After our quick two-night stay in Munich, my Dad and I headed to Vienna by train. We arrived on Christmas eve to a city filled with light and Christmas cheer. Because of the holiday, many businesses were already closed and we learned that they would remain closed for the next two days. This meant that a lot of our time in Vienna was spent relaxing and simply wandering.
Although many businesses were closed during our visit to Vienna, most of the bigger museums were still open. We visited the Belvedere and The Natural History Museum, both being an interesting way to pass the time and get out of the cold for awhile. The Belvedere is a large art museum housed in yet another beautiful European palace. It is home to many pieces of art by famous artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet. However, the most famous (and my favorite) piece of art in the Belvedere is Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss.
The Natural History Museum features many exhibits including meteorites, fossils, and dinosaurs just to name a few. Although there was no shortage of interesting things to see in the museum, I was mesmerized by the gemstones and minerals exhibit and spent a great deal of time in this part of the museum.
One of my favorite memories from our trip to Vienna was taking in all of the beautiful architecture, including the Vienna State Opera and two awe-inspiring churches, Karlskirche (St. Charles Church) and Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral). We also visited and toured Schönbrunn Palace, the very grand summer palace that was home and host to many important figures in Austrian history. We did the shorter tour that did not include all of the rooms and did not allow access to the gardens. I felt that the tour was long enough and gave us an opportunity to take in the opulence of the palace, but I do wish we could have seen the gardens. The palace, along with many other building throughout Vienna, were made even more grand with the addition of sparkling white lights for the holidays.
And of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas in Vienna without visiting some Christmas markets and shopping for gifts. There are multiple markets throughout the city and many of them closed down right before we arrived; however, a handful of them were still open and we were able to visit the Christmas Village at Maria-Theresien Platz and the Christmas and New Years Market at Schönbrunn Palace. Each market had multiple booths selling unique gifts, crafts, home goods, food, sweets, and warm drinks.
We found multiple places to shop for gifts and souvenirs outside of the Christmas markets as well. Some of my favorite shops were Xocolat, a gourmet chocolate shop tucked into a little hidden alleyway; Haas & Haas, a tea house and shop selling unique and delicious tea blends; and Kuppitsch, a non-touristy book store located in a quaint neighborhood.
Our trip to Vienna was laid-back and filled with beautiful sights and festive cheer. While the weather was cold, seeing all of the lights and decorations made it all worth it and I would definitely recommend visiting Vienna for the holidays. Our next stop on our European adventure was Prague, which I absolutely adored and cannot wait to share about on my next post!
Leave a Reply