{"id":818,"date":"2024-05-20T00:51:27","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T00:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/?p=818"},"modified":"2024-05-20T00:51:28","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T00:51:28","slug":"days-twelve-thirteen-and-fourteen-vienna-and-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/?p=818","title":{"rendered":"Days twelve, thirteen and fourteen: Vienna and home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s always the last bit of these trips that are the hardest to write. Partly it\u2019s that the travel day gets in the way, partly it\u2019s sad to say goodbye to new acquaintances, partly it means the adventure is over (for now). Let\u2019s give it a try\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group got an early start leaving Innsbruck, but didn\u2019t have far to go for our first stop. We visited a small farm just outside town and got a good look at what it takes to keep a family farm going in Central Europe. The owner\u2019s extended family has diversified in a number of different directions, with an eco-friendly truck farm at its core. We toured, then were treated to a coffee and a really nice pastry before we hit the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest of the day was mostly spent in the bus driving to Vienna. We arrived at our hotel; it was certainly the nicest of the trip, a Marriott that has been transformed from a national riding stable into a five star hotel. After unpacking we left for a group dinner just outside of town at a place called the Marchfelderhof. You have never seen such a place\u2026thousands of pieces of this and that, hanging from ceilings, festooned around the tables. Even the restrooms were the busiest places you\u2019ve even seen. They had a violin\/accordion duo wandering around the restaurant, and really nice food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But wait, there was more to finish the day. We attended a concert given by a small ensemble (2 violins, cello, bass, flute, clarinet and piano) plus an operatic soprano and tenor and a man and woman ballet dancer. They performed Mozart and Strauss as you\u2019d expect, but also worked in a Sound of Music medley. The music was great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last day of the tour found us touring Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace, the emperor\u2019s summer palace. The elegance of the place was amazing, as well as its 500 acre setting. Next was a walking tour through the historic center of Vienna, including walking past the emperor\u2019s winter palace. We enjoyed walking through a cathedral, then Leila and I stopped at Cafe Mozart for a Viennese coffee melange and pastry (she had apple strudel, i had a Mozart torte).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our group had one last event, a farewell dinner. We drove to a monastery outside of town; before dinner we had a wine tasting in their basement. The monks have a winery and brewery, and do a nice job of both. Dinner was tasty, and we got one last chance to visit with the folks we\u2019d gotten to know over two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morning came too early. We flew Vienna to Chicago (9 1\/2 hours), then to Denver (2 1\/2 hours) and to Boise (2 hours). It was a long day that started at about 5 AM Vienna time (9 PM mountain time Thursday) and ended at 10 PM Friday in Boise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a great two weeks, and we have many memories. Great enough that we are already thinking about the next adventure. More then\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the tidiest farms you\u2019ll ever hope to see<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
You thought I was kidding! Sorry, but the bathroom was not suitable for mixed company\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A humble summer cabin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
How the other 1% lived<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
How the 1% lived in the winter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Quite a church!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The coffee was as good as billed, and by now we needed the time off our feet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Truly a wine cellar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Last cup of really good coffee for a while. Greg is hopeful we invest in an espresso machine; it would certainly take some practice to pull a drink like those we enjoyed on this trip.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s always the last bit of these trips that are the hardest to write. Partly it\u2019s that the travel day gets in the way, partly it\u2019s sad to say goodbye to new acquaintances, partly it means the adventure is over (for now). Let\u2019s give it a try\u2026 The group got an early start leaving Innsbruck, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=818"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":819,"href":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818\/revisions\/819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2luhns.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}