Vienna: we have lots left to see

After spending three days in Venice we headed to Vienna. Vienna was a great city and felt vastly different from Venice. I think it's partly because we were back in a country with a strong Germanic influence, leading to much more order and what felt like less chaos.

We flew into Vienna in time for dinner and found a great spot, thanks to my Trip Advisor app. We dined at a traditional Viennese restaurant called Zum weissen Rauchfangkehrer. The food and service were great- we had Wiener schnitzel, veal, beef tartar and a couple of other things. A note about Wiener schnitzel- you may think this is a traditional German dish. In reality it comes from Vienna. In German Vienna is called Wien, hence schnitzel from Vienna.

Traditional Viennese Restaurant

The next morning we ventured out to Schonbrunn Palace via the subway. Public transportation is very easy in Vienna and I would recommend the bus, tram or subway to get around. The palace was massive. I'm not sure if you can make advance reservations or not, but I don't think you need them. We purchased tickets there and were able to get right in. The palace also has a complimentary audio tour that gives you information about the rooms, furniture and art you're viewing. I found it really interesting that Austria ultimately ousted the Habsburgs, but they have a lot of museums, monuments and other sites that focus on this family. I guess it's because so much of their history is wrapped up in this family.

After we toured the palace we also toured around the gardens, park area and a large monument opposite from the castle that is also part of the property.

Schonbrunn Palace

The rest of the day was spent exploring Old Town. Vienna has a nice pedestrian area in the center of the city, which is great to wander around in. The city also has some amazing cathedrals. St. Stephen is probably the one that is most well known. It is in Old Town and is huge. We did a tour of the catacombs, which was really interesting, and included seeing bone yards and various rooms where people were buried in mass graves under the church. Additionally, the four of us climbed to the top of the South Tower and enjoyed an unobstructed view of Vienna from the top. The picture below is of another cathedral not too far from St. Stephen that had a beautiful interior.

Our final day in Vienna was spent wandering around to various sights we wanted to see. Vienna a city where I feel we barely scratched the surface. We walked through the Stadt (City) Park, saw the grounds of Belvedere Palace and Museum, then headed to Museum Quarter. 

Mozart statue in Museum Quarter

Vienna has so many museums- I'm not sure how long it would take you to get through them all. For our last day we chose to see the Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum and Silver Collection. These three museums are all connected in one, so it's easy to move from building to building, and again, they provide a great audio tour with your ticket. It was interesting again to learn more about the Habsburgs and the life they led before being ousted from the country.

I really liked Vienna and would enjoy the chance to go again, as I feel there is so much we didn't get to see. After museums and a quick lunch we grabbed a train to Salzburg, arriving there just in time for dinner.