One of our first ventures after what I have dubbed the "First-day-Fiasco" was a trip to St. Stephen's Cathedral. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vienna, and once I saw it I understood why.
These pictures don't even do it justice. I probably could have sat in Stephanplatz (basically the area of the cathedral) for hours just to look at this building. On a warmer day of course. :)
Believe it or not, the inside of the cathedral was even more impressive. Inside there were plenty of extras you could do. For a price, you could walk around the basement of the church in the catacombs, or go up to the altar, or sit in the pews. Most of it was fairly expensive, so we just enjoyed our surroundings.
For .90 Euros you could light a candle to leave there. I'm not sure what the exact symbolism for the candles was, because everything was written in German.
Once we were done at St. Stephen's, we walked outside in search of a restaurant. Warning: if you ever go to Vienna, food is expensive. The cheapest alternative to dining out would be to find a grocery store and buy your food there.
Despite the expense, Ty and I HAD to try wiener schnitzels.
Wiener schnitzel was basically just a very thin breaded and fried pork chop. We could have tried veal wiener schnitzel but it was an extra ten dollars a plate. So we stuck with our pork, and it was delicious.
Refueled with schnitzel, we went out in search of the Schonbrunn Palace.
This is the entryway to the palace.
Once in the front courtyard, there were statues and pieces of art like the fountain behind me everywhere.
And, there was art inside the palace... Don't mind my husband being eaten by a lion.
Behind the palace there was a HUGE courtyard. There were walkways encased with greenery--or what would be greenery in the summer. We're considering going back during the warmer months just so we can see this courtyard in all of its glory.
Ty stands in front of a HUGE fountain. They drained it of the water, but the artwork was still great!
Online, the Gloriette Cafe boasts of having the best view of Vienna. It sits on top of a very large and hard to climb hill behind the palace.
The cafe is just as ornately designed as the rest of the palace and its property.
And here was the stunning view from the cafe... oh, and there's Vienna in the background. ;)
Once we had taken in the sights at the palace, we trekked across town to the Belvedere, which is also a palace. On our way to Belvedere, we came across St. Elizabeth's Cathedral.
In my opinion, St. Elizabeth's is an overlooked treasure. I couldn't help but enjoy the fact that it had the beautiful cathedral style, but also that Ty and I sat in the church for half an hour and no one entered. It was quiet, peaceful, and breathtaking.
Finally, near dusk we found Belvedere.
The property was dotted with all sorts of strange statues. Note, the weird horse shaped woman with a baby riding on her back.
There was also a pond in front of the palace.
All over the roof were different statues and symbols.
In the back, another beautiful courtyard, with a great view.
After Belvedere, Ty and I went out to eat, and I had the BEST pancakes I have ever had in my life.
Now that's what I call a dessert!
The waiter described it as "chocolate stuffed pancakes." I would seriously return to Vienna just to have this again.
With that meal, our time in Vienna drew to a close. The next morning we hopped on the Student Agency Bus, and road back to our home in Prague.
Thank you for reading. :)
Kelsie and Ty so excited to read about your experiences. It's truly a life changing experience I wish more people your age would take advantage of. We can't wait to read your next post. Oh and Kelsie your puns are great. A sense of humor can be the best thing when away from home.
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