A weekend in Vienna: Strudel, Macarons and lots of Beer

Okay, so I was supposed to visit the capital of Austria last May, to go and see my friend Michael who was living there at the time, but if you’ve read my New Zealand post, you’ll know impulse control got the better of me and ended up flying around the world instead…

Needless to say, the trip was overdue. My friend and I, who was also finishing up her master’s decided we needed a celebration. After some seriously good deals on flights, we were all set to go…until my friend’s PhD starting early meaning she couldn’t make it anymore. Calamity.

Step in my dad to the rescue. Having only been to Vienna a couple years before, and just coming back off his own holiday a couple of weeks before, he was more than game for another trip. We were staying in an AirBnB just outside the main city centre, but right between the centre and Schonbronn – so we got a 72 hour pass for the U-bahn – ideal for getting around.

Well, it would have been except you might be aware that I love walking around places, with little sense of distance. Also, my dad isn’t as young as he thinks he is. So, after the first day of walking around the city, over to Prater Park (which was stunning with the changing autumn leaves), up to the Skybar to see St Stephen’s, and apparently 20km worth of other places – both our knees were shot.

Now this wouldn’t be a problem if we’d ticked all our boxes, but this was day one of a three-day trip, which would inevitably have much more walking and therefore necessary knee-use. This is where the mighty Austrian beer and Viennese wine came in very handy. “Would you like to stop for a beer?” became code for “Please can we stop, my knee is disintegrating into dust”, and came with the added benefit of drinking some super crisp (and pretty cheap) white wines.

Onto Schonbrunn. The gardens and the palace are both magnificent; they’re the kind of opulence you’d expect from a European royal dynasty. However, the hill that needed to be climbed to get the view below was something neither of us really needed after the day before. So, after a run around the palace, we went on a cruise up the Donau Canal – more beers, as boats aren’t exactly my favourite things…

On the last day, we made a mad dash for everything we hadn’t done yet – mostly the museum quarter. We’d tried the first day, but word of warning to anyone who wishes to visit Vienna on a Monday – hardly anything is open – and this includes museums and restaurants.

Being the nerdy little bookworm that I am, the national library was a must, in particular, the State Room, which did not disappoint. Running around the rest of the quarter, we dodged numerous TV crews asking about the upcoming election and headed towards the Palmenhaus. The level of cakes in this place is insane – just what was needed after mad dashing around the city, bobbing in between all the tour groups.

So, all in all, Vienna is a wonderful place to spend a couple of days, whether standalone or part of a wider European trip (I wish I could’ve swung a day trip to the lakes and mountains). It’s not the cheapest place to go though, wine and beer can be really expensive unless you keep it local. And if all else fails follow the sidestreet rule: find a popular place, go down a sidestreet off that place, and then a sidestreet off that sidestreet. Normally, you’ll find similar, if not better hidden gems for a fraction of the cost. Also, beer and wine help with knee problems – it’s a fact.