With dwindling morning hours we wandered the cobbled streets and alleys of Kraków to bottle as much charm as we could carry (along with a painting or two) and have one last pint of piwo before heading to the airport. Do Widzenia Kraków. We’ll miss you.
After an hour delay at the Kraków airport (courtesy of Austrian Airlines) we landed safely in Vienna – Grüß Gott Vienna!. We checked into Hotel Imperial, once the summer palace for Duke Philipp of Württemberg and his wife Archduchess Maria Theresa. This is apparetly where the rich and famous (and infamous) stay when in Vienna. To our surprise we had been upgraded to a couple of suites, (the Maisonette, and the Junior Executive) each with top floor views of Karlskirche and Karlsplatz.
After settling into our luxury accomodations we headed out for dinner walking the Ringstraße side streets looking for someplace to eat. After failing to get into several restaurants (for lack of reservations) we settled on a simple local brewpub where we could get a good schnitzel. If in Seattle you can’t throw a rock without hitting a Starbucks, in Vienna you can’t throw a cobble without hitting a schnitzel.
After dinner we wound through back streets and alleyways past black tie receptions and art openings in grand buildings with even grander façades until we happened upon the grandest of all – St. Stephen’s Cathedral . Although it was late the church was still open so we went inside and found an stunning art exhibit by Peter Baldinger called Sky of Stones. It was the first of several art exhibits we’d stumble upon in our short weekend in Vienna.
Sabbatikos 
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