Last weekend I took my first weekend trip with friends.
When you only have 48 hours to explore a new city you want to make the most of it. But at the same time, quality > quantity. It's important to go into it with the mindset of "I'll come back" so that you aren't running around from place to place checking items off a list instead of actually experiencing the place. I think we did a pretty good job of that.
Friday
We left around 6 o'clock Friday night for an 8:30 flight. Our apartment is only a few stops by metro from the airport, so it was quick and easy. By the time we got to our hostel in Vienna around 11:30, we were exhausted. We decided to stay in for the night. That way, we could get a good night's sleep and enjoy Saturday to its fullest.
Saturday
Our first mission of the day was to find breakfast, which actually proved to be much more difficult than expected because there were 8 of us. Let's just say, you can't be picky when there are that many of you. We walked into a couple cozy cafes before finding one that could actually accommodate all of us.
The place we found offered a large selection of breakfast dishes. I went with a classic Viennese platter of breads, meats and cheeses. It was quite tasty!
After filling our bellies we walked over to Naschmarkt. There, we saw various types of Viennese cuisine. Seafood, pastry, bread, fruit and nut stalls lined the market.
Next, we wandered around the city center, exploring and window shopping until we stumbled upon Stephansdom, also known as St. Stephen's Cathedral. It's a beautiful gothic building so we went inside to admire its beauty.
After exploring the inside, we climbed 343 steps in the Southtower to get to the viewpoint. Climbing the tower was a tight squeeze and the lack of windows made me feel quite claustrophobic but the view at the top made it all worth it!
Our group had gotten separated by this point so a few of us sauntered over to a park to wait for the others. It was a blue-skied sunny day so we climbed a tree and people watched.
(Enjoy this progression of pictures showing me attempting to climb the tree...)
We all reunited and decided it was time for a recharge. We found a cute cafe in the city center to stop at and I enjoyed a delicious Chai-Hot chocolate. (Who knew that was a thing?!)
For our last stop of the day we decided to visit the Hundertwasserhaus, known as "one of Austria's architectural highlights". It is a house designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, known for its colorful exterior and funky design. Navigating the tram was a bit tricky but we managed to successfully get there and explored Hundertwasser Village.
Dinner time! I googled "best cheap dinner in Vienna" and found a place called Schachtelwirt. Most of us ordered their most popular dish that included potato dumplings, roast pork and sour cabbage. It was a nice taste of a classic Viennese food to end the day.
After dinner, we walked around some more. We were exhausted after a long day of walking (my FitBit said we walked over 10 miles!) so we got some drinks and snacks and spent the rest of the evening hanging out at the hostel.
Sunday
The next morning we packed up, checked out and headed to the famous Café Central for our final meal in Vienna. I'd heard rave reviews about this cafe, known as Vienna's most attractive coffeehouse with "mouth-watering culinary creations," so we had to check it out. Their slogan is even, "There are coffeehouses and there's Café Central."
We arrived about 15 minutes before opening to ensure we wouldn't have to wait in a long line. Lucky for us, there were only 4 people ahead of us and we got a table right away.
I have to say, the food was delicious but nothing extraordinary. However, the experience of Café Central and the beauty of the coffeehouse did live up to my expectations.
Well, that concludes my 48(ish!) hours in Vienna. I hope you enjoyed following along.
Cheers to exploring new countries!