Day 17 - Oct. 30 - District 13, Vienna Woods - not much excitement today

Another leisurely morning - a plentiful home-cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, crusty baguettes with Alpen butter, tomato, avocado, cheese and salami. Not to mention a very nice Prosecco from Treviso.

I had laundry and computer projects to do. Ron went to the small SPAR grocery nearby.

In Park Hotel Schonbrunn

We walked to Wien Mitte, and took the U-Bahn to Heiligenstadt to pick up the car. We then set off down another memory lane. Went to the Schonbrunn area, and had lunch at the Park Hotel Schonbrunn. We used to go there every time we were in Vienna, and I always had the most delicious shrimp. The hotel is now part of the Austria Trend group, and had recently undergone a 2-year  renovation. Unfortunately, to our taste, the charm of the hotel is gone. The atmosphere is somewhat impersonal and cold. They host a lot of business functions. The service in the restaurant was indifferent and inattentive. Once our meal was served (after a long wait), no one came to ask if everything was fine or offer us another beverage. Ron had a gulash soup and salad. I ordered a chicken breast, which I couldn't eat - very tough, and a strange consistency. At Ron's urging, I did send it back. The waiter said he would bring me a menu to choose something else. By the time he came back, Ron was finished with his meal, and I didn't see anything I couldn't resist. They did take it off the bill.

Chicken Breast

We had decided we didn't need another tour of Schonbrunn. But, Hietzing (13th District) where the palace is located is very beautiful, and we drove on narrow one-way streets past many blocks of Biedermier and other style villas. Very interesting to anyone who loves these gorgeous old buildings. Just sorry we weren't able to take any photos. As Schonbrunn grew from the 17th- to 19th-centuries, the surrounding area grew with nobility, civil servants, officers and others needing to live nearby. The district became (and remains) the wealthiest district - with the highest level of education and the lowest percentage of foreign residents. The beauty of the area rivals that of  the inner city. Unfortunately, many of the other districts and outlying areas of Vienna are quite unattractive (putting it mildly).

Ron had asked the hotel desk for a cute place to visit in the nearby Vienna Woods, and he jotted down a suggestion. We drove there, and it was a big disappointment. Very sterile coffee shop - no personality or gemutlichkeit. White formica tables and white chairs. Think it is just a place people hiking in the woods stop. We didn't linger long.

Driving back we happened to go through Neustift-am-Wald, an area with numerous heurigers. It is supposed to be more frequented by locals, and less touristy than Grinzing. This was more the "gemutlich" we were looking for, and after a rather hair-raising drive above the town, finally got back to the center and secured a parking spot. We noted that parking was only for patrons of the Wolff Heuriger, so that is where we went. It was a neat place, but some of the others we saw walking around afterward look even nicer and more popular. We hope to have time to go back one evening. The owners of the apartment where we are staying said their favorite heuriger is in Neustift, so we will try it.

In Heuriger Wolff

With very strict laws here about blood alcohol content while driving, Ron couldn't partake of the "new" wine - so our visit was short.

We made it safely back into the city and parked the car in a garage near the apartment. It was a bit of a challenge finding our way out and onto the correct street to take us home. Once we went up in an elevator we were in a vast, deserted building with many corridors.

Climbed our 25-steps to "home".  Ron had to go back and move the car after a few hours, as overnight parking was extremely expensive, and after 10 PM parking on the street was permitted (and free) until 9 AM. We also wanted the car near the apartment so we could pack up quickly in the morning.