Lis and Tyler in Germany

Today we went to Mass at the royal cathedral in the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna where we heard the Vienna Boys’ Choir sing, accompanied by a live chamber orchestra.  Yesterday we saw where Mozart lived, and organ he played and walked along the Salzaug river in Salzburg.  Two days ago we had beers with locals at a “Stammtisch” at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich (seating by invitation only) and saw Neuschwanstein (the castle Walt Disney modeled Cinderella’s castle after).  We cannot get over the HUGENESS of all that we are seeing and doing.  Vienna reminds us both of Paris…full of culture, art, music, monstrous buildings and more sites than you could see in a lifetime.  Sitting in an old coffee shop, enjoying the absolute best cup of coffee I have ever had and eating the pastry of the day (peach cake.  We were hoping for Sachertorte, Vienna’s famous chocolate cake, so when we were done there, we went to the next coffee shop and got a piece) and talking to each other through the thick smoke haze, we proclaimed that we absolutely must come back.

 (I saved this entry without actually posting it, so now it’s the next day…)

 We are now in Bad Gastein, a tiny ski village in Austria.  Tyler is out on the slopes and I just got back from a gorgeous hike.  It’s sunny out and the perfect day to be playing in the Alps.  Although I can’t really imagine a bad time to be playing in the Alps…

Tomorrow we take the train to Venice and just spend one night there before flying to Rome and starting our cruise.