Mark's 60th in Switzerland and Austria - first, Vienna

For Mark's 60th birthday in June, we planned a once-in-a-lifetime trip where he could do what he always dreamed of doing - riding by train through Switzerland and hiking in the Swiss Alps. He liked my idea of adding a little high culture to our adventure, so we began with a flight through Amsterdam to Vienna. Arriving in the early morning, we checked into Das Triest Hotel with its idyllic courtyard, the setting for our luxurious breakfasts. Mark and I are used to starting the day with a small meal, but we had to sample the spread of meats and salmon, cheeses, fruits, pastries, breads, coffee, juices and Prosecco. Like everyone who visits Vienna, we headed to the Ringstrasse and walked to Mozartplatz, where the Palmenhaus (a greenhouse converted to a restaurant) was the perfect place for lunch later on. We continued our walk to St. Stephen's Cathedral in the center of Old Town and made our way through the cobblestone streets with the prettiest flower shop, the oldest restaurant in Vienna, and Mozart's residence. Our evening concert in the Sala Terrena there was such a treat. The string quartet performing Mozart, Haydn, and Dvorak made me think of Mom, who would have loved it. Another highlight in Vienna was the Kunst Museum with its amazing collection of Breughel the Elder, Durer, Rubens, Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Vermeer. The museum interiors were drop-dead gorgeous. We were also fascinated by the Hofburg Palace tour and its tragic story of Franz Josef's beautiful wife Sisi, Empress of Austria, known for her ankle-length hair and her 2-3 hour toilette by servants. Of course, we couldn't visit Vienna without the Opera House tour and a night at the opera. Even though we were taken by scalpers, we did get seats for the performance of Don Pasquale. We loved seeing the mixed crowd of young and old and -- outdoors in the plaza -- the audience watching the opera replayed on a giant screen. What a perfect background for our late-night dessert and coffee at the Cafe Sacher. It was hard to leave so soon the next morning, but with Salzburg next on the agenda, we roused ourselves for the early train.