If you have been reading up on my Europe travel diaries, you will know that I spent about three weeks there during the end of June and beginning of July. If you haven’t, you can check out my first three posts here: part one, part two, part three. During the river cruise my family and I took, we got the opportunity to see some incredible places including both small villages and big cities. Which brings us to part four, and one of the final spots we visited during our cruise – Vienna, Austria.
Now I need to apologize now before I go any further. Looking back I took very little photos while I was in Vienna. I don’t know if I was too busy “living in the moment” or what, but I truly did slack off and I am sorry for it!
We arrived in Vienna around 8 o’clock on a Wednesday night. We had already eaten dinner so we decided to walk around the city and make a game plan for what we wanted to do the following day. We were only going to be in Vienna until 5 PM the following day, so we really needed to map out what we wanted to do. We made our plan while we had cocktails at a rooftop bar in the Sofitel (you know I love a good rooftop bar). We could see the span of the city from the top which really got us excited for the next day. The rest of the evening was spent roaming around the town grabbing drinks at a few different spots and was concluded with döner kebabs and sausages from a local street vendor that were INCREDIBLE.
The next morning started fairly early since we didn’t have much time in the city. We decided to have a mellow day beginning with seeing the Belvedere Museum. The Belvedere is one of the most famous tourist spots in Vienna. It used to be a prince’s summer home that was eventually turned into a museum. The palace was absolutely beautiful and surrounded by lush gardens and fountains. While we didn’t go in the museum itself (due to time constraints), it was definitely worth going to just to see the outside of the palace.
The majority of the early afternoon was spent grabbing lunch, site-seeing different historical buildings and churches, and going in and out of different shops. (I ended up buying two pounds of gummy bears, don’t ask me why) It was more of a relaxed day since there wasn’t that much we wanted to see and we were pretty exhausted from all of the traveling we had done thus far. But there was one place I wanted to go to before we had to head back to the ship, Prater.
Prater is a theme park located in the middle of the city. It is free to roam around in and is full of different carnival games and rides. My family and I decided to take a ride on the ferris wheel which gave us an amazing view of Vienna. Afterward, we walked around the park looking at all of the rides while snacking on langos (a fried dough covered in melted cheese, garlic, and sour cream). There were some crazy rides at Prater and if we would’ve had more time, I probably would’ve gone on them. But I did convince my boyfriend to go on a giant swing that towered high above the park. It was mildly terrifying at first, but the view at the top totally made up for it.
Overall, I have to be honest and say Vienna was a little underwhelming. Before we started the trip, it was one of the main places I was looking forward to visiting. Ultimately I did not think it was as exciting as some of the other places I had visited. Maybe if I had spent more time there I could have experienced more of the culture and city itself, but unfortunately It was one of my least favorite places I went to. That didn’t put a damper on the trip though; ultimately this entire trip was some of the most fun I’ve ever had.
Want to read the rest of my Europe travel diaries? Check them out below:
Exploring Villages in Eastern Europe
How To Spend 24 Hours in Budapest, Hungary
Road Tripping Through Bavaria, Germany
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Some fun activities! We loved Vienna when we went, but we definitely took more time to explore the old city and museums (like Habsburg Palace Treasury and Beethoven’s home). We even took in a Strauss show one evening. One of the best sites we found was Schonbrunn Palace, which is just outside the city.
I definitely think I should’ve spent more time there! I have heard great things & I was sad that it wasn’t my personal experience. If I get the opportunity to go back I will be sure to add these to my list!