Vienna was the second city I visited on my first solo backpacking trip, but I wasn’t solo while I was there. My cousin was also on a backpacking trip and we had planned for our paths to cross in Austria. This plan worked out perfect and I’m so glad we got to explore Vienna together. This was both of our first times in Vienna and so a majority of what we did was centered around tourist attractions, but I’m looking forward to when we can go back and relax by the Danube for another sunny afternoon.
INNERE STADT and statues
We started our exploration of Vienna in the Innere Stadt, also known as Old Town, because it’s full of beautiful architecture, cafes, shops and statues. This section of the city is home to St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Stallburg, Josefplatz, The Hofburg and Museum Quarter. Museum Quarter is a restored part of old town that contains historic & modern buildings with many of the city’s finest museums.
aFTERNOON NAPS
After walking around Vienna all day, it was nice to head back to the hostel for a nap before our busy nights. I loved the window in our hostel bedroom because it made the afternoon siesta… sensational.
Vienna State opera
While we were in Vienna we were lucky enough to score tickets to the Vienna State Opera for a showing of Macbeth. It was partly luck that we got these tickets, but mostly us waiting in line for an hour and hoping that they had some leftover ‘day of’ tickets. The theatre was magnificent and we got spots on the ground floor in the middle of the stage. I escaped having to read Macbeth in school, so not only was I watching the play in another country, but I was also seeing the plotline of Macbeth for the first time. The play itself was in Italian, but we had screens at our seats that would translate the story into your native language. The play was 2 hours long, but the time flew by. Now I see why Macbeth is one of the classics.
The people next to us in the theatre were also on solo backpacking trips, so at intermission we all went across the street to a bar and exchanged stories. We ended up hitting it off with everyone in our section, and once we had our cultural fill from Macbeth we all stuck together and explored Vienna nightlife.
HUNDERTWASSER HOUSE
One of the tourist attractions I was most excited about in Vienna was the Hunderwasser house. Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser was an Austrian visual artist and environmental protection activist who built the Hunderwasser Haus in the early 1980s. His real name was Friedrich Stowasser, but he added on the words “Regentag”, which means rainy day, and “Dunkelbunt”, which means darkly multi-colored.
When you’re walking to the Hunderwasser house you pass through a colorful neighborhood with buildings in all different shades. We visited Vienna in the Spring time and the buildings were perfectly accompanied by bright flowers in bloom. The Hunderwasser house is a big tourist destination in Vienna because of it’s unique architecture, so if you’re trying to beat the crowd I suggest going early. Otherwise, go whenever you want, grab a coffee and stroll around the neighborhood.
VEGGIEZ
I was worried about where I would find vegan food while travelling through Europe, but I found lots of options along the way. One of the best spots in Vienna was an all vegan restaurant called Veggiez. They have burgers, wraps, bowls and delicious dessert options. We went to Veggiez every day we were in Vienna and ordered everything on the menu that caught our eye. Some of my favorite items were the Crunchy Quinoa Pumpkin Bowl, the vegan steak, curry pasta, the blueberry muffin and the Avocado Schokomousse.
Gänsehäufel
Gänsehäufel is an island park in Vienna that has many fun outdoor activities for everyone. You can lounge by the Danube on a nudist beach, complete a high ropes course, play a round of mini golf and so much more. It was hot on the day we went to Gänsehäufel, so we decided to rent a kayak and paddle board from the Stand Up Paddling & Kayak Center Vienna. We spent hours paddling up the Danube and then slowly drifting down. Afterwards we sat on the edge of the water with cold Ottakringer and watched the evil geese attack people.
TRAM RIDES
The best way to get around Vienna is by tram. The Trams are nicknamed BIM and in total there are 29 Bim lines and 1,056 stops around Vienna. While I travelled around Vienna by Tram and by foot I brought SoBo along with me. SoBo is a troll doll I bought in Iceland and from here on out I’m bringing him everywhere. You can follow along on SoBo’s journey’s here.
