Vienna Girls’ Trip

“Runway 3 4”
– That dude flying the plane

Birthday present for Marie this year was taking her to a surprise destination for a weekend. I chose Vienna since none of us had been there before. I was hoping to go see an opera at the famous Opera House, but unfortunately “Carmen” was completely sold out when I checked and the only alternative was something I’d never heard of that was about 5 hours long… I decided against that and instead booked tickets for the “Light of Creation” light show in the Votiv Church, opting for a nice hotel within walking distance.
(Radisson Blu Style Hotel, Vienna)

It started out a bit rocky with me buying a round trip to and from the airport for the both of us and the trains being cancelled because of weather. So not the best start, but not really that much of a problem. We got a taxi to the hotel and I booked one back on the Sunday to avoid getting stressed about trains and buses not running because of snow. We asked the not-so-chatty taxi driver what the deal was and he explained in 5 words or less that while Austria is used to snow, Vienna was not used to this much show this late in the year. (Didn’t think 20. – 22. February was really that “late in the year”, but ok…)

We wandered the streets of Vienna, me with Ultravox’ hit song “Vienna” as a permanent brainworm (just the chorus though, not the whole thing… Just “It means NOTHING TO MEEEEE! AAAAAAAAAAH VIENNAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!1111”)

Marie went in search of the original “Mozartkugel“, chocolate balls with marzipan in them. At least in some of them, some had nougat instead, I preferred them. We bought souvenirs, built a snowman in a park next to an ice rink and named him “Bertram”, saw the opera house from the outside and tried traditional Austrian dishes like Wienerschnitzel, Tafelspitz (boiled beef), Sachertorte UND apfelstrudel.

The light show in the church was beautiful and I was glad to have booked it. It makes the trip more special when you have an event as well. I loved creating these memories with Marie ❤ It was truly so relaxing to be travelling with her, we make a good team. Even if she does wake up at 6-7 am 😉

SPECIFIC MEMORIES

The tap in our hotel broke btw… The hot water kept running all night because they didn’t manage to fix it before the next day. I will forever remember the hotel employee, BJ, saying he would send someone the next day and the next day it was still just him, but with a better screwdriver this time. He fixed it though, left us a handwritten note on the tap that said “ok :)”, but no way were we touching it so… I guess the next guests will have to check and see if it works.

Marie paid for breakfast at the hotel which was a good shout. We got up an had our pick of something resembling a full English every day. arie asked for porridge one morning and got something very watery, but she looked happy with the taste at least.

The café next to our hotel constantly had a line way out the door, (Café Central Wien), apparently famous for hosting people like Trotsky and Freud. We never went in, opting to find places with no waiting line. First evening we ate at “Zum Schwarzen Kameel” and the next we chose “Verde” close to the hotel. Happy with both.

We found the local “Shakespeare & Company” book store (as far as I can tell not the same as the Shakespeare and Company in Paris) and went to have a look. Didn’t end up buying anything, but I ALMOST did… Beautiful books are definitely a potential pit fall for me… I had to remember that I. Do. Not. Want. To. Own. More. Stuff!

We spent some time at a Christmas Shop with the kitchiest name ever “EDELGLAS CITYSTORE WIEN”, where I got a bauble, but also one of those traditional bird ornaments with the feather tail you can clip on the Christmas Tree. We used to have those when I was a child, but I guess they must’ve all broken along the way cause we have none left now. So I got myself a new one. For new Christmases… ❤