Standing in historic city center, we set off for a long walk through Vienna on a misty Sunday morning. Grand monuments and beautiful Baroque architecture blanketed the streets of this stunning urban district.
Classical Statuary of Vienna
With stone tile under foot, we wandered through the streets of Vienna. During our stroll through the city, we discovered ornate statuary and fountains around every turn. As we approached St. Michael’s Square, we admired Rudolf Weyr’s Mastery of the Sea. This remarkable fountain, as seen below, dates back to 1895.
We continued our journey into the Museum Quarter, where we gazed upon this mighty memorial of Maria Theresa. Unveiled in 1888, this bronze monument grounds the Museum Quarter as a centerpiece.
Now wandering through the shopping district, we noted a substantial increase in the size of the crowd. The government mandates shop owners to close storefronts catering to locals every Sunday. Yet, you wouldn’t know it by the volume of people walking the streets. That said, legally authorized souvenir shops remain open each day of the week.
Take a look at the picture below for a view towards the imperial winter palace from the shopping district. Despite government-mandated store closures, tourists swarmed the area.
Kaffeehaus Culture in Vienna
After our long walk through the city, we dropped by Cafe Hawelka to appreciate Vienna’s legendary kaffeehaus culture.
Taking a deep breath, I dusted off my middle school German and ordered a melange. By some miracle, our friendly server actually understood my questionable attempt at speaking the local language. Exciting!
Now, let’s talk about that melange. A melange is similar to a cappuccino in the United States. However, baristas add just a little hot water to balance the bite. My melange arrived on a lovely silver tray with a glass of water. Perfect!
Apparently, certain rules and regulations must be followed by all Austrian coffeehouses to ensure consistency. Each cafe must serve their listed coffee beverages with correct proportions. Most noteworthy, we learned regulators actually spot check cafes for compliance!
Schönbrunn Palace
Once we finished our coffee, we visited Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace. While touring the palace, our guide described this location as the main summer residence for the Habsburg rulers. Furthermore, Schönbrunn Palace demonstrates fine Rococo architecture and decor throughout over 1,400 rooms.
Above all, we discovered that Schönbrunn Palace’s Cafe Residenz specializes in apple strudel! Each generous slice of this traditional Viennese strudel is served warm with freshly whipped cream. We thoroughly enjoyed this cozy strudel loaded with apples.
While we visited many staterooms during our tour, Schönbrunn’s security policy prohibits photography inside the palace. Fortunately, Schönbrunn Palace’s official website offers an extensive virtual tour of the opulent interior.
A Traditional Viennese Dinner
After our tour of the palace, we sat down to a traditional three-course Viennese dinner. My first course, tafelspitzsulze, brought a little adventure to the table. This beef and vegetable aspic is a dish ripped right out of the past.
For context, I’ve been working my way through one of Auguste Escoffier’s cookbooks over the past few months. In this book, Escoffier features an entire section on aspics. Until this moment, I’d never actually seen an aspic dish in the wild.
Despite the gelatinous texture and mellow beef flavor, this dish was tasty enough to finish. I’m glad I tried it, but I wouldn’t order it again.
For my next course, I had to try the Wiener Schnitzel. Fresh herbs, lemon and cranberry sauce accompanied this perfectly crisp wiener schnitzel. What a great selection!
Of note, you won’t hear locals refer to their hometown as Vienna. Rather, they refer to this local as Wien. So, when you see the same Wiener Schnitzel, the name is actually a reference to Vienna.
Finally, for dessert, I ordered Vienna’s famous sacher torte. A forkful of this dark chocolate cake with layers of apricot and chocolate ganache paired perfectly with my after dinner coffee.
We wrapped up our day in Vienna with a Mozart & Strauss concert at the Wiener Konzerthaus. Having spent a very full day in Vienna, I look forward an extended trip to take in more of Vienna’s museums, architecture and coffeehouse culture!
