Vienna, Austria

May 10, 2019

Vienna, Austria

Hello!

Long post ahead for a deserving place! Vienna was our second-to-last city on our European adventure and we absolutely loved it! We flew from Amsterdam and took an Uber to our hotel. For three nights, we stayed at Austria Trend Hotel Astoria, located centrally within the main "ring" of sites within the city. Checking in was interesting though because we had a double door to our room that wouldn't open easily with our key and the hotel didn't have air conditioning... Everything was great otherwise!

We started with lunch at Liebsteinsky, a nice but casual restaurant close to our hotel. We ordered a wienerschnitzel and a small salad as our first meal. Then, we decided to take the Ringstrasse Tram that goes around the main part of the city. This link was super helpful in understanding the different sights along the way and identifying the important stops for getting on and off the trams. It also has a map that can "pop out" to your Google Maps as you go around!

We rode around the tram twice getting oriented within the city before hopping off at the Schwedenplatz stop to visit the Anchor Clock.

Next, we walked over to St. Stephen's Cathedral with its tiled rooftop and oldest bell in Austria! The rooftop is relatively new, as it was built after a fire in 1945 towards the end of World War 2. Here, we decided to go up the tower to get a view of the city. It was very windy!! (but worth it!) The cathedral itself was beautiful and free to enter.

Our next stop was St. Peter's Catholic Church. This one is in the baroque style - colorful, grand, and almost hidden within the streets. Down the "main drag" of Vienna, we stopped at the Pestsäule (fancy column) and some of the fancy shops. The Hofburg Palace was close. but also closed by the time we made it that way. Thankfully, we were ready for an afternoon snack and stopped by the famous Demel, a bakery that was frequently visited by the Hapsburgs. We ordered a Sachertorte and some coffees. Our last church of the day was Michaelskirche. According to this article, Mozart's "Requiem" was first performed in this church!

We walked back over to the Anchor Clock but didn't realize that it doesn't perform every hour. We watched it ring for a few moments, then stopped in the grocery store next door. (It's HUGE and has so many fun things! (We were particularly impressed with the different forms of water - still, "mild," and "prickelnd" or sparkling.)

We walked back over to our hotel, where we spent the rest of the night planning and enjoying the view from our balcony!

The next morning, we got breakfast at Joseph Brot right by our hotel before walking to the Imperial Treasury right when it opened. We'd read that this was the best in Europe, and were not disappointed! This museum has amazing crown jewels and treasures from the more than 700 years of Hapsburg rule. We loved the Imperial Crown, the giant emeralds, the Imperial Cross, the cradle of the Holy Roman Emperor, and the leather cases :) This page has more pictures of the masterpieces as well.

Our next stop was Kaisergruft or the Imperial Crypt. 150 people related to the Hapsburg dynasty are buried here, demonstrating the wealth and power. The crypt is located under a humble church in the city center, and each vault explains the story of the people buried. This was worth the visit to understand more of the Hapsburg history and was one of the most interesting things we did! Next was the Anchor Clock (the last time!), as we learned that everyday at noon there's a full show lasting about 10 minutes.

For lunch, we had a reservation at the Ristorante Settimo Cielo so we could get a view of St. Stephen's Cathedral. After ordering drinks we were treated very rudely by the staff and decided to leave rather than continuing to eat there. Instead, we walked to Zum weißen Rauchfangkehrer, a nearby restaurant with fantastic food and ambiance! We enjoyed a weinerschnitzel with a berry sauce, some bread, and even some bonus ice cream from their team. Much better!

Later, we went to the Vienna Operahouse for a guided tour and really enjoyed it! The building is grand and has ornate intermission rooms to experience. Tickets for standing room only can be purchased day-of for 4 Euros!

At this point, it was time for a break since we'd been out all day. We went back out later for a concert at Annakirche for a Mozart and Haydn performance. Then, we went to the Hotel Sacher for another Sachertorte and Apple Strudel. This one was fantastic!

On our final day in Vienna, we went to breakfast at the Guesthouse. We enjoyed this and had a nice conversation with another American couple sitting nearby. Then, we went over to the Kunsthistorisches Museum to see its huge collection of artwork from around the world. There were rooms full of Velazquez, Bruegel, Rembrandt, and more!

We enjoyed lunch at Café Landtmann with my boyfriend's aunt and uncle who live in Vienna! This spot used to host spies and famous guests like Sigmund Freud, Paul McCartney, and more. We then walked around the area, seeing Votivkirche, Rathaus (City Hall), Burgtheater, and the Volksgarten.

After our break, we got drinks at our hotel before heading to the Charles Cathedral for a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. We were incredibly impressed with the group performing - Orchester 1756 - and their passion! The church was neat too - the columns and reflecting pool on the outside, and the ornate baroque interior were amazing! Our final stop for the night was the Café Mozart for a late-night salad/snack/dessert.