The end of a great trip

On our last full day in Vienna (and of the trip), we decided to right the tram around the Ring Road and get off to check out things we hadn't seen before. Our first stop was at the Parliament Building. Tours in English were available, so we booked one, then walked across a small park to the Rathaus (the City Hall). The Rathaus wasn't open for tours on that day, but we walked around the park and took pictures until time to return to the Parliament Building.

This was our first bilingual tour, and the tour leader did a great job of doing part of the spiel in German, and then repeating in English. The architect who building the building loved everything Greek, so everything about it is Greek. About half of this huge building was destroyed during WW2. The main, semicircular, now-ceremonial chamber remained intact. Amazingly the Bohemian crystal back-lit ceiling survived the war. The other chambers for the bicameral legislature are more functional, but not nearly as elegant.

We had not gone through St. Stephen's Dom and Platz, even though it was right in our neighborhood. So we headed there next. St. Stephen's Dom is a huge, soaring, Gothic cathedral, and is badly in need of restoration. There is scaffolding on the exterior, so work is being done, but the interior is very dark and gloomy. The building of these cathedrals was quite a feat.

We spent the late afternoon packing for our early pickup, then went for dinner. We've always eaten in neighborhood cafes and restaurants, and the food has been exceptional. We finished up our last evening as most of the rest of them - playing bridge. For the three weeks, Al just beat out John for high, Ann was third, and I had less than half as many points as any of the others.

Our flight home was reasonably uneventful. Ann & Al had some trouble getting from Atlanta to LAX, but eventually did (although their luggage didn't). What a great trip this was! We really aren't big city people, but these are three spectacular cities, with SO much history. We can certainly recommend this trip, and any other trip with Untours.

Today pictures are John's and mine - the Crystal ceiling in the ceremonial chamber of the Parliament Building, the Rathaus, and St. Stephen's Dom.