At the conclusion of my summer internship in Germany, my friend Amy from Los Angeles flew out to Europe to for a 12-day visit and while in the Old World, we decided to take a 10 day jaunt into Central/Eastern Europe: Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary; and Sighisoara/Brasov/Bucharest/Constanta, Romania.  It was a pretty busy trip but we had a spectacular time and I was sure to take PLENTY of pictures to post here online.

Enjoy!

Any trip of mine and Amy's always starts with food, and Vienna proved no different.  Below: grilled chicken, fries, sauerkraut, and some tasty beef concoction.  Oh yeah, and tasty Austrian beer!

Since we got into town a wee bit late and I got us lost trying to walk to our hotel, we didn't have much time for sightseeing on our first day and instead decided to partake in a little culture and bought ourselves some pricy tickets for Cirque de Soleil.  Above: euro concession stand treats - popcorn and beer!

Crass "art" gallery advertisement heading down toward the subway.  Apparently the drugged out junky naked look is in this year in Austria. 

Our second day in Austria started off with a 9 a.m. bus tour around the city with the end attraction being the Schoenbrunn Palace just outside of downtown.  While Amy and I waited in our seats in our own bus, minding our own business, we noticed out the corner of our eyes that the drive dude in the bus next to ours couldn't stop "grabbing himself."  Fortunately he wasn't driving our bus that day!

Amy and I upon our glamorous arrival at Schoenbrunn Palace.

Schoenbrunn Palace in all it's glory.  This used to be the Imperial summer residence.  Construction began in 1692 using Versailles as a model, and was alter finished under the reign of Maria Theresa.

Me, so close to being a rebel!

The gardens at Schoenbrunn, with "Gloriette" crowning the palace grounds.

Built in 1775 by Hetzendorf von Hoehenberg to serve as a monument to the Imperial Army.

Amy and I walking around the palace garden fountain.

Amy, two duckies, and a lot of green H2O.

Schoenbrunn Palace from Gloriette.

So close to being a rebel, TWICE!  Just didn't have the courage to follow through though.  Hmpf!

Above and below: fountain figures overlooking the palace garden

One of Amy's new German words from the trip: one way street.  She liked learning German words on our trip so much that she actually wouldn't stop saying them.  "Hey, Dan.  Look!  An EINBAHN!"

"Sehr gut, mein Schatz!"  - Very good, my treasure!

British Mini with Amy and me in a dusty Venetian window.

St. Stephen's Cathedral, the symbol of Vienna located right in the middle of the historic city center.  The Cathedral has both Romanesque and Gothic architectural features.

The baroque main alter of the cathedral, with a depiction of the patron saint's stoning.

Exterior carving into the wall of St. Peter's Church

St. Peter's Church.  A late baroque design completed in 1733.  The dome is known for its famous fresco.

Dome of the quaintly small yet intimate church.

St. Peter's Church interior

Above and below: interior elements of the church

Horse carriage rides around Vienna. 

Contemporary art

More warning signs than you can shake a stick at!

And of course: MORE FOOD!

Cheese dumpling-pasta with sausages and potatoes.  Mmmm. . . all that fat!

Nein Einbahn!

Votivkirche Churche located in Sigmund Freud Park, which should more aptly be renamed, "Drug Addict Crack Ville."  I tell ya, there were some real unpleasant people lurking around everywhere.

"Named after the founder of psycho analysis, Professor Sigmund Freud.  1997 was the 40th anniversary of the "Treaty of Rome," so 16 trees have been planted - one for the EU and 15 for the member states."  Then there's a series of DON'T-DO signs underneath.  Basically, you can't have any fun in this park, but being a drugged out wacko isn't against the rules.

The Vienna City Hall.  Built in 1872-1883 in the neo-Gothic style.  Music festivals are often held in the front courtyard.

The Burg Theater, built in 1874-1888.

Amy passing by. . .

Sandwiched between the Burg Theater and the National Library is a nice little park by the name of Volksgarten (Peoples' Garden) with the above retro-Greek structure, next to which Amy and I laid down on the grass near other Venetians and took a snoozer in the beautiful weather.

Above and below: all that enticing grass!

Random fountain in the Volksgarten.  Somehow this picture just doesn't look all that superb.

Heldenplatz at the National Library

Located in Heldenplatz, the equestrian statue of Archduke Charles, the victor over Napoleon.

Memorial of Prince Eugene, also on Heldenplatz.  Prince Eugene was Austria's greatest general and is shown atop his charger, with a cute little A-Class Mercedes parked in front.

Parlament, currently being renovated.  Originally built in 1874-1883 in Greek tradition in honor of the birthplace of democracy.

Above: The Museum of Art History

Below: Memorial to Maria Theresa

In front of the Museum Quarter district was a large display of images from all around the world with captions describing their content and, as an American, I found the above one to be rather interesting: a small snapshot of 20th Century American military strength.  I find it fascinating since such an image could not have existed in the 19th Century, and most likely a totally different one will exist by the end of the 21st.

Beautiful colors of Vienna.

Vienna's most famous baroque church, Karlskirche.  The church was dedicated to the patron saint of the plague whose life is portrayed on the two columns.  Karlskirche was building in 1737 and commissioned by Emperor Charles VI in fulfillment of a vow at the end of the plague in 1713.

I love the snake wrapped around the cross.

Go here!  Go there!  But don't do it on a bike!

A random Vienna Hall of Art sign posted in the Karlsplatz garden near the subway stop.  So far in Vienna we've seen that it's bad to play soccer in parks, but it's OK to be a drugged out junky and that we should be nice to prostitutes.  Interesting national values. . .

Above and below: last but not least, Hotel Cryston where we spent two nights at 92 euros each (about $110).  The place wasn't so shabby, but the shower was THE WORST as you had to flip between either frozen cold water or scorching hot!