Our final stop in Central Europe was Vienna. Can I just say again how much I love traveling in Europe during the holidays? Vienna put up some mighty good Christmas markets, and Dan and I ate our way through them.
Before I get to the markets though, let me tell you about some of the sights. We stayed a little bit outside the city center near the Schoenbrunn Palace. It worked out really well because we were right on the metro line so we could easily access the city, but we were within walking distance to the palace. I've seen quite a few palaces now, and this one ranks right up there. It's the former summer house of the Hapsburg monarchs and it is absolutely stunning. The audio tour was really informative and the palace was well-kept.
Of course you can't talk about Vienna without mentioning the opera house. As I mentioned before, the outside is beautiful, but not as grand as the one in Budapest. But the inside was unbelievable. It just oozes luxury. Though someone (cough, cough, Zoey!) had a major meltdown and caused me to miss some of our tour, what I did see was so impressive. The theater was incredibly opulent, but I was most impressed with the backstage. It is massive! I had no idea that the part of the stage you see from the audience is only as small fraction of the whole.
We took a self-guided walking and tram tour using Rick Steves audio guides. I am just amazed at how Vienna is able to cram so much beauty into such a small area. Just look at some of these buildings:
Eating in Vienna deserves it's own post, so stay tuned for that!
Read about our other stops in Central Europe:
Bratislava
Eating and Bathing in Budapest
Budapest Highlights
Before I get to the markets though, let me tell you about some of the sights. We stayed a little bit outside the city center near the Schoenbrunn Palace. It worked out really well because we were right on the metro line so we could easily access the city, but we were within walking distance to the palace. I've seen quite a few palaces now, and this one ranks right up there. It's the former summer house of the Hapsburg monarchs and it is absolutely stunning. The audio tour was really informative and the palace was well-kept.
Of course you can't talk about Vienna without mentioning the opera house. As I mentioned before, the outside is beautiful, but not as grand as the one in Budapest. But the inside was unbelievable. It just oozes luxury. Though someone (cough, cough, Zoey!) had a major meltdown and caused me to miss some of our tour, what I did see was so impressive. The theater was incredibly opulent, but I was most impressed with the backstage. It is massive! I had no idea that the part of the stage you see from the audience is only as small fraction of the whole.
We took a self-guided walking and tram tour using Rick Steves audio guides. I am just amazed at how Vienna is able to cram so much beauty into such a small area. Just look at some of these buildings:
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| Parliament |
 |
| Hofburg Palace |
 |
| St. Stephen's Cathedral |
Eating in Vienna deserves it's own post, so stay tuned for that!
Read about our other stops in Central Europe:
Bratislava
Eating and Bathing in Budapest
Budapest Highlights
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