VIENNA
Hallo und herzlich willkommen zu meinem Blogeintrag in Wien! Chris and I headed to the imperial city for its legendary Christmas markets, Wienerschnitzel, and palaces. We landed in Vienna in the late afternoon and took an early flight out on Sunday, so we had a lot to see in our 2.5 days. Read below about all the sites we saw and draw a little inspiration for your own trip to Vienna! Enjoy!
Austria is part of the European Union, and lucky for us, they use the same currency as Ireland, the Euro. This is a small pleasantry since we wouldn't have to do any guessing as to how much things were going to actually cost. Before our trip, we did a lot of research on the best things to do, what made sense to do each day, etc. This site proved to be incredibly helpful: https://www.austria.info/us/where-to-go/cities/vienna -- definitely check it out if you're planning a trip to anywhere in Austria.
Like many cities in Europe, Vienna has a pass that you can buy where you can skip lines, get free entries, and free public transportation -- the Vienna Pass. A lot of the top attractions are included as free entry and you have the option of buying a 24, 48, or 72 hour pass. Depending on what sites you want to see, I definitely recommend it! The entry fees to a lot of the sites were more expensive than those in Oslo, and, it gives you more freedom to pop into other sites that are included if you're finding yourself with extra time. Not to mention, Vienna's public transportation is fantastic, so being able to have unlimited access to the lightrails and subways is a big bonus. [Also, don't confuse this with the Vienna City Card because that is NOT the same and not financially savvy.]
Alright, let's see the sites!
Thursday, December 7th:
We had an early morning flight out of Dublin and connected through Frankfurt to get to Vienna. We flew Lufthansa to Frankfurt, but then flew Austrian Airlines the second leg and wowie! Austrian Airlines was fantastic! There was lots of legroom and they offer free beer or wine [and any other beverage you want] along with a delicious chocolate wafer snack. Oh my gosh, I thought I was traveling in luxury! Shout out to the smaller airline companies -- Austrian Airlines and Norwegian Airlines are definitely top tier travel experiences.
When we landed in Vienna, we hopped on the CAT train, which is the express train from the airport to the city centre. We really dig these trains because all you want to do when you land in a new place is get off the plane, get to town, check into your hotel, and hit the streets. It was only a 16 minute ride and when we got into city centre, the sky was lit up with crazy sunset colors and we were surrounded by beautiful imperial architecture. The novelty of it all started to wear off when we kept getting lost trying to find our hotel. We stayed with K + K Hotels Vienna, which is in the Museum Quarter. The hotel was fine, once we found it. [I seriously might write a review just complaining about how hard it was to find the hotel.] Our room and bathroom were nice and it was in a good location to walk to sites or the subway or lightrail to get around.
Once we got all checked in, we bundled up for our quick walk to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which houses 5,000 years worth of art. Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph built this museum in the 19th century to shelter the imperial family's art collections and put them on display for the public. The building alone is breathtaking. There is an identical building across the courtyard, which is the Natural History Museam, which we didn't get the chance to see.
The collections in the Kunsthistorisches Museum are overwhelming. You could spend HOURS there looking at everything. Chris and I were partial to the Egyptian and Greek collections. There are also notable works by Rembrandt, Raphael, and Rubens. Entrace to the museum is €15 per adult, or free with the Vienna pass.
After spending a few hours in the art history museum, we hit up the Christmas Market right in between the two museums. It was a balmy 30 degrees, so our first stop was to get a couple mugs of glühwein, a delicious red wine that has added Christmas spices and served warm. Each Christmas market has its own signature mug and when you get a mug of glühwein, you have to put down a deposit for the mug. This way, if you want to keep the mug, you can! Otherwise, if not, you just return your mug when you're done with your glühwein and you get your deposit back. This was a great system because Chris and I ended up collecting a few mugs as our souvenirs from our trip. For a yummy snack, we shared a bread bowl with goulash that was so good!
