The next 13 hour flight brought us to our first European destination. Vienna, Austria hadn’t originally been that high on our list of must-see places, it was more of a means to an end – the cheapest port into Europe we could find. Our few days in this beautiful city left us quite impressed. The weather was fantastic, it didn’t feel over-crowded, the people were friendly, and neither of us realised just how much the cleanliness of a city can impact your impression of a place until we came here. Boy, was this place clean!

The transport systems are also efficient and easy once you get the hang of them. Perhaps the jetlag was fogging our brains, but catching those first few Underground lines with train transfers to the suburb we were staying wasn’t the most straight-forward thing, especially as non-German speakers. Big props to the most courteous Austrian gentleman, who saw us struggling with a ticket machine fresh off the plane, and took it upon himself to help us purchase the right tickets and then actually catch the same train as us (the longer route home for him) to make sure we caught all the right transfers!

We ended up buying a 72hr pass which includes unlimited use of all public transport options within the main city limits, and found this suited our needs perfectly. As a bonus, this pass also gives you access to discounts on many different activities, entrance fees and some restaurants. Every little bit helps when you’re travelling, especially as Vienna isn’t the cheapest of European cities. Pro tip: Don’t forget to VALIDATE your ticket!

If there’s one thing you should do in Vienna, make sure it’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral/Stephansplatz. Matt and I love anything architecture or design-related, so we could stare in awe of magnificent historic buildings all day, but this one is particularly spectacular. Schönbrunn Palace is also a winner and tourist favourite. There is a lot to offer there aside from the palace itself: a leisurely stroll around the enormous gardens, the short walk up to The Gloriette (which also provides a lovely view back to the city), the zoo, a maze, and, being the self-professed plant fanatic that I am, my personal favourite – the Palmenhaus. I would live in there if I could.

It’s always pleasant wandering around an old city like Vienna, down the cobbled alleyways that lead to yet another ancient church or historically significant building. We hadn’t pinpointed it on our list of places to visit, but we spied a pair of white spires from a few streets away, and upon investigation, found the stunning Votivkirche. Mozart’s house, very near to the city centre, was somewhere on our to-do list also, but we were somewhat disappointed in it. The audio tour is very informative (if not a little long-winded), but the rooms themselves were basically empty and the information was fairly speculative (e.g. this MIGHT have been Mozart’s dining room, and these MIGHT be similar to the type of dining chairs he had). From our experience, we recommend visiting the museum at the birthplace of Mozart in Salzburg instead, if you have the opportunity.

I’d also like to make a special shout-out to all the gelato, schnitzel and bratwurst vendors in Vienna, because yum.