Vienna, the Land of the Missing Glavin's

Vienna, Austria was the best city for a home base and there were plenty of reasons; these are just a few.

1. The transportation system was simply incredible and very kid-friendly. We were impressed at how easy it was to get tickets, and get from one side of the city to the other. The U-Bahn and tram were always on time, and they were straightforward. Anyone could find out how to get to Stephensplatz from Waringer Strasse. The Trams were just small subways (that were above ground). Trams are useful when you were in between U-Bahn stops, and especially trying to not become Closter Phobic in the U-Bahn. Also there was a useful “Hydro-Foil” for people traveling to Bratislava on the Danube River.

2. Vienna was really clean and was beautiful. The streets were cleaned almost every night. The only litter was the millions of cigar butts in the sewers and corners of dark allies. The city of Vienna had great architecture, from churches to government buildings. The St. Stephens Cathedral was our home church and it has the best saying, “Anyone can find St. Stephens.” Which is true to its title because of how large and well know it is. There is scaffolding on the outside of it for reconstruction; therefore they put a tarp over the scaffolding with a picture showing what is underneath.

3. It had a lot of history. Mozart lived in 85 apartments there; the Hapsburg’s dynasty was located in their two overly humungous palaces; the Lipizzaner stallions are raised, trained, and originated there; the Vienna Boys Choir (who are amazing); all in the city if Vienna. They have a museum quarter with ancient rocks (fascinating), animals, art, and documents. In the court yard there is a large statue of Maria Teresa, a Hapsburg Queen.

4. Our landlord, John, was hilarious. He always seemed to overbook apartments. That’s why we went to Budapest, Hungary and Istanbul, Turkey, AND why an 80 year old man stayed with us for a night. He always seemed to pop up during our nightly sessions of 24© or 5 minutes after we have arrived back from a trip.