Vienna - Palaces & Weingut

After our first day whirlwind tour of Vienna, our next two days were at a slower pace and were dedicated to exploring the city's museums and palaces before venturing to the Wachau Valley. Vienna is full of things to do and see - there are a lot of museums to choose from, tons of churches and several palaces and interesting monuments. This trip to Vienna isn't our first European rodeo, so we tried to seek out a few more unusual things and spent a bit less time looking at churches and art museums. The first stop of the day was the Hundertwasser House. This building, and a few more in the neighborhood, were designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It's colorful and odd - almost fairy-tale-like.

The Hunderwater House was followed by a stroll and tram ride to the Belvedere Palace. This is a multi-building complex with an upper palace, a lower palace and a modern art museum set with gardens between. We originally weren't going to visit the art museum but it was a very hot day in Vienna (over 90*F) and air conditioning sounded pretty great so we caved and spent about 45 minutes inside the Upper Belvedere. The museum was very nice with a collection of Middle Age to modern art, with several 19th and 20th century Klimt pieces, which were very popular because he was Austrian.

Hundertwasser House.

Front of the Upper Belvedere.

Medieval piece with a motley cast of characters.

Napoleon being not short on a horse. This one is in lots of history books.

Obviously the museum was very palatial.

View from the upper towards the lower Belvedere through the gardens.

David having a good time in front of the upper Belvedere.

The lower Belvedere - we didn't go into this museum which was mostly special exhibitions.

By now it was way past lunch time, so we jumped another tram to grab some lunch near a brew-house that we marked on our travel map. After getting some bad Italian food at Pizzeria La Gondola, we made it to 7 Stern Brau. The pub had a nice backyard beer garden with automatic misters, which helped in the heat. Despite it being hot, most things in Austria weren't air conditioned, so sitting inside most restaurants or bars wasn't ideal and we avoided it for nearly the entire trip.

After having a beer we found a little Mexican shop and peaked inside. We're always curious what Europeans think of Mexico. Our experience has generally been that they have no idea about Mexican food or goods. The shop had a few craft beers imported from Mexico, lots of imported Mexican food products, and tons of hard taco shells - because white people. Overall this trip, we'd say we saw more Mexican things than in any other European trip. Maybe Europe is finally catching on to the joys of Mexico? Or maybe it's something about Vienna - there were more cuisine types from around the world here than in other places we've visited in Europe except London. Oddly enough, the woman working in the Mexican shop was Colombian. We chatted with her for a bit, since we'll be visiting Bogota later this year.

Beer vending machine, because why not?

Halfway decent beers.

Paul enjoying some beer in the garden courtyard.

Clearly Paul is a polyglot.

Cute little Mexican store.

After lunch, beer and shopping we walked through the MuseumsQuartier to visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum. This must-see museum features art and artifacts from Europe and the near-east spanning from ancient Egypt, to Greece and Rome all the way to 20th century art and sculpture. We spent several hours there, as it's a pretty huge building.

After visiting the Kunsthistorisches Museum, we walked to the nearby Rathaus (city hall) past the Austrian parliament (which was heavily under renovation). The Rathaus hosts a summer film festival and there were dozens of food and drink vendors in the courtyard. The vendors varied from Austrian, Italian, Greek, Mexican and various Asian cuisines. A huge screen and lots of seating were set up in front of the Rathaus and movies were played at night. It was a great festive scene but since we visited in the afternoon we didn't have a chance to watch a movie or grab a bite this time around.

Outdoor space in an old bus parking area in the MuseumsQuartier.

Kunsthistorisches Museum - a mirror image of the Natural History Museum we visited the day before.

Great collection of Egyptian artifacts in a more traditional setting than the Munich Egyptian Museum.

Tons of Roman and Greek statues.

A piece of art by Klimt to celebrate the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

Tower of Babel by Bruegel 

Seating and vendors near the Rathaus for the Vienna summer film festival.

After heading back to the AirBnB for a bit of a break, we ventured out to find some dinner. We took a tram to a neighborhood north and west of the city center to a restaurant called Am Nordpol 3 (weird name, we know). The menu here was all in handwritten German and gave David a bit of a panic attack. After the waiter realized we were somewhat clueless she ran back with some printed English menus (phew). The restaurant is near a large park and has a huge outdoor seating area, good food and lots of drinks. We'd recommend this place if you're eager to get out of the tourist areas and try some Viennese cuisine with the locals.

After dinner we took the tram back to the innere stadt, got some gelato and took an evening stroll. Vienna is a very picturesque city and the innere stadt is especially walkable and delightful. Make sure if you visit you dedicate lots of time to just exploring!

In Austria potato is the only vegetable you'll find easily.

Of course there was gelato before bed. We're not savages!

A lot of the buildings are dramatically lit at night, including the main cathedral.

St. Peter's church.

Lots of plazas and shopping areas in the innere stadt.

