One day in July

Hey all,

A few weeks ago it was my birthday and I celebrated in Vienna! First it was an early morning train from Prague, which involved getting up at the charming hour of 4:45am. That was all good though coz it meant that I could get a massive part of the day NOT on the train :) On the train I finally got to open the cards from my family that had been in my bag since April. It was very special to 'hear' from them like that. Also the many emails and facebook messages were wonderful too. Even though I am far away, I certainly wasn't forgotten!

Arriving in Vienna, it was a quick bag drop and shower before heading out to explore the city. Vienna is a beautiful city; Lonely Planet describes it as perfect for strolling, and it is. So many impressive buildings and, as it is summer, lots of street performers and busy-ness.

Vienna is known for its coffee, so Mel and I decided to depart on our own coffee tour - 3 coffees in 3 very different coffee houses. They were all fantastic and I really enjoyed it. A perfect way to spend the day.

Here are some pictures so you can get a better impression. I hope all of your birthdays were just as much fun!

Love Sarah xxx

Coffee number 1 - a coffee with a shot of rum! It was after lunch so I thought it was ok to add the shot :) It was really hard to read the menu and this was one of the only things I understood, so I had to have it!
My absolutely delicious lunch, a chicken salad. It was so yummy - definitely the best food I'd had in a long time! Fresh, full of flavour and just what I felt like.
A church in Vienna - beautifully decorated, as many European churches are. This one was offering a free organ concert so we sat and listened for a while. Quite relaxing.

A Viennese coffee house. I LOVE the coffee culture in Vienna - it's such a contrast to coffee shops at home. The coffee houses are much bigger, much more tastefully decorated and have a really calm, cosy feel. There are WAY too many staff which means no one is rushing around frantically, tables are clear (not full of past customers dishes), everyone is relaxed and it's easy to linger. Very enjoyable!

And the staff wear suits! The service sure is second to none!

Coffee houses number 3 - time for some birthday cake :)

My birthday cake - a Sacher torte. Cafe Sacher is famous for its chocolate cake which its been baking for over 100 years. They certainly have perfected the recipe during that time because this cake was something special! You can get a cube size or a slice size. This, obviously, is the cube - not very big but more than enough - its very rich!

And then a wine to finish off the day. Pretty good, don't you reckon?!?!?