When Sarah and I bought our train tickets to Vienna, the cashier told us not to worry about seat assignments, there would be plenty of seats. Not quite true. There were a few unreserved seats scattered throughout the train, but no two together. So we spent the three hour journey at a table in the café car…which actually was probably more comfortable than a proper seat anyway.
We arrived exactly on time, walked the short distance to our hotel, checked in and set out to explore Vienna. Our first stop: lunch at Ulrich. This hip gastropub was a great way to kick off our time in Vienna – we’d say we highly recommend it, but after we ate there we found out that the NY Times included it on their recent 36-Hours in Vienna tour…so I’m sure we’re not the only ones who feel that way!
After lunch we walked down to the Museum Quarter, an area that (unsurprisingly) houses most of the city’s museums. We just walked through on Monday (we saved some museum time for today) and headed into the historic city center to see some of the city’s main attractions.
A statue in the center of the Museum Quarter.
The Austrian National Library.
The streets of the historic city center are lined with old buildings that now have either retail or coffee shops on the first floor.
St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Sculpture around the back of St. Stephen's.
Looking up at St. Stephen's – the scale is hard to appreciate from up close, but it’s so tall that you can see it from almost anywhere else in the city.
A few blocks further, we popped into University Church. Unlike St. Stephen's, there were no other tourists around here so we were able to enjoy the splendor of the building by ourselves.
One of the many beautiful cafés nestled on the side streets of Vienna. Clearly we were a little early for lunch
Once we’d strolled around the historic city center for a few hours, we decided to walk over to the Volksgarten nearby. The weather was perfect on Monday afternoon and we lazily strolled through the well-manicured gardens before meandering back to our hotel.
Sarah’s favorite corner of the gardens.
View from the Volksgarten, looking across the street at the Museum Quarter.
After we got cleaned up for dinner, we strolled over to Schilling's, a local bar known also for their traditional Austrian food. We indulged in Austrian beers, wiener schnitzel and beef stew – the perfect end to our first day in Vienna.
It tasted amazing. No idea how most Austrians aren’t completely obese with diet-staples like this!
We slept in a little later than normal this morning so we’d be well rested for a full day of sightseeing in Vienna. After a quick breakfast at our hotel, our first stop was Rathaus. We’d seen this from a distance yesterday but up close the detail on the building was incredible.
The side view of Rathaus; these are functional offices but the building is still beautifully maintained.
A block away we found this other building, which was Sarah’s favorite. Couldn’t tell if it was residential or commercial…either way, a great place to work / live.
Fantastic day for a stroll through Vienna. A view of Rathaus through the budding trees.
One more, front-on shot of Rathaus.
Our next stop, right around the corner from Rathaus, was Austria's Parliament Building. Though very impressive on its own, it didn’t quite compare to Budapest’s!
Austria's Parliament.
Detailed view of the sculpture in front of Parliament.
After a quick coffee break we checked out the Opera House briefly. We weren’t going to buy a ticket to a show, so there was only so much to see from the outside. Still very nice though!
One of the corners of the Opera House.
From here, we headed to the Kunsthistorisches Art Museum for a few hours. The exhibits were great but the architecture of the building itself was worthy of a visit. A very cool way to spend a couple hours.
There was a big collection of Egyptian artifacts. In addition to the historical pieces, the room was painted with recreations of traditional Egyptian art.
One of my favorite sculptures from the Egyptian exhibit.
I had beard-envy of this guy…
In the Roman wing.
The main staircase in the museum.
At this point we were both starving so we walked over to Garage01 for lunch. Unfortunately, since this was a bit off the beaten path, there was only a German menu. And the staff was too “hip” to help translate for us. So we didn’t stay long. Fortunately, Wild was just across the street and the staff there were more than happy to help us decide on a delicious meal!
We chose this area for lunch because it is close to Hundertwasserhaus, a very modern art display in the form of apartments. It wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but Sarah liked looking at the unique and colorful architecture.
The colorful Hundertwasserhaus.
As we walked back to the city center, we stopped at a bar on the river to enjoy the views for a few minutes. It reminded us of some bars back home and the happy hour people-watching was very entertaining.
No beach in Vienna? No problem – just bring the sand in!
Our final destination was the Sofitel. Also featured on the NY Times’ 36-Hours in Vienna, the rooftop bar at the Sofitel boasts some of the best views in the city. We tasted three traditional Austrian wines and watched the sun set slowly before heading back to our hotel. Tomorrow we’re taking another train to Prague, where we’ll have more time to explore the city (which sounds great to me because it's been a busy two days in Vienna!).
Wine tasting with a view!