The Amazing Race - Day 5

"Schnitzel & Strudel"

I spent most of Sunday doing nothing. I justified it by telling myself I was just trying to be a good person by resting on Sunday, but in fact I was just being lazy. Consequently, I had a lot to get done today.

At breakfast I met some fellow travelers and joined one for a walking tour. There were so many people that I didn't get to hear much about the sites, but I did get to see them, so that was cool. We also tried Sacher Torte, which is a Viennese speciality. It's essentially chocolate cake, except it's better than chocolate cake. We then wandered over to the Hapsburg's summer palace. It's about a five minute walk from their winter palace - must be nice to be royalty.

This evening I finally got to go on the walking tour I had missed on my first night in Vienna. This walking tour was much smaller than the morning one, so I could actually hear the stories behind all the buildings. The city is also much more quiet in the early evening - probably because everyone is at the opera.

At the end of the tour, I got to try schnitzel and apple strudel. I still don't know what schnitzel is, but I do know that it is huge. One piece took up almost an entire plate and came with a side of fries. After all of this, I still had to try apple strudel. After dinner we sat at the restaurant sharing travel stories as a group. I think that is one of my favorite things about traveling Europe - getting to meet people from all over the world and hear their stories.

I ended the night with some friends at the hostel bar drinking apple juice, laughing at drunk people, and singing Don't Stop Believing until 3 o'clock in the morning. I'm going to miss Vienna.