Last day in Vienna!

Today was our last day in Vienna and we had free time basically all day. We visited a modern architecture bank called BAWAG PSK. It's been the largest retail banking system since 1883. I learned that the floating interest rate to have a mortgage is 1.7% a shocking lower interest rate than USA. In Vienna an account holder has to pay a yearly fee of 100 euros to have a current account. BAWAG is a very successful bank and has strategies put in place to insure their stability. They are going to focus on small branches, self-service, online and mobile banking, and a customer care center. All cornerstones are pretty basic for any successful bank. I noticed  that the bank was not crowded. Maybe we saw 3 people the whole time and this is due to the online banking. It's crazy how things have changed in the last 10 years. I also learned that apparently in Europe employers want new mothers to spend a lot of time with their new-born babies. In Vienna maternity leave is 1-2 years and then the mother can work part-time and decide if she wants to return to work or not.

We toured the bank and it has beautiful modern architecture. After the bank, we headed back to the hotel. There were many things to do for our free time. We could go to the museum Quarter and see the museum of modern art and modern science. We could have visited Mozart or Beethoven's home or a variety of other museums. There was also a beach we could go to and many other shops. \

We did a lot of shopping since we had to spend our Euro's. Then we searched for this "beach" area for 3 hours and finally found it around 7 pm, right when the sun was going down. The beach consisted of bars along the river line and about 3 feet of sand. It definitely does not compare to the beaches we are used to, even in Missouri or at Mozingo. We were so exhausted after finding this beach we stayed until 9:30 to recover and give our feet a rest. I was a little disappointed we couldn't see Mozart's home, but we were so exhausted from walking everywhere I'm not sure it would have been a good idea.

From now on, we're planning our trips out at the hotel and taking notes on how to get there so we're not exhausted all the time. I can't wait to see what Prague has to offer.