After Greece, Mary Rose and I made our way up north to Vienna, Austria. Traveling from our hotel in Santorini to our Airbnb in Vienna involved a lot of transportation. First of all, we took a taxi from our hotel in Santorini to the airport in Santorini, then we took a plane from Santorini to Athens, then another plane from Athens to Vienna. Once in Vienna, we had to get to our Airbnb, so we took 2 trains from the airport to get there. We finally made it to our Airbnb in Vienna that evening after a full day of traveling.
The Vienna Airport
We were so tired that night so we didn't go far to get food. We settled for a Chinese restaurant right below our apartment.
We definitely had our fair share of food here, but the service was questionable. This restaurant didn't accept any credit card payments, so I had to go walking around Vienna at night, looking for an ATM, to get euros. So that was fun.
We started our fun in Vienna after a good night of much-needed rest. The first place we went to was the city hall, Rathaus, or as they say in Austria, the Rathausplatz. Nearly year-round, there are events held outside the city hall, like concerts, operas, and Christmas markets. Right beside the Rathaus is the Rathauspark, with its green spaces, monuments, and fountains. It was designed by city-gardener Rodulph Siebeck from 1872 to 1873.
Then we visited Vienna's main church: St. Stephen's Cathedral. This church was consecrated in the year 1147 and the construction of the north tower began in 1450. The Turkish Sieges, fire blasts, and wars didn't really damage the cathedral until the last 2 weeks of the 2nd World War when the cathedral was burned to the ground. 7 years after the war, the cathedral was rebuilt as the citizens had a great love of this landmark, and because of this, the church is a symbol of the reconstruction of Austria after World War 2.
This is the inside of St. Stephen's Cathedral. You can enter for free, but there is a charge for the audioguide and tour if you choose to do that.
All around Vienna are horse-drawn carriages you can take if you are touring the city. We didn't do these because they were too expensive, but I did pet a horse and take a picture with one!
Walking around Vienna
After going to the city hall, the cathedral, and walking around for a bit, Mary Rose and I went to the Jewish Museum. It was very eye-opening as it talked all about how the Jews in Vienna suffered during World War 2 and about how this eventually helped Vienna become a city open to all immigrants and refugees. The museum also talked about the Rothschild family, one of the most famous European banking dynasties who had considerable economic influence in Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Jewish Museum
We also walked around Der Graben, one of the most famous street's in Vienna's first district. It begins at Stock-im-Eisen-Platz next to the Palais Equitable and ends at the junction of Kohlmarkt and Tuchlauben. It is filled with shops, cafes, and beautiful squares, like the one you see above.
We were pretty hungry after all that touring so we ate burgers at Five Guys for lunch. Then we walked to the Belvedere Palace. We wanted to go inside, but we got there too late, unfortunately, so we ended up just walking around to admire the pretty gardens and fountains that surround the palace. The Belvedere Palace is divided into the upper part and a lower part, with gardens in-between them. The palace served as the Viennese summer residence for the successful commander Eugene of Savoy in the 18th century. Both the palace and the gardens are located in the Upper Belvedere and have been built in the Baroque style with a permanent exhibition that shows off mainly Austrian artworks. The Lower Belvedere presents changing exhibits of various art periods and artists.
After Belvedere Palace, we walked by Mozart Square. Even though Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) was born in Salzburg, not Vienna, there is still a beautiful square to honor him here.
Our last stop was the Hofburg Palace, which is located at Vienna's splendor boulevard, the Ringstrasse, and is reachable from there through the Burgtor Gate. The Hofburg Palace was built in 1279 and from the 13th century until 1918, it was the main residence for the Habsburger and the residence for the emperor family in Vienna. Since 1945, the office of the Austrian Federal President is located there as well as the Austrian National Library, museums, the chapel Hofburgkapelle, and the church Augustinerkirche.
We didn't go into the palace as there was a large green space in front that we spent some time at for a while.
After the Hofburg, we went on a mission to find strudel, a yummy pastry that Austria is known for. One cafe we visited was in a hotel and it was quite fancy. Unfortunately they didn't have strudel because of the recent Mother's Day festivities, but we did get some coffee and tea there.
After leaving the cafe, we still couldn't find any strudel, so we settled for Vienna sausages. The street vendor basically took a long bun, created a long hole in it, and put ketchup and mustard at the bottom of the hole. Then he put the sausages through the hole and added a little piece of bread up top to cover the side. It's a cool rendition of the hotdog I'm used to and it was delicious!
And there you have it for Vienna, folks! Since we arrived the 8th and left the 10th, we only had the day of the 9th to really enjoy the city, and I really think we made the most of it. Vienna is a pretty and clean city that definitely reminded me of Germany and Switzerland with its atmosphere, architecture, and people. It was an idyllic place to end our trip together.
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