Trip Report: 36 Hours in Vienna

As the end of the week approached, I had slight regrets that I had chosen to squeeze in another city rather than stay in Prague. I didn’t expect to love Prague as much as I did! I considered changing my flight but since I had a Saturday night opera ticket in Vienna, I felt I should stick with my plans.

And I’m glad I did! I love Vienna too! Basically, I just need to take an extended, real vacation rather than trying to mash as much as possible into a work trip. But I definitely made the most of this trip and had the best time, so there’s multiple ways of seeing the world.

I had two main sources for Vienna recommendations. First was this blog post from an influencer/blogger I follow. Second, I realize this sounds bougie AF, but Louis Vuitton makes some exceptional city guides. I’m not sure what causes them to review certain cities and not others, but I came across their Tokyo guide years ago and it’s really good. I don’t own any LV and I don’t expect I ever will, but the guidebooks are really great for specific itineraries, sights, and walks. There are some shopping recommendations that I don’t really pay attention to, but really, give it a chance even if you’re not normally on a first-name basis with Louie.

So, I landed in Vienna a little later than expected. It was a rainy night and I got to my hotel around 8p. I stayed at Hotel Motto, which was nice but maybe a little nicer than I needed for what was essentially a crash pad. The decor was very cute and the hotel overall was quite stylish. It was in a great location and if I had been there longer and in nicer weather, I think walking in the area would be a lot of fun.

I decided that I wanted a famous Käsekrainer mit Brot und Senf (cheese sausage with mustard in a hollowed out bun), so I headed out to the Bitzinger sausage stand near the Opera House. Yes, it was still raining and it was dark, but I was hungry and time was precious. Aka, thank goodness I was traveling by myself because I don’t know who else would agree to go.

The sausage was delicious and I walked home in the drizzle. I went to bed and the next day, slept in quite a bit! This was great since my sleep wasn’t that fantastic on this trip. I headed out around 11 and went to Schloss Schönbrunn, an absolutely gorgeous castle. If you go, I highly recommend pre-downloading the app. There’s a lot of good information and it’s easy to buy the ticket. I wish I had bought mine earlier since when I bought it on site (through the app), I had to wait 90 minutes until my entrance time. Normally, this would be fine since the grounds are gorgeous but because the rain & wind had really picked up, it was a little less fun. But still, onwards I went. I walked around the gardens. My umbrella did its valiant best but the winds really did a number on it. (Spoiler: the next day, the umbrella was too dead to pack for home.)

I walked by the Neptune fountain. More water. Check.

Then, I found my favorite cafe in all of Vienna- a dry, cozy spot in the gardens called Café Pavillon. Hooray! It was fully reserved, but also nearly empty so I was allowed to sit at a small table (a large group came in just as I was leaving). Not only did I have a dry, no wind place to sit, I also had two delightful treats. I ordered an Einspänner, a special Viennese espresso and whipped cream drink, and a Kaiserschmarrn, a dish of torn up pancake and plum jam. I hadn’t eaten, so I was glad to eat and caffeinate before heading on the castle tour.

I chose the Grand Tour- why not see as many rooms as possible? I joined the queue, scanned my ticket, and started my audio tour.

The castle tour was great! It was on the crowded side but not terrible. I tried to stay ahead of one really large group and was mostly successful, but I felt I could see everything I wanted without feeling rushed or crowded.

An aside: sometimes during trips, I only have intermittent communication with SMS. Maybe even more so on this trip b/c of the 9 hour time difference and the fact that he had visitors in town- his sister followed by his childhood friend. Anyway, I saw that taxidermied birds are a thing and I was so sad (kind of not, but kind of yes) that we hadn’t done it for Caroline bird. So I sent a real treasure of a text. He says he’s still ok with our decision to bury her.

After the tour, I headed out to the bus stop where I was really, really lucky and arrived as the bus was pulling up. I hadn’t even coordinated that so I was very happy. I hadn’t checked because I figured if there was a wait, I was just going to take an Uber because the weather was awful but no need. My public transport streak continued!

I went back to the hotel to change. There, I was trying to decide between going to the sauna or going to the Albertina. Guess what I did? This is a test if you know me at all…I went to the Albertina! I can do a sauna anytime (kind of), while the Albertina can only be done in the here and now! Go!

Because the Albertina is close to the opera house, I put on my opera outfit. The Albertina was absolutely spectacular. It’s like two attractions in one: 1. an incredible art collection focusing on 1800-1900s and 2. beautiful palace staterooms. I realized that I love art and I love palaces so really, I think I would be highly adaptable to palace life. Royalty, call me!

The main art collection on display was bequeathed to the museum by Herbert Batliner of Lichtenstein. Titled “Monet to Picasso,” it is an exceptional collection with so many major works.

There was a really neat temporary exhibit by Robert Longo, which was a career retrospective of charcoal drawings of massive scale that are so detailed that they look like photographs. They are amazing.

Next, I walked up to the State Rooms. I actually went through twice. I think I liked these rooms more than the Schönbrunn, but that’s not a completely fair comparison since I was so transfixed by the Albertina art that to have palace staterooms in addition to that was just an incredible aesthetic experience.

After the Albertina closed, I headed out for a pre-show dinner. I had read about Huth Gastwirtschaft and wanted to go. I almost chickened out because I didn’t have a lot of time and I thought I might be turned away since I did not have a reservation. But I went ahead and my gamble paid off! I sat at their one hightop and had the most delicious Wiener Schnitzel with a side of potato salad! To drink, I ordered a Grüner Veltliner, but the waiter said I should have the Gemischter Satz, which is the “Vienna wine” rather than the veltliner, which according to him is more generally Austrian. It was a great recommendation. It was a lot of food, but I was pretty hungry since all I had eaten was the king’s pancake. I ate quickly, which I felt was ok. I wasn’t rushing, but I think eating a fried food while hot is a good idea. Plus, I did have to get to the opera. Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant. It was a real treat!

After the Albertina, I was off to the opera. I had bought a box seat to Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet. I had listened to the score in the few weeks prior to the performance and I’m glad I had. It’s a little easier to appreciate when it’s not a completely new listening experience. The singers and orchestra were great and the staging was fantastic. Prior to the trip, I wasn’t sure if I’d see an opera but after a patient encouraged me, I bought a ticket. I’m glad I did it, but if you weren’t really into opera or classical music, I think it is ok to miss.

But if you do go, you should order a drink and/or snack to eat during the “pause” (intermission). I ordered a small snack and glass of sparkling that was delivered to a reserved tabletop in the Schwindfoyer links. There are several locations you can choose and I think I picked a good one! The hall was very pretty and it was a fun way to spend the pause. For part of the time, I shared my table with an older couple but we didn’t really speak other than a greeting. I have a feeling that my “Guten Abend” is so heavily accented that I might as well say in English, “I’m an American who doesn’t speak German/Austrian.”

I had a little bit of a time getting back to the hotel since I went the wrong way on the tram and I was running out of cell phone battery. Eventually, I figured it out and I was back in my dry hotel room. I took a shower, packed, and fell right asleep.

The next day I woke up, went to Motto Brot for an espresso and sandwich-to-go right as it opened at 8, then got on the subway to the city center where I caught the express City Airport Train to the airport. Everything was running that Sunday, which was not the case the next day when the rains and floods of Storm Boris caused more damage and destruction.

Leaving from Vienna was pretty seamless. My connection in Frankfort was pretty tight and that is a big airport, but I made it. The flight back to California wasn’t bad and basically, I just can’t wait to go back!