Vienna, Austria

What follows is tare my adventures in the former capital of Austro-Hungarian Empire.
I arrived early the next morning after my overnight train ride from Rome. While incredibly cheap (only 9 Euros for a 13 hour ride) I'll probably cough up the extra money for a couchette next time I'm on an overnight train. Due to a tragic mix up with the friend I planned on staying with I had arrived several hours before she returned from her holiday in Croatia. Fortunately she sent me excellent directions to her house where her roommate was able to let me in to put down my stuff and take a much needed nap. I was able to get in contact with another friend studying in Vienna to give me a wonderful walking tour of the city. This was particularly useful because since it was the day after Easter, the super religious denizens of Vienna was still taking the day off.
The real fun began the next day with my visit to the Viennese chocolate museum. Yes, a chocolate museum, dedicated to the history of the delicious treat and the family confectionery located in Vienna. I bought several pounds of chocolate and discovered by new favorite holiday: Day After Easter Sale Day! 50% off a huge chocolate bunny and some other small Easter gifts. I returned to the apartment I'm living in and was joined by my host on a trip to the Summer Palace of the Hapsburg dynasty.
A summer palace of one of the most enduring ruling families of Europe should practically explain itself, right? On the palace grounds there is an enormous garden (best way to see it is by horse and buggy), the enormous palace itself, and of course the world's oldest zoo still in operation. While I did not do all of these things I took a tour of the palace and walked up the main hill in the garden to get a great view of Vienna.
I made my way back into town where we got dinner at a curious kind of Austrian restaurant. If I'm recalling correctly this type of restaurant specializes in freshly made wines in addition to very good, if a little expensive food. I got traditional Viennese schnitzel. I accidently left out that before dinner we went to the oldest Irish pub in Vienna. Because no old town is complete without an Irish pub.
At this point my memory gets a little hazy and I can't remember the complete order of things I did next. But it included a visit to the Hapsburg's Palace and the Treasury where they keep many of the relics of the dynasty, including Charlemagne's crown. I also visited the imperial crypt inside an assuming church that served as the final resting place for the majority of the members of the ruling family, and capped things off with a trip up the tallest building in the city, which is none other than a really old church.
And there was salsa dancing.