Vienna and Amsterdam
We changed course from Asia and headed to Europe to meet up with my family for Thanksgiving. Vienna Our first stop was Austria where the cold shocked our systems. Transitioning from the chaos, crowds, and heat of Vietnam to the sophistication, charm, and snow of Vienna was about as extreme as it gets. With my mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law we explored grand palaces and wandered the streets where literally all of the buildings look like they should be museums. Vienna is a city where Mozart and Beethoven lived and where scientists like Freud, Schrödinger, Mendel were from. There is a thriving cafe culture to nurture these creatives. We saw architecture from Hundertwasser, an eccentric guy similar to Gaudi, who did all his work with no straight lines. Most important of all, we went to our first Christmas markets. It was charming with all of the stalls and we consumed our fair share of gluhwein (mulled wine). There was an ice skating co...