We headed to our hotel for a quick warmup and then headed straight to the Rathaus Christmas Market. The Rathaus is Vienna's City Hall and puts on one of the best Christmas Markets in town. It is also one of the biggest. There is a skating rink, ferris wheel, and shops galore. Not to mention, the Rathaus is a towering spectacle. We had a lot of fun walking around and looking at all the vendors, appreciating all of the Christmas lights, and watching the skaters. We got another round of glühwein, a brat, and a käsekrainer, which is basically a hot dog stuffed in a baguette that is filled with a sweet mustard. Omg my mouth is watering writing this right now. For a little sweet tooth nightcap, we got a cup of fruit covered in melted chocolate topped with Baileys. The Rathaus Christmas Market is a must for anyone going during the holidays!
Friday, December 8th:
We woke up on Friday morning and had breakfast at the hotel. One of travel go-tos is to make sure we stay in a hotel with a continental breakfast. It makes it easy to get up, get ready, and fuel up for the morning without having to stress about finding somewhere to eat right away in the morning. The K + K hotel had a pretty good breakfast -- eggs, sausage, muesli with yogurt, meat and cheese, and fruit.
We were excited to get out and see the city in the daylight. We had a lot on the list to do, so we were ready to hit the ground running. It was a bank holiday, the Immaculate Conception, so we were a little worried that certain attractions might not be open, but we were in luck -- everything was open! Phew!
We headed out towards the Hofburg Palace, which is where the Habsburgs conducted their stately affairs. There is a lot to do in this area: the National Library, go inside Hofburg palace and see the imperial apartments, the Spanish Riding School, and the Imperial Treasury, which houses the royal jewels and treasures. The whole area is filled with beautiful architecture.
First on our list was the Spanish Riding School. The Spanish Riding School celebrates the imperial tradition of Lipizzan stallions that perform their haute école equestrian skills. The riding school is a tradition that has been kept alive for 450 years. It is located right next to the Hofburg Palace, so the building is very regal and stunning. There are performances that you can see, but the riders and horses also practice every morning Tuesday through Friday and this is open to the public. For €15, or free with the Vienna pass, you can attend the practice and see the stunning horses. This was just okay to Chris, but I really liked it because I don't know of anywhere else that has something like this. Plus, the stallions are absolutely gorgeous.
Bonus! After leaving the riding school, we got to see the next line of horses get walked over to the riding hall to get their practice in!
Next, we were going to go check out the Hofburg Palace and the Imperial Apartments, but there was the LONGEST line for it and quite frankly, it just didn't seem worth waiting in line when there are so many other things to see. I think because it was a holiday weekend, during the holidays, Vienna was more crowded than usual. So we went where the crowds weren't and hit up the Imperial Treasury. The entrance fee is €12 per person + €5 for an audioguide, otherwise free with the Vienna Pass.
The Imperial Treasury holds collections of royal crowns and jewels, coronation vestments, and insignia of not only the Habsburgs, but royalty that came before, including the sword of Charlemagne. The entire collection is highly impressive and the pieces are so elaborate that you could close your eyes and picture an entire coronation of a new emperor. Some of the highlights include the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, King Rudolf II's crown, which was made in 1602, Napolean Bonaparte's son's ornate crib [he married a Habsburg Archduchess], the largest piece of Emerald in the world, and a "unicorn" horn, which is actually the horn of a narwhal, which was believed to have unrivaled medicinal properties and divine power.
We worked up quite the appetite from looking at jewels all morning, so we headed to lunch at Bierhof, a great beer hall in the city center close by to the Hofburg Palace. I had been SO looking forward to Wiener Schnitzel, so I ordered that and Chris got Gröstl, which was kind of like a hash -- potatoes, onions, meat, with a fried egg on top. Fun fact about Wiener Schnitzel: it was traditionally served as veal, but in modern day times, most restaurants offer as pork or turkey as well. The food and bier were delish!
YUM! Also, my Wiener Schnitzel definitely fell off my plate trying to take this picture.
Our afternoon plans consisted of visiting St. Stephen's Cathedral. We were really excited because the church itself is really beautiful, but we read about touring the catacombs beneath the church, and climbing the South Tower to get panoramic views of Vienna. The church is roughly 700 years old and is one of Vienna's most beautiful landmarks. It has historical significance as well. Joseph Haydn sang as a choir boy, Mozart married there, and is the burial for many of the Habsburgs.
