Last weekend, I went to Vienna with a friend.  I was there a few years ago, but I was morethan happy to goback and explore, and it definitely did not disappoint.  Almost the whole city is built from a light sand stone brick.  One of my favorite things for city traveling is taking a free walking tour.  Since the guides are solely working off tips, and since the tours tend to attract young backpackers, the tours are entertaining, inexpensive, and informative.  This tour was no exception.  The tour guide was animated and had great stories about Austrian Royalty and scandalous young Mozart.  The Hapsburg Family ruled Austria for hundreds of years, and left a legacy of wonderful stories and treasures.  Vienna is full of opulent houses and museums, but small enough that you can walk the whole city.  While obviously affected by World War II, a lot of the city remained in tact.

First, we visited the apartment and office of Sigmund Freud.  While the original couch is not there, his coat and suitcase for traveling were in the museum, and his original waiting room was in tact.  After, we enjoyed a gluwhein (hot mauled wine) at an outdoor festival in front of the city hall, where they also had skating rinks set up.  We had breakfast and coffee at a traditional Viennese cafe.  There were beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, waiters dressed in tuxedos, and beautiful pastries.  I enjoyed an omelet and a mimosa.

The Hofburg, a giant palace in the city central, was absolutely breathtaking.  There is a road that runs in a ring aroud the city, and that is where all the wealthy lived.  You can almost picture how the city was 100 or 200 years ago, especially when you see the palace.  After our walking tour, we went to dinner at a place recommended by our tour guide- the best s I had boiled beef, and the waiter assured me only the side sauce contained gluten, so he left it out.  The beef was so tender, you could cut it without a knife.  It came in a big pot, and also had amazing potatoes to go with it!chnitzel in Vienna!  My friend had the schnitzel, at it was as big as her head!

The second day in Vienna, we went to Schonbrunn palace.  I have been to Versailles.  While Versailles is a little bit older and more renowned, Schonbrunn was a much better experience.   We went on a Sunday morning, and the palace was not very crowded.  It is so breathtaking from the outside (I included a picture!)  Inside was even better.  I couldn’t believe how much of the original furnishing and possessions were still inside.  Portraits on the wall, gold wallpaper, complete table settings, personal photographs.  It was like going back in time. Not only that, but different rooms were maintained from royals who lived in the palaces decades apart in time.  The gardens behind the palace were a little dreary because we visited in the winter, but you could imagine what they look like in the summer.  We walked up the hill behind them and had a beautiful view of Vienna.

We headed back into the heart of the city.  When we got out of the Subway at Karlsplatz, there was a man playing Mozart on the violin.  We grabbed a coffee (OK, a sugar latte) and enjoyed the music in the park.  We went to the Kuntshistorches Museum, a BEAUTIFUL old building with painted ceilings and a skylight, which contained paintings by Rafael, Caravaggio, and old Roman, Greek, and Egyptian artifacts.  My favorite work of art was a teal hippo figurine made by the Egyptians in 2000 BC (I got a mini version at the gift shop!)Afterwards, we headed to the Viena Opera House.

Our tour guide gave us another amazing tip- if you don’t mind standing for the opera, you can buy standing-room tickets for 3-5 Euros.  We bought them, mostly so we could see inside of the buildin.  Unsurprisingly, the seats were at the very highest point in the opera house, which was actually pretty awesome because we could see down throughout the whole thing.  Boxes and boxes of people, some in traditional ball gowns, and a beautiful ballet.  While admittedly I had no idea what was going on in the ballet, it was still beautiful to watch.  We headed to Loos American Bar, where they made fresh cocktails.  My friend enjoyed White Russians (not me, not gluten free!) with fresh ginger in them, and I enjoyed various rum cocktails and the jazz in the background.

Overall, an awesome long weekend!

Where we stayed:  I booked K+K Hotel Maria Theresia https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-s1-g190454-d231985-Reviews-K_K_Hotel_Maria_Theresia-Vienna.html on Booking.com.  It was a great location- an easy walk to the U Bahn (subway), but also easy to walk to all of the locations in the city central.  I got a great deal on this!

Where we ate:

-Cafe Central– beautiful old cafe in the city center, Sigmund Freud’s Favorite!  The ham and cheese omelet was an easy gluten-free option.

-We ate dinner at Figlmueller–  It was excellent, I would recommend making a reservation ahead of time.

-For drinks, we went to Loos American.  I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking to chill out and enjoy a cocktail or 2.

For Getting Around:  There is an awesome train that goes from the airport to the city.  The UBahn (subway) is very easy to navigate from there.  The city was also very walkable!  We walked 10 miles one day and 8 the next, but there was so much to see, neither of us minded.

Free Walking Tour:  Good Tours Vienna – easy to find the starting point, free walking tour, great guide!