Warsaw, Poland Days 8 - 9

Monday morning we headed to Warsaw, Poland. Now you would think since they are only about two hours apart by plane, that we would have been there quickly. But we still had to be at the airport 3 hours early and then we had to go through customs all over again. So basically we didn't get to our hotel until 4 pm and it was a whole day ordeal.

Warsaw was pretty cool. It is a mix of old and new there. You will have a modern building next to one from World War II that is old and gritty. 

Monday evening we went to dinner and turned in early as we had property tours the next day.

Tuesday we worked all day and then did some sightseeing after. We visited the Palace of Culture and Science and the Old Town Market Place. Both places I would definitely recommend.

Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw Poland

Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw Poland (360 degree views from the top terrace).

We took Taxis and Ubers all over both Austria and Poland and had no issues. Ubers were insanely cheap in Warsaw.

City Streets of Old Town Market Place

Mermaid Statue of Warsaw

After exploring, we headed back to the hotel to have dinner a block away from the hotel at Stixx Bar and Grill. This was a higher end steakhouse, but it was so good. The only photo I snapped at dinner was a dessert that we shared. It was like a molten lava cake.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and turned in for the evening.

Salzburg, Austria Day 7

I have a whole post dedicated to day 7 which is the day we took a whole day trip to Salzburg and back. We met up with our tour guides at 7 am which was pretty early. On Sundays, most shops and restaurants are closed, but in Salzburg, they had more things open as it is a tourist town due to Mozart living there and the Sound of Music being filmed there. 

The drive was pretty and the tour was worth it. It was about $200 per person which included the ride in a Mercedes van, four different stops and a guided tour. We stopped along the way for a breakfast, then some sightseeing at some lakes, then the birth place of Mozart's mother and finally Salzburg and back to Vienna. 

First stop, breakfast along the way, Second stop, Lake Attersee.

Then we headed to St. Gilgen which is a small town where Mozart's mother was born. We got to walk around the town for about a half hour to hour. We took photos and went into shops. It was really pretty and the sun was finally peaking through the clouds.

St. Gilgen Town Hall

Next, we drove towards Salzburg while driving by several other lakes and through some beautiful countryside. Then we came to Salzburg. After we arrived, we walked around with our tour guide who told us some of the history of Salzburg. Then he let us go off on our own to explore. We went up to the castle to see the entire city of Salzburg and then went back down to the city center for some shopping, food and drinks.

Mirabell Palace and Gardens

View of the castle.

Mirabell Palace and Gardens

Getreidegasse

Salzburg Cathedral

Hohensalzburg Fortress (the views from the castle)

After spending about 3 to 4 hours in Salzburg, we met back up with our tour group and headed back. We made one stop along the way for a bathroom and snack break. Along the way, we found out that the founder/owner of Red Bull had died that morning or the day before (I can't remember) and that Red Bull was created in Austria. They had tons of different flavors all over Austria. I did try the Fig and Apple one while I was there. 

After we arrived back in Vienna, we went back to the hotel for some dinner. Then we turned in for the day as we were headed to Warsaw, Poland the next day. 

I watched the Niners game (in German and part English) once I got back to my room.

And that concludes day 7.

 

Vienna, Austria Days 4 - 6

I didn't take a single photo on day 4 as we worked all day long, went back to the hotel and worked some more, met up for drinks in the hotel lounge and then went to dinner. It was a long day and we all turned in early. Friday, again we worked all day. In between meetings, we did grab lunch and I snapped a photo of that. I had this puff pastry napoleon stuffed with veggies and covered with a light herb gravy. It was so good!

After work, we changed and met up for some sightseeing. We went down to the city centre for some more souvenir shopping. This was snapped on our walk.

After shopping, we met back up with the guys for dinner and drinks....in an Australian bar. But they did have a boot which we had been looking for everywhere. No, we didn't drink out of it, but we did take photos with it.

Saturday morning, we got up, worked out, had breakfast (the hotel had amazing breakfast) and then went sightseeing some more. We went to the Schonbrunn which is a museum. We walked around the outside and then made our way inside for a tour.

M and I around our walk around the Schonbrunn. It was raining all day!

The gardens are really pretty...even with the flowers dug up awaiting to be replanted. They were replanted in other areas already.

We had lattes and mozart cake while waiting for our tour.

Sadly, no photos inside.

After the Schonbrunn, we went to the Vienna Opera House which is where the iconic scene in Mission Impossible is filmed.

Up next, we grabbed some street food and then went to the Imperial Treasury in Vienna. This is where the crown jewels are held. Plus it is a museum as well.

We walked back to our hotel and along the way, we saw a peaceful protest going on. We also were there near their election, so we saw these protests a few times during the week we were there.

We headed back to the hotel to meet up with another co-worker and put our things away and head to dinner at Salieri. We did have some limoncello there which was really good.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and turned in as we had an early morning at Salzburg, the home of the Sound of Music.