vienna with the sabaneghs

i spent last week in istanbul, for work.  it was my first solo trip to the city and i really enjoyed it.  then on friday evening i headed to the airport where i met ben, and we flew to vienna where we met alexa, rami & cecelia.  it was a wonderful weekend spent with the loveliest of families.  we will definitely be meeting up with them again in a new city in the near future, because this was FUN.

i was surprised to find that it was clive bixby who met me at the airport-- not ben!  he was wearing a name tag so i could more easily identify him (if you don't watch modern family, you should!)

we landed in frigid vienna at 9pm, and headed to the hotel, where we met up with the sabaneghs for a night-cap before going to bed to rest up for a weekend of exploring.

we got an early start the next day after enjoying some coffee at a corner cafe.  we first came across this ice rink, located in front of the rathaus (city hall), which alexa and rami found on friday.

then, after much walking & window shopping - sometimes in what seemed like circles (rami!) - we toured the outdoor markets of naschmarkt, where we found a cozy spot for lunch.  although ceci was a bit shy at first, she started to warm up to us by noon on saturday - just as her mom & dad said she would!

we had loads of fun playing games together, including the timeless classic, push-the-air-out-of-your-cheeks.

rami made some new friends at the markets

while we eyed the amazing displays of FOOD... meats, cheeses, beautiful produce... oh, to live in a city with a saturday market like this!

ben and i were surprised by how many turks were running the markets.  among the prepared foods, we saw lots of familiar items from back home, including boreks and mezzes.  we watched people enjoying the doner across the street from where we had lunch (and boy, were they enjoying it!), and heard lots of turkish being spoken throughout the city.

vienna is such a beautiful city, with so many well-kept facades to enjoy as you roam the streets.  it seemed like no matter where you were, you could look up and find beauty.

...and sausauges!  they were everywhere.  ben & i thought this picture was hilarious.

we spent both days walking the city at a relaxed pace, talking while taking in the sites.  it was really the perfect get-away/visit.

on saturday afternoon we stopped for tea at demel, a famous cake shop of vienna.

the cakes at demel were incredible, but unfortunately the staff was rather rude!  we didn't let their sour demeanor prevent us from enjoying our cake, however.

after trying a bit of her own torte, ceci decided alexa's cake was much tastier...

 ...and almost immediately after consuming it, she slipped out of her boots and went into a chocolate-induced craze for about 30 minutes on the couch.

that evening we ventured out for dinner, unsure of where we were headed.  we were very fortunate to happen upon an underground restaurant, located in a medieval cellar (although who actually led us there is still up for debate).  we dined on typical viennese cuisine under pointed arches, surrounded by archaic brick walls.  again, the staff lacked in friendliness, but we had a great time and really enjoyed the food.

when ceci wasn't too busy being silly, she was busy at work making cards for all of her friends back home.  what a sweetie.

as i said, we really enjoyed the food!

after dinner poor ceci crashed, it had been a long day, so we headed back to the hotel and rested up for another day of walking in the freezing cold.

sunday was our last day together, and even colder than saturday had been.  we bundled up and headed to the sisi museum, to learn about the princess elisabeth of bavaria.  cecelia was mostly interested in seeing 'the princess' bedroom,' but we toured others, as well.  after it was of course time to eat again, so we headed to another cozy restaurant, figlmuller, to experience the biggest schnitzel in vienna.

ceci and i enjoyed some more silliness as we waited for her 'chips and pollo' to arrive.

she is one SERIOUS thumb sucker, that one.

alexa & rami, looking lovely, under the brick ceiling.

the schnitzel was indeed huge, and the best we had.

after more roaming the freezing cold streets (rami insisted on wearing ceci's princess hat), we bid adieu to the sabaneghs.

 ben and i had one more fun night in the city, during which we met up with friends who happened to be traveling through, also from ankara, for dinner at a fun spanish restaurant.  we spent the last day checking out some more grocery stores (one of my favorite things to do in any foreign city), happening upon the king of them just as we were about to leave, julius meinl.  they had a gourmet market to die for, and if i hadn't had a flight to catch i could have spent the entire day there.

we also made a stop at the famous hotel sacher to share a piece of chocolate torte with tea.  the perfect end to a perfect weekend!