Despite how tired I was, I made it until 8PM last night before I crashed and slept until almost 6:30 this morning. I could probably have slept longer, but Vienna was calling!
Today’s plan was simply to wander. I had a couple of things I wanted to do, but mostly I just wanted to explore the city without any specific direction. I started with breakfast in the hotel lounge. As is typical in Europe, there were plenty of cold cuts, pastries, and yogurt on the continental buffet.
Then I set out to walk over to the Volksgarten, known for its roses. The garden was beautiful and the surrounding buildings lent a unique feel to the garden. Having just visited the amazing rose gardens in Portland, Oregon, these roses weren’t quite as impressive.
I hopped on a tram from there and got off at the Vienna Opera House. Across the street was a small Aida café, and I was thirsty. I settled at a table outside and enjoyed a drink of soda water with raspberry syrup in the shadow of the historic opera house.
From there, I walked by the Karlskirche, then on to one of the highlights of Vienna: St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The crowds increased the closer I got to the Cathedral, and the inside was just as bad. You can visit the very back of the church for free, but going further requires an admission fee and I wasn’t in the mood to wrangle the crowds. Instead, I walked to the side of the church and paid €5,50 to climb the South Tower. The viewing platform is 219 feet up and requires a steep climb up 343 steps on a spiral staircase to the tower. It was quite a workout, but the view from the top was worth it. Vienna was spread out in every direction under clear blue skies. The placards next to the windows helped to identify all of the major sights in the city.
I wandered around for a little while as I made my way to my lunch stop. “Lunch” involved a slice of Vienna’s famous Sacher Torte and a Coca Cola Light at Café Sacher in the Hotel Sacher. The café claims to be the place where Sacher Torte was invented back in 1832. Sacher Torte is a dark chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam topped with chocolate ganache. If it sounds rich and indulgent, it was. (Remember, I already pre-burned the calories during my climb up the church tower!) Truth be told, it was a little too rich for my taste. I ate it (obviously), but wouldn’t order it again.
Next stop: an afternoon organ concert at St. Peter’s church. The sheer volume of musical performances in Vienna is astounding. I plan to see at least one or two more while I’m here. This concert was free and lasted about a half hour. It seems like every available surface in the church and side chapels is covered by paintings or gilded artwork. Listening to the resounding pipe organ music echo through the church was a real treat.
I went back to my hotel to rest for a little while before heading out for dinner. I was already starting to feel tired, so I ate on the early side at Pürstner, back near St. Stephen’s Cathedral. I can’t remember where I read about Pürstner online, but the menu intrigued me. I picked an outdoor table and enjoyed two weißwein gespritzt (white wine mixed with soda water) and Fuhrwerkerpfanne (pork medallions with blue cheese sauce and croquettes). While the blue cheese wasn’t very strong, it had a pleasantly salty flavor. And the croquettes… amazing! They were basically fried mashed potato sticks. One feature I’ve noticed at several outdoor patios in Vienna is a water spraying system above the tables. Since it was in the 90s today, I enjoyed the frequent cool sprays from above while I ate.
Since I already had cake today, I couldn’t very well rationalize dessert tonight. I mean, I probably could, but I didn’t. What I could rationalize was enjoying a piece of the Austrian candy bar I picked up at the market yesterday when I got back to my room. All in all, it was a good day wandering the streets of Vienna, and I’m looking forward to more exploring tomorrow!
Traveling with Laura 