Three days to visit Vienna in 2024 (part II)

#vienna #austria #centraleurope #travelblogger #3dayitinerary

Vienna is a city of enchantment and elegance.

Gustav Mahler Tweet

Picking up where we left off, the second day in Vienna is always bound to be filled with excitement and adventures. And, for a fact, it was my first time to stay in Vienna overnight. My happiness was endless, especially after the unforgettable moments in Belgium and the Netherlands (in particular Antwerp!). Vienna definitely falls into the same category as the above-mentioned Antwerp or Barcelona. Although all three cities have their own unique experiences to offer, and vary 100% in their atmosphere, all three are European cities with a strong presence, souls of their own, if you will. You are never alone in these three cities, as the city itself will always accompany you, by walking along your side.

Transportation

Jumping out of bed in the morning, my aim was again Schwedenplatz and its surroundings. Even though it was Thursday, most shops would not open before 10AM. If you intend to wake up early, it’s probably better to eat something before leaving, Also, I never mentioned the U-bahn, or the subway. Even though it has no gates, and can easily be trespassed, this is highly unrecommendable. A daily ticket is around 7 EUR / 8 USD, and the fines for not having one are unreasonably rigorous. Also, the U-bahn connects the city with all of its outlying suburbs, at the very least by extended bus or tram lines. Wherever you decide to go, it’s wise to have an adequate ticket, as you can use it over and over again. Any maps app will tell you exactly which U-bahn lines to take, wherever you go, because, after all, we do live in the 21^stCentury AD.

Let me remind you we went to Bratislava that day. If you buy a train ticket to Bratislava, your city transport in the Slovak capital will be included for that day.

Breakfast

What’s my favorite thing to do in the morning while traveling? Why, eat some pistachio quaso and drink some cappuccino, of course! There is a number of cafés around Vienna that offer this pleasure. But beware, most of them do not open before 10AM, as mentioned. Don’t be hungry, waiting for the pastry shop to open. Not exactly sure how or why this tradition of eating croissants and drinking cappuccino in the morning came to most of the European continent from France, but it is an amazing one!

The main train station – Hauptbahnhof

The train station in Vienna’s center is an absolute craze. Even though Maja and I spent the whole second day in Bratislava, which I strongly recommend you to do, there are plentiful sights in Vienna you can visit on your three-day itinerary. The international train station is so lively, you will want to use up a couple of hours here, just to see all the stores and everything they have to offer.

How does it compare with the one in Antwerp? Well, Antwerp Central is more railway-oriented, and less shop-oriented. The scenery it offers are the picturesque sites overlooking the railroads. On the other hand, the Viennese one is probably larger, with multiple levels of railways, but it has a whole commercial center surrounding it. Also, it does not offer good and “instagramic” scenery (for the most part). Generally, it is made for commercial purposes, not for the sake of beauty.

Cafés

Aida Café was an absolute win, and a completely unexpected source of pleasure! Even though it is not the Sacher, it is said to be the home of some amazing pastries, including a really good Sacher cake. It is located in the middle of the city center, and it is surrounded by popular stores and local shops. You can easily recognize it from its floral decorations, as well as normally a huge line of people, waiting to take their seats inside. Beware, for this café, you will most likely need a reservation, any day of the week, any hour of the day.

Countless museums

As a museum-goer, Vienna to me (just like Washington D.C.) is a dream come true. That is another amazing trait of Vienna – even if the weather does not serve you well, you can always hide out in a museum, and enjoy some art, history, culture, music, or whatever your heart desires.

I want my readers to know this is the place where I stopped writing, in order to go to the airport and catch my flight to a new city (and country) I’d never been to. The updates will be posted in a few weeks, after the Vienna series, and I will continue to write once back from vacation. In the meantime, you can guess where I’ll be headed to, in the comments below.

Courageous Wanderer making people happy!

I waited for this day, on purpose, to finish writing this post, as well as to publish it. This week, a group of my good friends is visiting Vienna. Also, solely based on my recommendations, it is today that they decided to make an outing to Bratislava. They were completely shocked to hear what a great time I had visiting, and they decided to see it for themselves. The impressions I’ve received so far are great, and I wish them a lot of fun for the remainder of their excursion!

Street food

By now, it is definitely well-known I like to go to any European country, just to visit a certain burger restaurant franchise. It is also well-known that I love visiting Western Europe for its abundance of doner shops – and these are usually the only places open outside of regular working hours, meaning early in the morning, later in the evening and at night, as well as on the weekends. You’re welcome.

But what street food is so special in Vienna? As mentioned in previous posts, as a conglomerate of different cultures and the home to probably the biggest European international formation, you are bound to encounter ethnic restaurants and fast-food joints. One of my favorite ones was an Asian food joint, where they sell (among other things) a highly-nutritious salmon with rice/noodles with a choice of sauce (Teriyaki is my preference and personal recommendation), for only 10 EUR / 12 USD. This will keep you sate for quite some time, because it truly is a full meal. It is located in Schwedenplatz, so you cannot miss it, wherever you decide to go in the center.

Other excursion options

Let’s conclude this post with a few possibilities to travel somewhere for a day, outside of the Austrian capital. Bratislava was already mentioned multiple times, as the best nearby city for an outing. Don’t forget that the Hungarian capital of Budapest is also nearby, and thus it is a good potential destination as well, in particular with all the cultural monuments and unique language and customs. If you’d like a quick jump to the Czech Republic, Brno is not far away. I personally haven’t been, but have heard countless good impressions. The capital, Prague, is about 5h away by transportation, so it will not be the best 1-day excursion. Graz (a highly recommended city in Austria, by yours truly) and Salzburg (a city in the same country I’ve been wanting to go to for quite some time now) are both about 2h 30min away by transportation. Even though they are a bit further apart from Vienna than the neighboring capitals, both cities will provide a magnificent experience of enjoyment, that will not be forgotten in the near future. Also, while already visiting Austria, it is good to step away from the capital and see how the folks live in other regions, as well.

Castles

What is Vienna the most famous for, other than music? Castles, of course. In the following post, I will tell you a story of the Belvedere, including the magnificent museum inside. Schoenbrunn is also an amazing place, that I went to during my first visit to Vienna – remember, when it started snowing out of nowhere, and the whole garden became a winter wonderland. Neue Burg at Heldenplatz is the one you will have no chance of missing. If you manage to, you should be awarded a Nobel prize for orientation. In fact, on our day 3, we passed by this castle at least five times. Fortunately, unlike Belvedere and Schoenbrunn, this one is located in the city center.

Vienna is full of many other castles as well, though less popular, but nonetheless interesting and important for Austrian history. Rather than blindly following my itinerary, I invite you to do some research before your trip, and decide upon which ones will be the most important for you to visit.

Until next week, and the closure of the Viennese adventure, fall in love with a new place you’d never been to.