25th Sunday after Pentecost

We and a friend spent the day pleasantly in Vienna. By a combination of car and train, we made it to Vienna by 10:00 this morning in plenty of time to walk the half an hour or so to the Peterskirche in the city center to hear a Latin (Novus Ordo) Missa pro defunctis at 11:15. The Peterskirche is a beautiful, relatively small baroque Church that has been given into the care of Opus Dei.

After Mass we walked to the Naschmarkt hoping to find some fun food to eat, only to find it all closed up for Sunday. So we found a kebop stand and sat down next to the Opera House to eat a quick picnic lunch. After which Maria amused herself, as usual, by chasing the pigeons.

Then we crossed the street and went into the Sacher Cafe, so that Katie could have her first Sacher Torte in its original home. Since Lisa and I ate a Sacher Torte last year, we restricted ourselves to having hot drinks. I had a coffee (Viennese Melange) better than any I've had before anywhere. No kidding. Lisa had hot chocolate so that she could share something with Maria. Even the bathrooms in this Cafe are classy. Afterwards, we went back towards the Stephansdom to find a gelato stand that we like, and then just wandered about a bit: into a church of the Knights of Malta, which we had never noticed before, past the Hofburg Palace, into the church of St. Michael near the Hofburg (which holds the original relics of St. Blase, which are actually used in the blessings given on his feast day) and eventually back to the train station by 5:00 to head for home.