Vienna - Day Three

The weather in Vienna is even colder today!  We started out with a hearty breakfast, here at the Hotel Alstadt.  In case you think we may be starving, we documented the offerings...

Afterwards, we bundled up and visited Bunter Hund, a dog store that Nancy spotted earlier.

Bunter Hund was a fantastic shop, filled with all kinds of interesting gifts for Rose. With the down-fiilled coats topping out at around $200, I found a few less expensive things for her!



Several of the shops appeared to getting in their fresh holiday greenery, and the streets smelled like Christmas trees.

We soon realized that we needed warmer clothes, and since we were still close to the hotel, we walked back to take a minute to warm up and add layers.  Fortified, we then set out for the Adventmarkt vor der Karlskirche, which is a Christmas market specializing in a lot of handmade items.  Unfortunately, even in Vienna, we've seen a lot of merchandise that is not locally made, so it was nice to visit this market.  It was a beautiful walk, with all kinds of things to see one the way.

Chins down, scarves flapping in the breeze, we were almost to our destination when we realized that it was 1:30 pm, and we hadn't eaten lunch.  Shocking, I know, but true!  Luckily, we were near the Imperial Hotel, home of the Imperial Torte, so we immediately honed in on it.  We had potato soup and shared a sausage plate, before ordering the Imperial Torte.

The temperature hovered around 27 degrees most of the day.  By the time we reached the market, a slight breeze had picked up, making it even chillier.  That said, we continued on, and it was well worth it!  Small booths circled the area, with a playground in the middle for the children.

It gets dark very early here...by 4:30pm, even the Gluwein didn't keep us warm, so we called it a day. 

We were forced to take shelter from the cold for a few minutes...the hot chocolate helped!

It's been a busy day here.  We had a bit of downtime at the hotel this evening, before going out for pasta.  On the way back, I could feel just the tiniest of snowflakes on my face.  Tomorrow morning, we leave bright and early for a day trip to Salzburg.  Until then!