I did not get a good night's sleep because of Neal's nonstop snoring. My only remedy was to take my sleeping bag into the bathroom, which was not all that uncomfortable. (The story that I passed out drunk in the bathroom was not true.) And my hair didn't dry right so I had to wear a hat all day. And I had a silly-looking goatee. So I was cranky in Vienna.
It turns out that the Mozart concert was moved and the group missed the beginning of it. Glad I skipped it.
For a change I moved to the front of the bus (I mean coach) for the ride into the city. The air is cooler up front. When we got into Vienna we had to change plans a bit because the Burgring was closed for a marathon (in which Josh was a last-minute entry). Vienna was kind of boring compared with the other cities--not that it was bad, but all the other cities were so much better than I anticipated. It was still raining, so most of us skipped the touristy stuff and had lunch and drinks at Crossfield's, an Aussie pub. Behind the bar there were signs from past visitors including several Contiki groups, so it must be popular. I was tempted to get a kangaroo burger but I thought it might cause controversy.
Before dinner we went to the Schnapsmuseum, where I wisely didn't stock up on hard liquor. I sampled 4 schnaps including 80% rum, and finally bought my first souvenir of the trip (a shirt). Dinner was reminiscent of Paris--an accordion player entertaining a bunch of drunkards. It got fun at the end as each national group got up and sang their national anthem. When the 4 of us went up a USA chant broke out, although I think I started it.
Another Contiki group was at the restaurant and there seemed to be 4 girls for every guy. Someone said that Tony said that our group's ratio is unusual.
At the Schnapsmuseum there was a scale. I weighed 70.5kg (155lb) fully clothed, so as predicted I lost weight over the first half of the tour (down from ~160lb).
Votive Church
State Opera House
Hofburg