburg Palace. Centuries worth of Habsburg royalty are entombed here. What a fascinating place!:
Stadtboden Redux
We spent about an hour at the Kaisergruft, then left and walked around to find a cafe for lunch, settling on the Stadtboden cafe where we had eaten earlier in the trip. We knew the food there was very good, so there would be no surprises (hopefully). We sat indoors as it was cold and rainy outside and too cold for the patio. Vince had Currywurst (sausage with curry sauce) with potato wedges, and I had the Big Burger with potato wedges. Water for Vince and a Cola Light for me.
The Neue Burg Museums
After lunch we walked over to the Neue Burg, where we toured the Ephesos Museum, the Musical Instruments Museum and the Arms & Armour Collection. What a beautiful building!! Interesting displays and fantastic building architecture:
The Ephesos Museum
Musical Instruments Museum
Arms & Armour Collection
All told, we spent about an hour and a half in the complex:
Visiting Augustinerkirke (Augustinian Church)
Exiting the Neue Burg we found it had finally stopped raining. We began shopping for souvenirs and chocolate – both for work colleagues and ourselves – and found said goodies in various stores near the Albertina. With loot in hand, we proceeded to the Augustinerkirke (Augustinian Church) to have a look inside this magnificent old church (it was free to enter). What a beautiful and stately structure:
We left the Augustinerkirke to find the rain had resumed with a vengeance. We walked in the rain (hoping it would stop) looking for a place to have coffee/rest and plan our next move. We ducked into a Weinerwald restaurant and had espresso (Vince) and tea (me). We lingered for about 45 minutes, trying to kill time as we wanted to stay downtown and have dinner at the Maredo at about 6:00PM or so – we wanted one nice, last meal in this wonderful city. It was still only 4:30 so we took our time getting there.
We left Weinerwald to be greeted by the still-pouring rain. We each bought an umbrella at a little store next to the restaurant and proceeded to walk around in the pouring rain. We walked a long way, ending up in the Stubenring. Getting very wet and tired, we thought we’d head to Maredo and have our lovely last dinner in Vienna. We proceeded up the Ring (in the pouring rain) and eventually came to Maredo.
One Last Dinner In Vienna
We got settled in and had a lovely meal. I had the grilled salmon with Bearnaise sauce and basmati rice; Vince had a filet steak with peppercorn sauce and potato wedges. For drinks, Vince had a glass of wine and I had Cola Light, which is Viennese for Diet Pepsi – all were delicious!!! And then, the dessert: Vince opted for the Argentinian Crepes and I had the Apple Strudel. Black tea (me) and cappuccino (Vince) followed. All in all, a wonderful last meal in this amazing city. Couldn’t be happier.
Leaving the restaurant at about 7:15, we got on the Karlsplatz U-Bahn, taking the U1 to Stephansplatz, where we changed on to the U3 for Ottakring. From there we boarded the usual S45 (S-Bahn) to Hernals. For some reason the train took a long time to arrive at Ottakring station but we eventually reached Hernals. The rain was still pouring as we left Hernals station.
Returning to the apartment we rested for a while, then backed up and reviewed the daily pictures. At about 8:45PM we began packing our suitcases, getting ready for our departure tomorrow. With suitcases mostly packed, I caught up on this journal. We chatted for a bit then headed off to bed at about 10:30PM.
It’s a big day tomorrow – time to leave this wonderful city and go home!
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