Thursday, July 21, 2011

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

 Like all good things, our trip has come to an end. Tonight we all gathered together at a small restaurant in the old part of Vienna for our last dinner.

Surrounded by our new friends, we ate in the dimly lit, cozy basement that was carved out of walls and arches built in Roman times.

It was kind of eery eating with these guys watching us...



Tara ordered a special Viennese meal for us that included tender boiled beef, special dipping sauces, vegetables, something that I would describe as a rice dumpling, and dessert.


After dinner we all gathered around Tara to thank her for a wonderful trip. 


We had noticed that she loves scarves so we found some to give her as gifts. We also gave her a lady bug Christmas ornament (or toy) for her daughter Poppy. (Lady bugs are very popular in Bavaria.)


 Then, since we were in the city where so many classical composers and musicians had performed, we serenaded her with two songs: one we had composed to the Sound of Music tune My Favorite Things and another that I modified from our Turkey tour, the Buddy Song. We sounded almost professional while singing, even though we hadn't had time to practice, and she seemed to enjoy our impromptu concert.


Here are a few of the verses we sang.

Alpine horn blowers and Swiss BBQ
Neuschwantstein Castle and Salzburg Cathedral
Trier’s Basilica and Munich’s beer halls,
These are few of our favorite things.

Fast sliding luges and hiking down mountains
Big German breakfasts and windows with flowers,
Choosing a buddy then forgetting who they are
These are a few of our favorite things. 

Traffic detours, dodging cyclists, no wake-up call,
We simply remember our favorite things,
And then we don’t feel so bad.

Tara surprised us with gifts, too, a wooden tree Christmas ornament and a packet of recipes that included many of the foods we had eaten during the tour.


Finally, it was time to say good night and good bye. Tom and I have to leave our hotel in the morning at 5:30 am to catch an early flight to Frankfurt. Some of our new friends are staying on for another day then heading back to the U. S. Others are continuing their vacations - going on their own to places like Prague, Berlin, London and Paris. 

As Tom and I walked through the nearly deserted streets of Vienna back to our hotel, pausing to admire the historical buildings and monuments bathed in soft, amber lights, we concluded that the whole trip had been fantastic... then began discussing options for our next Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door vacation. YOLO!!

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