It's a sad day! Today we had to set the alarm for 7:15 so we could leave Aachen by 9:30 to get to Dusseldorf Airport to catch our flight to our next stop, Vienna, Austria. And of course the Harlings were at our service... they are truly wonderful friends to drive us for 1-1/4 hours back to the airport. Actually it worked in Frank's favor. His Air France flight on Wednesday to Rio and Sao Paolo to see friends and family had been cancelled because of the Air France pilot strike. He could not get through on the phone to reschedule, so he felt he had to go to the AF office at the airport in person to insist on his rights of getting on another flight. (He actually ended up having to go via Atlanta with an 8-hour layover...unbelievable!)
On the drive back to Dusseldorf Airport, they pointed out a few interesting sights.
For miles along the highway you see gigantic machines strip-mining for coal. The land has huge open areas that have been dug out. When they are finished in an area, they leave the holes to be filled in naturally with water, and eventually after many years will turn into lakes. It's a weird and unnerving sight to see so much land being emasculated. And burning coal causes vast pollution.
Then we passed an indoor ski slope, since there are no high mountains in the area for people to ski...what a nice touch!
Now we're at the Dusseldorf Airport having our farewell cappuccino.
Before we board, we see a plane from Ukraine International Airline which gives you a little shiver because the strife going on there is just a short distance away.
Last minute anxiety, and then we relax on our flight to Vienna.
We're just about to land in Vienna...
It was a very short, smooth flight and we took a taxi to our new abode near the center of Vienna. It's an apartment owned by Aleksandra and Alexander Langer which we are renting for 5 days. We are met by Alex, a charming man who speaks fair English and explains everything about the apartment, the neighborhood, and the city in general. It's in a lovely upper middle class neighborhood not too far from the city center.
Here's our street...Ziegelofengasse...try saying that to a taxi driver if you're drunk!
Here's the entrance way, through a courtyard...
Our first-floor terrace is right behind the hedge on the right.
And into our new abode. It's really quite lovely, has everything we need, and is extremely private and quiet. Phew, we are happy, as you never know exactly what you are going to get when you rent a private flat.
That night we go to one of several upscale restaurants right in the immediate area. This one we chose was a very classy steak restaurant called Gergely's. We had one of the best fillets with peppercorn sauce, which melted in your mouth...
Finishing off with a warm chocolate Ganesh cake, wild purple berry sauce, and vanilla ice cream that was simply divine!
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