Vienna, Austria

From Warth where we stayed for the race, we drove 45 min into Vienna. We stayed at a great hotel just outside the city (Bergwitz) with it's own private garden restaurant and close to the Shaumberg Palace gardens.

After checking into the hotel and putting sun block on the girls, we all headed out to find the bus to take to the tram and within 15 minutes were downtown. We had a great 75 min walking tour of Vienna through the gorgeous palace rose gardens, government buildings and even found a kiddie sandbox for Mo to play in.

Later that night my Dad met up with friends he has had for 40 years - Herwig and his wife Ida. Herwig and my parents met on a tour in Turkey and have kept up over the years. They too have recently become grandparents and were eager to meet our little ones.

Tuesday morning after breakfast we had a great walk through all the palace gardens by our hotel. We were up early and saw lots of joggers - there could be miles and miles of running loops inside. We were also amazed by the walls of trees that were 2-3 stories high and very thin. Lots of pruning. The park is impressive with the huge water falls and large structures.