Vienna, Austria
Ten things I high-key loved. Three things I low-key didn't. And three that landed in the middle.
He!!o
Ten things I L O V E D about Vienna, Austria in no particular order:
Roy Lichtenstein at The Albertina
Grüner Veltliner
Schönbrunn Palace
Naschmarkt
Hotel Bristol
Biscoff Cookie Gelato
St. Stephens Cathedral
Street Sausage + Wiener Schnitzel1
~ Elaborations ~
#1. “GOOD GOD IT’S A LICHTENSTEIN!!” ~ Larry to Richard, upon arrival to Bernie’s beach house, prior to realizing Bernie is dead.
Our visit to The Albertina Museum was spontaneous and one of my favorite things we did in Vienna.
We immersed ourselves in Roy Lichtenstein’s “A Centennial Exhibition”
A founding figure of Pop Art, he is an immensely talented and celebrated artist. I am a big fan of his work and intrigued by his philosophy.
He wants to portray a lack of awareness for certain complexities in regards to what is influencing society; where advertising dominates and he recognizes our desire to sell products is rampant.
I don’t know when he said that quote, or if I’ve interpreted it in an exacting manner. He was alive from 1923 - 1997. An ever present polarizing theme if I’ve heard one!
We took in a few more exhibits —
Eva Beresin “Thick Air”
Monet to Picasso “The Batliner Collection”
#3. There is so much to do at Schönbrunn Palace. We booked tickets in advance for 10:30 am. During a fascinating audio guided tour you will learn about the prominent Habsburg Dynasty, the Emperors, the Imperial Heritage and most importantly, Sissi (Empress Elizabeth) who was married off at age 16 to her older cousin King Franz Joseph I. Yes, I said cousin. Yes, things get weird. We loved this tour.
Explore the grounds and take in the Palace at different vantage points, where you’ll find sumptuous rose gardens, handsome fountains, hedge mazes and even a zoo! (We skipped the zoo).
#4. The Vienna Naschmarkt was a really good idea. (Thank you, Arik!) It was also a short walk from our hotel.
Forgoing Viennese food in this instance, my friend who is GF had a tip to get pizza while she was in Europe. Al Bacio, Pizzaeria am Naschmarkt delivered. I drank a dreamy Negroni Sbagliato2 alongside dueling pizzas: burrata, tomato, arugula + prosciutto, and fiori di zucca (zucchini flower).
It started to downpour and we ducked into a biergärten surrounded by awnings of farmers market goods and spices to wait out the rainstorm.
#5. Hotel Bristol. Location, loca….you get it. We were within jumping distance from the Opera House, hopping distance to the The Albertina, a jaunt in one direction to St Stephens and the other to Naschtmarkt. The Bristol is completely regal and ritzy, full of old world splendor and floor to ceiling marble bathrooms. We had a martini at the fancy Bristol Bar, worth a pop-in if you’re seeking a pre-opera drink.
#9. Located in the center of the city is St. Stephens Cathedral (of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna). Admission is free. The area surrounding is busy busy with wiener and pretzel food stalls, biergärtens, and tourist shops.
#10. Würstelstände — Vienna's Sausage Stands are so ideal. Look at those glistening sausages! I had the Debreziner which is a spicy smoked sausage inside a long roll and a Gösser Austrian Pale Lager. This particular stand was right outside our hotel at Karlsplatz.
Three things I was medium on about our time in Vienna:
The Tempest at Vienna State Opera
Heldenplatz Square. Picturing Hitler give the balcony speech here in 1938 is a somber moment.
Dinner at Thell
#1. For the Wiener Staatsoper, we were comically overdressed (everyone told us to dress up!) however, no one really dresses UP UP. The Tempest is Shakespeare and the two main opera singers were great but the rest of the singing was….not?! Drinks are not allowed in your seats. Once we realized a 30 minutes long intermission would make us late for a 10 pm dinner…
The Opera is an event for which you commit a majority of your night, so you have to be very opera invested. We could have saved some money (and some room in our suitcases, long gowns and all) if we had to do it over again. I don’t regret going and I’m happy for the experience. Just giving advice for future travelers to mull over!
Thell is a dark, clubby, intimate dining space. We talked for hours over bottles of Grüner, an asparagus, strawberry and beetroot salad with goat cheese, and eggplant dumplings with stracciatella and pine nuts. The experience can go in the love list, while the food is a solid like.
Three things I did not love about our time in Vienna, in no particular order:
Dinner at O’Boufes.
The fact that Steirereck is only open Monday - Friday. We were here Sat/Sun. It was recommended by a friend (Hi again, Arik!) as one of the best and most interesting meals of my life.
One of my girls came down with a virus that did an extreme number on her. The worst!
O’Boufes by Konstantin Filipou was a bit of a disaster. We were expecting some of the most exciting cooking in Vienna: think ox with egg, dashi, hazelnut and cauliflower, prawn saganaki with feta and basil, and Mangalica schnitzel with cucumber, anchovies and sour cream ~ TimeOut 15.
What we got was a menu with few exciting dishes to choose from and entrees with approximately 5 strands of overcooked soggy pasta. It was strange.
The kicker was we had tried to cancel our reservation earlier in the day (see: sick friend) but they were adamant to charge us € 50 a head! This part is kind of an outrage, only in retrospect. It would not have been if we were recipients of a good meal served in a timely manner.
Konstantin Filippou is the chefs namesake two star, while O’Boufes is his trendy bistro-next-door.
I secretly wish we were privy to what was happening in the kitchen. Everyone around us seemed agitated at the wait times. Something had to have gone awry.
Dessert was more like it! I’d put these on the love list. The meal wasn’t a total loss after all, but it all felt very expensive for what it was. You shouldn’t be charging Michelin prices at your bistro?
#8 on the love list, The Birdyard was our last call on Euro Moms. It is hidden, fun to find, and underground hip to be at. We stayed out late drinking TRANQUILOs and HAM-BREs.
former [Havanna Club 7, Orange, Coffee, Falernum, Mint, Licor 43]
latter [Remy Martin 1738, Cynar, Mozart Dark Chocolate, Creme de Banane, Verjus]
Final thoughts. After the train ride from Budapest, our time in Vienna felt short at 1 1/2 days. And yet, we did all this! Vienna was so lovely and pristine. I was delighted with the history, art, local food, and cocktail bars. We were mostly located in a very classy and central locale, and not walking around as much (as we did in Budapest), begs the question: what did we miss?
The flea market our taxi drove by on the other side of Naschmarkt caught my eye, and so did the graffiti along the Danube we whooshed by on our ride to dinner. The best thing about travel is it keeps you open, curious, wanting, lusting!
Spagh-lee-ah-toe. Swap the gin for effervescent prosecco. It’s a Negroni Sbagliato!
Loving the recap! Stunning photos
Such a fun recap — loled at “you shouldn’t be charging Michelin prices at your bistro.”