Austria and I got along quite well, despite the dreary weather most of the time. The architecture is extravagent and something to behold, and I loved that Vienna is the city of music, having been home to Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, and many more (a very little known fact about me is that in college I took a history of music class for a gen ed and my professoor invited me to her office for tea and told me I absolutely HAD to consider becoming a music major. I actually did consider it before realizing I was actually mostly interested in finding employment). Vienna was a short trip, but I managed to get a little taste of the culture while I was there (I even drank espresso twice, which is more than I’ve drank coffee in my entire life HAHA!).
What to Do
Go to the Opera
Like I said, music is what Vienna is known for. They take their opera very seriously. While I myself didn’t have the opportunity to go, I have several friends who did and thought it was wonderful — and tickets are very affordable. Plus, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to harass one of the men dressed like Mozart selling tickets into taking a picture with you.
Visit Prater and ride the ferris wheel
Prater is an amusement park located in the Viennese district of Leopoltstadt, and at the entrance is the world’s tallest ferris wheel (up until 1985, at least), which serves as a well-know monument of the city of Vienna. The ferris wheel is old, much older than the London Eye, but the cityscape views from the top are just as dope.
MuseumsQuartier
Located not too far from the main square of the city is MuseumsQuartier, filled with several (can you guess?) MUSEUMS, including the Leopold Museum and the Kunsthalle Wein (modern art). The buildings are baroque style, so even just walking around the area is an experience in itself.
Where to Eat
Beim Czaak
I think my travel companions were a little concerned about how damn enthusiastic I was about this restaurant. I was PASSIONATE about it. Every single dish was flawless (personally I got pasta with ham in a cream sauce, or Schinkenfleckerl nach Art des Hausesmit gemischtem Blattsalat, but also tried the spinach dumplings and the Hausschnitzel). Excellent service and tasty beer, too! If you don’t stop at this perfect establishment, your Vienna visit will be incomplete.
Cafe Drechsler
A big part of the Viennese culture is to meet up with friends and colleagues in coffee shops, have a little chat, and meander back to your job with unbelievable government-mandated benefits. The one we went to, Cafe Drechsler, had an extensive menu, so we ordered coffees and apple strudel and sachertorte, or chocolate cake with jam in the middle (both are Austrian desserts, so obviously had to try two of each). In an effort to save money, I ordered the cheapest drink on the menu, an espresso, and probably nearly went into cardiac arrest from the buzz. My last caffeine consumption was 2014, so why I considered a shot of straight espresso at 9 PM a good idea I really couldn’t tell ya.
Heuriger Hans Maly
Preceding my second espresso of my Viennese visit was dinner and wine at Maly’s, which is a family-owned winery in a small town outside of the city called Grinzig. The dinner consisted of different vegetables, meats, and apple strudel (again, woohoo!), live entertainment (two men playing the guitar and accordian and serenading us in German while the locals sang along and swayed together in their booths), and startlingly-large glasses of wine that were the size of mugs and led to some inappropriate dancing on the (thankfully private) bus ride back to the hotel.
What to See
Schloss SChönbrunn
BEAUTIFUL. This is one of several palaces in Vienna (including Schloss Auersperg, Schloss Hetzendorf, and Palais Schwarzenberg), home to the Habsburgs over 300 years, and now home to a museum and majorly important tourist attraction. The palace has over 1400 rooms with extravagant decor and extensive and lush gardens in the back. It reminded me a lot of Versailles, but much smaller. Crowded with tourists but definitely worth the visit, and it was especially cool learning some history of the Austrian blue-bloods.
Hundertwasser Village
This little village is touristy, with its gift shops and exhibitions, but I enjoyed a little exploration here because of the unique architecture and design (Barcelona’s incredible Dali designs is part of what makes it my favorite city, so I am very into funky buildings). And there is even more coffee here to enjoy among the colorful apartments.
We had a tour guide one morning talk to us about the culture of Vienna and Austria, and it is incredible how different it is from the United States, though the differences are not completely apparent with a cursory glance (such as the socialist approach to government). Many Europeans want to move into Vienna (similar to how many Americans want to move into New York), and I can understand why!! The city was sophisticated in a way and made you want to make that your lifestyle. Thank you, Vienna, for showing me a good time, even if it was not long enough.
Now onwards to Prague, somewhere I am INCREDIBLY excited about. WOO!
