Vienna was the second stop on my 9 day journey through eastern Europe. First came Budapest, then we arrived in Vienna on Christmas Eve, and finally set off to Prague on the 27th. We spent around 2 and a half days in each location during our Christmas break, so we had to fit as much as we could into about 48 hours. Of course, it's nearly impossible to see everything a city has to offer in only 48 hours, but here I'll share how we made the most of our time in Vienna.
We arrived in Vienna around 7pm on Christmas Eve, and nearly everything was closed for the holiday. We headed to our hostel to check in and hang out for the night before we set out on day 1. Wombat's City Hostel - Naschmarkt was a near perfect hostel - it actually seems a bit more like a hotel than a hostel. It was very clean, the 4 person room was large, there was a bathroom inside the room, all you can eat breakfast each morning for about €5, a fun bar inside the hostel, and a nice common area. It cost a bit more than I had hoped, but in the end it was worth it!
Day 1
After a nice breakfast at our hostel, we started off Christmas Day wandering around the city, doing some sight seeing.
Vienna State Opera
We started with the State Opera House, which was about a 15 minute walk from our hostel. We just admired the Opera House from the outside, but if you're lucky enough to catch the Vienna Philharmonic here or have any opportunity to go inside, definitely take it! I would have loved to see the inside, but the outside is quite impressive as well. Kärtner Straße & St. Stephen's CathedralWe continued our walk through the center of the city, which included walking down Kärtner Straße (one of the main contemporary shopping streets in the city), and strolling around Stephansplatz where you can find St. Stephen's Cathedral, a symbol of Vienna. As it was Christmas Day, nearly all of the shops on Kärtner Straße were closed and the street was pretty quiet, but when we came back to the area on the 27th, everything had opened up again and there was a huge difference in the amount of people walking around! There was a small Christmas market near St. Stephen's Cathedral - here we got a glass of mulled wine, or glühwein, and wandered around the market. St. Stephen's Cathedral is free to enter, and absolutely worth a look! They also offer guided or self guided tours of the cathedral and the catacombs.
Cafe Sacher
The weather was not great, it had been raining all morning and we were in need of a bit of a break from the wet and cold. We decided to seek shelter (after about an hour wait) in Cafe Sacher, home to the original Sacher Torte. If you're unfamiliar with Sacher Torte, it's a famous Austrian chocolate cake layered with apricot jam. I'll be honest - I had heard that Cafe Sacher isn't the best place to get the Sacher torte, but I had also heard quite a few good things, so I decided to see for myself. After a long wait in line, we were seated and ordered cappuccinos, apple strudel, and a slice of Sacher torte. I was quite impressed with the coffee, and the apple strudel was good, but I was a bit disappointed in the Sacher torte. It wasn't bad, but the cake was a bit drier than I was hoping. The cafe itself is beautiful and served as a nice break from the rain, but it is quite expensive. I'm sure you could find a cafe within the city that is just as good and a bit less pricey.
The Hofburg
After the cafe, we continued our walk through the center of Vienna. Along the way, we passed the Albertina art museum. We were on a bit of a budget, so we unfortunately didn't check out any of the museums Vienna had to offer, but the Albertina houses one of the largest print rooms in the world, and a gallery with works from da Vinci, Picasso, and Monet. Continuing our walk, we headed to see the Hofburg. The Hofburg palace served as the residence and workplace for the Habsburgs, and is still used by the current president of Austria. Near the Hofburg, close to Rathausplatz, you can also find the Austrian Parliament Building, which we stopped to check out on our walk back to our hostel.
Christmas Dinner at Beim Czaak
After we finished our sight seeing throughout the city center, we went to dinner at Beim Czaak. Weeks before our trip, I was frantically searching for a decently priced restaurant to have a nice Christmas dinner. We were looking for a traditional Viennese restaurant, and many were fully booked, too expensive, or closed. I came across Beim Czaak, which was reasonably priced and had tables available, so I quickly made a reservation. I checked the reviews later, and it sounded like I made a great choice - a relief. It's a bit off the beaten path, but it sure was a great find. My friend and I both ordered the Wiener schnitzel which was served with roasted potatoes, a couple glasses of Austrian wine, and the "Czaaky's dessert plate" which included a sample of their hot chocolate cake, petit four, chocolate mousse, and stewed berries. The meal was one of my favorite during my entire trip, and I would absolutely recommend you make a reservation at Beim Czaak if you're looking for a traditional Viennese meal and a great atmosphere.
Day 2
Schönbrunn Palace
We started out day two by taking a quick metro ride to Schönbrunn Palace, where we made quite a big mistake - not purchasing tickets beforehand. Schönbrunn is one of Vienna's main attractions; it was originally built as the hunting lodge for Emperor Leopold I's son, and eventually turned into a full/summer residential palace for the Habsburg dynasty. We opted for the Imperial Tour of the palace, which takes you through 22 of the incredible rooms. Tickets were €13.20 with a student discount, while a regular adult ticket was €14.20. The wait was extremely long, but luckily there was a Christmas market in front of the palace to occupy your time while you waited, as there isn't much else to do in the area. You could spend hours and hours wandering the grounds of the palace, but we were on a bit of a tight schedule so we tried to see as much as possible in a little over an hour (after our two hour wait to get inside).
Belvedere
After the palace, we took the metro to Karlsplatz, and then walked to Belvedere (about a 20 minute walk). On our way, we passed by Karlskirche, a beautiful baroque style church only a few minutes from the Karlsplatz metro stop. We continued on our way and finally reached Belvedere. The Belvedere grounds consist of two palaces (Upper and Lower Belvedere), an orangery, gardens, and horse stables. There was yet another Christmas market here (Vienna is literally filled with them, it was heaven), which we walked around for quite a while. We also wandered through the gardens and checked out each building, but we didn't tour any of them.
Christmas Markets
The rest of the day was spent almost entirely at Christmas markets throughout the city. We had already been to two in the morning - one at Schönbrunn, and the other at Belvedere. Next on our list was the Christmas market Rathausplatz, also known as the Viennese Dream Christmas market (a very accurate name, I think). Rathaus is the name of the building behind the market, and Rathausplatz is the name of the surrounding area. The Rathaus building is their city hall, and it's by far the most impressive, beautiful city hall building I have ever seen. It was my favorite building in Vienna, though there is so much spectacular architecture it was difficult to choose. We walked around the stands and the ice skating rink at the Rathausplatz market before heading to MuseumsQuartier (a 15 minute walk) to check out their market. Besides the Christmas market, MuseumsQuartier had a lot to offer - from art museums, to theater and musical performances, to fashion exhibitions. After a couple mulled wines in our cute boot-shaped mugs, we headed back to Rathausplatz for food. Here we tried a gigantic pizza flavored pretzel, two different types of sausage with mustard and ketchup- one was filled with cheese, absolutely amazing - and a potato (kartoffel) loaded with sour cream, cheese, and ham. I was very grateful to be traveling with my amazing friend who was willing to split all of this with me so we could try just about everything.
Day 3
Day three in Vienna was mostly a travel day - we were heading off to Prague. We checked out of our hostel and had a bit of time before we had to be at the train station, so we stopped for breakfast at Cafe Museum, a well known traditional Viennese cafe, which was frequented by artist Gustav Klimt and many other famous artists and writers. I ordered the Viennese Breakfast which included a soft boiled egg, two pieces of bread, and marmalade, with a side of yogurt and muesli. The breakfast was simple but very good, a perfect start to my day and end to my time in Vienna.
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