Our flight was pretty uneventful.  The entire plane was full and there seemed to be a lot of children around us.  Poor kids having to try to stay quiet and belted into their seats all night!  We were fortunate that we had a tail wind so the 9 and 1/2 hour flight only took 8 hours.  David and I were able to sleep some but certainly not enough.

We arrived in Munich on time and had no trouble getting through passport control.  The terminal we were in was pretty new and very modern.  They even had some lounge-like chairs in addition to the regular ones.

That's kind of a bad picture but hopefully you can see that it's a lounge chair.

Our connecting flight was on time and the flight from Munich to Vienna was only 40 minutes. After we collected our baggage we were met by a driver who took us to our hotel.  The hotel is a former palace built in 1882.  The room is very clean and comfortable but nothing fancy.

A black and white Christmas tree in the lobby
-- how perfect for me!  Gail Tuttle asked me if the presents are for me and I told her:  "In my mind they are!"

After a short nap we decided to venture out exploring.  The largest Christmas market in Vienna is only 3 blocks from our hotel.  It is festive and spectacular!  There are hand-made ornaments and pastries and ice skating rinks.  One trip around the market is not enough for sure!  We will definitely return for another visit.  Also, there are 19 other Christmas Markets here so hopefully we will see one or two more before we leave.  

Of course we had to try the Gluhwein (traditional hot spiced wine).  We also heard about a traditional punch that is sold at the market which we may try tomorrow.

After our trip to the Market it was time to search for a resturant for dinner.  We walked past a small bar restaurant that wasn't too busy so we stopped in.  The name of it was Smart:in.  Odd name but lovely place.  

I had delicious chicken kabob with the best flavored rice!


















David had pasta spinach ballls in a cheese sauce.  He liked it very much.  He said it was "different."

We were very tired after dinner and looked forward to getting back to our hotel and hopping in bed.  BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOO.  We got on the elevator with one other couple and it went to the 3rd floor and stopped.  And would not move again.  We were stuck in the elevator for over an hour.  David and I were OK but the other woman really had to pee!  Don't we all feel her pain???  We made new friends from Amsterdam.  They were a very cool couple who were here for the weekend.  We found out they were former speed skaters fand their oldest son now competes in speed skating.  

We certainly enjoyed our first day in Vienna and can hardly wait for tomorrow!  Good night.