Recently I was lucky enough to be whisked away by Liam to Vienna & Budapest (well he didn't actually whisk me away but it was all his idea and he actually planned most of the holiday, which was fab 'cause I've been trés stressed lately).
Neither of us had been to Vienna or Budapest before, so we really didn't know what to expect. I have been to Austria before when I was much younger on a school trip, but that was for skiing so I didn't experience much of the bigger cities.
Firstly, we flew into Vienna. We stayed at the Mecure (side note: there are about 6 Mecure Hotels in Vienna alone, so initially we were taken to the wrong hotel...oops) which definitely wasn't like the 4 star hotels one is used to after living in Dubai for 23 years, but it was in a great location, it was clean and we got a free upgrade, so I wasn't complaining! There was plenty of room for me to bust out a morning sweat circuit to prepare myself for a day of eating!
Vienna as a city is beautiful. It has endless architectural masterpieces that honestly make you stop and gasp, and the Danube river runs along it's eastern perimeter. Definitely make your way into St. Stephen's Cathedral; if you're lucky you'll catch the choir singing, and it truly is a goose bump moment. Hofburg Palace is also beautiful, and I would highly recommend visiting the Natural History Museum if you're a massive geek like me! The Austrian Parliament Building is pretty majestic also; and make sure you explore out of the centre of the city and into the Museumsquartier, which is where you'll see the Votive Church (we were told by a taxi driver that last year someone climbed to the top and was arrested!).
One thing I would recommend to see is an Opera. Vienna is famous for it's art and music, and there are so many concerts and operas on all year round. Just one handy hint - buy your tickets in advance and make sure it's in English!! Otherwise you may be sitting there very confused!
Now to the important part - the food. We (and by we I mostly mean Liam) did. not. stop. eating. The food in Vienna is pretty amazing, with an obvious Middle Eastern influence. The Viennese are famous for their pastries and cakes, so we took it upon ourselves to try them all (duh). Obviously the apple strudel was fab (we'll come to that later) but there's also a chocolate and apricot jam cake called Sachertorte, which was all time; and filled brioche with either poppy seeds or crushed walnuts that was also scrummy. Head over to Cafe Central to try their famous apple strudel!
For a more savoury snack, the bratwhurst sausages were our go to. If you're like me and you enjoy a good sausage now and again (lol sorry there's no other way to put that!) then you will LOVE Vienna. There's little stands all over the place, selling sizzling sausages for no more than 4 Euro. If you're going all out, then opt for a sausage in a roll, if you're saving your carbs for chocolate cake then opt for a sliced sausage. Note - no sausage snack is complete without tomato sauce, mustard, sauerkraut and a gherkin!
If you're a food lover like me, then visiting the Naschmarket is a must. Not only is there plenty of trendy little cafes to chose from (we tried a couple out for breakfast and they were both fab) but there are endless stalls of fresh fruit and veg, nuts, olives, tepanades, spices, sauces, dried fruits, seafood, stuffed peppers, breads, wines...the list goes on and on. We bought so many little snacks to keep us going (like we weren't consuming enough already HA!) but mainly is was just to taste everything on offer!
For dinner, we tried out a couple of traditional Viennese restaurants. The first night Liam had Weiner Schnitzel and I had an enormous piece of salmon with veg and these delicious potatoes cooked in butter and parsley. The second night I had the famous beef goulash with a Viennese dumpling, and for once in my life I couldn't finish it! Liam had pork and dumplings, and even he was defeated. They are definitely not shy on portion size in Vienna!
Vienna is a wonderful, laid back city with a great vibe. The people are really friendly and always happy to help. Definitely a go to in my eyes! With maybe 1 or 2 more days we could have seen the further perimeters of the city, but it was great any way!
Stay tuned for my next post on Budapest!
V x
