Dear Vienna,

So far you have been the most magically place I have visited. I don’t know if it was just the first place I didn’t know anyone or all the pretty lights or the easy pace of your city or simply the perfect serendipity of it all BUT you are one to come back to. You are a city for lovers and I found myself in love with all that you are.

1. $3-$4 Opera – That’s right! If you’re willing to wait in line and stand – the Opera is only $3 or $4 depending on the day and the opera. I saw Manon a  French Opera for $4 and it was amazing. I waited in line about 1.5 hours and got what I think was the best seat (and by seat and mean standing spot) in the house. I would do this again and I would HIGHLY recommend this to any and every one visiting Vienna.  *TIP: bring a scarf to hold you spot. 

2. Schonbrunn Palace – Is gorgeous! I just did the Imperial Tour (the shorter one cause I was trying to fit everything in in one day) and it was perfect. The bedrooms were beautiful but the ballroom was absolutly breathtaking. And the way the audio tour is set up is just the perfect amount of history and explanation. Now … for some more research on Sisi The Empress of Austria…

3. Schonbrunn Palace Gardens and Cafe Gloriette – I went in the winter so the lushness of these gardens were not in full bloom. But even in the winter, on a rainy day, these gardens are gorgeous. The best part is hiking through the woods and up to the VERY top to look over the whole area. Once at the top you have to treat yo’self to one of Vienna’s delicious cakes. I had the special called Gloriettetorte (coconut, cream, chocolate, all the good stuff) and a cup of Viennese Coffee. Yum. That view and that cake…nothing better in my book! 

4. St. Stephen’s Catacombs Tour – I’m a bit “churched” out so when I saw the option for a Catacombs Tour @ St. Stephen’s I was singing all the PTLs! This creepy, little tour takes you into the bowels of the church. It starts off pretty easy with the tombs of St. Stephen’s Priests and Bishops. But then … you get in a little further and you find out this used to be the cemetery to all the Catholics in Vienna. Eeeeek. Several of the rooms had openings to see the old skeletons and piles of bones. There was even a room with walls made of bones. Super creepy BUT right up my ally.  

5. Almdudler Soda – Don’t know what it is – it was labeled as lemonade but defiantly not lemonade – but it was yummy. You can only find this interesting soda in Vienna so I just had to try it. But seriously, I am well on my way to Type 2. Oh well…

*Did some research – it’s a combo of grape and apple concentrates flavored with herbal extracts. Got it! Kinda?

6. Figmuller – Schnitzel! This is the most famous place for schnitzel and it did not disappoint. Crispy, juicy, tender and salty (but not too salty) are all perfect adjectives to describe. It’s a reservations only kinda place but since I was traveling solo I got right in and right out. #SoloPerks.

7. Sachertorte @ The Sacher Hotel – So this is THE cake. When you come to Vienna you find out cake is … kind of a big deal. The cake cafes are EVERYWHERE! But Sacher is The One! The Sachertorte is chocolate cake with apricot filling and chocolate frosting served with whipped cream because it’s SO rich (sidenote: the whipped cream here does not have sugar in it so it really helps with the sweet and richness of this cake). YUM! Some people think there are better places to get this cake but for me it was half about the cake, half about the experience. And like Marie Antoinette said, “let them eat cake (all the cakes).”

8. Albertina Museum – Kinda like the church thing, I’m a bit “museumed” out. So I was on the fence about this one. But I am SO glad I went ahead and did it. The Rembrandts, Monets, Picassos, Chagalls and Malevichs were all awesome but for me it was all about Hans Robert Pippal and his sketches of Vienna. I literal looked at them all 2, 3, 4 sometimes 5 times each. Well worth the $13.

9. Naschmarkt – I feel like you can tell a lot about a city by visiting it’s market. The Naschmarkt was awesome you can buy EVERYTHING here! The best part, it was right across from my hostel. I went there each morning and had a delicious and responsibly priced breakfast. AND got to share it with two wonderful, new friends. Shout out to Emily and Sofia!

10. Vienna by Billy Joel – Duh, I had to. This city has a ton to see and you can walk the whole thing. Well, I did at least and I just had to listen to this song on repeat. It’s never been my favorite Billy Joel song, more like top 5, but this city started a fire (get it?) for me and this one and it’s now top 2. Ha! AND I will have it as a reminder of my Magical Leap Day in Vienna forevvvvvver.

V- I can’t wait to come back to your city and hopefully I will bring with me a lover of all things beautiful, much like yourself. 😍 You will be missed but I WILL be back. That’s a promise!!!!

All the ❌⭕️❌⭕️❌’s

Em