Travelogue: Vienna 2023 Pt 3 – Starbucks, Anker, Ringstrasse, The Albertina

So many carbs

I finally managed to get some sleep that night, albeit in fits and starts.

But we woke up pretty early and immediately searched for some coffee. Just like our first night, we were just looking for a place to sit and have something familiar.

Me: So, our first cup of Viennese joe was at a McDonald’s and our second is gonna be at a Starbucks?
Her: Looks that way. Cm’on…

After we had a cup of coffee there, we had only walked a few feet when we came across what we figure is like their Pret, a chain called Anker.

Look, we were just severely undercaffeinated and needed quick and dirty coffee.

I was, however, very happy to have all the croissants we were having.

Her: I’ve never seen you eat so many carbs, ever.
Me: It’s a scientifically proven fact that carbs on vacation don’t count. If left to my own devices, I would shovel carbs in my mouth all day and night.
Her: Who are you!?

She noticed that, on one building, the supports for the balconies were actually carved statues.

In fact, she marveled at how beautiful all the buildings were there.

Even though we were pretty jet-lagged, because we had alla that coffee, we decided to have a pretty full day, starting off with hopping onto a trolley that circled the city.

See, Vienna used to have this massive wall keeping people outta the city – in fact, that wall changed the face of the world.

Without it, the dominant European religion woulda been Muslim and not Christian, but I suppose that’s an entry for another day.

We actually took Rick Steves’ Ringstrasse tour, which is a self-guided audio tour that was timed along the D and 1 trollies. That took about an hour and gave us a good overview of the city.

Anywho, after we got the lay of the land, we decided to head to the Hofburg, or Imperial, Palace.

Previously, it was home of the royal family, but it’s now the seat of government for Austria as well as different museums, including the Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum.

We arrived just as a huge batch of Japanese tourists showed up.

Her: And you thought you’d be the only Asian here.
Me: I could totally blend in and take that tour.

Of course, I had to rep Scenic Fights…

…while she took some obligatory selfies.

There was a good amount of pomp and circumstance around the palace…

…but we decided to head to another palace altogether.

To that end, we headed to the Albertina museums, which I mentioned earlier.

We managed to stay on track, despite my best efforts…

Me: Look, we can go to a Burger King here too.
Her: Absolutely not! We need some authentic Viennese coffee at a real cafe. Let’s go to the Albertina first.

The Albertina museums (Vienna & the Modern) are the largest museums for modern art in Central Europe but their original role was that of royal residences.

Now, she had bought tickets to a tour of the palace at large, but we were mainly interested in the Royal apartments.

But this entry’s getting super long, so I suppose I’ll finish it in the next one.

Location: back in the states and eating my weight in Chinese food
Mood: busy, busy, busy
Music: I wanna see Paris, I wanna see Tokyo (Spotify)
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