Even though I’ve been in London for only a few months now, I haven’t yet taken advantage of the multitude of travel opportunities available with Europe being in such close proximity. This all changed this weekend when I went to visit the Christmas Markets in Vienna. The Christmas Markets, which apparently first started in this city, has spread as a tradition all throughout Europe and even has plenty of imitators back here in England. Its atmosphere is something that can only really be experienced first hand, and is highly recommend at night time, where the Gluwein (mulled wine) has its best warming effects and where the Christmas lights, trinkets, music and general atmosphere can be enjoyed at its fullest. You will definitely not run out of things to do in this city, with over six different Christmas markets in addition to all the other tourist spots.
Although I am probably naive, not having visited many other European cities, I was stunned by the amount of effort most buildings have had put into them. It seemed that each building was watched over by intricately chiselled gargoyles not to mention the lavish gold trimmings that adorned the awnings found on most of them. The Schonbrunn Palace is yet another great example of the delight that can be had from the architecture and culture of this bourgeois empire. The grounds are probably at their height in summer or spring where the large sprawling gardens, the hedge maze and the huge palace grounds come out in their greenest and would be excellent for lazily strolling around in. There is also a Zoo with one of the widest range of animals I’ve seen (including one of our Australian icons, the Koala), not to mention the ever popular tour of the palace insides.
Austria tends not to be very vegan or vegetarian friendly, with many of their national dishes containing pork or beef. A well trodden tourist spot, yet managing to stay authentic where you can consume apparently the best of one of the national dishes, the Schnitzel is Figmullers, tucked away in an alley way just behind the towering Stephensdom Cathedral. The reason it is so well known is because of the giant-sized breaded pork piece that overshadows the plate it sits upon, and is complemented well by their uniquely tasting potato salad. Although there is another Figmullers around the corner, I think the original is the best with its cosy settings and buzzing waiters and people providing the ambiance.
Cakes and pastries are big in Vienna and just down the road from Figlmullers, you can find Café Diglas, one of the better places in Vienna that serves a good Apple Strudel amongst the many other pastries and cakes on offer. The Hotel Sacher is also an essential visit, officially the home of the world renowned Sacher Torte. Though overpriced at €4.50 a slice, this light but rich tasting chocolate cake, thinly covered with apricot jam before being smothered with a chocolate ganache is best eaten with the cream served with it used to lighten each bite. The alternative is the famous chocalatier, Café Demel, that serves another version of the Sacher Cake, though is more likely to be busy because of its location on one of the main shopping streets.
Viennese coffee has an excellent reputation and there are enough cafes serving that you would have no difficulty enjoying one every morning. A place we hunted down was Café Hawelka, a place that not only serves a mean coffee, but also one that seems to be a favourite of locals. The slightly smoky, speak-easy like settings attended by waiters in suits seems like quite an appropriate place to enjoy a peaceful break from the bustling of the Christmas markets. Finally, although the best chocolate probably still lies with the Belgian or the Swiss, Vienna’s take on good chocolate is the Mozartkugeln, balls or coins of chocolate filled with a marzipan and praline cream. These gift friendly chocolates are sold all over the place, but buy them at a supermarket where they are sold at more reasonable prices.
Getting around Vienna is not difficult, with excellent public transport via the Underground, buses and trams serving all parts of central Vienna and with most parts being extremely walkable. In fact it is probably by walking around that you can full appreciate the culture that Vienna has to offer and discover the little alley ways of cafes and shops for yourself.
The photo album can be found here.
Sounds like a truly awesome time.
Definitely a lot of fun except for the 3 hour delay leaving Heathrow, getting there at 2:30 in the morning and having to get up at 4:30am yesterday to get back here for work. It was great though!
Sure does look like you had a good time… and with so many photos being food related, I’m guessing you ate well, too 🙂
I have a new favourite kuaism …
“bourgeois empire”
I’ll be using that today.
Gerrod – we certainly ate well and probably too much really. There were just not enough meals to try out all the different things, so I had to go with just taking pictures.
Oh, and I didn’t realise that “bourgeois” actually meant something different from what I thought it originally was, but I still like the sound of it (and thus leaving it in there).
Gee, and I always thought that going to a country would rectify the usual stereotypes.
let’s put a few things straight:
– indeed, the local kitchen can be very rich and full of meat dishes but cooking evolves and there are tons of things to get in good restaurants (not necessarily expensive) which are light and still delicious and have a remembrance what the classic cooking is like, etc. pp. (and btw. there are quite some restaurants throughout the city which are purely vegetarian (and of course also with vegan meals on the menu))
– oh well, ever went to the meinl market at the Graben? you should have. searching for the chocolate shelf and looking what have an austrian flag next to it, you will discover stuff like zotter (the best of course). so it’s not really mozartkugeln, that’s for the tourists. usually you won’t find stuff like that in a cupboard in an austrian kitchen
but you pretty much covered the basics of two (three?) days of vienna’s visit, but there is much more (like the flex, next time you come, go there, good night club)
and as we say in austria “servas” (sort of good bye)
You’re right about the stereotypes – perhaps it’s the guides and the touristy things that we felt obliged to do. I would definitely like to visit Vienna in the Spring or Summer and I can no doubt guess that my experience will be totally different. Thank you for your comments and your tips – I’ll be sure to try them out next time.