Chapter Wanderlust: Vienna

Vienna was the last city that I visited in Austria after visiting Salzburg and Hallstatt. It sure live up to its reputation of being clean, efficient and modern. Everything seems to be working that way that it should be. I am also kind of glad to be back in the city after visiting a couple of small towns. It is whoops, crowded to the max and people rushing here and there when I step out of the underground. Tourists everywhere, selfie sticks here and there. Kind of nice to see everyone out in the day and laughter on their face. Just to start this with a little thoughts of mine on Vienna, it is so beautiful and so clean, coming from Singapore it felt like home, a surrounding that I am used to, except that there is so much more charms and history to everything, the buildings, the people, the little horse drawn carriage that you can see right in the heart of the city. And of course the St Stephen is such a representative icon of Vienna.

 

If I had to make a living in Austria, Vienna is somewhere that I will choose, a great standard of living and an even higher quality of life, just a little dream of mine since it will probably be too expensive for me. The city is well built, public transportation are efficient and the people speaks good english. Communication is not a problem for me at all. And most importantly for us the travellers, you can’t miss having some of the step into the imperialistic past! Simply Strolling around the city and you will be attracted to the amazing architecture of the place, gorgeous and clean. Numerous fountains will sparkle your eyes, then you are drawn to the sounds of horses roaming in the city centre. I would like to describe the city as White! It feels purity. I am sure that you have these vibs too after looking at my pictures.

Of course being in Vienna, one of the most visited attractions is the Schonbrunn Palace. It is the former summer palace of the imperial empire. It is impressive, magnificent and pretty. Sad to say, it is also awfully crowded which kind of ruins your photos and sight. I guess good things are meant to be shared! It does requires a trip on the Underground to reach the place, probably takes about 15mins or so? But rest assured Vienna Underground are new, clean and efficient. As per the norm do watch out for your belongings. Soon the yellow facade building will light up in your eyes. I guess the difference in colors were chosen to made it more lively more summer like basking in the sun. I was kind of in town where the weather was a little fickle minded. It was hot and sunny on my first day and gloomy rainy for the rest. The palace grounds are free to roam although tickets are required to visit the states room and other places. Tickets comes in a range and I will recommend you to get them online if you would like to enter them! I enjoyed walking around the huge grounds and check out these pictures.

In fact you can simply get enough feasting simply by working around the inner ring of Vienna. The inner ring is a boundary of roads that circle up the city centre of Vienna. Along the rings there are many gorgeous prominent buildings that are worthy of a look. One of the best things to do is to take a leisure stroll out here.

If your legs are tired, learn from the locals, stop by for the ever famed Sachertorte Cake from Cafe Sacher. It is one of the thing that you have to do. There might be a wait though since there are the most popular cafe in Vienna. The crumbs of chocolate and berry, with a sip of Viennese Coffee. Ce La Vie! This is the counterpart to the British High Tea! I got to say the experience was amazing. Although I don’t think that it is the best cafe in Vienna!

Then check out the opera house. The Wiener Staatsoper or Vienna Opera House and company is one of the most representative ones in its field. If it is your interest, you definitely want to experience it! It is kind of pricey for the people who find it boring though! However, I did enjoyed the architecture of the building which has it roots since 1861! In fact my favourite was the Belvedere Palace and the gardens which was so amazing. I am so delighted and impressive with my sight. I actually find it better that the Schonbrunn Palace. It is a little walk from the ring road and out of the city centre but trust me, totally worth it. It is located a little up on a hill so from the palace and also the grounds you get to have a little view of the city. It is kind of impressive and so amazing for pictures. The palace was built in the 18th century and is well maintained. I had so many nice pictures take here.

Now I guess! Everyone is asking me where all those Schnitzels hovering around? After all the Wiener Schnitzels is famed in Vienna. To get the very original one, you have to head to Restaurant Figlmuller, which serves up the original, special Figlmuller Schnitzel invented over 110 YEARS AGO! There are a couple outlets in town, usually located near each other, so do not be disheartened if you find a outlets too crowded. While the price are not cheap. It cost 14.90 Euros and does not comes with any sides. While the norm is to accompany it with the potato salad, somehow I never like it in my life. I choose to grab a butter rice to go with it. What comes on your table is a Schnitzels that is bigger than any of the plates that you can find in the restaurant! Come on, seems like they have to invest in some plates huh! The glorious fried pork came with a wedge of lemon in the middle, just like it the way a century ago! It was perfectly seasoned and fried, the crust is so amazing! The pork was so lean so thin, but felt smooth at the same time! Squeeze the lemon over it to cut the grease and start figuring out where to start since it is so huge!

Another foodie haven that you can’t miss in Vienna would be the Naschmarkt. It is a huge long market that sells fresh food and fruits to clothes and dried goods. In fact there are also a couple of asian products to be found here too. Here you can find the freshest ingredients and stuff. It is amazing to walk through here. If you are feeling a little peckish, there are numerous restaurants and cafes for you to dine at too! While it is not my favourite market, it is still worth of a visit!

Here are a couple more photos of my trip in Vienna. The sights are simple a treat to my eyes. I also met up with a friend that I made earlier in Hallstatt which comes to me having these shameless photos!

Have you all been to Vienna? How do you all find it? I felt like it is a western Singapore with more charms and culture? Hope you all like it!