April 15th

When we drove to dinner, it was a little foggy and rainy. Albert took a scenic route along the Danube and then into the hills. The roads were nice and winding so they might be nice for motorcycles but I'd prefer not to ride them because a lot of them were cobblestone. With the drizzling rain, they would have been extra dangerous, too.

We stopped at a scenic overlook called Kahlenburg. You could see all of Vienna from up there but unfortunately for us, the day was so overcast that pictures were difficult to take. The nicest building we'd passed on the ride up the hills (would you believe the incinerator?) was one building that you could still easily pick out on the horizon.

We proceeded to Schreiberhaus in Rathstrasse for a "traditional Viennese dinner" which included lots of wine and weiner schnitzel (a favourite of mine). A gentleman entertained us on the accordion and we all joined in when we knew the words to the songs he played. Afterwards on the bus, Michael had us sing Edelweiss and THAT is when I discovered that Sasha was a singer. No, she didn't exactly join in BUT she did the "la la la la" that's part of the musical accompaniment and that's all I needed to recognize an exceptional voice.

By the way, the trip TO dinner took quite a while. The trip back was exceptionally quick. Scenic route there, "party's over" back.

Continue to April 16th