Vienna

first day in the imperial city of vienna... our first stop is the "very soul of the city", the Stephansdom. A huge bulky Gothic-style cathedral smack in the middle of Wien. We reached there with the mass in service, attempts at sneaking in was thwarted by the obvious asian face :p thus had to settle for viewing the interior of high vaulted cathedral from the back of the church.

walked down to schwedenplatz afterwards via a suggusted route that passed by several minor sights. Took a leisurely walk round the city and had delicous pizza for lunch as well as a kasekrainer at the original Wurstl am Hoher Markt :) yummy...sausage with cheese melting out of every bite...

we somehow ended up walking down kohlmarkt to land in michealerplatz, in front of the Hofburg Complex, castle of the Habsburg Empire.

visited the apartments and the schaztkammer in the alte burg. although the rooms were sumptuously decorated and the treasury one of the most impressive collection I have seen (truly, all the jewels and exquisite antiques) , what I really was interested in is the much-loved empress Sisi who lived in these apartments. A fascinating woman with stars in her hair and sorrow in her heart.

We left via Herrengasse and walked to Freyung, the old sanctury of the scottish church. a pretty glass-roofed courtyard with the Austria Fountain depicting the major rivers, all awashed in sepia lighting...

walked out to am hof and enjoyed dinner at an open-air austrian place before going home...