Vienna

Our next port of call was the Austrian capital of Vienna. Vienna has some fabulous buildings and things to see. We did a bus tour to get an overview of the city, and stopped on the way and had a ride on the Giant Ferris wheel. It was built in 1897 and standing some 65 meters tall, gave us a terrific view over the city and the fairgrounds below.

While meandering through the city centre we stumbled across Schonbrunn Palace and then a garden with hundreds of rose bushes that had been covered in hession to survive the coming winter. They looked like Zombies in the evening light and were a bit spooky to look at.

Avross the road there was a huge statue of Empress Maria Theresa in front of the Natural History museum. (She had 16 children, the most famous of which was Marie Antoinette who became the queen of France and had her head cut off for some reason.) We returned to this museum the next day to look through it but in typical G's fashion of course it was closed on Tuesdays. So we just went for a walk instead.

We payed a visit to St Stephen’s Cathedral built in 1578 with its incredible spire standing 167 metres tall. The inside was awe inspiring.

Undoubtedly the highlight of Vienna was the Rathauspark Christmas markets in front of the City Hall. The lights and set up were fantastic and some great displays with fantastic city hall lit up behind.