A WEEKEND IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Add it to your must-see list...now.

First of all, if Vienna isn’t on your “must-see” list, add it right now. Before arriving in Vienna, I had only heard great things but you still get jitters going to a new country and seeing if you made the right choice. I can 100% say I made the perfect choice for my first trip while I’m abroad. Vienna is the most calming and beautiful city I have visited. Prague has my heart forever, but there is something about Vienna that gave me a sense of serenity that I desperately needed after the fast-paced weeks I had just experienced. I thought I would start a trend here on my blog where I give you the 411 about the countries and cities I visit and my personal opinions on them. So here goes the first one: Vienna, Austria.

Let me just say, most of the places we went were recommendations from friends and they did NOT lead us wrong. Every place we went was delightful, delicious, and ALWAYS cash only, keep that in mind. Right when we arrived at our hotel (Le Meridian, S/O you Mr. Kreul) we immediately dropped our stuff off and aimlessly wandered the streets looking for a place to grab some food and BOY did we find a gem. Burg-ring 1 was my favorite place we ate at the entire trip and I wish each and every one of you could taste the perfect aioli spread we ordered.

One thing I could tell the moment we arrived in Vienna was that the architecture was beautiful and inescapable. It seemed like every corner had another palace, garden, or extremely stunning building on it. Definitely a picturesque city, which I’m sure my Instagram followers quickly realized (sorry not sorry). We didn’t really have a plan going into the trip other than to see everything the city had to offer. Our hotel was perfectly located in the city center which made not having a concrete plan not so daunting. We took the day to walk around and stumble upon the phenomenal buildings that lined every street (usually not knowing what they actually were, but you live and you learn, right?). After walking for a few hours we found ourselves at another recommended spot: Lamee Rooftop Bar.

This bar had the most breathtaking view of the city and especially St. Stephens Cathedral which had the most unique roof (we were obsessed). Note to self: when the menu just says “house punch,” don’t assume it’s the Aperol spritz everyone else seemed to be drinking, because you will get a mug filled with a hot drink and no explanation of the ingredients. We still drank it and now it’s a memory we will always have. Our next adventure didn’t have the best outcome, but I think I will laugh at it for the rest of my life. We found ourselves at Wiener Eistraum, which was truly an ice skating rink out of my wildest dreams. Unfortunately, we didn’t end up ice skating, but instead, got hilariously reamed for not having cash to buy food; like I said, ALWAYS have cash. Again, memories.

Day two brought a day full of sunny skies, genuine happiness, and breakfast tacos. The best breakfast tacos I have ever had and again, I wish you could all taste them. Erich was another recommended restaurant and I am forever grateful we took up the recommendation. Next stop was Belvedere Palace, which had such similar characteristics and vibes to Versailles that we couldn’t stop comparing the whole place to Paris. It was as beautiful as ever and I couldn’t recommend it more. The weather could not have been better and the experience was nothing short of perfection.

One word: Naschmarkt. The biggest open-air market I have ever seen filled with everything from fresh fruit, beautiful flowers, baklava (reminded me of home), the best stuffed peppers, and, of course, Aperol Spritz (can you tell it quickly became our drink of choice?). It was the perfect way to fill our day and immerse ourselves into Vienna culture. The amount of people that came out on this perfectly sunny day to just sit outside was incredible. It was the happiest day filled with gratitude and spending way too much money…you only live once, right?

From our experience, Vienna wasn’t the biggest going out city, but that was everything we needed and more. The sheer calmness of it was refreshing and destressing. I could not recommend Vienna more. I’ll leave you with my own personal travel tip: walk everywhere. Even when google maps says it will be a 35-minute walk and your Uber app is calling your name, walk. You will stumble upon phenomenal places and see things you could never see from the backseat of a car. Take leaps of faith, be spontaneous, walk everywhere, cut your hair if you want to (I just did, lol) and always be kind (even when you get yelled at by people who don’t speak your language).

Until next time, XOXO

Simply Complicated