Così and Coffee

Visiting Vienna is hard work. Getting up early to hear the Vienna Boys Choir or watch the prancing stallions at the Spanish Riding School, trying to squeeze in some of the city's 40 different museums, not to mention all the monuments, palaces, gardens, and cathedrals--and then there's the coffee houses & battling hobos and opera enthusiasts alike for cheap standing room tickets to world famous operas (for the price of a latte back home), then squeezing in some post-show midnight dinner before swapping stories with hostel-mates. Whew. We're catching a 3.5 hour train to Budapest in a couple hours, and I have to admit, I'm looking forward to catching my breath.

But back to the opera and coffee. Brian & I managed standing tickets for 3.50 Euros to Aida and Cosi fan tutte at the Vienna Staastoper. Aida especially was magnificent-- the epic set design, the extraordinary music of the State Opera orchestra, the voice of the singers that filled the handsome theater, and the tragic love story itself. I can't believe we were standing beside/behind people who paid hundreds of euros for the sold-out show.

And coffee. First of all, I'm convinced there isn't drip coffee on this continent, and NO, instant Nescafe do not count (*shudder*). That said, the espresso here is incomparable. Our first afternoon in Vienna, we decided to splurge and go to one of the traditional coffeehouses, maybe 175 years old or so. I had a cafe melange, espresso with foam & whipped cream, and it was to die for, as was Brian's doppio.

Tomorrow I'll try to post a few pics of Vienna, as well as our 3hr foray to sleepy Bratislava. But for now, we're off to Hungary!