Berlin in Frankfurt

About a week ago, I got back from spending some time in Vienna. I have been there twice before, but never had this much time to spend and explore.

I thought I would share what I saw and most importantly ate while there just for fun and in case you ever go. Some of these recommendations were inspired by this super useful post as well as recommendations from friends who have lived in Vienna but now that I’ve experienced all of these, thought it would be fun to share.

Stuff you should see: 

• Vienna Opera House– it’s kind of sad that I still have not been on a tour or seen an opera here but it really is a beautiful building to just walk by. Some evenings when it’s nice out, they will display a video of one of the operas outside.
• Schoenbrunn Palace and Gardens is to the southwest of city center, easy access by metro. There is a fee to tour the palace, but the grounds are free to walk around. The last two times I’ve been, I stayed outside but since I was exploring by myself, I decided to buy a ticket to go into the palace and take the audio tour, which I liked because you can go at your own pace and not talk to other people 🙂

• Stephansdom is the hard to miss HUGE church in the city center – I didn’t go in this time but it is beautiful and you can climb the tower for a few euro. I also love to just sit and look at the beautiful tiled exterior roof.
• Karlskirche – I think this is the most striking and beautiful building in all of Vienna. I didn’t go inside this time but spent some time sitting and reading near the reflecting pond outside. You can actually go up an elevator to a platform in the ceiling and see all the murals painting on the dome which is a neat experience – slightly unnerving being up on scaffolding but really amazing.

• Albertina Museum – I actually had never been inside here but when I saw they had a Monet exhibit, I had to go. I am not a huge art person and generally lose interest in exhibits quickly but the Monet exhibit was so well done and much larger than I originally thought. The rest of the Albertina was lovely too and not large enough to be overwhelming.

• Globe Museum – Ever since childhood, I have always been a huge lover of globes, maps, and atlases. When I was browsing through this excellent list of things to do, I was really excited to find this one. It isn’t very big but has globes from the 1400’s through today – beautiful exhibits and only a few euro to get in.

• Belvedere Castle, just south of District 1 by train or a nice long walk (which I did). I didn’t go inside but the gardens reminded me of the Count of Monte Cristo.

• Day trip idea: Take the train from Vienna to Melk to see the Melk Abbey. Absolutely amazing and the very ornate and baroque. Be sure to have some local apricot liquor too – delicious. We also bought some sort of herbal liquor made at the monastery but have not tried it yet.

Stuff you should eat: 

• The sausage stand outside the Albertina Museum – I didn’t actually know this had a name until this visit but I always eat here a few times. My favorite order is the sausage with cilantro, curry powder, and diced onion with a white white spritzer. The lines can get long but they move fast. Sidenote: I have been eating gluten free for almost 5 years but I am not always super careful since I am not a diagnosed Celiac. However, I ate some bread at the sausage stand in a moment of weakness and within a day had sores all over my mouth. It was a good reminder of why I eat like I do and that wheat is wheat no matter where you are! Good motivation.
• Motto Am Fluss – located right on the river and very picturesque. I wasn’t terribly impressed with my entree but Jeff liked his and the view and cocktails were lovely.

• The Bank (inside the Park Hyatt) – this place was very fancy-pants and so elegant inside. The building has an interesting history too, which you can read about here. Everything we ordered was delicious but my favorite was the pumpkin soup we ordered for an appetizer. Everyone is going crazy for sweet pumpkin things and I can’t get enough savory pumpkin curry, soup, and roasted pumpkin! Sidenote- and I can’t be alone in this – but I love when places have over the top bathrooms – the Bank’s WC was amazing and kind of trippy with mirrors floor to ceiling and on every surface.

• Pizzeria Scarabocchio – the service here was meh and the waitress was a little snippy but the food was amazing. We went because they have GF pizza and pasta and it did not disappoint – delicious. Jeff had regular pizza and said it was delicious too 🙂
• Eis Greissler – gelato and sorbet (AMAZING). I don’t eat much dairy but when I do it’s something delicous like goat cheese or pumpkin side oil from this little shop. Delcious and inventive flavors.
• Sababa– I first went here five years ago when my friend Sarah took me. It’s an unassuming kebab shop but SO good and I have been back at least once each visit. I like to get the platters that have a little bit of each savory salad.

Things to Buy/Misc: 

• Julius Meinl – this is a fancy gourmet/specialty grocery store right in the city center. You can get an espresso or cocktail at the bar in the restaurant upstairs and enjoy a lovely view of people shopping down below. There was also a couple who had just gotten married having a wedding reception lunch there which was lovely to wait and seemed very Viennese and fancy 🙂  The groceries here are pricey but it’s fun to pick out some treats. I bought a box of tea, some marzipan balls and some dark chocolate.

• I wanted to go the Blaue Bar inside the famous Hotel Sacher for a drink but ran out of time/motivation but it looks beautiful. Next time!

Next I am hoping to share photos of making our apartment into a cozy home just in time for the cold weather. Hope this post made you want to go to Vienna (by way of Frankfurt of course)! ❤