Danke und Auf wiedersehen Vienna

Vienna was for us a huge delightful surprise.  A well-preserved, clean city with ample, clean, reliable public transport that was reasonably affordable.

Vienna was more expensive than we anticipated but not as expensive as other capital cities such as London or Paris — however I feel that we got what we paid for.

If you are a museum buff there are ticket schemes that allow you to pay in advance and get some discounts on most entry tickets. These would be well worth paying for as almost all of the major attractions charge for entry = allow 15/20 euros a head for adults — more if you want a guided tour.

Eating out is also expensive in comparison with Lisbon and the rest of Portugal and we found it hard to find authentic Austrian Cuisine — allow at least 50 Euros a head per meal — not including wine or dessert.

There is no such thing as a quick coffee — however their coffee confections and alternatives like herbal iced tea are to die for.  These two at The Medusa left no change from 12 euros.

Mr P has iced cappuccino, I have iced lychee and lavender tea — both were amazing and were the height of our culinary experiences here.

Vienna is a city soaked in history, culture and music.  It has grand architecture, beautiful parks all of which give it a very special atmosphere all of its own.

It is possible to travel here on a tighter budget and still savor what the city has to offer with some research beforehand.  You can fly to Vienna on various budget air lines.  At the airport you by your city travel pass — making sure, of course, you put your card in the right slot!   This simple move saves you the cost of  hiring a car and parking a car for the duration of your stay.

Here are some more suggestions for a budget conscious stay in Vienna.

If you enjoy music, you can attend the film festival at the Rathaus for specially recorded concerts or enjoy the street performances of classical works by students “busking” through the summer holidays.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the center of the old city is still free to visit and if the inside is as amazing as the outside then it is bound to be a wow.

Naschmarkt is Vienna’s biggest open air market and a real international experience full of flavors and tastes. There are also plenty of small restaurants hidden amongst the stalls.

Stadtpark — one of many large parks in Vienna — this one is known for its gilded statue of Johann Strauss.

People’s Park (Volksgarten) — situated between the Imperial Palace and the Rathaus. This park contains one of the most comprehensive Rose collections in Europe , all named so you can take notes. There are also seating areas where picnics can be had and open areas where children can run around freely and safely.  This is on the list for next time.

Walking around the old city — soaking up the history — imagining the minds that met and mingled and changed the course of history in one form or another, sitting over a coffee and immersing yourself in all that has gone before — then taking this with you and making your own memories.

We will return to Vienna — we both want to visit and see the Lipizzaner Stallions go through their paces.  I want to wander around a rose garden and we both have “Opera at Vienna” on our bucket lists — lets hope that is a better performance than Robbie.  We also think we should waltz at least once and we also have a date with the Baron.