Wofford Travels – 2018-10-10 – Vienna, Austria

Day 1 – Vienna

This was going to be a change-of-pace day as we were heading to our next Eastern Europe city, Vienna, Austria. I was eagerly looking forward to seeing how much difference we might experience between the two.

We had ordered a taxi the evening before for a 10:30 pickup the following morning. Our ride to the rail station was a mere 15 minutes. We were taking the red Railjet high speed train. It is considered one of the most modern and luxurious trains in Europe. It operates mainly in Austria, with international connections to Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, and the Czech Reublic. The Railjets trains travel at 143 miles/hr. which took us from Budapest to Vienna in 2 1/2 hours. Unlike our previous train ride, we were going coach this time.

We arrived in Vienna at 2:20 and got to our hotel at 3:20. Once we figured out the metro system, it would take us about 20 minutes from town to our hotel.

We left our hotel at 4:20 and went to Stephansplatz (Stephan’s Square), the location of Saint Stephan’s Cathedral. After walking some, we decided to take a sight-seeing tour bus around the city. The ride should have lasted around an hour and a half, but ran into 2 hours due to traffic. And, of course, it went into the evening, so it was harder to see all the sights.

Dinner was at the Brezel-Gwölb, a Tolkienesque nook with tight indoor tables and outdoor dining in a quiet little square, which serves Viennese classics in a memorable atmosphere. For us, it was literally a “hidden” gem because it took a long time to find, I mean about an hour, yet, it was just on the other side of a building to the square! Most “normal” people would have given up much earlier and just selected another place…there are plenty from which to choose. But, need I say more?!

Tom and I shared a pumpkin soup with a sprinkling of toasted pumpkin seeds. Tom ordered a lentil dish with bacon, pielfel dumpling, and smoked meats. I ordered the Weiner Talfelspifl or boiled beef with vegetables, piquant fried potatoes, strong applehorseradish, and cheese sauce. The food was excellent and the atmosphere perfect!

We ended our day with a walk to the metro for a late return to the hotel. It didn’t take us long to dive into bed.

Tita