Day one: Wien - travel day

The fast ICE train journey from Karlsruhe to the Frankfurt international airport (FRA) was a smooth one. We checked in at the Lufthansa customer center at the train station at FRA. The airline took care of our checked baggage there while we continued our walk to the departure gate at the airport terminal. To make the whole transit even easier, there was a special security line for families traveling with children. The security personnel there were very friendly, probably because they didn't have to deal with those my-time-is-more-precious-than-thine business travelers. And in no time, we were waiting for our flight at the departure gate.

Since this was a flight within the EU, there was no passport control after we arrived in Vienna. In fact, no one, not the lady at the Lufthansa check-in counter, nor the security personnel at FRA, nor the gate personnel during boarding, had asked for any form of photo identification. This is quite different from the security measures for flights in the US. The only photo identification I had to present for this journey was my BahnCard, which entitled us a 25% discount for our electronic ICE train ticket.

The weather in Vienna was very nice, and was even warmer than in Karlsruhe. After booking a round-trip taxi ride at the airport, we hopped on a Mercedes-Benz taxi to the apartment that we had rented for this vacation. (Most taxis in Germany and Austria are MB).

Our landlady (a fellow Canuck) was already waiting for us at the apartment in a quiet neighborhood in the 4th district (aka Wieden). We dealt with the formalities (rent + security deposit and a brief tour of the 2-bedroom apartment) before rushing to a nearby grocery store to buy breakfast for tomorrow morning. Grocery stores close at 19:00 hr in Vienna.

It is customary for us to visit Asian restaurants on our trips (since the selection in Karlsruhe is not that good). Reviews on the internet indicate that there is a good Asian noodle house in the vicinity. After dropping off the grocery at the apartment, we walked to Chang Asian Noodles and had a great dinner. Our only complaint in Vienna so far is the ubiquitous cigarette smoke. There is no smoking restriction at restaurants in Vienna, and we were surrounded by smokers who lit up between slurps of noodles.