wien.

that's vienna.

worldtravellers.

vienna was a blur of happiness, schnitzel and gilt. gilt as in gold-coated statues at every turn...but also buyers-remorse guilt after my shopping spree. now that I think about it, the Hapsburgs probably had some gilt guilt after the whole World War I thing.

the air felt like spring. vienna's history as one of Europe's cultural centers is definitely not locked in museum cases, and the monuments were crawling with joggers. zigzagging through the topiary gardens and circling the Parliament fountains.

monkey boy. possibly one of my favorite pictures ever.

my host parents picked up Vienna Philharmonic tickets (!!), so we went to the Sunday matinee. the hall was small enough that there were seats on the stage itself. i really hoped the couple sitting next to the timpani were deaf prior to that morning, because after the show they certainly were. the Sibelius concerto has an aggressive percussion part.

hit the contemporary art museum. market street. hapsburg palace. coffee break. mozart monument. the line for the Sacher Torte cafe (an adventure in itself). parliament. schnitzel break. the crown jewels museum... my host family are professional tourists, in a non-fannypack way. we walked so much that one of the soles of my boots ripped off, and yet there was almost no complaint from any of the kids. being an honorary member of the rämö family? they are all travel rämbös, it was all i could do to keep up.

(i really miss making bad puns, finns either don't understand or just don't want to understand).

viennese art, with finnish art in the background.

post-museum cake break.

not everything in vienna is marble.

market street at dusk.