The inside of the church was grandiose and intricately detailed. The architecture is peak gothic. It was pretty crowded so we maneuvered our way to the meeting point for the Catacombs Tour. The catacombs underneath the cathedral are an underground burial place, which contain the mausoleum of the bishops, members of the Habsburg family, and 56 urns with the intestines of the Habsburgs buried between 1650 and the 19th century.
The tour is guided and only €5.50 per person. It starts in the "old" part of the catacombs in a room with the urns. We were all standing there looking at the old urns and sure enough, there are the remains of humans in them. That was pretty gross, but it got grosser. The next room had 14 coffins in it -- 12 of them displayed in a circle around 2 main ones. There were bodies in there. Obviously the coffins are closed, but EW. There were even a few children's coffins.
Next, we made our way to the "new" part of the catacombs, which actually look older than the "old" part. The pathways through the new section were dirt floor with brick walls and arched ceiling. The only light we had was a wire hung along the side with spaced out dim lightbulbs. In here, It felt like we were in an episode of Expedition Unknown. Along through the caverns were open, but barred windows, that looked into rooms that were FILLED with human bones. In some rooms, there were mounds of piled bones, and in others, they were stacked like fire wood. [yuck!] To no one's surprise, our guide told us that these were the bones of those who fell victim to the Black Plague.
The tour only takes about 30 minutes and is definitely worth it. I mean it's eery af, but I had never seen anything like that before and see human bones from the time of the Plague is crazy to me. Unfortunately [or maybe fortunately?], no photography is allowed, so you're going to have to go see it for yourself!
After going beneath the church, we were ready to climb the church's South Tower. All 343 steps to the top. It is a bit tricky to find the entrance, but you have to outside of the church and follow the signs to the entrance for the South Tower. It only costs €4.50 per person.
Not surprising, the stairs to the top of the tower are spiral, narrow, and dark. Also, it's the only way up AND down, so beware of oncoming traffic because one of you is going to have to stop and squeeze up against the wall while the other goes by. It's a long way to the top and it bears repeating -- 343 steps. But oh boy is it worth it! The room at the top is pretty small, but offers four lookout spots and views of all sides of the city. Our favorite spots were the ones that had a closer look at the church's colorful tile roof. It's spectacular from far away, but even cooler closer up.
St. Stephen's Cathedral is a definite must-do and you get to do and see a whole lot for only €10!
When we climbed back down to earth, it was still pretty early in the day and we had checked off all of our boxes for the day, so we took this as an opportunity to pop into the Zara right across the street. We didn't get anything, but it's important to note for my fellow shoppers: the Vienna Zara is one of the best -- it's clean, organized, and has amazing pieces. If you make it to Vienna, do not miss this Zara!
Since we weren't quite hungry for dinner yet, we made an impromptu visit to the Mozart Haus. I was pretty excited about this since I had been to Mozart's birth house and the house he grew up in Salzburg. Seeing the apartment he lived in Vienna was the icing on the cake. For only €11, you get entry and an audio guide. You also get free entry with the Vienna Pass. The museum/Mozart's home is filled with history about his life and works while he lived in Vienna. Mozart was incredibly wealthy for the time and was revered as a pianist and composer, so his home was rather large for a city centre apartment. Mozart composed many works in this apartment. On display are exhibitions of those works. Fun fact: Mozart had a terrible gambling problem and there's not much out there on it, but there is one rumor that he once bet the equivalent of $800,000 in one day playing billiards.
If classical music is your jam, Vienna is your place. There are lots of places to go, not limited to, but including Beethoven's haus, Strauss' apartment, Schubert's birthplace and place of death, and Haydn's haus.
After soothing our ears with the sound of music, we tried having dinner at the Griechenbeisl, which is the oldest restaurant in Vienna, and used to be a favorite hangout for Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, and Strauss. Alas, you need a reservation if you want to get a table. Darn! So instead we found the closest restaurant that had a table open and that ended up being Gutenberg. It was a cozy restaurant that served traditional Austrian dishes. I doubled down with another serving of Wiener Schnitzel and Chris enjoyed some goulash. We splurged for something sweet and got the traditional Austrian dessert called Sachertorte. It is a chocolate torte with a middle layer of apricot marmalade and it is so tasty! This was the perfect nightcap to a fantastic day exploring Vienna.
