After the Bratislava bus debacle, Katie and I finally made it to the Vienna Bus Center where we then decided to just Uber to our hotel! As we approached our hotel, we were greeted by large crowds, beautiful Christmas lights, and tons of stalls selling Christmas trinkets! We were exhausted and couldn't wait to hit the hay, but it made us excited for what was in store for us all day tomorrow!
Hotel Pension Residenz
Our first night of sleep in a real bed, allowing my body to mildly recover from sleeping on an airport bench, was absolutely needed! Our hotel room was dated, but still nice; it was also an unmanned hotel, similar to many of the hotels we stayed at throughout Japan.
I have to admit, Katie is a bargain travel agent when it comes to booking flights and hotels; we both agree that we will cut corners with flights (maybe not to the extreme she did this time around) and we will stay in cheaper hotels in order to make the most of the rest of our trip worthwhile! I've got to give it to her, she does find us great hotel locations for good prices!
Café Landtmann
Katie and I's first stop of the morning was at Cafe Landtmann, where we splurged on a nice brunch. This place was definitely high-class! We left our coats with the coat attendant and were quickly seated in this fancy brunch spot.
We split a ham & cheese omelet and a delightful yogurt with a berry parfait, topped with tart berries and cinnamon oats (you can tell which was my favorite just based on my choice of adjectives), while I enjoyed an Irish coffee and Katie had a latte.
Rathausplatz Christmas Market
Conveniently located across the street from our brunch spot, and just a 3-minute walk away from our hotel is our first-ever Christmas market, Rathausplatz Christmas Market, the largest Christmas market in Vienna. From 11:30 am until 2:30 pm, Katie and I walked around, checking out each individual stall, smelling all of the delicious food and beverage options, making a list of things we'd want to buy, and most of all, getting into the Christmas spirit!
One thing we were informed of before traveling was that each individual Christmas market in Europe sells mulled wine in a themed mug with the market's name on it, so of course Katie and I had to grab a few drinks to check it out! After waiting in line to grab a Langos (Hungarian fried bread covered in butter and garlic) and two mulled wines, we found a table to enjoy our snack and marvel at our new cups!
Votivkirche
Following our snack, Katie and I walked back to our hotel to drop off our purchases before heading further into town to check out some of Vienna's other Christmas markets. Along the way, we ran across Votivkirche, a Neo-Gothic-style church that reminded Katie and I of Notre Dame!
Of course, Katie wanted a picture in front of the church, while I was more focused on the stunning fall colors falling from the surrounding trees. One thing I miss about North Carolina is the changing trees in the fall, so seeing these beautiful colors made me VERY happy!
Am Hof Christmas Market
Our next stop was at Am Hof Christmas Market, a traditional German Christmas market located in a beautiful square in northern Vienna. Katie and I purchased our mulled wine (and of course collected the mug) and also split a pumpkin soup served in a bread bowl! This is the closest Katie is getting to Panera soup this season, and dang, was it good!
Plague Column: Wiener Pestsäule
After our second market of the day, Katie and I decided to explore some of this beautiful city before heading to our third market! Katie and I stopped at a bookstore to grab a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone written in German (woohoo, our second book of the trip!)
We then found ourselves on the Graben, one of Vienna's most famous streets, filled with tourists perusing through the numerous luxury shops! In the middle of the street was the Plague Column (also known as Trinity Column), a beautiful sculpture built in 1694 giving thanks to the Holy Trinity for ending the Bubonic Plague in the city in 1683.
Hofburg Palace
Our last stop before our next market was Hofburg Palace; Hofburg has been the documented seat of government for the Austrians since its construction in 1279. It has expanded numerous times over the years and since 1946 it has served as the residence and workplace for the Austrian President.
Katie and I had no idea we were visiting Austria's "White House" as we were walking through the building! When we realized it later, I was shocked at the lack of security- we were just allowed to prance around the premises without a care in the world! We definitely aren't in America!
