Sweet Treats and Eating in Vienna

Sacher Torte at Cafe Sacher, Vienna, Austria

Coffee and cake is essential in a Viennese experience and Sacher Torte (one of the most famous Viennese desserts) was invented by an Austrian. So we tried to hit two birds with one stone and had coffee and cake at Café Sacher. Many have said that the quality of Café Sacher’s Sacher Torte has deteriorated. Also, it was quite expensive. But, I have never met a cake I didn’t like so that did not stop us from giving this a try. The Sacher Torte was made up of two layers of cake with apricot jam in the middle and covered with chocolate icing. It was not very moist, but I also did not find it as dry as others have declared. The dollop of whipped cream was needed, though, and the cake was perfect with Verlängerter (Café Americano).

We also got some chocolate from Demel, said to be the Empress Sisi’s favourite chocolate shop. Sadly, my hips do not agree with only subsisting on cakes and Viennoiseries. So, here are other local dishes we had:

• Schnitzel (veal or chicken, flattened and deep fried)—we had a couple of schnitzel meals. One from a chain, Wienerwald which not bad for a fast food. We had another in Lubella in Kärntner Straße which was just ok. Easy enough to make or find somewhere else as this is available in most restaurants there.

Wiener Schnitzel in Vienna, Austria

• Leberkas--like a bologna sausage in a loaf. They slice it for you and it is sold by weight. We had some from Leberkas Pepi. This one was surprisingly good. Service was fast and it was a great value. I will have to look for this back home!

Leberkas from Leberkas Pepi, Vienna, Austria

Ok now back to sweet treats:

• Mozart balls (marzipan balls, also with pistachio and nougat, covered in chocolate)! I really liked these treats which we got from Salzburg! Of course, this can be bought in Vienna and even in Prague—we even saw this in the Prague airport.

Mozart balls from Salzburg, Austria

• The Neapolitan wafers (from Manner) were also yummy. It was hard to stop eating these bite-sized, crunchy wafers layered with a creamy chocolate and hazelnut spread. 

I realized that I had more of the goodies than actual meals, even if we already chose to skip the apple strudel. But hey, we were on vacation so indulge we did!

Highlights of Vienna

Belvedere, Vienna

If there was one thing I could do over in our trip, it would be to spend more time in Vienna.  The old or inner city was so majestic with its impressive structures and wide-open spaces, it needed to be enjoyed more thoroughly. We tried to squeeze in as much as we could. Below are our must-see’s:

1. Hofburg Palace—we were not able to explore much outside the Vienna old city. And since we had to see one of the palaces, we picked the principal residence, the Hofburg palace (instead of Schönbrunn, the summer residence) of the royals. We went to the see the Silver collection, Sisi museum and the Imperial apartments. It was very interesting (I’ve never seen so many plates and cutlery!) and we learned a lot about the history of the country and its rulers.

Vienna, Austria

Hofburg palace near the Spanish Riding School, Vienna, Austria

part of the Silver Collection, Hofburg palace, Vienna, Austria

2. St. Stephen’s Cathedral--loved this Gothic structure with its colourful tiled-roof. The altars and side chapels were as grand, in Baroque-style. 

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, Austria

inside St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, Austria

Near the Cathedral, on Graben’s shopping area, you can find

• The Holy Trinity Plague Column—a 60-foot, gilded, Baroque pillar erected as a memorial to the end of Vienna’s worst plague in history

Holy Trinity Plague Column, Vienna, Austria

• the Loos’ Loos—the public toilet built by Adolf Loos which was opulent as far as public toilets go.

Underground Public Toilet, Vienna, Austria

3. Belvedere—we only went to the Upper Belvedere since I wanted to see Klimt’s “The Kiss.” The grounds were expansive and the palace was just so stately, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They had a pretty good collection of Austrian art dating from the Middle Ages. Of course, we spent the most time ogling Klimt’s works.

gardens of the Belvedere, Vienna, Austria

inside one of the stately rooms of the Belvedere (Upper), Vienna, Austria

Try to check out:

• Naschmarkt is Vienna's most popular market, but we weren’t able to visit this as they closed at 730 pm and are also closed on Sundays. Many places in Vienna are still closed on Sundays.
• Another attraction we chose to forego, but many people visit, was the Spanish Riding School featuring the Lipizzaner stallions and their orchestrated moves.
• High mass—the music is amazing during high mass. See the schedule for St. Stephen’s and Augustinerkirche. We went to the mass at Augustinerkirche as we also wanted to see the Herzgruft (Hearts Crypt), burial chamber housing the 54 urns containing the hearts of members of the Habsburg imperials. They only open this to the public (or more of allow the public to take a peek) after high mass on Sundays. For that Sunday, the music was from Mozart’s Missa Brevis in G. Absolutely wonderful! 

Augustine church, Vienna, Austria

Habsburgs hearts in urns, Augustine church, Vienna, Austria

• The Ringstrasse tram goes around the Vienna Ring Road (the circular grand boulevard that surrounds the old town/inner city). With a pass, hop on and off to see the most important buildings in Vienna. We started at the Vienna State Opera House, which was another majestic structure (Neo Renaissance). Others include the Parliament, City Hall, university and museums. 

Tram, Vienna, Austria

Note

The Vienna State Opera and Vienna Boys choir are off season during summer (July and August). There are other concert options, though. Also, if you are in Vienna during December, try to catch the Christmas market. Gute Reise!

The hills are alive in Salzburg!

biking along Salzburg, Austria

We only did a day trip to Salzburg from Vienna given the limited time we had. It would have been better to spend the night there since it was a 2.5-hour trip from Vienna. But we were able to make it work--we spent 7 hours in Salzburg and 5 hours travel. We took an early train to Salzburg and joined a bike tour. Fraulein Maria’s bicycle tour took us around Salzburg--Sound of Music style, of course. We looked at the different spots where the movie was shot and we passed by places the tour buses cannot really navigate. It was a fun 3.5-hour bike tour and we covered over 8 miles (almost 13 km!). We took solace in the fact that we did not know anyone in this city as the tour guide took out a speaker and had us biking to the tunes of “Climb Every Mountain,” “Do Re Mi,” “Lonely Goatherd…” you get the picture. We saw the Nonnberg Abbey, Mozart bridge, Residence Square, Leopoldskron Palace and Lake, Frohnburg Palace, and the gazebo (Liesl and Rolfe’s) which was now in Hellbrunn gardens.

Horse Bath Fountain, Salzburg, Austria

Nonnberg Abbey, Salzburg, Austria

Residenzplatz, Salzburg, Austria

Leopoldskron Palace and lake, Salzburg, Austria

Gazebo at Hellbrunn, Salzburg, Austia

Frohnburg Place, Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg was such a beautiful city and hubby declared it as one of his favourites. The eyes feasted on Baroque structures among mountains, bridges and the Salzach river. The city was very picturesque. There were also modern structures as commissioned by the government such as the man on the golden orb.

Man on the golden orb, Salzburg, Austria

We checked out the market stalls and had chicken and sausage wraps, near the Makartsteg Bridge with the love locks. 

Makartsteg bridge with love locks, Salzburg, Austria

We also walked along the Mirabell gardens and the area of the Mozarteum/Marionette theatres before we headed back to the train station. 

Mirabell gardens, Salzburg, Austria

Mirabell gardens, Salzburg, Austria

We could spend another day here and biking is truly the way to go!