Day 1 Vienna,

Diana has a weeks holiday that she must take or lose it, 

and as she has her new UK passport, 

we are of to Vienna for a few days, 

along with Steve and Kai, 

we have a early flight from Gatwick airport,

we all chose salmon and scrambled eggs, 

or a full English fry up, 

the weather was not kind, drizzle as we left the UK.

which thankfully disappeared as we reached Vienna,

group photograph as we waited for our taxi to the hotel, 

and here we are, at the Hotel Mercure Wien City,

our rooms were very nice, 

and had a huge television, just a shame only 6 channels were working, even BBC news was a no no,

bags dropped off,

and we were out, into a unassuming street, 

but even so the entrance doors of the buildings,

ornately decorated, 

we made our way towards one of the cities iconic attractions, I must say here that Diana and myself both like a film called,

 The Third Man, that was filmed here, Diana and myself wanted to visit some of the places the film was shot, 

a huge statue, 

at the roundabout,

in front of the station, 

but past it,

in the distance, the Ferris wheel that featured in the film,

a quick pose, 

before we walked into the park and its attractions,

the wheel was huge, 

well I just had too!

we made our way past the attractions,

walking towards the wheel,

on the left, whatever this is it has a neat dragon above it, 

on the other side of the street small shops, 

in the distance a ride that looked so frightening, 

swings rose up the outside of this huge tower, scary dairy indeed!

there  were lots of food and beer stalls, but first we went inside to buy our tickets, 

inside gondoliers, 

which may be original, 

but if so are a lot smaller than the ones now in use, 

they were arraigned in a circle, 

inside of each one,

a diorama, 

of events, 

I guess in the history of the city,

and of course a snow scene, 

in to buy our tickets, 

all set, 

a pose,

and we were in the very short queue,

the iron works massive,

we waited our turn, I can imagine in the summer the queues would be huge, the advantage of going off season, no queues, but bitterly cold!

we were soon in, 

the wheels turning that powered the cable that rotated the wheel,

we settled down for the ride, 

looking over the city,

naturally, 

I was snapping away, 

nearing the top of the ride,

looking down, a long way down, rather disconcertingly, if anyone in the car walked to the other side of it, the car tipped as their weight altered the dynamics of balance in the car, and when 2 people did the same the car really swayed!

now was this the door where Harry Lime played by Orson Welles open the door to view Vienna? and after leaving the car gave his totally of the cuff remark that was actually recorded and kept in the film?

this is the film clip, known as the 'Cuckoo Clock Speech' Orson goes totally off script at 2.09 in the clip, no one apparently knew the speech was coming, but it was kept in,  

near the top of the ride now, 

the girls enjoying the ride,

the car next to us was decked out as a dinning car for a evening meal served onboard,

it was a long, long way down, 

at the top, 

and starting down, 

looking through the ironworks,

nearly at the bottom, 

as new passengers wait to embark, 

we made our way outside, 

past this fearsome ride, 

and dodgems, 

it had started to drizzle as we left the park, 

so into a café it was, 

they served Asian food, 

my meal and Steve's on the left, the girls on the right, 

and nice mine was too, 

Kai and Diana as well as Steve enjoyed their meal,

after we finished,

it was already getting dark, 

we walked along the bank of the canal,

stopping every now and then, 

to look at the sights,

then in town, for a look at the shops, 

like this one, 

the candy store, 

all manner of goodies here, 

to tempt those with a sweet tooth, 

no guessing who!

the choice was amazing, 

purchase made and we were out of the shop,

when we saw this place, we were looking for some where for our evening meal, 

so the Lindenkeller it was then, 

downstairs, 

into a spacious, 

and nicely laid out dining room,

Steve and Kai, 

Diana and myself, one of the many things I wanted to do in Vienna was have a genuine Vienna schnitzel, and I did! 

all together "Ah!",

the other thing I wanted to try was again a genuine apple strudel, and here it is, 

'Cheers!',

all in all it was we all thought quite reasonable, the bill came to about 200 euros, 

outside we started the walk back to our hotel,

over one of the many bridges, which was easier said than done, the pathway had been gritted, but it was still a bit dicey in places, 

a look along the canal, 

and towards one of the other bridges, 

a quick pose, 

and there it was Diana Bad!

back to the lounge in our hotel, 

which was spacious to say the least, 

every thing here, 

self service, 

a good selection of wines on offer, 

a 'Cheers!' from the girls, 

and one from Steve and myself, 

time to try some of the goodies from the candy shop we called into earlier, 

a blue dolphin, 

that Diana pronounced delicious, a couple more nightcaps and we were off to bed.