Welsand's in London

Vienna, Austria

Vienna, Austria was part 2 of our 3 part trip. The official language is German, thankfully we know a little to get us by, the currency is Euro, one we are familiar with (1 GBP = 1.48 Euro OR 1 USD = .79 Euro).

Vienna was gorgeous, actually a city that we would consider living in if ever given an opportunity. It was more expensive than Budapest, but much cleaner. We really liked the feel and experience in Vienna.

Here is some of what we saw and did while there:

Stephansdom Church - we visited this church. Just like most we see, really beautiful and magnificent. They continue to amaze us. This church had a viewing platform at top to see over the city. While the views were high and you got to see a lot of the city, they weren't very picturesque; we only took a few up there. I actually got a bit freaked out, the platform you step out on has holes so you can see right through to the ground 150 feet below--nice! It felt good to get back down the elevator to the ground.

Hofburg Palace - this was our second visit in Vienna and where we spent some time. This Palace runs you through a silver collection, really not our thing, but they had some unbelievable pieces including a 30 meter (yes meter!) table centerpiece! WOW! What people can do with money! Then we walked quickly through the Sisi Museum which focused on the Queen called Sisi, mildly interested. Sad that she got murdered with a file through her heart! Finally, we made it to the Royal Apartments. They were simple compared to other palaces as Emperor Franz Joseph was not extravagant in his ways. Still worth seeing if in Vienna, but not over the top by any means.

Museum Quarter - we walked by this area filled with museums and artists. We didn't have time for any of the museums unfortunately. This would be a great place to work and hang out.
Parliament - A gorgeous building with some fantastic sculptures out front. Definitely worth the walk by.

Staatsoper (opera house) - Sadly, we thought the outside facade of this opera house was not that impressive. We didn't even take a picture of it because of where it is situated, we couldn't get a good shot without tram wires or other things in it. Inside looks incredible from our tour guide, but we didn't make it inside.

Naschmarkt - We love exploring the local markets and this was no exception. Trying a few unknown samples is always interesting. This market was European, but had a German feel to it, very clean and everything in its place. The market was quite a bit larger than we thought it was, but we managed to walk the entire thing up and down. Lots of interesting restaurants to check out if you are ever in the area. We were not near a meal time when there otherwise we would have tried out on of the eateries.

Belvedere - We were so tired at the end of the day this was on our schedule we almost skipped it, but instead we rallied and made it to see this museum, the upper and lower options (two separate buildings). It was worth it. The art was nice and worth the viewing, but the buildings were more worth the visit! This was formerly a palace and summer residences of Prince Eugene of Savoy, the most celebrated of the Habsburg royalty in Vienna. They are very much of Baroque style. It was past peak for the grounds, they look like they would be incredible in peak! This was a great end to our day!

Karlskirche - walked by this church, gorgeous, some beautiful sculptures of angels out front, and very detailed columns.

Schloss Schonbrunn - We spent over a half day at this palace. It was one of the highlights of our trips. The weather was fantastic that day, we couldn't have picked a better day. The grounds were gorgeous, fall leaves, green grass, just perfect. Our ticket included a tour of 40 state rooms with an audio tour. Sophie was amazingly okay with this 45 minute tour and sat in her buggy content as could be throughout--heaven! Afterward we enjoyed a maze and some play in a playground. We walked up a huge hill to visit the Gloriette, where we had a nice lunch and of course some Viennese cakes. We ended the visit with an apple strudel demonstration, #3 in the travel book of Vienna's top 10 cakes! I even helped with the demonstration, crazy American I think might have been said in German, not sure on that. Strudel sample was delicious and I have an authentic recipe on how to make it if anyone wants it, I will share.

We used public transportation in Vienna, which helped save our feet and legs a bit. The metro and trams are quite user friendly, though the older trams are two big steps up, without two people to get the buggy up, I'm not sure on my own I could use them with Sophie.

Things to eat in Vienna included beer, beer, and beer, wiener schnitzel, goulasch's, and in general lots of meat. I did have a spinach strudel for dinner at a traditional Austrian pub and it was great. Very interesting food, different from what we are used to. A downfall to being a vegetarian is that I miss out on a lot of the traditional foods. We did try many of the cakes too, but didn't get all of the top 10 tasted. They were all good. Sophie loved having dessert with every meal!

The things to buy when in Vienna were glassware, porcelain, wine, and chocolate. We purchased Sophie a simple but nice porcelain trinket box as her keepsake from a well established traditional Austrian company.

posted by Chris @ 9:13 PM