The next leg of our Central European Adventure with kids was Vienna, Austria. Before arriving on the early morning train from Salzburg, I didn’t really have a concept of how big Vienna is. It felt a little more like London than other other place I had been. That means that there is lots to do there. We stayed here only three days and would need to stay another three days to hit even the standard tourist spots. But we enjoyed what we saw.
We started out with timed tickets for the Imperial Treasury. This consists of the secular and the ecclesiastical treasuries. Both were fascinating. While my husband was ready to go after an hour or two, I could hardly drag my nine year old out of there at closing time. The crown jewels are extensive and fascinating. We really enjoyed the crown jewels exhibit in the Tower of London. You could get closer, stare longer, and listen to detailed explanation of each piece here in Vienna. The audio guides were a bargain for a family of four, and really helpful for getting the most out of the exhibit for all of us!
Some of the ecclestiastical pieces were stunning. It was hard to believe so many relics that held so much meaning throughout the medieval ages were locked away in this museum rather than in churches. But the Austrians had enough conflicts over the centuries that this does seem the safer place. My girls love a good gift shop and this one was pratty good, even if filled with irrelavent princess objects.
One of the must try delights of Vienna is kaiserschmarrn or Emperor’s mess. It is cross between a pancake and a sundae (without ice cream). It’s chopped up and served with warm fruit compote. We had it traditional style in the back of Demel Cafe (where you can take out) and late at night in Kaiser’s, a casual spot where you can put fun toppings like nutella and oreos on top. The pastries, cakes, and coffee in Vienna were a big part of the city’s charm, for me.
One negative to Vienna is that everything closes fairly early for a big city and there isn’t much to do at night. A really spectacular night time show was the Creation Light Show at Votive Church. An all music and light show loosely depicting the story of Creation was told using stunning colors, images, and sounds. It started at 9:30 p.m. (we couldn’t find a single cafe open on our way) at lasted less than an hour. Every second was delightful! Pro-tip: the cheaper seats are in the back and are actually better – you will crane your neck til it aches if you sit in the front half. It is a good idea to read the creation story in Genesis 1 before you go. A refresher makes the show more enjoyable.
Our activity for the next morning was the Prime Tours tip-based walking tour. My husband was vocal about this being his least favorite tour. It was very warm that day. We took lots of water breaks and one optional bathroom break in Starbucks. It was very history based and less capturing the lay of the land based. Our guide focused quite a bit of the Hitler portion of history. I am a history buff, hubbie not as much. I thought it was good, but it was the least memorable of our tours. Vienna is large and spread out, so I relate it to a walking tour of New York – there’s no way you could hit everything. He kept it to the Ringstrasse, and that to the touristy parts. But we learned a lot about how Austrians view themselves and why history has played out the way it has.
We ducked into St. Stephen’s Cathedral for some a/c, and to view the Mozart plaques – one commemorating his funeral there, the other the debut of his Requiem, same day, same event.
We spent a really lovely afternoon at the Haus Der Musik. This is an interactive music themed museum. This was really fun for all of us – and the gift shop gets an A+. We played scales on the musical stairs, created our unique electronic musical signature, learned about all the famous Austrian composers, and spent time conducting a virtual Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra that actually followed the pace of the electronic baton. There were comfy floor cushions so you could view your musical creations on the ceiling. A number of dads could be found there viewing the creations for extended periods, almost like napping. This was really unique and well done. It was not even pricey.
Another really fun thing we did that evening was attend a classical concert. Browsing downtown for a lunch spot (we did find a really yummy dumpling shop called LaoLao) we stumbled across a concert vendor. Coming from a touristy locale myself I am leery, but a quick search showed positive reviews. We were able to secure tickets to concerts I had seen advertised on-line for half the price. We found one for the evening, refreshed at our spacious, comfy AirBnB and went back rested in the cool of the evening for what turned out to be a highlight of our stay in Vienna.
It was called the Imperial Gala Concert by the Weiner Mozart Orchestra. The musicians were excellent and to the delight of our youngest, a pair from the Weiner Royal Ballett (Vienna Ballet) danced to some of the pieces. A talented Hungarian soprano, Brigitta Simon, performed with such expression that we did not need to know the language to understand her meaning. This was music the way Mozart would have performed it – fun, a little different each time, and passionate. It was a wonderful experience for us and for our kids. Classical music is always stuffy in the U.S. We are always the youngest people at a performance and nervous to do or say something wrong. This was fun, a little rambunctious, and delightful to the ear.
The last day we checked out, stored our luggage at the mall lockers near the train station, and took the subway to Schonbrunn Palace. Our 20 year old had just been there with her choir, and hubbie and I had toured Versailles only a few months ago on our 25th anniversary trip, so we opted to tour only the Children’s Museum section of Schonbrunn Palace. This was a great decision. We all had so much fun in the interactive, yes you can touch it wing of the palace.
We dressed up in costumes, reenacted jobs and positions within the castle life, set the table for dinner for the Empress and her family, and matched up childhood portraits with adult paintings of each ruler.
Afterwards, we went to the cafe just outside the palace for the priciest, snootiest dining experience ever. This expensive cafe charged extra for each condiment, for each glass of tap water, served up tiny portions, and was a miserably hot, sweaty experience – not recommended. A brief walk in the gardens showed us that it was too hot for outdoor fun. We are hearty heat-loving Floridians. But every door you walk through has glorious air-conditioned relief. Not so in Europe, mostly especially Austria. Within two June days we went from jeans and sweaters to short and tank tops.
We went back for our luggage and took a late (5:30 p.m.) train to Budapest. That was a miserable, hot train ride, where we were never quite sure if we were in the correct carriage or seats. The kindly employees passed out warm water bottles for hydration. It was loud; it kept getting delayed. The train was supposed to arrive at 8:30 p.m. and got there more like 11:00 p.m. Turns out Budapest is the city that never sleeps of central Europe, so it wasn’t a problem. But I didn’t know that yet.
All in all, Vienna needed more time. But it is expensive! Expect to pay for every little thing. Most big cities have free museums. Vienna aims to suck its tourists dry. There are very nice people. And there are people who clearly wish you weren’t there. There are so many museums and exhibits that we did not have time for. I’d like to go back when my youngest is a little older, though we did find plenty to do with a 20 and a 9 year old. German is a little more familiar, so it was easier to puzzle out street signs and restaurant menus, though most people spoke some English. Our enjoyment of Vienna surrounded love of music and food. Hands down, Austria had the best food in Central Europe.