A beautiful Vienna alley at night.

Friday was our last full day in Vienna. There were still a ton of things we wanted to see, but knew we didn't have the time. We also knew we'd be back for a few hours toward the end of the trip, so we decided to focus on one big thing and then attend a party for Nate and Mavish the evening before their anniversary shindig.

We started the day at Schönbrunn Palace, a UNESCO site on the south side of town. This impressive 1,400 room palace was the Hapsburg's summer home and was essentially Vienna's Versailles. Our audioguide tour was excellent and included 40 rooms - which was very manageable. The tour included access to some special sections of the massive gardens, which are otherwise free to enter as a city park. It was a rainy day so we didn't spend too much time exploring the gardens or the nearby neighborhoods. Overall, if you can only visit one palace in Vienna, we'd recommend you visit Schönbrunn. It doesn't take too long to see (unless you spend a lot of time in the sprawling gardens) and you can get a real sense of how the Austrian royalty lived. It was very crowded - make sure you book a time-slot at least a day ahead.

Hazelnut cake and a cappuccino in front of Schönbrunn.

One of the palace's side gardens. 

Paul in front of the Gloriette.

Schönbrunn Palace and gardens from atop the Gloriette - worth the climb.

Avocado toast. I.E the reason older adults think millennials are poor.

After visiting Schönbrunn, we went to the Roman Museum, which was pretty close to our AirBnB. David loves Roman history, so we knew we had to give it a visit. The museum was small but included some exhibits on the Roman foundation of Vienna as a military base on the Danube (which was the far border of the empire). It also included some ruins from the fort under the city streets.

Part of the old Roman fort that evolved over time into Vienna.

Street scene near our AirBnB.

After heading back to the AirBnB for a bit of a break, we ventured out to meet Nate and Mahvish at Heuriger Feuerwehr Wagner Weingut Grinzing Wien. This place is a heuriger - which means they a tavern that makes their own wine. All along the northern edge of Vienna are lots of small vineyards. These vineyards mostly produce small amounts of wine that they sell in heuriger on the edge of Vienna. Weinguts are similar to beer gardens in that they have large outdoor spaces with seating and lots of trees and flowers. We spent most of the evening here drinking wine, eating tons of schnitzel and watching a world cup match under an awning when it started to thunderstorm after sunset. Most evenings in Vienna featured some thunderstorms and this night was the worst - with a few hours of rain and lightning.

Cobblestone entry to the weingut.

One of the house wines.

A feast of schnitzel and potatoes!

We wrapped up our final full day in Vienna, and prepared to head off to the Wachau Valley in a rental car the next morning.

Vienna Day One - Innere Stadt and Prater

After a day in Munich, we took a 4 hour train ride to Vienna. It was a very nice ride with pretty towns and countryside which included some views of the Alps. We arrived in Vienna's new train station early in the afternoon and made our way to our AirBnB in the inner ring of the city. The AirBnB was cute, with a small kitchenette, a living room, a bedroom and a bathroom complete with a German shelf toilet. We didn't waste much time before heading out to explore the city. Vienna has tons of sights, museums, parks, and cafes.

A cute town along the way. The train ride was very scenic.

Countryside and Alps from the train.

To start, we went on a whirlwind tour of the center city's main sites. Our first stop in Vienna was the Jesuit church, just a short walk from our AirBnB. It has an over-the-top early-Baroque interior from 1705... with a lot of pink. We continued on to Stephansdom, the main church of the city. It has a unique colorful tile roof. We climbed up the south tower for sweeping views.

The outside of the Jesuit Church.

Interesting perspective paintings on the ceiling.

Pink spiraling columns.

The front facade of Stephansdom.

The soaring gothic/romanesque interior.

Climbing up the never-ending spiral staircase.

Views over the historic center of Vienna.

The distinctive tile roof makes this church a symbol of Vienna.

More of the tile roof, with the Austrian double-headed eagle.

We had a late lunch followed by more exploration of the historic city center, walking through parts of the Hofburg (the Hapsburg's palace) including the imperial treasury museum. The center part of Vienna is very walkable. There are shops and restaurants everywhere along with numerous museums and historic sites. The government has done a great job maintaining this portion of the city to encourage tourism and maintain a 19th century look.

Lunch at Gasthaus Poschl.

The center of Vienna is cute.

The main building of Hofburg Palace, which served as the seat of the government for the past 600 years.

In the Hofburg entrance. There are carriages all around the center of the city.

An imperial crown in the treasury.

Nothing to see here! Just a snake eating a baby.

Another part of the Hofburg. It's a large complex.

Don't you point at me.

One thing that's immediately noticeable walking around Vienna is how great the public transportation is and how bike-friendly it is. Many of the streets had separate bike tracks, and there was an easy to use comprehensive system of streetcars and subways. We ended up using transit quite a bit, but also walked all over the place. As you move out from the inner circle there are more modern buildings and more trams and subway stations, but the city never loses its walkability and charm.

