Wien
I organized to go to Vienna a few autumn ago... it was more precisely the end of October. In Italy the temperatures were still not very autumnal... you felt great even with just a jacket. Obviously I already imagined that there would be colder temperatures in Austria but I certainly didn't expect much!!! And instead, when we landed on Austrian soil, we were overwhelmed by a wave of frost... winter had basically already arrived there!!
Luckily here too, as in most northern countries, they know how to keep warm, and especially in these months of the year there are markets and stalls around with typical foods and drinks... really useful for combating their biting cold.
We left on Friday afternoon and landed at Vienna airport (very well organized I must say) and reached the center by public transport. Here too we must admit everything is well equipped! The airport is well connected to the city both by fast train and by subway and obviously by buses. Once we arrived at our hotel... (very close to the metro stop) we settled in and immediately went out to get something to eat. This time I made my hotel reservation through the Voyage Privè website, a real revelation. In practice it is a portal where you can only access if you are registered and therefore only if you are a member. Once you have registered you can view various "package" offers or even just hotels of very high standards but not always inaccessible. As in this case... the hotel I booked was an excellent 4* and I paid absolutely nothing! He was called Simm's Hotel.
Regarding the first dinner, what can I say... we ended up at the Prater... a huge amusement park... joy for all the children. For those who have already been there... it may remind you a little of the Oktober Fest in Munich. Unfortunately, however, given the temperatures and perhaps also the time of day, in this case there were very few people! We holed up in a traditional place to eat typical food (the Viennese schnitzel or the famous Schnitzel) and of course...Beer!!
Warmed up and satiated we took a ride on the Ferris wheel and another couple of rides which were quiet enough to prevent our dinner from happening again... after which we returned to the hotel.
The following day, early in the morning and after a full breakfast at the hotel, we immediately began the tour de force. First stop: visit to Schonbrunn Castle with a radio guide speaking in Italian!! It's not the first castle I've visited but I have to say it's always very interesting...especially exhausting!!! And to think that they were once real residences!! Who knows how long it took them to reach the bathroom!! 😀 In any case... after an entire morning spent at the castle we took the metro back and went to the centre... near the majestic Duomo, where we refreshed ourselves and spent the afternoon among the narrow streets full of shops and restaurants. An obligatory stop for me is obviously the Hard Rock where I always buy something as both my brother and I do the collection, or where I often dine having the card with discounts and offers. Without that, in fact, it must be admitted that the costs of the bar/restaurant and especially in the shop they are a bit let's say "inflated".. I understand maybe on the food.. being TEX-MEX (therefore mainly based on meat) but on the shop products there is a large mark-up considering that they are cotton t-shirts made in Taiwan!! Oh well...aside from travel I don't have too many vices so let's say that when I find myself I indulge in this treat like a true collector!!! 😎
Back at the hotel we finally went to bed and rested. The next morning, after another nice breakfast it was time to check out and leave our bags at reception... we would then come by in the afternoon to pick them up. We still had a whole day to use to see the best things in this city.
First stop of the day... the very particular neighborhood of Hundertwasserhaus, a wonderful and colorful complex of public housing built with ceramics in the brightest colors and without edges in perfect Modern Art style by the homonymous artist Hundertwasser. Here you will also find souvenir shops and bars inside the gallery, not to mention the toilets also decorated in the same style.
Taking the metro back we found ourselves back in the center where we saw what we had missed the previous day, namely: the Rathaus (Town Hall), the Belvedere Castle and finally the complex of baroque buildings of the Hofburg, before walking towards the airport (without forgetting to catch up first the suitcases in the hotel though!! ) 😀