Vienna, better than expected trip report
 

Starting over as I didn't tag it as a TR.

The next morning we took the tram around the Ringstrassa to get our bearings.
Then we walked to the Imperial Palace. IMO, this is not to be missed. Such opulence. After that we toured the Sisi Museum and learned about her life with the headsets available. What a tragic life she led.

We purchased tickets for the Spanish riding school the next morning and tickets to Melk in a few days time, then had lunch at Cafe Europa in the middle of the pedestrian walks.

Next was a carriage ride over the cobblestone streets of the inner city.
TIP: As we were trying to decide on the ride a woman approached us and asked if we'd like to share a ride. At 80 Euros per 1/2 hour it was expensive, so to reduce that to 40 Euros a couple was appealing. We took her up on it & had a nice conversation with her & her mother from Germany.

That evening the people at our B&B suggested Gasthaus Reinthaler for dinner.
A short walk away and we were there. Having reservations, we were welcomed warmly. Dining with mostly locals was a real treat. We had a mixed salad, schnitzel and fried steak. The white wine was one choice only--a local variety. I must say that it was the best wine I had in Vienna.

TPAYT, thank you for posting your impressions of Vienna. The soup with pancakes that you enjoyed is Frittaten Noodle Soup; its origins go back to the Congress of Vienna. Was the fried steak possibly Zwiebelrostbraten, topped with crispy onions?

Kärtnerstraße and Graben were once driving lanes, that is why they are so wide. I think they became pedestrian-only during the 1970s when the U-Bahn was being constructed.

Looking forward to more of your impressions. :)

Fourfortravel-----interesting fact about the soup and yes, the steak was with the crispy onions, yumm!

Next morning was The Spanish Riding School. We were advised to arrive at 9:30 for the 10am opening. Glad we did as within minutes the line was getting long. It always amazes me that some people just don't believe in lines. At the last minute 8 of them just walked up to the front and pushed their way in with the first few people in line and, no, they were not together. We all looked at each other but no one confronted them.

The arena is beautiful with huge chandeliers. We really enjoyed watching the riders put their horses through training. I'm sure we would have preferred the show but it was not on during our stay. That said, we were glad that we saw the training session. Well worth the few Euros and time spent.

More walking around, Mozart Park and other green spaces as it was a lovely day.

Concert tonight so an early dinner at Cafe Schwarzenberg. About 150 years old, this felt like old Vienna. Who knew boiled beef could taste so good. Served with 2 sauces and potatoes. Then we went up to the dessert display to choose some delightful tortes.

Mozart concert at Musikverein was booked about a month ahead. We were seated in the 9th row, perfect! The costumed orchestra and singers were quite fun and we would recommend this to anyone visiting Vienna.

loving this. ready to hear more.

Happy to say that Vienna is a very easy city to get around in.

Next we were off on the Ubahn to Schonbrunn Palace.
If I am correct there are 1,000 rooms, not all on display, but the rooms that you can view are spectacular.

The entry times are regulated. Ours was in 1 hour. This gave us time to stroll the extensive gardens & take photos of the flowers, statues, fountains, etc. You can also choose to board a small train or hire a carriage to get around the grounds.
This was a great way to spend 1/2 a day checking out how royalty lived.

Back on the Ubahn to the city, we looked in shops etc.

Dinner was at Huth a short walk from our pension. Very popular, you need to reserve. IMO, it was just OK. The ravioli starter was quite nice and we both chose that tasty beef with fried onions again.

Lovely! Looking forward to more.

Melk Abbey was our last day choice.
We purchased a combo ticket, train-Abbey visit-boat-train back to Vienna.

UBahn was close to our B&B. 2 stops away was the train station. Rode the train to St. Polten. Only having 7 minutes to catch the next train was a worry, but no problems.
The trains were right next to each other so several steps and we were on our way to Melk.

Now we could have caught a direct train at another train station but it was a further walk from our B&B. This worked out fine.

It was a short walk uphill on cobblestoned lanes to the Abbey. The Abbey was impressive but it was the church that took your breath away. Unbelieveable amount of gold. We sat there in awe of the extravagance.
No photos allowed inside but at one point in the tour you are on an outside balcony where you can get some great shots of the countryside.

More to follow.