A Busy End to 2011 Part III: Vienna (Take Two)

Vienna, Austria

View of Vienna and Schonbrunn from the Palace Gardens

In mid-December I had to head back to Vienna, where I went in September, to deal with my (extremely long, frustrating, exhausting, discouraging and woefully bureaucratic) visa process. Unlike the last trip, which ended in tears, this trip was a roaring success, and I celebrated with a return to the Palace garden where I had picnicked in September (then as a means of cheering myself up). Although the trees were no longer green, and some statues had been covered for the winter, it was a lovely, sunny day. We fed some birds and enjoyed a walk around the palace gardens and up the hill, which afforded us a picturesque view of the city. 

At Naschmarkt 

For the rest of the weekend, with my visa status happily stamped into my passport, I was able to relax and enjoy the visit immensely. One of the best parts was reconnecting with my very first Couchsurfer. He had come to Ithaca in 2007 to surf our couch, and had then offered his couch if I were ever in Vienna. 

Typewriters for sale at Naschmarkt

Happily, the timing was right and we enjoyed getting to know him and his girlfriend better, and enjoyed a delicious Sri Lanken meal as well as a traditional Austrian one. In addition, he took us to Naschmarkt, a street with a long outdoor flea market, food market, clothing market, and more. We had some hot mulled wine, tasty olives, and even a tropical fruit from South America! In fact, in our weekend in Vienna we ate food with origins in at least five different countries - it was a bit of a gastronomical world tour. 

Downtown Vienna at Night

Vienna is a stunning city, and I was happy to have a few days there to walk all over and take it all in. We were able to visit three art museums: the Leopold, the Albertina, and the Belvedere. All three were beautiful buildings in their own right, and their collections were impressive. We spent a good amount of time in the first two, but had to squeeze in the Belvedere before leaving. 

Vinegar at Naschmarkt

Merry Christmas!

Sauerkraut at Naschmarkt

What I loved most about visiting Vienna were (and this is going to be no surprise to anyone who read my last post on Dresden) the markets, both the Nashmarkt and the Christmas Markets all over the city. While I love Prague and the Christmas Markets here, I have to say that Vienna's range of stalls was astounding and impressive. 

Christmas Market at Rathaus

I was a bit enamored with them all, and I was happy to be traveling with a level-headed person whose frugality and common sense prevented me from spending money on every cute thing I saw. Instead, I just took pictures - which are almost always free (I say almost because a number of museums and tourist attractions make you pay a fee to take pictures). Now I have the memories without the hole in my pocket - though, funnily enough, I also have a literal hole in my coat pocket... 

To Give You an Idea of What the Christmas Markets Offered:

A Stationery Stall

A Gingerbread House

They even sell football (soccer) jerseys from around the world!

Beautiful paper star decorations

I thought my nephew would like these a lot :)