Saturday, December 10th:
Saturday was palace day! We planned to see Belvedere Palace in the morning and Schönbrunn Palace in the afternoon. We loaded up on the hotel's continental breakfast and hit the town to catch the lightrail to Belvedere.
Schloss Belvedere was the winter palace for the Habsburgs and is located right outside of the city centre. There are actually two palaces on the ground -- Upper Belvedere and Lower Belvedere and they are connected by an expansive Baroque garden. Belvedere means "beautiful view" and everything about this place is beautiful: the buildings, the artwork inside, and the gardens. Upper Belvedere has some of the most important and famous pieces of artwork in Austria, including "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt. Lower Belvedere was used as a private residence and has a couple rooms to view and a rotating art collection. Belvedere is a must when visiting Vienna. A combined ticket for Upper and Lower Belvedere costs €20, or free with the Vienna Pass.
Some favorite photos from Upper Belvedere:
Lower Belvedere:
After spending a few hours admiring all of the art, we walked through the Christmas Market at Belvedere. We loaded up on some glühwein and some delicious noodle dish. Then, we got some fresh cut potato chips -- so good! It started snowing just the slightest, which made it all the more festive!
Next up -- Schönbrunn! We grabbed the U4 subway because this palace is a little further out. The subway system is super easy to navigate and quick. Once you get off the subway, you have to walk a little ways to get the entrance and then BAM! You walk through the gates and there it is -- the most stunning, massive, yellow palace.
Schloss Schönbrunn was the summer residence of the Habsburgs and is where the last emperor of the Austrian Empire, Frans Joseph II, and his wife Sisi lived. There are 1,441 rooms in the Baroque-styled palace. The palace is truly spectacular and it is so worth doing a tour, whether it be human- or audio-guided. There are certain times for English tours, but I would get your tickets in advance for those. Unfortunately, I don't think you can book the human guided tours online, but you can book the audio-guided tours. So you'd have to go out to the palace and get your tickets and either explore the grounds and/or the zoo, or come back later for your tour time. I also HIGHLY recommend booking the audio-guided tours in advance because this is probably the busiest tourist attraction in town. The lines for the tickets are long and you may not be able to get in that day. There are also several options for tours. We chose the Grand Tour, which is the longer of the options. We got to see 40 rooms in the palace and it took about an hour to get through. The ticket price for the Grand Tour is €17.50 per person, or free with the Vienna Pass.
The rooms in the palace are the most ornate, expensive, and regal rooms I have ever seen in my life. The amount of wealth in that family is truly unfathomable. Every room had a different design sense, but the one theme throughout each room was that they were larger than life. One of the most impressive rooms is the main ballroom. We hung out in this room for awhile imagining women with their giant white wigs and fancy dresses and men in their white wigs and fancy jackets waltzing around to the sounds of Mozart. Fun fact: Mozart performed for the Emperoress at the age of 6 in this room and after he was done, he ran and jumped into her arms. Other rooms include Emperor Franz Joseph II's bedroom and the bed in which he died, Sisi's beauty parlor, and the "card playing" oval and circle rooms that are decorated in pieces from Asia. Unfortunately, there is no photography allowed on this tour, so like the catacombs, you're going to have to go see it for yourself! :)
After making our through the palace, we visited the Christmas Market out front to grab a warm cup of glühwein and some warm cinnamon sugared candied nuts. nom nom nom! We brought our treats with us and headed to the backside of the palace to explore the gardens. The gardens at Schönbrunn are EXPANSIVE. There are perfectly manicured gardens, a rose garden, a vineyard, and the world's oldest zoo. Yep, the Habsburgs had their own zoo. Let that one sink in. The gardens are also filled with romanesque statues and fountains. If you're curious to read more about the grounds, click here. I'm fairly certain you could spend two days exploring all of Schönbrunn.
At the top of the hill beyond the privy garden sits the Gloriette, which is considered the "crowning touch to the palatial Baroque ensemble". I hadn't made it up the Gloriette when I visited Schönbrunn in 2011, so I was determined to see it this time, despite the quickly disappearing sun and the whipping winds. The climb is so worth it!
