Alex and I spent the last two and a half weeks exploring Central and Eastern Europe. The weather was a bit colder than we've been used to, but the cities we saw were amazing. Here are our top takeaways.

1. The Holocaust, World War II and post-war Communism have really impacted these countries in a meaningful way. From the killing of innocent civilians to economic hardship, we definitely felt the lingering effects as we explored. We made a point to see many of the museums / monuments dedicated to these horrible times in our history along our trip and they left a lasting impression on us.

2. That said, we found it a bit jarring that in each place we went there seemed to be a competition of sorts about who was worse off during and after the war. Obviously each country wants to tell its story, and there were absolutely atrocities that occurred in each place we went, but we would've preferred to hear the history without the "Oh, you think Poland had it bad, let me tell you about Hungary!" attitude - it felt like some tour guides were unintentionally minimalizing the experience in other countries to highlight their own.

3. On a lighter note...wine is really cheap and the "house" varieties are quite good! Most people probably think more of beer in this area - which is definitely popular - but we continued to find that the local wines were great (and about $2 per glass!).

4. Meals are hearty and perfect for cold, dreary days - comfort food perfected! We loved the meat and carb-heavy dishes after a long day of walking around outside. And it went well with the cooler weather we had in each city!

5. Architecture is stunning and charming - the castles are straight out of Disney movies and fairy tales. Even walking down a quiet street we were in love with the old buildings (Mama Foster would be proud!).

6. While not as obvious as in India, there are definitely people aiming to take advantage of tourists. Taxis were our biggest problem but after our first unfortunate incident we were always on the lookout.

7. Waking up early for the sunrise has many benefits - not only did we get to enjoy beautiful scenery, but virtually no other tourists were in sight. We were then able to walk through the most touristy locations alone - very different than during the day!

8. All the cities we visited were very pedestrian friendly. Not only were the urban areas condensed enough that walking around wasn't a problem, but we found that motorists almost ALWAYS stopped to let pedestrians cross at crosswalks. A similar courtesy would not be extended in New York City!

9. Train travel in Europe puts everywhere else (except Japan) to shame. Our trains were very clean, ran on time and had top-notch amenities. Our sleeper car from Prague to Krakow seemed like the Four Seasons compared to our overnight trains in Thailand and Vietnam (though that's not really a fair comparison...).

10. English is everywhere. We thought that when we got to Europe we'd have to fend for ourselves with the local language more often, but so far everyone we've encountered has spoken at least some English. Makes it incredibly easy to get by!

Peak: Budapest. A completely unexpected gem and our favorite city in Central / Eastern Europe. HIGHLY recommend to anyone looking to take a trip to Europe!

Pit: Cab scams - be prepared for a hassle in each of these cities (though to a much greater degree in Budapest and Prague).

Next Stop: Amsterdam

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 streets of the historic city center are lined with old buildings that now have either retail or coffee shops on the first floor.

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. — 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.

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. — Fantastic day for a stroll through Vienna. A view of Rathaus through the budding trees.

One more, front-on shot of Rathaus. — 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!

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!

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.

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.

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!).

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