Vienna

Oh, Vienna! We loved Vienna. Just adored it. It’s definitely an underrated city in my book. Before I left everyone I knew told me I’d love Vienna, and boy were they right! The history, the beautiful parks and gardens, the cakes! What’s not to love? 

 Vienna is home to the world-famous Sachertorte, so of course we had to try one (or two or three or..) while we were in town 🙂

 I could go on and on about Vienna’s cakes. Seriously, they were the absolute best. And who doesn’t love vacations where it’s not only okay, but practically necessary, to eat cake after every meal?

 Outside of the Hofburg Palace. One thing this trip revealed to me was how shaky my grasp is on the history of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. Don’t worry, I stocked up on books to remedy that 🙂

 An example of modern Viennese architecture. I learned all about the Vienna Secession Movement in my modern architecture class. Supposedly Emperor Franz Joseph thought this building was so ugly that he wouldn’t open the curtains or look out his window at it!

 Vienna truly is a city of music. I’ve never been to another city where the people accosting you on the streets are dressed in 18th century garb and trying to get you to attend a classical music concert!

 Mozart’s house. We also saw Freud’s office and apartments while in Vienna. So surreal to walk around the same places as those two! 

 The Weiner Riesenrad, an old ferris wheel from the 1800s. Furthers my belief that every city needs a nice ferris wheel!

 The Schonbrunn, the summer palace of the Habsburgs. The tour of the rooms was magnificent, and it also included another exhibit on Sisi, or Empress Elizabeth, who was the second-to-last empress of Austria. I’ve been reading up on her since, and boy, was she a character! Vienna is quite taken with their glamourous, mysterious, tragic former Empress.

 The Opera House, where Mozart debuted some of his operas.

 The Hotel Sacher, the namesake of the delicious Sachertorte.

 We took a trip to the Belvedere, a former palace, on our last day in Vienna to see Klimt’s The Kiss, which actually sparkles in real life. You know how sometimes the picture just doesn’t capture the painting? That was the situation here.

Oh, we just loved our time in Vienna. Plus being in Austria, I couldn’t help thinking about The Sound of Music all the time, and there’s nothing wrong with that, right 🙂 ?