Wien

Wien is a city that offers many incredibly cheap cultural activities and even more places for fantastic, although not so cheap, food, beautiful architecture, delightful bike lanes. We saw the Viennese waltz, markets, palaces, museums and my favorite, the opera. I Loved it. The quality of the performance was fantastic. The music was lovely and the story ridiculous. Such great fun standing the whole time.

Ozon was an incredible host. He knew the sights and the transportation system inside and out. And Vienna has a superb transportation system. Trains, trolleys, subways and buses, they all work together so quickly. The size of the city allows for regular departures and many routes but it's the system's organization with every type of transportation using the same ticket that makes it so easy to use. That and Ozon had the routes practically memorized. He made it look so easy.

It was a treat for both Julia and me to not have to think about what we needed to do to get where we were trying to go. We were delightfully entertained for 4 days in Wien and each one just kept getting better, until Sunday of course when that realization that we were leaving started to set in and we all got a little tired at thought of leaving our happy vacation bubble.

Thursday was filled with the impressionist museum, lots of great Turkish food, and a very long and necessary bike ride around the city. We stopped for a beer after our ride and stayed for three. The conversation lead us right back to the Turkish Restaurant for a round of dessert. I have never had so many days in a row filled with such wonderful food, sights and company. This was the kind of life I imagined Europe was filled with, turns out it is, as long as you are living it with a touch of Turkish hospitality.

I know I loved Wien for many reasons. In many ways the city size is similar to Portland. The scales of the neighborhoods, streets and city center felt comfortable and easy to explore. They weren't overwhelming like Berlin or Paris had been. The sights were of the highest quality. Really lovely buildings and parks are well arranged and seemingly never ending. There are culinary delights, and the arts out the wazoo.

Traveling with friends far surpasses traveling alone, but even better is traveling with friends and discovering at the end of your travels that you have many more then you started with.

Today I am in Denmark. I am so excited to meet with Michael, a Kompan Designer, and Rasmus, my Danish couch surfing host. The Danes by the way are not only responsible for Kompan play structures but Legos as well. I have not doubt that this vacation is just going to keep getting better.