Naschmarkt and more! Saturday in Vienna

Lipizzaner horse stable just down the street from our hotel

cool statue atop the Opera House

another cool sculpture, this one outside an art museum

Naschmarkt!

this vendor played the role of obnoxious big brother for this photo!

yup, it's octopus!

fresh sauerkraut, just like Mom used to make!

olive oil and vinegar stand, and you can taste them all!

treats, as described in post!

The Vienna Opera House, I like the trolley in the shot

a line of horse drawn carriages waiting for tourists

this driver is sleeping!

The salon where we went to the concert

the older gent at left was the lead violinist and director

Kursalon Wein (Wein is Vienna in Austrian)

quiet square with St. Stephan's in the background and two jumping crazies in the foreground!

the entrance to the Imperial Palace, one block from our hotel

FOOD!

Danny's masterpiece, bread,falafel,hummus and sweet pepper

Well the first thing that happened this morning was sleep! We really packed our Friday so that we could get on the right schedule in Austria, but it caught up with Danny. He slept till almost 12...which some might say is jet-lag, while others might say he is almost a teenager! Jerry and I took a stroll together out to the square, Stephansplatz, to get some coffee. I am happy to report that after yesterdays cafe prices I did a little Internet research and came up with the Dunkin Donuts of Vienna- Aida! Of course we are talking espresso and Viennese pastries, but from a money standpoint they are similar, and there are a bunch scattered around the city. The gals all wear cute pink uniforms, the interiors have lots of glass and wood,  and I was also happy to note the 50% tray with yesterday's baked goods! Even a three day old pastry here is fantastic, so we bought a whole bunch! Like in any other big city the people watching is the best, from the people with their fancy dogs, to the older women dressed in beautiful fur coats, to the ubiquitous Japanese tour groups. We rousted Danny and stuffed him with a couple of pastries and then headed off to the Naschmarkt. This markt is a Viennese tradition dating back to the middle-ages, when farmers would haul their milk,meat and veggies in from the fertile countryside and sell it to the city folks. These days, along with stalls selling middle-eastern food,fish, meat,veggies,flowers,spices and pastries there is a flea markt. Jerry described the merchandise on display as follows; "it looks like some dug up an American landfill and brought the contents here" and some stalls still smelled that way! But it certainly was fun to look at, and we ate our way through and brought a good selection back with us. This later became our dinner, though we hadn't planned that. It is still freezing cold, and by 4'oclock we were ready to try our next Viennese tradition, the coffee break. Every day at 4 most of the city drops into a cafe and relaxes with a cup of coffee, or something stronger, and a little snack. We took Danny to another Aida(my goal-visit as many as I can this trip!) where he tried the Blueberry Vanilla Torte and Jer and I shared a flourless poppy seed torte. And coffee, more delicious coffee, of course! We returned to the hotel for a bit of emailing,reading etc. and Jerry went to the hotel bar to meet to work mates who had just arrived. He lost track of time, and so did we, so when he returned it was time to get going to our concert. We walked through the night lit streets of the city, down little alleys and cobblestone streets to the Kursalon. This building was constructed between 1865 and 1867 in the Renaissance style, and is one of the most splendid buildings in Vienna. The Strauss brothers, Johann, Joseph and Eduard came to the Kursalon Wein and took their music to new heights. They toured Europe and America in 1872, setting off Strauss hysteria. Johann's popularity was unsurpassed, and he began composing his own operettas for the stage, bringing the waltz,galop,polka and march in as integral parts of the Viennese operettas. There is a concert in the Kursalon which presents pieces by Strauss and Mozart, along with opera singers and dancers, that bring the music to life. It is a musical taste of Vienna, and perfect if you do not want to go to a whole opera or ballet performance. We had purchased the lowest tickets (priced like Broadway!) but when we arrived, the usher liked Danny, and showed us to the front row so no one would block his view. Cute does pay kids! We had an absolute blast! When we got back to our room at 11pm, we were starving, so out came all the middle-eastern food for a "midnight feast" of falafel, hummus,peppers,bread,etc. Man did it taste good.