Gettin my mojo back.

We’ve been in Vienna for nearly 2 months now, and you’re probably wondering where all the exciting posts about what to see and what to eat are. Well, I’m sad to report that there hasn’t been much time for exploring the city, other than the excellent public parks and playgrounds, thanks to a certain one-year-old who doesn’t seem to enjoy staring at Gustav Klimt paintings or sitting quietly at old cafes or even walking for hours around old palaces. Go figure.

I haven’t had much to write about here, other than brief snippets of Vienna life so far. But yesterday I got my mojo back. I had 4 whole hours of Babe-free time to do whatever I wanted. And although the urge to curl up in bed and eat health cookies was strong, I fought hard and made myself waddle downtown.

I spent a huge chunk of time on one little street called Wollzeille, between Stephansplatz and the Stubentor metro. There I found an adorable candy shop, complete with an old lady making little marzipan animals and figures in the window.

And then I stopped in Herzilein-Wien, an amazing children’s boutique that sells hand stitched and embroidered clothes in all kinds of bright colors. If you ever come to visit, it’s the perfect place to pick up a gift for a little person back home.

Tired from waddling an entire 2 blocks, I then decided to rest my fatness at Café Diglas, where I could soak up the crisp fall sunshine and indulge in my very first chunk of apfel strudel.

I have to be really honest here: I’m not sure how I feel about apfel strudel. Having never tried it before, I was excited to partake in this particular Austrian tradition. But the apples were kinda stringy, and I wasn’t digging the boozy flavored raisins, and it was cold. Don’t get me wrong – I ate the entire thing. But I yearned for more pastry in my pastry to apple ratio and wondered if I just had a less than stellar specimen or if this was all apfel strudel was cracked up to be. I vow to find out for you and report back, even if it takes months of strudel testing. And if it doesn’t work out, there were plenty of other fabulous looking desserts being shared at tables around me, so my sweet tooth certainly won’t go hungry.