Western Europe here we come! In the words of Cristina, "We're going to be on the euro again!" Vienna is a short 2.5-3 hour train ride from Budapest. We rode in style on the OBB train (they gave us free Rita Sport chocolate...nom).
I was a little disappointed in Vienna. It's hard to compare cities because we're only in each one for a couple days which means we get to visit only a handful of sites and eat at a couple places. But out of all the cities that I've visited so far, I would place Vienna at or near the bottom. More on that in this post.
Site Highlights:
The Opera: The Vienna opera house is probably one of the most famous opera houses in the world. It sits in the center of Vienna and is where the wealthy come to play almost every night. Lucky for us, the opera is actually fairly affordable for everyone (if you're willing to stand). Cristina and I lined up around 5 to get tickets for the 8pm showing of Elektra AND got tickets! We were in the second row of the standing section which was pretty legit and we enjoyed the show. Plot summary for those who know nothing about opera: Elektra's father is murdered by her mother and her mother's lover. For the duration of the opera Elektra struggles over her want to revenge for her father's death. SPOILER: at the end of the play, Orestes (Elektra's brother) comes back and kills his mom and her lover and the people of the castle celebrate. Yep. It's pretty dramatic. The soprano part is also one of the hardest in opera, which made the play super cool to see! I will insert a clip from the Opera when I have full access.
The Belvedere: A garden and two art museums. One of the museums houses the most famous painting in Vienna, The Kiss. We decided to pass on the museums but did spend some time walking around in the gardens! (85% sure this site was recommended by my friend Mackenzie)
Habsburg Treasury: the treasury houses the largest collection of jewels in Europe. Some of the famous things it houses: a nail from the cross that Christ was crucified on, the most beautiful crown in the world, a unicorn horn, something that was once believed to be the holy grail, and Napoleon's son's cradle. If you're into jewels, this is a must see museum.
We did a couple other sites in Vienna including climbing to the top of a cathedral (worst panoramic view on the trip so far), seeing the outside of the Habsburg palace (but not going inside), and visiting St. Stephens Cathedral (in the night, so we probably didn't get the full experience). Basically Vienna was a city based on royalty and the sites reflect that. If you like to sit in cafes, or tour palaces, or enjoy classical music/opera, put Vienna in your itinerary.
Food Highlights:
Those that live well, eat well. And we did in Vienna. Vienna is one of the only cities in the world with a cuisine named after it (Viennesse), and the food basically met or exceeded expectations. Here were some of our favorite things.
Apple Streudel: Vienna is renowned for its apple streudel and we were impressed by both the size and flavor of the tart. I would recommend going to a cafe and having a melange with your streudel and sitting for a couple hours. The water is free!
"Apple streudel got me like...."-CGM
Chocolate Cake: We ate ours at Demel (recommended by Cristina's grandparents), which is one of two cafes in the city that make the world famous chocolate cake with apricot jam. Cafe Sacher is the more renowned but Cafe Demel was fantastic! I had a chocolate mouse cake. Nom.
Vienna Sausage: No, I'm not talking about the Chicago chain. I'm talking about real, fresh, food stand in Vienna sausage. Bit(z)ringer is actually the place to see and be seen after the opera, so we went for the experience.
Wiener Schnitzel: No trip is complete without this iconic food. Typically made with pork (I ate chicken), it's basically a breaded very thin, large slab of meat. We ate ours at Figlmuller with potato salad.
Summary:
Rating: 5/10 (Katie), 5/10 (Aspen), 6.8/10 (Cristina)
Likelihood of Returning: 25% (K), 25% (A), 70% (C)
I'm surprised that the food was your favorite part of Vienna. Usually not the most tasty (I've found) in Eastern/Central Europe.
ReplyDeleteThe opera sounds incredible! I've always wanted to see one, especially in a place like Vienna. Can't wait for a video ;)