Vienna, Schladming, and Salzburg

Once we boarded the bus for Vienna, I thought to myself, "I'm setting myself up for failure. I live in the most beautiful city in Europe and we're going to see another 'beautiful' city. Everything I see will be compared to Prague." Fortunately, Vienna turned out to be very beautiful. The Hofsburg was a beautiful sight and so was the Parliament Building and the Rathaus. On top of the really beautiful buildings, the sculptures on top of each corner of each building were breathtaking. They were full of emotion and white as snow against the blue sky. It was really cool to see. Unfortunately, Sarah had a splitting headache for most of our first day. So on the second day we went to see Dr. Sigmund Freud at the Freud Museum. It was really cool to enter his old apartment and office where he practiced psychoanalysis. All in all, Vienna didn't turn out to be a bust.
Next was Schladming where Sarah spent three months at Bible school while we were dating. It's a beautiful town in the middle of the Austrian Alps. We spent two nights there at a small B&B and climbed a mountain (see my profile picture on Facebook). We enjoyed some time with one of Sarah's professors and had a drink while listening to an outdoor polka band. With the hike, we were now tired for Salzburg.
I should mention that Sarah and I had the great privilege to spend this time with one of Sarah's friends from Bible school, Sarah Higgs. Yes, THE Sarah Higgs (see Sarah's "Friend List" on Facebook).
Not to fear! When we got to Salzburg, we went to bed immediately and got up to take a bicycle tour around Salzburg. It was no ordinary bike tour, it was the Sound of Music Bicycle Tour! I had never seen the movie, so to bike around with some drooling fanatics who had traveled to their personal Mecca was a treat in itself. Even though I had never seen the movie, I enjoyed the tour because it was a great way to see such a really beautiful city of only 200,000.
What a relief. I was afraid the cities in Austria were going to be just like any little brother who begins seeing muscles in the mirror, only to have big brother Prague flex right behind him. In simpler terms, Vienna, Schladming, and Salzburg turned out to be that really great little brother who sometimes beats you at certain sports.