By the time we made it back down, the sun had set, Schönbrunn was illuminated, and the Christmas Market was alive.
By the time we were done with Schönbrunn, our feet HURT. So bad. We crammed onto the subway with the other thousand people leaving the palace and were so happy to get back to our hotel and put our feet up. Once we mustered up the energy, we popped over to the the Mexican restaurant, Papi's, across the street from our hotel had scarfed down some burritos. I know... weird to do in Austria. We just literally could not walk another foot. After dinner, we got to bed early and rested up for our early morning flight back home to Dublin. We couldn't wait to get home to our nugget! [for a bonus story about our disastrous trip back, keep scrolling]
Overall, Vienna is an imperial city that is full of history, art, and beautiful architecture. There is a ton to see and I don't think 2.5 days is enough time, but we got to hit the highlights. I don't think the Austrians were the nicest people we've ever encountered, but that is just my opinion. The food was delicious, the public transportation is marvelous, and the Christmas Markets should be on everyone's bucket list. Don't let the weather deter you -- their winters still aren't as harsh as a Minnesotan one.
Speaking of... we fly out for Minnesota tomorrow and are elated to spend the holidays with our family and friends! It's going to be WAY colder than Dublin. We've been enjoying mid-50s here this week. But nothing can beat Christmas with loved ones! I hope you've all been enjoying the holidays!
Prost, xo
BONUS STORY:
I honestly don't even know how to properly write about the string of events that unloaded on us once we landed in Dublin. If you've heard of Murphy's Law, the theory that anything that can go wrong will go wrong, then you'll have an idea. If you've seen the scene in the movie Christmas Vacation where Clark Griswold gets stuck in the attic, then you'll have an even better idea.
Chris and I flew the same route home: Vienna > Frankfurt > Dublin. We had a quick layover in Frankfurt, which was great. We landed in Dublin around 11:00 a.m., made it through customs, and just needed to grab our one checked bag before grabbing the express bus home. Well our bag wasn't coming... and wasn't coming... and wasn't coming. The few of us still standing around started to look at each other like, "oh great". So Chris went to go ask an agent about it and she mumbled something about "I know 7 of you are missing bags", Chris asked which 7, and she didn't answer and walked away. Great.
Chris found out that our bags were left in Frankfurt -- they didn't make our plane. [don't even get me started on how much money airlines must spend reimbursing people who have lost their luggage vs. paying the luggage people to put the bags on the correct planes on time -- no wonder checked luggage is so expensive.] While he was still talking to the agents, my mind starting racing about all the things that were in our one bag:
- Our winter jackets -- yes, our winter jackets, on the ONE day it was 30 degrees, hailing, and snowing in Dublin. We don't like flying with our big winter jackets on, so we stick them in our luggage so we don't have to deal with them. #mistake1
- My Leap card -- this is my public transportation card and it was in my jacket pocket. In my pure panic, that meant I couldn't take the bus at all, but I definitely could have just bought a ticket. #mistake2
Then, I had the worst realization and I actually yelled this one out loud: OUR APARTMENT KEYS! Ugh. We had taken them out of my purse because we didn't want them in my purse while we were in Vienna in case it got stolen, so Chris had put them in the mesh zipper part of the suitcase and we forgot to take them out. I literally started crying in the airport. Hugo was going to get dropped off at noon, it was freezing out, what on earth we were going to do. #biggestmistakeever
The airline agent said our bag would get delivered to our house that day at 6:00 p.m., so we needed to figure out what to do until then. The agents confirmed that the airline would reimburse a cab ride, so we opted for a taxi to get home. During our ride home, Chris called our landlord to let him know about our lost luggage/keys and asked if he would be able to meet us with the spare key. Well our landlord was ON THE OTHER SIDE OF IRELAND. Nooooooo. He was going to try and get ahold of a friend who has the key to his apartment to grab the spare key for us. Also, my phone was nearly dead, so I sent one text to our dog minder that we'd be home in 20, and then it died.