Puerstner: Restaurant Pürstner
For dinner, we visited Puerstner, on the recommendation of Mr. Randy and Mrs. Shannon Foy, who ate here during their visit a few months back. While there, Katie enjoyed Zwiebelrostbraten, roast beef smothered in gravy and covered in fried onions, while I had the national dish, Wiener Schnitzel, veal cutlet breaded and deep fried. The food was wonderful and paired well with my Austrian wheat beer and Katie's red wine! Thanks for the recommendation Foys!
Stephansplatz Christmas Market
Our final market for the day was Stephansplatz Christmas market, held outside of St. Stephen's Cathedral, which is one of the tallest churches in the world with a tower height of 448 ft. As we enjoyed our mulled wine (in our third different mug of the evening), we marveled at the lights while fighting the crowds in the shadow of this grand church.
One thing I can say we learned: visit the Christmas markets during the day. While the markets are beautiful at night, the crowds are 10x larger and the lines for mulled wine are infinite. As we plan future Christmas Market visits in the future, Katie and I will visit the market during the day to shop, and then return at night to take in the beautifully lit surroundings. Lesson learned!
Vienna State Opera: Wiener Staatsoper
Now, for the grand event for the evening: in true Viennese fashion, Katie and I bought tickets to see Le Grand Macabre, an opera making its premier at the Vienna State Opera. Katie and I were excited for two reasons: A) we love theater productions and B) the opera scenes from Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation were filmed at the opera house! This will be Katie and I's first opera, so we had no idea what to expect. We got there early to take in the stunning architecture and design of the building before going to our seats.
For our fellow MI fans, here's a little clip of the Vienna Opera House from the film. Be on the lookout for the stunning exterior shot, and the famous green carpeted stairs that Benji walks up!
Y'all know Katie was all up in her feelings getting to see this place! It is truly a stunning Opera House.
As we sat down, we noticed on a little screen in front of each seat that you could select your language preference. When the show began, the screen in front of us played English subtitles for the show, which was entirely in German.
After about 15 minutes, Katie and I knew we had made a mistake and there was no way we would be sitting through 2.5 hours of this. For starters, we didn't know what they were saying, and the subtitles on our screens didn't help; we had absolutely no clue what was going on.
Then, the choreography was weird and made no sense, the stage props looked cheap, and I felt like it was less opera singing and more just opera talking. Nothing about this was enjoyable. The 20 dancers ran around on stage flopping about, while the three main opera singers sang/talked the lyrics. Once the giant inflatable donkey came out on stage, we knew we had seen enough.
Katie and I left at intermission wondering why we thought going to an opera, entirely in German, was a good idea. As we grabbed our jacket from the coat closet clerk, we couldn't help but giggle like schoolgirls at what we had just watched. But hey, we can say we have sat through (half of) an opera. Not our finest cultural moment!
Rathausplatz Christmas Market
Well, since we had a few hours of our schedule open up last minute, Katie and I decided to walk back towards our hotel and check out Rathausplatz Christmas Market again at night. As we approached, we enjoyed watching ice skaters making laps around the ice skating track before venturing into the market.
I'm glad we decided to visit earlier in the day, because the crowds were absolutely insane at Vienna's main market. Katie and I each grabbed a mulled wine and made a short lap around the market before deciding it wasn't worth sacrificing our personal space to see the market all over again. We made our way back to our hotel, enjoying the lights from the edge of the square, exhausted from a day well spent.
Vienna International Airport: Flughafen Wien
The next morning we grabbed an Uber to the airport, where we quickly made it through security and found an airport lounge to enjoy breakfast before boarding our 11:30 am flight back to Sevilla. Along the 3.5-hour journey back to southern Spain, I was sure to grab some pictures of the Alps from my window! Having a direct flight home was a huge bonus, too!
What an awesome way to spend a three-day weekend: seeing two new countries and experiencing our first European Christmas Markets together. Thanks for tagging along and stay tuned for more journeys to come.
Prost! (FYI: that's cheers in German!)
--Bryan
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