Maybes in Moedling

On Monday, April 19, we went to Moedling. Moedling is a small little town like Nernier or Yvoire. Moedling has its own unique attraction, the Moedling woods. In the Moedling woods are a lot of artificial ruins mostly built in the romantic style of the time. The ruins are kind of like the Shoenbrunn ruins I wrote about on my post "Sightseeing with Aunt Sarah". The only ruin that is not artificial is the Liechtenstein Castle. The Liechtenstein Castle was built in the mid 12 century and was destroyed during the wars against the Turks (1529 and 1683) and was rebuilt to look like the style of the time in 1873. It definitely has the same foundation of which it was originally built.

Aunt Sarah was with us that day and said that this may have been her favorite day on her trip. I had a great time too. We started out in the town center at the Ban Hof Strasse (Train Station Street). We walked to the older part of the town where the Rat Haus was. The Rat Haus was nothing compared to the Vienna one though. Rat Haus means town hall in case I haven't told you that. After that we walked further when we came to the path into the woods that was by Sankt Othmarkirche. My sisters sure found something fun they could do to waste our time. They found some sort of a maze that they played in for 10 minutes.

In the woods we first found The Watch Tower that was an artificial ruin built in the romantic style of the time in the beginning of the 1800s. We saw two other ruins from where The Watch Tower is even though we couldn't go in it we were still high in the hills. I asked my mom if we could go there and she said, "Maybe."

We went to go on the Liechtenstein Castle after that. We walked on the path for nearly an half an hour on the pathway and finally came to a park. My sisters loved it at once even though it was nothing compared to what other parks we have been to. The reason I was happy to stop was because you could see the top of Liechtenstein Castle above the trees and this had the best view out any other spot on the path except when the whole castle is in view. After the park we continued on the pathway until the whole castle came into view. My heart nearly stopped beating. My mouth dropped to the ground. It was amazing!!! We hiked around to the other side and down a small hill and that was FANTASTIC!!!!!

After the Liechtenstein Castle we headed over to the Ampitheater. This was the hardest thing to find. I asked Mom if we would find and she said, "Maybe." We did find it though. The Ampitheater was an artificial ruin built for romance in 1810/11. It was probably my favorite of the two artificial ruins.

When we came back to The Watch Tower I saw the two ruins again and asked my mom if we could go to them and my mom said, "No."

We walked down a staircase that lead us to a path that lead us to Sankt Othmarkirche that lead us to a street that lead us to Ban Hof Strasse that lead us to the Ban Hof that lead us to a train that lead us home. Well something like that anyway.

Auf Wiedersehen Naschmarkt!

Yesterday we went to the Naschmarkt for the last time. Boo-hoo! I loved the Naschmarkt every single time. I don't know if I told you this, but the Tree Cake we got from Hungary is sold at the Naschmarkt we just couldn't find it before. Today we did!

At first, we were looking at rings for an hour. Aunt Sarah found one. (Yes, She's still with us.) My mom found one and two pairs of earrings.

After that we headed over to the produce section of the Naschmarkt. I spotted a stand with Tree Cake! Wa-hoo! I found it! We got one Haslenuss (Haselnut), and one Zimt (Cinnamon). The were so good. Just like I remembered them.

After that we headed over to Billa and walked right past to stars on the ground. Beethoven and Mozart! It was a great day!

Chocolate with Beethoven

Does Beethoven like Chocolate? Don't ask me. If you know post a comment as soon as you read this.

We went to the famous graveyard as we ate (our favorite here) Milka chocolate yesterday after Aunt Sarah's flight was canceled! We saw Beethoven's grave, Shubert's grave, Strauss's grave, Brahms's grave, and a Mozart monument. It gave me the chills when I thought about how I was so close to some of most famous composers in history. This graveyard isn't the actual graveyard where the composers were first buried, each composer was buried in a regular graveyard even Mozart. Mozart was buried in an unmarked grave with 4 or 5 other according to the custom of the middle-class people of time. The mayor thought that no one should be treated better than anyone else. When the other composers were moved to the new graveyard, Mozart's wife tried to find Mozart's body but couldn't. Now there is a monument in his honor.

I loved that day so much (except the flights being canceled), that I would love to go back to see who else is buried there.

Aunt Sarah's Last Day

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The Bridge to Pra and Ha

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Sightseeing with Aunt Sarah

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Strolling Through Slovensko

On April 6 we went to Bratislava, Slovakia. We started out having a late start. We went to the train station and took the next train. When we got to Bratislava we figured out that the train we took took us to a suburb of Bratislava. They said,"Take a taxi, it should only cost you 5 to 10 Euro." So we went and asked the taxi driver how much it would cost to go from here to Old Town. He said,"Fifteen." My mom said,"What? No!" They got into a huge fight and then a nice man came and asked, "May I help you?" He took us over to buy bus tickets and we got four bus tickets for 1,20 Euro.

