The much-awaited, 2 months long summer vacations had started and in August, my family decided to visit a few countries in Central Europe- Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
11.08.19
We had an early morning flight to Vienna, the capital of Austria and after a 6-hour long flight, we were welcomed at the Vienna Airport by the hotel taxi. We were staying at the 'Atlanta Hotel', which dated back to 1895.
It was afternoon and we were craving snacks, so we walked to a neighboring McDonalds and bought some necessities from a nearby store. As we were tired after the journey we relaxed through the evening and for our last meal of the day, we went to a Chinese restaurant, Küche 18.
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| Vienna tram |
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| Renting cycles is common and easily available all around the city |
12.08.19
We woke up early today as we had several plans for the day. After having a light breakfast in the room itself, we took an Uber to Hofburg, which is in the heart of the city and serves as the official residence of the Austrian President.
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| Hofburg |
A short walk away were several museums, my sister and I went to the National History Museum which was free for people under-19. The museum was vast and we tried to cover as much of it as we could.
Next to this museum was another one, Kunsthistorisches Museum, to which my entire family went as it seemed to be popular. This one was another huge museum that had art throughout the galleries.
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| There were several statues around the museums |
We had exhausted our thirst for more art and walked to the famous Vienna State Opera, it is an Opera House that opened in 1869 and still has shows playing frequently.
From the opera, we took an Uber to the Belvedere Palace, which is a historic building complex consisting of two palaces, the Upper and the Lower Belvedere that originally served as the summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. Thet both are now open to the public as museums. My sister and I went to the art museum in the upper Belvedere. The most crowded area in the museum was around the famous oil on canvas painting by Gustav Klimt- 'The Kiss'
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| The Belvedere Garden |
When we exited the museum, we realized how famous the painting was and there were several souvenirs about the same. The entire Belvedere complex had a huge garden that was decorated with several statues.
As evening approached, we departed from the palace and went to St. Stephen's Cathedral which is a Roman Catholic church that serves as the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna. The cathedral has been subjected to weathering (of limestone) and vandalism in the past but has been restored and renovated.
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| St. Stephen's Cathedral |
After the long, exhausting day we finally returned back to our hotel and had local Viennese food from a nearby restaurant.
13.08.19
Today's morning was slightly cold due to the rain from last night, so along with our jackets, we walked down the street to 'Café Milano' for breakfast. After relishing the warm breakfast, we visited the Schönbrunn Palace.
The Schönbrunn Palace is a gigantic palace that used to serve as the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers. The complex consists of not only the main building but also a zoo, a maze, and an enormous garden. The main building was a museum, not being interested in more art, we decided to view the other aspects of the palace.
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| The Palace |
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| Walking through the complex |
The first place we walked to was the gloriette (a gloriette is a building in a garden erected on a site that is elevated with respect to its surroundings), it was a tiring walk since we had to walk uphill. From the top, we witnessed a breathtaking view of the entire city of Wien.
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| The gloriette |
After exploring the huge complex for a few hours, we decided to go to the Prater, which is an amusement park. The park had opened in 1776 and is mostly popular for its ancient Ferris wheel.
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Prater
(The popular Ferris wheel in the background) |
From the amusement park, we went to the tallest structure in Austria at 252 meters, the Danube Tower (Donauturm). The tower was built in the 1960s and from the observation deck on the top, you can witness the panoramic view of the entire city. They also have a rotating café and a restaurant on the top but to dine we needed a reservation.
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| The Danube Tower |
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| View from the top |
14.08.19
We woke up early morning today because we were driving to Budapest, the capital of Hungary. We went to the Airport for breakfast and picked up our rental car from there and we bade adieu to Austria.
