London, England: Travel days can be awful. Rushing to pack and rushing to the airport, only to spend far too much time sitting in terminals waiting? True, but we started our morning in beautiful Vienna. Even a travel day is lovely in Vienna.
Beautiful Shirley in front of the beautiful BurgtheaterAgain, my friends indulged my search for the best strudel in Vienna and we walked to yet another famous cafe known for their apple strudel - Cafe Landtmann.
This cafe has been open since 1873 - another cafe frequented by Sigmund Freud. (Dr. Freud must have really liked coffee, as all the local cafes claim he was a regular customer.)
Cafe Landtmann won the apple strudel contest hands-down. Blew Cafe Central and Cafe Demel out of the water. The apples were cooked to perfection, the dough was paper thin and light. The apples were more spiced (cinnamon, etc.) and they included a fair amount of raisins as well. We dined outdoors, but had a peek inside at the beautiful restaurant - wood-paneled walls, upholstered booths - very old fashioned, yet perfectly elegant for today. Our service was remarkable - Martin's eggs were delivered promptly. I highly recommend Cafe Landtmann.Vienna truly captivated me. Such beautiful architecture. Friendly people. Delicious foods and wines (Gruner!). I would love to come back (when it wasn't nearly 100 degrees every day) and explore this city deeper. But not in the summer, when so many attractions (Opera!) are closed.
More strolling after breakfast, then we took a taxi to the airport, waited around forever, and boarded our flight to London. Martin and Shirley went to their home in Surrey. Dave and I took the Heathrow Express train to downtown London. This train leaves Heathrow and arrives to Paddington Station downtown in 15 minutes (It seemed faster.) From Paddington, we took a taxi to our hotel.
After settling in, we met our friends from home (so many friends in London this week for the track meet) for drinks and dinner. When in Vienna, eat strudel and Wiener Schnitzel. When in London...
Fish & Chips!Duh!
We have an activity planned with the University of Oregon tomorrow morning... and in the evening... Let The Games Begin!
Until my next update, I remain, your fishy correspondent.
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IAAF World Championships
Official meet schedule and results
Watch the meet on NBCSN and NBC
London tourism information
London Olympic Stadium