Vienna Waits for You

Vienna officially holds the title as one of my favorite cities. After a few tourist-filled days in Prague (although I loved it), Vienna felt so calm. One of my best friends spent a year there after grad school, and she sent me a whole list of things to see, do, and (mainly) eat. “The List” gave us a plan. I love hearing what to do in a certain place from people who have spent time there. Not only do they provide the “main sights,” but also the hidden ones that I may otherwise overlook or miss.

First, I have to give a shot out to our hostel. It was run by this twenty-something named Lily who was probably the sweetest person alive. She is from South Africa, and had a lot of fascinating stories about her home. A few years ago, she was supposed to spend a year in Berlin. She had a layover in Vienna on the way, went outside, looked around, and never went back! This demonstrates the magic of this city. Anyway, this “hostel” was a beautifully decorated apartment. We slept in a cool loft over the living room! I wish I had pictures that conveyed the incredible homey feeling. What a special place. One of the reasons I love traveling revolves around the people I’ve met. We knew Lily for two days, and yet she was helpful, welcoming, and made us feel so at home. I feel like on almost every trip we meet people like her. 

Thursday was our first full day in the city. We were walking around when we saw horses and carriages. Becky is a sucker for "alternative" forms of transportation, so we decided to hop on a carriage. Our guide had a top hat and was wonderful! He definitely made the experience more than worth it, as he drove us around for over an hour, pointing out all the sights. He had a story behind every one! We were glad that we started with this, because we were able to walk back to the places he showed us after, and knew what we were seeing. 

Then we went to the cathedral...

AND, per Ashley's suggestion, I sampled Sacher's famous chocolate torte cake. DELICIOUS.

One of the highlights for me was our visit to the opera house. We didn't have the chance to see an actual opera, but we did get an awesome tour! The opera house was actually virtually destroyed during World War II, so this is the rebuilt one. Our guide had a lot of cool stories to share. Almost every show is sold out for the entire year!

We spent the rest of the afternoon just walking the streets and gardens...my favorite part of traveling involves these relaxing moments. Not cramming stuff in, but just getting a taste of the city.

Town Hall

The next morning, we visited Schonbrunn Palace! I've seen quite a few palaces in the last two months, but they are all really unique. The royal family lived here until the monarchy was ended after World War I.

And you can't leave Vienna without a trip to the zoo on the palace grounds! This zoo is the oldest running zoo in the world!

Oh you know, just chilling with my water bottle...

These monkeys were my favorite!!

The gardens really contributed to the palace's beauty. Another one of my favorite moments was my climb up to the Gloriette, this beautiful building on top of the hill behind the palace. It overlooks Vienna, and on a beautiful sunny day, it felt like Heaven. 

I absolutely want to go back to this city. I loved everything about it. Hopefully, I can pay my next visit with my friend someday so I can keep tackling her list with her!