Following on from our film-based inspriation for exploring Vienna, we had an amazing time in the beautiful gem which is Vienna. Between the buildings, the many arched lanes and hallways (which dad always has to point out and explore), the sweets, the history and even the weather, we loved every part of Vienna.
We arrived at our hotel, the Hollmann Beletage, a quirky but cute hotel which quickly has become our favourite so far! Nice design, nice rooms, cute breakfast and inclusions and a great location.
After settling in, as has become tradition, we headed out around the area for our first glimpse of Vienna, and quickly fell in love with the city. We stumbled upon St Stephen's church, which was overwhelming... the amount of detail and work in such a building is incredible.
We then passed by the Spanish Riding School and the main shopping streets before heading to dinner.
Dinner was at a key establishment, Meissl & Schadn for Vienna's famous schnitzels (they even wrote the book on it). And what great schnitzel it was (along with great soup, sides and souffle!).
On the walk back that first night we were continuously surprised by the vistas at each street.
After a huge first afternoon, we weren't sure how well day 2 would go, but spent most of the day gazing at the city again as we explored the town (partly driven by our 'Before Sunrise' expeditions). Dad started the morning by wondering around the area to take in the city before the crowds woke up.
St Stephen's again (without the crowds)
The Plague Pit, memorialising Augustin, the drunk who woke in the plague pit (people assuming he was dead) and who survived by singing).
The family (after a nice breakfast) headed out on a mission to see more of the city. We pondered how big the people of Wien were back in the day - based on the sizes of the doors (and door hardware).
Admired some more arches and laneway to much disdain by the girls.
Before arriving at our first destination, the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library), which is renowned as one of the world's most beautiful libraries - and did not disappoint.
Next stop was a visit to the Kunsthistorischen Museum Wien, for an opportunity to explore the vast collection of antiquities. Of note from the visit, the amazing automated gifts made of gold and precious metals, the egyption artifacts (including mummy's, which we had never been up close to before) and the insta-famous cafe in the centre of the space. Some quirky pieces made the cut for the photography though!
As mentioned in the earlier post, we then visited the world's oldest Ferris Wheel and watched over Vienna from the key vantage point.
We then rounded out the night with some more Vienese delights, including Wurscht and Kaiserschmarrn before strolling back to the hotel for a much needed rest (and to watch the latest Wallace & Gromit movie which was just released!
The last full day in Vienna started a bit slower than we've become accostomed to, dad finally allowing the girls to relax for a little before starting the day! Our first stop was the bridge featured in Before Sunrise, but after that we headed to Schönbrunn Palace to get a glimpse of how the other half live!
And somehow that brings us around to the end of our 6th stop on our travels, and at this point things are starting to get a little confused! 12 more hotels to visit before the end though!
Next stop, Munich, Germany.
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