When we got to our place, we got the security guard to get us into our building, but he didn't have a key to get us into our apartment. Which fine, at least we were out of the freezing cold. Hugo got dropped off quickly thereafter, so the three of us were hanging in our small hallway outside our apartment door. Our landlord's friend wasn't answering his phone, so that was cool.
Then Chris had this bright idea. Maybe we could get in from our balcony. We don't lock our balcony doors because we are on the top floor of our building. We have one neighbor that we share our floor with and so we thought if they were home, they could let Chris into their apartment and out onto their balcony and he could climb from their balcony to ours, get inside our apartment, and open the door. Brilliant! Before you think this is absolutely bonkers, our balconies are connected and there is a wall between the two with a little place that Chris could squeeze through to get over to ours. So we knocked and knocked and no one answered. Come on!
After about 30 minutes, their door opens and the gal who lives there comes out. UM WHAT THE HELL. But we didn't care, we were so excited to see her! Chris quickly explained our situation and asked if he could get out onto their balcony fast. She literally rolled her eyes, sighed, and said she was in a hurry. We pleaded and she reluctantly let Chris in. Not 30 seconds later, she was back in the hallway locking the door to their apartment and on her way. I thanked her and she didn't say anything. Whatever.
I picked up Hugo and stood by our door so excited to get in!! But Chris never came. What on earth was going on? I waited and waited and waited and he never came. Not through our door and not through our neighbor's door. Chris is a pretty determined human being, so I thought he was trying to figure it out. And if you remember, my phone was dead, so I couldn't call him. I had one moment of hope because I checked to see if our backpack had our phone chargers and it did! But basically all of the rest of Europe uses a different outlet, so our phone charger still had the Austrian adapter on it and so I couldn't plug it in.
Then, the elevator door opened and I thought it was going to be Chris [lol, idk why... again, my mind wasn't thinking straight... it's not like he belayed down the 5 stories of the building], but it was Martin, the security guy who had let us into the building. He came to ask me if my husband was stuck on the balcony and I said, "yep, I guess that's him". Martin: "People called me concerned someone was breaking into apartments from the balconies. He can't be hopping around the balconies like that. And he's stuck and I have no way of getting him. Can you call him?" Me: "My phone is dead." Martin: "Can you call your landlord?" Me: "My phone is dead." Martin was very concerned and so was I. Chris was stuck outside on our balcony with no jacket and no shoes in the freezing cold. No shoes you ask? Yes, no shoes because remember how badly our feet hurt the day before? He had taken them off in the hallway while we were waiting for a neighbor to show up.
Martin was super sweet and wanted to help any way he could. Luckily, I have Chris' Irish number memorized, so he called Chris and I was able to chat with him. He was definitely stuck out on the balcony. Our neighbor literally locked their balcony door after letting Chris out there! She didn't have the decency to see if he could get into our apartment before locking the door behind her and leaving. Chris was still in touch with our landlord, who was still trying to get ahold of his friend. Our landlord also shared that he locked our balcony doors while he was in our apartment getting our fireplaces working the Friday we were gone. Fabulous.
Meanwhile, Chris had found a sleeping bag on our neighbor's balcony and was curled up in it on our balcony trying to stay warm. LOL WHAT THE HELL. Thank goodness for that sleeping bag. At this point, it was a waiting game now. Either our landlord's friend was going to answer the phone and get the spare, or we were going to be in this situation until about 6:00 p.m. when our bag would get delivered.
Well thank the heavens, our landlord's friend went and got the spare key, but is a concierge at an apartment complex down the street, so Hugo and I ran to go get the key and ran back to rescue Chris. We got into our apartment and got Chris in and under about three blankets to warm him up and I instantly got food ordered for delivery. This was about a two hour ordeal in total and was probably one of the worst situations we've ever been in. We also didn't get our luggage until the next day around 3:00 p.m. because it had snowed so much in Frankfurt that it grounded planes. I don't even want to think about what we would have done without our landlord and his friend.
I hope you got a good laugh because we certainly laugh about it now. We laugh about it now, but holy hell was that miserable! Especially for Chris. There were a lot of lessons learned that day, but the biggest one is to never ever ever ever put your house keys in your checked luggage.
