{"id":267,"date":"2005-12-13T01:01:04","date_gmt":"2005-12-13T01:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/?p=267"},"modified":"2012-03-05T22:17:34","modified_gmt":"2012-03-05T22:17:34","slug":"267","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/","title":{"rendered":"Viennese Christmas Markets"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Christmas<\/a>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. <\/p>\n

\"Viennese<\/a>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.<\/p>\n

\"Schnitzel<\/a>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. <\/p>\n

Cakes and pastries are big in Vienna and just down the road from Figlmullers, you can find Caf\u00c3\u00a9 Diglas<\/a>, 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<\/a> is also an essential visit, officially the home of the world renowned Sacher Torte. Though overpriced at \u00e2\u201a\u00ac4.50 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, Caf\u00c3\u00a9 Demel<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n

\"Coffee<\/a>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 Caf\u00c3\u00a9 Hawelka<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

The photo album can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[68],"class_list":["post-267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel","tag-travel"],"yoast_head":"\nViennese Christmas Markets - thekua.com@rest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Viennese Christmas Markets - thekua.com@rest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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 […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"thekua.com@rest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2005-12-13T01:01:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-03-05T22:17:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.thekua.com\/gallery\/albums\/uploaded\/2005Vienna\/thumb_174_7493.JPG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Patrick\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Patrick\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Patrick\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6de103b28f96be3f1f4dc25db357c6ae\"},\"headline\":\"Viennese Christmas Markets\",\"datePublished\":\"2005-12-13T01:01:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-03-05T22:17:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":757,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6de103b28f96be3f1f4dc25db357c6ae\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.thekua.com\\\/gallery\\\/albums\\\/uploaded\\\/2005Vienna\\\/thumb_174_7493.JPG\",\"keywords\":[\"Travel\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Travel\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/\",\"name\":\"Viennese Christmas Markets - thekua.com@rest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.thekua.com\\\/gallery\\\/albums\\\/uploaded\\\/2005Vienna\\\/thumb_174_7493.JPG\",\"datePublished\":\"2005-12-13T01:01:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-03-05T22:17:34+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.thekua.com\\\/gallery\\\/albums\\\/uploaded\\\/2005Vienna\\\/thumb_174_7493.JPG\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.thekua.com\\\/gallery\\\/albums\\\/uploaded\\\/2005Vienna\\\/thumb_174_7493.JPG\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/2005\\\/12\\\/267\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Viennese Christmas Markets\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/\",\"name\":\"thekua.com@rest\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6de103b28f96be3f1f4dc25db357c6ae\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6de103b28f96be3f1f4dc25db357c6ae\",\"name\":\"Patrick\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/pat-kua-head.png\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/pat-kua-head.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/pat-kua-head.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Patrick\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/pat-kua-head.png\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.thekua.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thekua.com\\\/rant\\\/author\\\/patrick\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Viennese Christmas Markets - thekua.com@rest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Viennese Christmas Markets - thekua.com@rest","og_description":"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 […]","og_url":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/","og_site_name":"thekua.com@rest","article_published_time":"2005-12-13T01:01:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-03-05T22:17:34+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.thekua.com\/gallery\/albums\/uploaded\/2005Vienna\/thumb_174_7493.JPG","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Patrick","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Patrick","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/"},"author":{"name":"Patrick","@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/#\/schema\/person\/6de103b28f96be3f1f4dc25db357c6ae"},"headline":"Viennese Christmas Markets","datePublished":"2005-12-13T01:01:04+00:00","dateModified":"2012-03-05T22:17:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/"},"wordCount":757,"commentCount":7,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/#\/schema\/person\/6de103b28f96be3f1f4dc25db357c6ae"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.thekua.com\/gallery\/albums\/uploaded\/2005Vienna\/thumb_174_7493.JPG","keywords":["Travel"],"articleSection":["Travel"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/","url":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/","name":"Viennese Christmas Markets - thekua.com@rest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.thekua.com\/gallery\/albums\/uploaded\/2005Vienna\/thumb_174_7493.JPG","datePublished":"2005-12-13T01:01:04+00:00","dateModified":"2012-03-05T22:17:34+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.thekua.com\/gallery\/albums\/uploaded\/2005Vienna\/thumb_174_7493.JPG","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.thekua.com\/gallery\/albums\/uploaded\/2005Vienna\/thumb_174_7493.JPG"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/2005\/12\/267\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Viennese Christmas Markets"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/","name":"thekua.com@rest","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/#\/schema\/person\/6de103b28f96be3f1f4dc25db357c6ae"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/#\/schema\/person\/6de103b28f96be3f1f4dc25db357c6ae","name":"Patrick","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/pat-kua-head.png","url":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/pat-kua-head.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/pat-kua-head.png","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Patrick"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/pat-kua-head.png"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.thekua.com"],"url":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/author\/patrick\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2760,"href":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267\/revisions\/2760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thekua.com\/rant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}