When we were docked in Budapest, our side of the boat was facing the river, or more correctly, another long ship. It is not uncommon for two or three boats to be secured next to each other, and you go through the other boat/s to get to yours. Here in Vienna, we are closest to shore and when I was up on the sunroof last night, strolling around the walking track after dinner, I looked over to see a police car parked immediately outside our stateroom (aka cabin). Not long after, our mates came strolling along after their walk along the port.
I have decided that one day in a city is only enough time to get a 'taste' or an introduction _ or to have an absolute appreciation that we are visiting in October! Was it just because it was National Day that everyone was out in the streets of Vienna? On in the coffee houses? Our first trip off the boat was on the organised coach and walking tour - Panoramic Vienna. We saw a bit including St Stephen's Cathedral which was magnificent. There is a separate pics post for this and for the other Church I visited in the afternoon, St Peter's Catholic Church on kazbah33pics.com. Coaches are not allowed in the heart of the city so we disembarked and walked down the main thoroughfare to St Stephen's, at which point we were given free time to wander around the city centre.
I was amazed at how many people were in the city - and that they had hansom cabs - lots of them. We hadn't realised until Sooz and I were sitting having a drink when we heard the clip-clop of horse hooves on the cobblestones. We turned around and there was it was - and it was followed soon after by another, and another, and another. And it was wonderful to see them - especially as when they were coming down the street, they were passing under the start of the Christmas decorations that have already started appearing in the Viennese streets.
I don't have a good photograph of it but there is a ferris wheel that's over 100 years old in Vienna's Prater Amusement Park. Apparently, according to our guide, you can hire a carriage so you can ride to the top of the wheel to propose to your loved one. If they say 'yes', the wheel starts again; if not, I guess no-one gets to finish their ride.
Vienna is certainly a home of the coffee culture. There were so many coffee houses open (even on a public holiday) - and they were full to bursting in most instances. I have a feeling coffee houses are more popular than what we in Australia know as hotels, but I have no proof of that.
I know McCafe is not really a coffee house, but we did duck in there to use their facilities. We had to pay 50c each (by credit card although they would have accepted coins) to use the WCs but for that we also got a coupon which we could redeem at the counter if we bought something. We didn't but it was good to know this was an option, especially as we are still finding it difficult to find free public toilets in the cities we visit.
There was a quiz night on board the boat last night - Majority Rules, I think it was called. There were 10 questions and your team won a point for the round if it had the same answer as the majority of the teams. We didn't do too badly but we really weren't in the running - our 5 right was nowhere near the 7 that seven or eight other teams managed to get. We decided they had all played the game before. We sailed from Vienna just before midnight - making sure that our clocks would do their thing overnight as Europe moved to Winter time.