Our next stop was the natural history museum (Naturhistorisches Museum), a huge museum occupying an old palace. It's a part of Vienna's massive museum quarter; adjacent to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Leopold Museum and the Mumok. The building itself is a mirror image of the adjacent Kunsthistorisches Museum and is very impressive. There were a combination of old-school exhibits and some that have been updated relating to geology, biology, taxonomy and astronomy.

Plenty of good bike and transit infrastructure. 

The impressive view of the museum.

An, umm... interesting statue on the outside of the natural history museum.

An old rock and mineral exhibit.

Dinosaurs!

The main hall of the museum.

Our final stop of the day was Praterpark, one of the world's oldest amusement parks. It operates more like a permanent fair: entry is free, but you need to buy a ticket for each ride, which are independently owned and not particularly cheap. If you want to ride everything here it can add up. The park also hosts one of the oldest ferris wheels, from 1897.

After visiting Prater, we grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant near our AirBnB. Viennese food is very meat and salt heavy, with few veggies. David had some vegetarian dumplings and Paul ate a beef stew-like dish. No schnitzel today, but plenty to come later during our stay in Austria.

Paul at the park entrance.

The impressive Olympia Looping Bahn.

The 1897 ferris wheel, a symbol of Vienna.

Walking by the Danube canal on the way back to our AirBnB.

A late dinner at Griechenbeisl, one of the oldest inns in Vienna.

Our first day was a great introduction to Vienna. We have two more days here before an anniversary party at a castle in the Wachau Valley.

A Day in Munich

We were invited by Paul's friends Nate and Mahvish to their ten year wedding anniversary party along the Danube River in Austria, so we're making a week of it! We flew in to Munich and spent a day exploring the city, and now are on our way to Vienna and hopefully a visit to Bratislava.

After landing at 8:30am we caught the train into Munich and dropped our bags off at our hotel, the Pension am Jakobsplatz. Paul visited Munich was back in 2000, but this is David's first visit to Germany. The first thing we noticed was how much construction there was all over town. Buildings are being renovated and new mid-rises are being built. Germany's strong economy is pretty obvious as you approach the city by train. Our hotel was located just off Marienplatz, the historic center of the city, home to the Neues Rathaus (new city hall). Neues Rathaus also holds the glockenspiel, a 19th century bell-tower with carved figures that dance to music on the hour. A large area in central Munich is mostly pedestrian-only, making it a pleasant city to walk or bike around. It's also incredibly clean and organized.

Neues Rathaus of Munich.

The street with our hotel. The colored tiles are a monument to LGBT Germans that were murdered by the Nazis.

An appropriate first meal in Germany! Buttered pretzel with chives.

View from the Rathaus bell-tower.

The Frauenkirche, consecrated in 1494.

Everyone and their brother taking a picture of the dancing clock-tower characters.

After hanging out in the city center for a little bit, we decided to stroll over to the museum district and then over to the Englishcen Garden. Munich has several large museums and we only had time to visit one today. Paul loves Egyptian artifacts, so we elected to visit the Munich Egyptian Museum. The museum was very modern with a small but well curated collection of artifacts. We'd highly recommend this museum if you're interested in ancient Egypt. It's in a new-ish bruitalist building that is mostly underground.

After the museum, we took a 15 minute stroll to the Englishcen Garden. This park, larger than Central Park in New York, goes northeast from near the city center. The park is full of forests, fields and creeks, a couple of large beer gardens, and even hosts man-made rapids that people use for surfing! It was full of people even mid-day on a Tuesday.

Sarcophagi at the Munich Egyptian Museum. 

Englischer Garden scene.

Surf's up!

Some people were better than others, but it looks like a lot of fun!

Lake and flowers.

Chinese pagoda with adjacent beer garden - because Germany!

Lots of streams and greenery.

After strolling through the park for an hour or so, we had a quick currywurst lunch and went back to the hotel. At this point we were exhausted from not sleeping on the plane. We cleaned up and looked around for some snacks to take back to the room, settling on Eataly nearby our hotel and took a nap after watching the Sweden v Switzerland World Cup match (Sweden won). We both woke up to go watch the England v Colombia game in a local bar. This game was super exciting with Colombia equalizing very late in the game to go to overtime and eventually penalty kicks. The bar was mostly filled with non-Germans but every time Colombia missed a good opportunity one table of Germans yelled "NEIN!" Guess they didn't care for England. :)

Late lunch of currywurst, fries and beer in the cute little courtyard at Alles Wurscht.

Watching the Colombia v England match at Paulaner Im Tal.

Rathaus at night. Munich is well lit and very pretty.

Why aren't there more things like this in America?!

Next stop Vienna!

One day in Munich is obviously not enough time. We're sandwiching our trip with this Bavarian metropolis so we'll be back in a week with another day in Munich to finish up the trip.