We went to Old Town and I got a red and orange coin purse for Regan as a present to put her foreign coins in. I was so glad that I found something for Regan, especially since it's the same kind of thing I am giving Reyna for her birthday. We saw a particularly cool clock tower. We got awesome ice cream and hot chocolate too!

As I was browsing for patches, I saw two country patches: Slovakia and Slovensko. I chose Slovensko because that's what locals call it.

We went up to the Bratislava Castle next. The Bratislava Castle is like walls forming a square and in the square is a palace. We didn't see the palace very well because it was being renovated.

We went back to Old Town and asked which way it was to walk to the main train station. Everybody we talked to said, "That way, but you'll have to take the bus. It is too far to walk." My mom was confused because the travel guide Rick Steves said you could get there in 15 minutes from the Old Town by foot. We took the bus on the one that went to the train station. On the way, my mom figured out that we would miss the train we were planning to take back to Vienna and the next train back wasn't for two hours!

The bus stopped right by the Grassalkovich Palace so we decided to get off and see it. I am so glad that we got to see it. While we were there the guards were stomping around. Oh, and by the way, Dad, right across the street from it was an Ernst and Young office!

The Grassalkovich Palace took at least an hour out of our wait. When we got to to the train station (the right one this time) the train was already in the station and waiting. We got on and my mom got off the train for a few minutes to go to a little snack shop right outside our train window and she got us some snacks for the train. The whole time she was getting the snacks we were all afraid the train would leave her behind, even though we had 15 minutes before the train was supposed to leave. Luckily it didn't. It was a great day!

Leftovers from World War II

On April 5 we went to the Augarten. The Augarten has two big bunkers from World War II. When Hitler took over the palace there in World War II he built to big bunkers. Hitler was one of many owners of the Augarten palace. The first owner was someone that had something to do with the Hapsters and he was very rich. The Hapsters later found out that he was stealing money from them. He had to give it up because he couldn't pay for it. After that it went through a series of owners that ended up not being able to pay for it. The bunkers however, have been there since World War II and the only way they could get them down is bombing them. Them that surely won't work!

First we went to the square bunker. My mom said, "I don't know what this is. The other two big things are bunkers." I said, "There are only two big things!"

Next, we headed over to the circular bunker. I liked this one the best. I don't know why though . I just think it is cooler. It was an awesome day!

The Ups and Downs of Belvedere

On April 5 we experienced the ups and downs of upper and lower Belvedere. In the upper we saw Monet and Renoir and their was a whole room filled with Klimt art. My favorite was the one most protected... The Kiss. I noticed that the original piece of art work had long sides rather than the painting we have in our homes today. I really loved Prince Eugen's collection and the paintings added to his collection over time.

In the lower we saw the collection of art work of himself and the Orangery. I really liked that collection, it got a little boring after a while though because some pieces were same pose. Out of the two I have to say I liked the upper better.

After the museums we wandered over to a Russian church and a Russian soldier memorial fountain.

Around the Ring

On April 3 we walked down Ringstrasse that runs a circle around the center of Vienna that has a lot of the main sights including the Rathaus, the Burg Theater, and the Hoffburg Palace which are the places we went. Graben and Kartnerstrasse are two main streets and they both cross through the ring.

We crossed the street and we saw that Der Zaumberer von Oz was plating at the Burg Theater. Thes was a special play because it was a play meant for kids. We went inside and asked if they had standing room tickets, they said,"Yes, but it is just ending." We went to

look at the schedule to see if it was playing again, but the next time it was playing we weren't goingto be in Vienna anymore.

From the Burg Theater we headed over to a part of the Hoffburg palace called the Volksgarten . In the Volksgarten we went to the Sisi Monument. In front of it we saw lots and lots of flowers arranged in shapes and patterns. On it we saw great detail and washed away graffiti! We saw a dial in the palace too. We had a great time!

Cats!

On Friday we went to the Easter Markets. This time we went to the Easter Markets in the

downtown district. These Easter Markets were a lot better than the Schoenbrunn Easter

Markets.

On the way there we went down Graben near Stephensdom and we saw a puppet master

with a puppet playing the piano. Trust me, it was really cool.

At the Easter Markets I decided that this would be the place where I would get Reyna's birthday present. You now know the feeling when you are determined to find something just right. That was the feeling I had then. I kept examining her reaction and expression in every

booth. We came to this shop where I saw this little cat purse that was 6 Euro and would be perfect to give to Reyna. Regan gave Reyna a little cat on blanket toy. My mom told Reyna she could not get it and then gave Regan the money behind her back and Regan bought it for Reyna's birthday. You can guess how that turned out, Reyna was in tears because my mom said she coudn't get it. Regan gave her the birthday present early. Long story short, Reyna lived happily ever after and I finally have something to give Reyna.

That's Preposterous!

I thought Schoenbrunn was unique. It is, except for one thing, I have a good, well thought out guess that the idea for a huge garden by Schoenbrunn was taken by Prince Eugene and his Belvedere Palace. That's Preposterous!

