Vienna is a city I didn’t know much about. I knew it was rich in history and culture but I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t disappointed.
Day 6
We arrived quite late in the afternoon, about 5pm. Our train journey got delayed for an hour
at the station before Vienna which made us a bit late getting to the station. Once we arrived we hopped in a taxi, we were staying at The Wombat Hostel in the Naschmarkt, however, there is another one in the city and the taxi driver took us to the wrong one, oops!
Eventually, we made it to the Hostel. Outside in the Naschmarkt the market was in full swing, selling everything from antiques, to tapestries to sushi. The decor inside the Hostel was cool and vibrant, I really liked the rustic industrial vibe. The huge cushions and comfy chairs, window seats and a bring one and take one library in an old red phone box in the reception.
When we got to our room our roommates were out. We got settled and washed our hair and had a nap as we were both feeling shattered from the last night out in Prague. We woke up early evening, the market on the Naschmarkt had now closed so we went in search of food. The Naschmarkt is home to lots of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese eateries, however, neither of us are that keen on Chinese food so we settled for a cute Italian restaurant around the corner from the Hostel and had a pizza, that was very good and very cheap. After our meal, we popped back for a quick drink in the bar, which as you can imagine, was buzzing on a Saturday night
After our meal, we popped back for a quick drink in the bar, which as you can imagine, was buzzing on a Saturday night, but we were both too tired to stay for too long. We chatted to some people and headed up to bed.
Day 7
We woke up early on Sunday after a good nights sleep we both felt refreshed and were ready to have a productive day exploring Vienna. We decided to do another of the bus tours. But this time, we did the Big Bus tour as it was 27 Euros for a 3-day ticket that included two tour lines and an evening tour of Vienna. The tour was similar to the one in Berlin, it was hop on hop off and provided detailed commentary on the history of the city and the landmarks.
Firstly we went on the blue line, which took us to the Museum of Technology, Schonbrunn Palace, the Arsenal/ War Museum and Belvedere Palace. We stayed on the bus until Belvedere Palace and got off and absorbed the beauty of the palace and its botanical gardens. The Palace is truly beautiful, it’s now an art museum and is home to “The Kiss” by Klimt. I highly recommend you visit if you’re in Vienna. We stopped for some lunch at a restaurant nearby and headed back to Vienna city centre.
We then hopped on the red line bus which took us around the city centre and over the river Danube and over the Donauinsel, an Island in the middle of the Danube. On this bus, we saw so many beautiful sights such as the Museum Quarter, Parliament, the Volksgarten, Hofburg Palace, Tel Aviv Beach, The Prater, The Donauturm and the Rathaus. We decided to stay on the bus because as you can see by the pictures it started to go really cloudy and black, so as soon as we reached our starting point of the tour, we headed straight back to the hostel, just in time too as it started to throw it down! Even though we stayed on the bus, the architecture and beauty of this city had captivated me like no other. It was gorgeous and I’d never been anywhere quite like it.
We waited for the rain to pass and headed out for a meal at TGI Fridays, which was delicious and really filling. Later on, we headed back to the Hostel as it was raining and cold. Hayley went to bed and I sat up and talked to some people I’d met who were from Hull for a few hours before going to bed myself.
Sunday was a really productive day considering a lot of places closed early or didn’t open at all, I was already falling in love with Vienna.
Day 8
Our final full day in Vienna. We decided to go back to Schonbrunn Palace again and get off and explore the Palace and the gardens. The Palace is stunning, it reminds me somewhat of Buckingham Palace in some respects. Schonbrunn is painted in “Imperial Yellow” which is common in Vienna across their royal buildings. We sat on the steps of the palace for a while and absorbed the view. It was truly breathtaking and we took some brilliant photographs. It’s incredible to stand where such iconic royalty have stood. The gardens were equally as beautiful. Again we took some more fabulous pictures, my favourite being the picture of me sat on the fountain. We sat there for ages before leaving, the view was so gorgeous neither of us wanted to tear ourselves away from it. Vienna truly is like something from a fairy tale. You can also go inside the Palace for a fee, however, the weather was so lovely we were both happy just sat outside in the gardens.
After visiting Schonbrunn we headed back to the centre and explored the Hofburg Palace and the Museum Quarter. We sat and relaxed in the grounds and then headed up towards 
the Parliament where I took some beautiful photos of the building. The architecture is truly stunning.
Next, we headed to the Film Festival at the Rathaus, which included numerous food and drink stalls, all serving delicious food from all over the world. We both had a burrito which
was amazing and so filling! We got a programme and agreed to come back here later to watch the showing of Sammy Davis Jr performing in Berlin.
We headed back and got changed ready for the evening bus tour. It was very good and went a similar route to the red route and the commentary was also quite similar, however, it was nice to see the city in the evening and I got a beautiful picture of the sun setting over the Danube which you can see above. After this, we jumped on the tram and headed to the film festival for cocktails and to watch Sammy Davis Jr. Although not my usual style of music, I really enjoyed listening to it and the atmosphere was also really nice too. Later, we headed back to the Hostel and to the bar where we took full advantage of the daily bar deals and drank maybe a little too much. We had a drink with our new roommates and played a drinking game with a group of Brazilians which was really fun. The bar closed and after a few too many drinks and a drunken frankfurter, we headed up to bed.
Day 9
Half of day 9 is being spent in Vienna. This morning we checked out and headed towards Tel Aviv beach, we ended 
up nowhere near it! Instead, we went to the Stadtpark to view the beautiful sculptures and also to top up our tans in the 32-degree heat. It was a lovely relaxing afternoon.
Finally, we reluctantly headed to the train station and said goodbye to beautiful Vienna.
I’m writing this on the next day, currently on the way to Zagreb, Croatia. I could’ve stayed in Vienna forever, but, it’s still exciting to move on and see another place. Onto our fourth city!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter of our adventure, thanks for reading!
HarriRebekahEvans 