Today was our day (Christi and I). We were sent off with directions again and left on our own to do what we wished in Vienna. What we wished to do ended up being staring at our favorite animals at the zoo. The pandas were first and we watched this small one munch at bamboo for probably twenty minutes straight (nom nom nom). The tigers are always my favorite but at this zoo especially because they had baby tigers! Aww, so cute I just wanted to squeeze them!

Just me taking a picture of le tigres

The best part was actually in the rain forest building because in the canopy area a bat had grabbed hold of a branch and fallen asleep about two feet from the railing and well within reach. Oh the urge to reach out and touch it was incredible because the vein-y wings were such an interesting texture... but we kept our hands to ourselves. That didn't stop us from sitting there and watching it for another twenty minutes, entertained because every now and then it would twitch a wing back or poke his little eyes out to look at us.

Tigers! My favorite!

Nom nom nom, bamboo!

The sun was going down on our day though and we still had to see the Schonbrunn palace. It seemed nearby but looks can be deceiving. Since the palace was so big and the area in front of it so flat it felt like we'd never make it there. It kept getting colder and colder and I felt like I should start running towards it before I turned into a Popsicle-type statue, just another addition to the decor of the gardens. The palace tour was worth it though simply for the ballroom where I spun around and tried to imagine what it would be like to dance in such a place. Also, one of the rooms was where Mozart's very first concert was given. Neat-O yeah? I got shivers just thinking about it while I was in there.

Christi in front of Schonbrunn, I wanted to show how yellow the palace was against that bright blue sky!

In any case we earned the delicious dinner that Heidi served to us once we navigated our way back home. After dinner we headed to a wine house and drank wine with Heidi, Gustav and Julia for quite awhile. It is a nice concept, going to a place and just ordering wine. Almost like the night equivalent of a coffee shop. Maybe it could catch on in Homer?