We went to Belvedere Palace on Thursday. The Gardens were amazing, but not quite as beautiful as Shoenbrunn though. The gardens were 10 times smaller than Shoenbrunn. We had a great time until the time came, "Mom, my legs are tired, can we go home?," Reyna said right on cue. We said, "No." So she pretends to sleep. Although the gardens were beautiful, it would have been nice to be able to walk 5 feet without leaving her behind. I'm not complaining, it just... would have been nice.

Now, back to my good, well thought out guess. The queen that owned Schoenbrunn lived in Belvedere before Schoenbrunn was built. It's simple.

All Hail to King Cade I

Once upon a time... there lived a young boy about 10 years old. He was not poor and not rich. One day he was in Europe and was taken to a "Kinder museum" at Schoenbrunn and became a prince, then a higher prince, and then a king. A king called King Cade I, who ruled his royal subjects with kindness. He took the clothes off and was no longer a king, just a boy. He was still respected though. He decided to walk through the museum for kids. He learned about Sisi, the kids that lived in Schoenbrunn Palace, the servants that worked there, and the guards. "Kindness and knowledge are the most important things in life," he once said,"but even more so, friends."

The museum was really cool. I didn't think I'd be able to go into the palace. We went to the museum with the Mamouneys and saw old yo-yos and other old toys like spinning tops. We sat down at a table and were given 3 glasses, one for water, one for wine, and one for champagne (not really of course, I'm not breaking the law any time soon). The museum had to end after that, but I will never forget my adventures that day. (Then again, maybe I will.)

We checked out the Easter Market, which was nothing like I expected. It was NOT worth it. It didn't meet my expectations.

We went to Schnitzelwirt again without another family. We got Wiener Schnitzel. It tasted better than last time. I wish I could bring home Wiener Schnitzel to everyone that reads my blog. I've described the mouth watering stuff before. I loved it!

Playing in Prater II: The Ultimate Zip Line

On Tuesday we were invited to Prater again by our friends the Mamouneys. We were invited to a different part of Prater, even though we thought that we had found all of it . Boy, were we surprised. We immediately raced to get to the slide first. Of course, it wasn't just any slide or I wouldn't have gone to that first. It was about 30 feet high (with a slant of course). It was too good to be true, obviously there had to be a catch, and there it was, a big brown mud puddle at the very bottom of the slide just waiting for its next victim. Then, there was the zip line. Oh, I've been waiting for this moment too long. I ran like I never had before (except in basketball), I got on and off I went as the wind rushed by causing my heart to be soundless (either because I was holding my breath or the wind was really loud). As I got off, I gave it to the next person in line who was... scowling. He said, "-------- --------." It wasn't a particularly long conversation, unless short words in German are long conversations to them. I probably should have looked to see if someone was in line. (By the way, I want to make it clear that the words -------- and -------- are probably either offensive or bad words like swear words, so don't go around saying them.

Most of it was intense stuff like a thing-a-ma-jigger that you climb and there are these baskets that are about 4 1/2 feet wide circles 10 feet off of the ground that I relaxed in for a half an hour, but there are still boring swing sets that I don't miss at all and never will.

"Wood"n't that be nice...

To be in the woods, now that "wood" be nice. On Monday we went to Vienna Woods. It had a view of all of Vienna. The view is a one of a kind kind of view. The view itself was worth the half an hour bus ride up to the top of the hill, but then we went hiking. I missed the smell of the woods, it reminded me of the times Dad and I had a father-son camp out. I miss home, and I'll miss this year's father-son camp out, so I felt like I wasn't missing it (at least, until I turned around again and saw my mom and two sisters.)

As we trekked through the woods, we (as usual) had to stop at the nearest bus stop because Reyna's legs were to "tired". When we got to the U-bahn, Reyna found her energy and ran to the train and when we got off, she ran to the tram. When we got off the tram she took my mom's apartment keys and ran a block to our apartment building. We ran to catch to her and we got into our apartment bulding and then the apartment.

NO PICTURES ALLOWED!

On Saturday we went to the Albertina museum. The Albertina museum had art by Klee, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, Chagall, Renoir, Monet, and Degas. It was amazing! The only downside is that there was a sign that said NO PICTURES ALLOWED!, it wasn't in English of course, but my mom knows german. I was very disappointed for two things, 1: I couldn't take pictures, 2: some of the paintings were borrowed by another museum. It was still a great experience though.

Oh, by the way, this museum had an automatic bathroom door too.

Playing in Prater

Last Friday I went to Prater. At Prater, we explored the Prater amusement park and played on more playgrounds. As we walked around the amusement park we saw ferris wheels, roller coasters, and something like a boomerang. I can't wait to hopefully go on a ride there. After that, we went to the playgrounds in Prater searching for a big zip line. We found a zip line, but we were confused, it wasn't very big and it wasn't very fun either. We also found a huge climbing structure that went about 25 feet high. My mom was scared the whole time we might fall. Let me tell you, she was right to be scared because one time I was only hanging on by 1 arm, not 2, 1. Luckily, I got back up, all while my mom was throwing something away.