Good friend this one is.

One of our dearest friends from Davis, CA stopped by Vienna on her way through Europe this week.  The time she spent with us was very special and we feel so fortunate to have friends like her in this big world.  People like E make me wish the world was just a bit smaller so that a flight to the other side didn't take 24+ hours.  I guess that's why Skype was invented, right?

 
During E's 3 day visit, she actually experienced an impressive amount of our enchanting city and its environs.  Unfortunately, David had to work and I started a new Deutschkurs so she was on her own for most of the time.  E's not one to sit around though, so naturally, she took the town by storm sightseeing, museum going, cafe crashing, and a little shopping to boot.  She even spent a good part of yesterday cycling the Donauradweg by herself, returning in the early evening so to treat me and David to a memorable meal at Silberwirt.  Good friend this one is.

Since E's such a trailblazer, we discovered a few things about Vienna, our neighborhood, and our apartment that we hadn't uncovered ourselves yet.  Here's what we learned through E:

• Ruben's Restaurant at the Palais Liechtenstein has the best Sacher Torte in all of Vienna.
• The 2010 Lonely Planet Vienna book has disappointing maps.  One should supplement their city guide materials with a reliable map of the city (free ones can be picked up here).
• The Straßenbahn 1 doubles as an efficient form of transportation and a cheap tour around the main sites in Vienna.
• The Straßenbahn 1 isn't just a cheap tour around the Ringstraße.  If one's not careful to disembark at somepoint on the Ring, one will end up riding to the end of the line and being stuck for 20 min at the Prater.
• The Silberwirt restaurant in Schlossquadrat makes some fantastic Wiener specialties and tasty house-made beer.
• A hair straightener will burn up an electric conversion adaptor.
• Our apartment has a working circuit breaker.
• The Taxi 31300 company is a professional and reliable one.

Thanks again for the visit E!  We know that you didn't have to stop by Vienna on your trip, but it means a lot to us that you did.  We hope you'll come back soon (with your jolly, raspberry-dessert-loving man and two little edible tots in tow)!  Until next time. . .