Our Stay in Vienna: Through Christmas and New Years
Usually, we stay in the historic “old town” sections of a City, but this time Sara found a great place in the Josefstadt area of Vienna, just outside “The Ring” which circles the center of Vienna. What a great choice! Our apartment had large rooms and all the amenities we want for our stays. And we loved the area, a very diverse part of town with a large Turkish population. Across the street was a grocery market. Four doors down was a large green marketplace that went on for many blocks. Vendors featured vegetables, meats, fish, cheeses, clothing, and lots of Mediterranean street food. We loved taking a delicious lunch here with a kebob sandwich for just 3 €. Evan bought his 3 pair of thick, cozy socks at the market for just 5 €. [Sara spent 29 € for a single pair at a city center sporting goods store.]
We didn’t need to be in the town center: Right outside our place, the #2 tram stopped, taking us quickly down into the center of Vienna: to the Hofburg Palace, to Karlplatz, or to the State Opera House. We loved the tram/bus/subway system. We bought our weekly pass allowing us to ride as we wished all around town. It works pretty much on the honor system. If we were stopped without a current pass, the fines could be heavy. Yet we were never checked in our entire stay. Public transportation in Vienna is easy and affordable. A week’s pass was about $12 for unlimited rides.
Viennese Café Culture: Since we’ve been in Europe, we make at least one café stop a day. The cafes in Vienna are special, with large indoor dining areas as well as the outdoor seating. The winter is cold, but still, many are outdoors. We enjoy having our coffee outdoors, but so do the smokers who cannot smoke inside, so we try to distance ourselves. We’ve visited the Museum Café, Café Central, the Café Residenz at Schloss Schönbrunn, and many others.
The Café Culture in Vienna is like nowhere else. They feature many various coffee drinks, hot chocolate and so on, but also fantastic sweets and desserts. Some offer meals comparable to a restaurant. And the indoor settings are large and so beautiful. The Café Central, for instance, is famous for its coffee, sweets and its stunning beauty. If you can get in (sometime there’s a line waiting), just order your drink, and take in the atmosphere for as long as you like. Even if there’s a line out the door, here in Europe, the seat is yours until you choose to leave.
There are more than 2000 cafes, coffee bars, pastry shops with cafes and espresso bars in Vienna. Having coffee or tea in the afternoon is one of our favorite things to do while traveling. For us it’s a time to relax, talk about our day and do some travel planning and dreaming. Whenever possible, we prefer to sit outside. In the winter, blankets are provided.
Great Food in Vienna:
- Zwolf Apostelnkellar (“Twelve Apostle’s Cellar”): Dating back to 1339, this restaurant in the cellar provides a great atmosphere and delicious food. Sara never cared for Wiener Schnitzel before, but we are in “Wien”/Vienna, so we had to try it. Sara fell in love! We even came back for a second visit, both of us ordering the Wiener Schnitzel, on a night when they had music during dinner: one on accordion and one singing guitarist. After playing a while, they toured the room. When told that we came from America, they played “Home on the Range” and “I’ve been Workin’ on the Railroad.”
- Griechenbeisl (the “Greek Inn or Tavern”): This one is 550 years old in a great old medieval building. Sara enjoyed her second Wiener Schnitzel here, while Evan tried the classic “Boiled Beef Dinner,” a favorite of the last Hapsburg Emperor, Franz Joseph. So Evan thought it might be just good enough for him. And yes, it was a treat.
- Christmas Markets: We often caught a low-cost meal or a snack at the Christmas Markets. For more detail, see our post on the Viennese Christmas Markets.
- The Josefstadt Street Market: Just a block down from our apartment was a great street market that went on for many blocks. In this diverse part of town, the vendors and clients were often Turkish or Middle Eastern. We especially enjoyed delicious Kebab & Pita Sandwiches for just 3-5 €.
- The Naschmarkt: Another great spot in Vienna, this is a large, more permanent green market that has been operating from this spot for over 100 years. It has 120 open stalls for vegetables, fruits, nuts, meats, cheeses and more. There are also many sit-down restaurants and a places for take-away snacks . We loved browsing here, and we stopped for a delicious sushi meal at one of the many restaurants. We’ve never heard of a chicken sushi before, but Evan tried it and loved it.
Covid Restrictions for the Holidays in Vienna: Austria has been more restrictive than most in their efforts to keep people safe during the Covid era. We could not even enter the country until 12/17 due to a 20+ day lockdown. Even then, restaurants and stores were closed until 12/20. Covid certificates were required for entry to restaurants, indoor performances, and even some shops. Although outdoor Christmas Markets opened up, and some were quite crowded, you had to show your Covid vaccine certificate to enter the food and drink area. And most people wore masks as required. We absolutely approve of these measures. We complain only about those who won’t get vaccinated and/or refuse to cooperate.
Christmas In Vienna: Christmas is for family, so we knew that most everything would be closed from Friday evening, through Christmas day and the Sunday following. We made sure to have plenty of groceries and planned for some quiet time just enjoying each other’s company. Sara cooked and we made a few phone calls to friends and family back in the states, and then we binge watched The Lord of the Rings.
New Year’s in Vienna: In Vienna, large crowds normally gather to celebrate and watch huge fireworks displays over St. Stephan’s Cathedral and at The Prater – just the sort of New Year’s event that Sara loves and looks forward to. However, all the big events and all the fireworks were canceled this year to avoid further spreading the virus. Sara was very disappointed, but we understand the decision. Wait…….is that the sound of fireworks I hear in the distance?
New Year’s Eve was a lovely day, so we walked “The Ring” (5.3km) around the Aldstadt of Vienna, once more enjoying the Vienna’s marvelous architecture. Then we dined at another historically famous wine tavern, Figlmüller, which claims to be the “Home of the Schnitzel.” Guess what Sara ordered? Back in our apartment, we awaited the midnight hour. As it approached, we watched “Dinner for One” a black & white comedy sketch recorded in 1963, which has become a New Year’s Eve tradition throughout much of Europe. Even today, it is still hilarious. Then we danced in our apartment to “the Blue Danube” and kissed each other at midnight. We heard illegal fireworks going off in the neighborhood which we could see by leaning out of our windows. We ate our chocolate pig to ensure good luck for 2022, and it was 1:00 before we went to bed. For us, that’s a very late night.
There are many more beautiful parks and sites we passed while walking the Ring: the Opera House, museums, the Parliament building to name a few. We’ll include photos of some of these beautiful buildings in the next blog about Vienna.
New Years Day: Just about everything is closed – no markets, no groceries, no restaurants. So we visited The Prater, an amusement park across the canal. The small Christmas Market in the park was open, and people gathered to watch a large outdoor screen and listen to the annual New Year’s Concert by the Vienna Philharmonic, a concert viewed each year around the world. We so enjoyed sipping on gluhwein while watching and listening to the concert on the big screen. Walking around the large amusement park, we were surprised to find arcade buildings with names like “Coney Island” and “Daytona Beach.” [I’ve often questioned Daytona’s claim to be “the World’s Most Famous Beach,” but if it’s known even here in Vienna, perhaps there’s some truth in it.]
