The morning activities for today were a quick tour of Vienna, followed by a chance to sample Sachertorte and Viennese coffee.
Our excursion started with a bus ride into the heart of Vienna. We learned quite a few interesting facts along the way. Vienna has 2 million people divided among 23 municipal districts. Workers in Vienna earn approximately €2,300 per month, but their salaries are spread out over 14 payments each year.
As we rode through the city, we passed an area known as the Graffiti Museum. We also passed the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel, which is considered the world's oldest Ferris wheel. Then we crossed what they call the Little Danube Bridge. As we drove through the city, you could see all sorts of statues and decorative features atop many of the buildings.

The bus stopped, and we got off at the Volksgarten in the center of Vienna.
Upon entering the garden, you could see how beautifully the area was laid out, with roses everywhere. There were even rose trees where people could leave messages for loved ones attached to the branches. The messages would stay up for about a month before being replaced with new ones.

Further along our walk, we came upon the Theseus Temple, which displayed a statue of Theseus and the Monument to Youth. Apparently, due to modesty concerns, a fig leaf was added to the statue in 1934 and then removed in 1945.

After we left the garden, our guide continued leading us around the city of Vienna. He pointed out many statues and buildings and shared lots of interesting facts and stories. One item of extreme interest was the Lipizzaner Stallions at the Spanish Riding School. We were able to see a couple of the white horses.

One of the most interesting buildings was St. Stephen's Cathedral. It had a very Gothic appearance. What made it especially interesting was that it had been destroyed at one point. They began building new spires during its reconstruction, but they were never completely finished.

​Our last stop on this tour was at Café Sacher. The café had been established in 1891. As we walked inside, we passed a counter filled with mouthwatering, delectable-looking pastries and desserts. However, we were shown to a secluded area in the back reserved for our group.
As we sat down, we found places set for us with Sachertorte. Sachertorte is a rich chocolate cake layered with apricot jam and covered with a chocolate glaze. It is traditionally served with whipped cream on the side. The waitress came around with Viennese coffee for us, and it was very good.

We were then given a bit of free time to wander around and visit a few stores. We stopped by the Swarovski store, where they had a very cute display of Minions made entirely out of crystal. Sorry, no pictures!
After that, we headed back to the bus and returned to the ship.
After lunch, it was back onto a bus. We were headed to Schönbrunn Palace, the Habsburg family summer residence. Here we were given time to wander through the gardens before taking a guided tour through 20 of the palace's 1,500 rooms.

​Then it was back to the ship for an early dinner. Kathleen and several other passengers were headed to a Mozart and Strauss concert at the palace. Linda and I stayed in. You all know what I was working on.

I did find out that passengers can borrow bicycles while we are in port. Annette did this with others from the ship.