June 27 - July 2, 2019A 2-½ hour train ride from Salzburg...

Submitted by on





















June 27 - July 2, 2019

A 2-½ hour train ride from Salzburg to Vienna West Station ($22.09, usually €33.50) brought me within walkable distance of Hostel Ruthensteiner (€26.77/night), which has some of the nicest late-night staff ever. 

There’s lots to do in Vienna, but I think it’d be better in the winter rather than the hottest week of the year. It’s a city that straddles the past and modern present. And, honestly, I think if we’re comparing the two, I prefer Salzburg for the beauty and quaintness. But, I spent some very good times with some very good friends in Vienna, so for this trip, the people made the city a lot of fun. 

Some things I enjoyed doing:

  • I really enjoyed visiting the Tichy ice cream parlor. Good flavor and consistency, on par with soft serve. There’s no English menu so good time to look up and learn some German.
  • You can swim in the stretches of water known as the Old Danube (Alte Donau), located northeast of the Donaustadt island, and also in the New Donau (Neue Donau), which runs parallel to and just north of the Donaukanal (Danube Canal).
  • Riding an electric scooter for the first time. What a fun way to get somewhere quickly! Cheaper than Uber, but please, don’t ride while drinking or at night.
  • Gothic St. Stephen’s Cathedral is free to enter and I didn’t feel it necessary to pay to see more, other than the €6 elevator up to the north tower for the view. I paid another €6 to see the Stephansdom Katakomben. You can ask the front desk when the next catacomb tour is leaving. The guide will give you some good info and answer any questions you have. It’s interesting that there are organs of princes, queens, and emperors as well as skeletons of victims from bubonic plague there. 
  • I really enjoyed visiting the outdoor Naschmarkt. There’s a cheese place where I had a plate made with many servings of wine. .
  • Fun places to drink: Das Torberg (gin), Matiki (tiki), and Travel Shack (shots)
  • I was into the chain “fast food” restaurants, Trześniewski (small sandwiches) and Željo Grill Burek (burek, a filled filo pastry). 
  • Make a reservation at Figlmüller for wienerschnitzel if you can.
  • The Vienna Technical Museum is good for 2-3 hours if you’re into science.

Some things I did not get around to this trip:

—

About 

Hi, I'm Stacy. I'm from Portland, Oregon, USA, and am currently living in Busan, South Korea. Check me out on: Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Lastfm, and Flickr.