Lifestyles of the Rich and . . . not so rich--Woche 24

We finally had a week in Vienna, where we could get back into routine and get some stuff done.  Dakota and the kids have been going to the park to practice up on soccer.  We're hoping that this will somehow keep them in the game.  We also had some fun days in the pool, and some days cleaning.  It all sounds so normal.  But,  we did finally go to the Schonbrunn.  Dakota went through the castle, while the rest of us went through the Children's museum.  We learned all about what life would have been like for all the royal children.  The kids had a great time.  They even had a slide in the museum!  Royal life would not have been too bad, we didn't think.  They got to bathe once a week, they were fed three meals a day, complete with several courses and 16 varieties of dessert every night and their own wine glasses, plus got three rooms a piece to sleep, play, and study.  Although, I don't think that the slide existed when the royal children lived there.  After we stopped at Swedenplatz for some good Kaisekriner and some ice cream.  It was a fun day for all, except Dan who had to work. 

Dan and I decided to take off for one more weekend before Dakota leaves us.  We decided to go somewhere close.  So, we went to Baden, Austria, where we stayed at the local castle.  It was an old hunting castle transformed into a spa hotel.  Dan and I shopped for a bit before we left Vienna.  Then we left to "have fun storming" our castle.  Baden is about a 50 minute drive from our house.  Historically, it is where the rich Viennese would go to vacation (relax at the spa).  This seems to be a common trend for Austrians.  A lot of their vacations are wellness spa vacations.  They love to sit in rejuvenating waters and go to the sauna.  I think it probably stems from the Roman influence in the area, but am not sure. 

Upon arrival, we learned that they upgraded our room to a suite.  Greeting us in our suite, was a nice fruit plate and mineral water in our sitting room.  We looked around, got to know our surroundings (so we didn't get lost) and then headed for our four course dinner in the restaurant.  The restaurant was located at the back entry of the original castle.  It is a grandiose terrace overlooking the largest rose garden in Austria.  The roses were only in partial bloom, but it was a neat view from our table anyway.

The food was fabulous.  It was definitely 4 star quality food.  The soups both nights were to die for! (cream of cauliflower and cream of potato).  We couldn't believe the amount of food that we were served!  Certainly for a high quality, gourmet meal, we expected to maybe come away feeling a little hungry.  This was not the case!  They gave us a starter cup of cold soup, a salad plate of beef Carpaccio and fresh bread, a full bowl of hot soup, and three slices of beef with cooked carrots, followed by a frozen type of dessert that was like cake and ice cream mixed.  Dinner was an experience.  It was both Dan and my first time eating beef Carpaccio.  I would not crave it or ever order it, but we ate it and we didn't get sick.  After stuffing our faces as much as we could, we called it a night.

The next day, we went for a run (Dan ran on the grounds, where I chose the treadmill in the gym since I can't keep up with him).  We ate our breakfast buffet, and we headed to the spa for our massages.  We both got a back and reflexology massage.  They were very relaxing.  Then as part of our package, we both got facial massages.  After that, we each got to soak in the Grandewasserbad, which we thought was some hot tub type bath, but ended up being just a normal bath tub that they ran for us. (Still not complaining though).  After being worked over, we decided to head to the downtown.  We found a fun pedestrian downtown area with several shops.  We enjoyed wandering through without any children.  We had a good time.  We were most impressed with the street performer.  Instead of having the "zip code man" from Boulder, or your usual street musicians and performers, this town has more class.  The street performer rolled out her piano and started playing classical music for everyone.  She had signs that would tell people which piece she was performing.  She was very good, very fast, and knew all of her pieces from memory.  Beethoven, Liszt, and Mozart--not the dummied down versions either.  Her fingers frantically worked the keys.  She was very entertaining.

After our stroll through the downtown, we decided to walk through the parks and gardens all around the castle.  There was a small stream running through the town with a pathway for both bikes and pedestrians.  There was a lake, a park, a playground, and several walking paths through all the manicured rose garden grounds.  We took some pictures and then headed back to our room.  We took a cat nap before we headed to the restaurant for dinner.


Dinner the next night was just a good as the first.  The set menu for the night had Walleye as the main dish.  Since Dan knows that I am not a huge seafood fan, he asked them if they could make a substitution for me.  They gladly did and I got some really good chicken.  The starter that night was salmon with dill, so I gave mine to Dan, who gladly took the second portion as payment for asking for a dinner substitution.  We then had a cooked beef salad, followed by a cup of potato soup (again to die for).  We had crème brulee for dessert, but mine is better. (Ha!  At least I can make something better than this chef!)

The next morning we decided to head to the sauna.  We get to the saunas and discover that they are "no swimming suits allowed".  Dan really likes the sauna and there weren't too many people there.  They had 3 different kinds.  Since there were not many people about, Dan and I decided to chance it and found an empty one.  I may not have had my swimming suit on, but I still wrapped up with a towel--even when there weren't people in there with us.  They still have glass doors!  Dan didn't seem to have too much trouble with the whole situation--even when a girl walked in and lounged about in our sauna.  They certainly "view" nudity a lot differently here in Europe.  Being naked in the sauna is perfectly acceptable.  The people were also showering in the open showers completely nude.  But when it was time to walk down the hallway, they covered up with robes and towels.  Nudity was fine (and required) for the sauna, but no where else in the resort.  I got more daring and was able to shower without my towel on, but I had Dan on the lookout, in case anyone was coming, so I could quickly wrap up.  As it was, we only shared our nudity with the lady still openly lounging in the damp sauna.

After that, we headed back to Vienna to pick up the kids for church.  Quite a mind shift, for sure!  It was good to see the kids again, but we were sad to be back to normal life.  The kids had a great time with Dakota.  There were slumber parties, pool parties, and movies galore and even almost fed pizza to a bus full of people.  What will we do without Dakota???  Any takers on someone filling the void?  Apply within--and hurry!!