VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Dates: 17.11.2021 – 21.11.2021
RIX – VIE
17.11.2021: Today is still a working day for me, so I’m properly stuck at work until four. Then I quickly pack my travel socks, wait for the Nīca crew to arrive and we start looking for the nearest little Bee 🐝 to buzz our way to the airport. On the way, we still need to stop by my friend Baltušs to pick up the power bank.
Everything goes smoothly at the airport. We arrive early enough to get through security without any stress and still have time for the traditional welcome beer before the trip. We realise that Santa hasn’t flown anywhere for 13 years. Edgar’s last trip seems to have been Málaga around eight years ago. As the captain says, we’re flying with a tailwind, so we arrive in Vienna around 20 minutes earlier than planned. Naturally, we immediately lose all that saved time at the train ticket machine, where buying tickets turns into a much more complicated operation than expected.
Eventually the tickets are in our hands and we’re on our way into the city. Because of all the travelling, everyone has missed dinner and the group is starting to produce some noticeable stomach noises.
Perfect timing – as soon as we get off the final tram, there’s a kebab place right in front of us.
After everyone folds in a döner with Pepsi for €1.99, we’re satisfied and ready for bed. Our apartment is relatively close to the city centre, just a few metro stops away. Four nights for four people at Vienna Living Apartments – Senefeldergasse cost us €277.
RATHAUS & ST. STEPHEN’S CATHEDRAL
18.11.2021: Slept pretty well. The only downside is that some kind of wooden board seems to have been poking into my ribs all night, so my left side feels slightly stiff for the first half of the day. We start the morning slowly with breakfast at home. Edgars and I walk to the nearby Lidl to buy some “normal” food while the girls get ready. Since today is Latvia’s Independence Day, Santa has even brought little Latvian flags to decorate the breakfast table.
Around 10 we leave the apartment. We take the metro to Kārlis 🐱 station – otherwise known as Karlsplatz. This will basically become our main transport station over the next few days.
We head to Rathausplatz, where the Christmas markets have already started. There are plenty of different examples of local gastronomic excess. Naturally, we don’t ignore them. We agree that we definitely need to come back here in the evening when everything is lit up. Afterwards, we head to Vienna’s famous Café Central, where Madara finally gets her Viennese Apfelstrudel with vanilla ice cream. Her conclusion: should have ordered it with sauce.
Carbohydrates successfully loaded, we continue towards St. Stephen’s Cathedral. We climb 343 steps up the 136-metre-high South Tower, known as Steffl. The church itself was built back in 1160, although the tower was completed later, in 1433. From the top, there’s a great view over Vienna’s entire Old Town. That finishes the daylight part of the day.
After the climb, we recover at Europa Café, where everyone follows their individual programme – beer or mulled wine. We wait for darkness so we can walk through the expensive shopping streets and Christmas markets again once everything is illuminated. Vienna has definitely not tried to save money or electricity when it comes to Christmas decorations, even though it’s only mid-November. Beautiful and very bright!
FRIEDENSREICH HUNDERTWASSER & MELIÁ VIENNA
19.11.2021: Our legs are slightly noticeable after yesterday’s walking, but nothing serious.
The weather is still treating us well, so we continue. More or less, we keep wandering around the same Vienna Old Town, just adding a few new sights. We stop at Mozart’s rather unimpressive former home, which honestly doesn’t stand out in any way, but if you’re in Vienna, apparently you need to tick that box. We decide to visit the Meliá tower after dark, so we have some extra time to fill. We jump on tram No. 1 and ride a few stops towards the Hundertwasser buildings.
We walk around, stop at a nice café and everyone refuels according to personal preference – beer or coffee. Then it turns out this isn’t actually the building we originally planned to see.
After refuelling, we go looking for the correct one. I was also planning to finally realise my schnitzel dream here, but the group protests. Apparently lunch should happen later. We eventually have lunch at Porto Bistro in the centre. Everyone enjoys the food and Edgar successfully ticks off his Wiener Schnitzel. After dark, we head to Meliá Vienna, located in Austria’s tallest skyscraper at around 220 metres.
The view from the 57th floor over Vienna is excellent. Visually, it almost feels higher than the nearby TV tower. Originally, I had planned to go to the TV tower, but our friend who lived in Vienna for several years recommended Meliá instead. We listened.
After completing a few cocktails and cognacs at the 57th-floor bar, we decide to make one more stop in the Old Town – Wiener Würstel Zeit. After two intensive days, some softness becomes noticeable in the group. By evening, everyone is in bed without any unnecessary partying.
SCHÖNBRUNN PALACE
20.11.2021: Today is Santa’s birthday. We’re having breakfast outside the apartment. There’s a Turkish breakfast restaurant nearby, so that becomes the choice. For €12 per person, we get a huge and incredibly varied breakfast. Absolute overload.
It’s difficult to even taste a little bit of everything. To test a possible transport option for getting to the airport during the night, we rent a car using a car-sharing app. A nice little Mercedes A-Class. We drive to the huge gardens of Schönbrunn Palace. The palace and grounds are absolutely massive. Built in 1696 and inspired by Versailles in France, the palace supposedly has 1,441 rooms. Because of Covid restrictions, getting inside is a bit complicated, but honestly, we’re not particularly desperate to go in anyway.
Instead, we head to the Palmenhaus and the Desert House, where Madara gets a little photoshoot with some wedding-memory vibes. Very botanical-garden style. We photograph palms, little desert animals and continue. The palace grounds also contain the world’s oldest zoo, opened back in 1752, but none of us feels a particularly strong desire to visit it.
We finish the evening at Kunsthalle Wien, a restaurant recommended by our friend Lauris and conveniently located not far from our beloved Karlsplatz station. There won’t be any serious birthday partying tonight because we have to wake up at 03:00 to head to the airport.
VIE – RIX
21.11.2021: Bolt shows roughly the same travel time to the airport as using car-sharing, so to avoid unnecessary stress we simply choose that option. We jump into the car and around 20 minutes later arrive at Terminal 3 of Vienna International Airport. After a bit of wandering between terminals, we finally find the correct area. All the shops are still closed, so there’s nothing left to do except sit on a bench and wait for our aircraft. Turns out we’ll be flying with Lauda Air. First time with this airline.
Total costs
Transport costs (air travel, public transport, etc.): ~900 EUR
Living expenses (accommodation, meals, etc.): ~300 EUR
Entertainment (entrance fees, souvenirs, etc.): ~300 EUR
Total costs: ~1,500 EUR
Cost per person per day: 93 EUR