Trip to Vienna & Budapest Day 1&2

As some of my friends know, I recently took a week-long trip to Europe with stops in Vienna, Austria, and Budapest, Hungary. It was my first solo trip (not counting my three-month trip to South Africa last year for work,) and unlike in Johannesburg, I knew no one and was completely dependent on myself. So I agreed to detail my experience on this platform especially since a few friends have been urging me to document my travel experiences. Those who are extremely close can contact me to view more pictures and videos via Picasa.

I love traveling, but would prefer to have a travel companion. Not because I'm scared of the safety of a female traveling alone, but because I think it's terrible visiting many breathtaking venues with no one to share them with in real time. I will say that this experience is probably the biggest reason I was able to take notes down for my blog since it felt like I was talking to myself.

I flew out from Philadelphia International Airport on Oct. 28 and made a stop in Barcelona before flying to Vienna. I wonder if my being checked there had something to do with not passing through passport control in Vienna, but I found it strange that I just walked right out after picking up my luggage. Apparently only those who had something to declare would voluntarily walk toward that area. I opted to take the two-day CAT pass €32 ($40) which gives unlimited train rides on the City Airport Train Express (16 minutes from airport to the city center) and local public transportation network, plus a return trip on the train back to the airport. Though a Trip Advisor review suggests using the local train network (Ubahn) is cheaper, I opted for this because of my 7 a.m. return flight and my reluctance to commute a longer distance so early in the morning. My sometimes practical self wondered if it was worth spending that much on, but after leaving my hotel at 5 a.m., I'd say it was worth it to get to the airport at 5:45 (the train from my hotel to the CAT station was about 7 minutes, but the earliest CAT was 5:29. Some may want to get the Vienna card, which at €19 ($24) for two days at time of visit, gives you discounts to some 210 tourist sites and shops. Again Trip Advisor suggests that other discounts (senior, disabled or student) offer better than the 10% the card gets you. With 2 days I didn't plan on visiting that many places to warrant using one.

Vienna's CAT express from airport to City Center

I booked a room last minute at the Time Out City boutique hotel, which is right off the famous Mariahilfer Strasse, the longest shopping street in Europe, and is quite close to the Museums Quartier—a string of small museums grouped together. If you love shopping this is the place to stay, especially with lots of cafes, restaurants and street performers. I didnt plan on coming here to shop at H&M (there was seemingly one at every corner,) Zara or United Colors of Benetton. I chose to save my money for any local finds I could score.

Christopher the concierge was really nice in giving me directions to the Museums Quartier and the Austrian Parliament. Vienna is the capital of Austria, and its Parliament, along with the Rathaus (Municipal or City Hall,) which is right next to it, are two of the city's iconic tourist attractions and are situated along the popular Ringstraße (aka Ringstrasse) route. I chose to walk to both places, which was less than two miles from my hotel, passing by the MQ and the Museum of Natural History. At night, it made for some amazing views. Since most places closed by 6:30 p.m. I didn't go in, but planned to return to the Parliament and the MONH on my last day. I wasn't up for dining in since I was tired, so got a beef kebab €5 (about $6) and ate in my room.

The Austrian Parliament located in Vienna

The next day (Oct. 30) I took the train to Westbanhof to buy my ticket to Budapest after spending the night worrying that I had waited too late to buy it, and with no tickets available to purchase online for my trip the following day. I got a return ticket for €82 ($103.) Then I set out for my tour which began with a trip to Schönbrunn Palace (AKA Schoenbrunn,) which is one of the most toured and iconic attractions in the country. It was once the home of Emperor Franz Joseph, the longest serving emperor in Austrian history. There's a lot more history behind the 1,441-room palace, which you can read more about here and here.

Entrance to Schönbrunn Palace

The palace offers spectacular views of Vienna from this terrace

Ticket for the Grand tour of 40 rooms was €14.50 ($18,) but no pictures are allowed, though you get an audio guide through each room. You can also opt to take a shorter tour of 21 or 23 rooms for a reduced price. There are some amazing rooms inside the palace, but the tour wasn't anything spectacular, especially without the pictures to remind you of them. The grounds, however, is breathtaking. So expansive and opulent. So many roads like this one:

 And this, leading to God knows where that I didn't have time to explore.

For a historical context you can take a tour inside. But if you're only interested in scenic views and pictures, save your money and walk the grounds for free making your way up to the Gloriette erection at the top of the back of the palace. You can see a view of Vienna from the top.

A garden located at the side of the palace

The rear of the palace with a clear view of the Gloriette

I met Gergo Adam, a Hungarian, while taking selfies on the terrace at the rear of the palace. He is a student in France and thought I was French because of my sweater It was a welcome delight having someone to talk to because I hadn't had an extensive conversation with anyone to that point, and he gave me some recommendations for my Budapest trip.

A Gergo and me selfie

After breaking away from Gergo, I walked up to the Gloriette, which is a must do if you visit the palace. I didn't pay the €2 or so to climb up to the top because I didn't think it was worth it, but it's good enough to just walk up the sometimes steep walkway to catch a glimpse of the palace and Vienna from an elevated view.

The Gloriette

The view of the palace from the Gloriette is worth the walk up

When I made my way back down to exit the palace, I spotted a small phone booth-like structure right next to the wall of the palace, with tons of signatures from visitors from all over the world. So I had to put mine as well.

Twice.

I also visited St. Stephen's Cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, though I didn't climb to the top or get great images of the interior, and the Vienna State Opera House, which I only visited the cafe with all the famous celebs sightings on the wall. Then I retired back to my hotel ready to leave for Budapest the following day.

St. Stephen's Cathedral

Vienna's State Opera House