Drinking coffee in Vienna

Coffee. Dressing up. Palaces. Opera.

Three of the above four are some of my favourite things. Can you guess which one isn’t?

Hint: Pavarotti was my everything.

Vienna, however is known for all of these things. It felt quite classy and aristocratic, as we walked the streets marvelling at the old buildings, expensive cars and the well-dressed citizens. As soon as we arrived we embarked on a ‘Walk and Fork’ tour, different to a usual walking tour in that we sit down and enjoy a traditional meal to conclude our outing.

We walked through the Naschmarkt – a market housing fresh foods and various restaurants – observed the State Opera House, the Monument against War and Fascism, St Stephen’s Square and cathedral, Roman ruins, the Austrian Parliament building, and a statue of Maria Theresa among many other sights. We definitely would not have seen all of these had we not done the tour.

Walk and Fork? More like Walk and Talk

Walking through the Naschmarkt

Monument against War and Fascism

Outside the cathedral

It's the Harry Potter dining hall! Jokes, it's inside the cathedral

Statue of Maria Theresa, only female ruler of the Habsburgs. She also gave birth to 16 children!

Then came the best part, dinner! We were treated to a traditional Wiener schnitzel with salad and chips, flowed by hot apple strudel. Yum, yum, get in my tum.

Huuuuuge schnitty

Another huge schnitzel, and although it was nice, it still couldn’t beat the one we had in Berlin. Sorry, Vienna.

One of my favourite things about Vienna is the coffee house culture. It is perfectly acceptable, if not expected, to get dressed up, go down to a coffee house and sit and drink coffee for hours on end.

A grand Coffee House

When we did this I thought I’d stray from my usual skinny latte and try a different Viennese coffee. I ended up ordering a ‘Schokocino’ which was a dark chocolate cappuccino with caramel topping and cream. I enjoyed it, but next time I think I’ll have a regular cappuccino.

Being adventurous

Smile and pretend you like it!

Another sight to check out in Vienna is the Schönbrunn Palace, and it is easily accessible by the metro. It was the summer palace of the old ruling family, the Habsburgs, and it has 1441 rooms. Can someone tell me why they needed that many rooms? They didn’t need a home cinema, pool or a PlayStation room. Maybe it was for all their shoes. Ok, that makes sense.



Oh, that silly old thing? It's just our summer palace

Making my grand entrance to the ball. What do you mean green jeans aren't part of the dress code?

We didn’t actually go inside the palace but the building was huge. We walked through the gardens and around numerous fountains, and weren’t even close to seeing it all. It just kept on going. From what I hear through, we probably should have gone inside!

Getting lost in Burke's Backyard

I dare you to spear tackle me in

The hostel we stayed in was also one of our best yet. The Wombats City Hostel at the Naschmarkt was clean, modern, and had one hell of a bar. Although we often missed happy hour, cocktails were discounted for most of the night, and the usual highlight of the night was the Jager train. It was five Jager-bombs for €10 or something ridiculous, and the bar would be full from beginning to end lined up with drinks.

Looks can be deceiving

Round One

Round Two. What do you mean we have to catch the bus tomorrow?

So I guess you’ve realised that I’m not into opera having avoided writing about it. But the State Opera House in Vienna, Staatsoper, is impressive and one of the busiest in the world. Those not wanting to pay the large sum to be seated at the opera can opt for cheaper standing tickets. Worth checking out if that’s what you’re into!

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Vienna, although the three of us were sick with colds for most of it, and were so tired one day we went straight to bed without dinner, trying to convince the sweet young boys in our room to bring us Maccas. Also try to be aware of public holidays, as nothing is open! We found this out the hard way, but our bank accounts probably thanked us for it. More money to spend on my coffee habit.

Nik-spresso