After visiting two cities I’d already been to, I was really excited when we hopped on the train to Vienna. I absolutely love Brussels and Munich, but I can’t act like I was ready for some new scenery. I was also really glad that we were able to take the train from here on our on our trip. There’s just something that’s more fun about taking a train than flying. I think it makes me feel more European, haha!
Vienna was beautiful! The weather was amazing, the architecture stunning, the markets were a blast, and the vibe was perfect. The day we arrived was a national holiday, so not much was open, so we did a lot of strolling around the city until we got to the Stephansdom — the huge cathedral right off one of the fanciest plazas. There was a pop-up market all around the base of it and vendors were selling everything from wine to jewelry to art, to cutting boards! We did some shopping, I got a few cool black and white prints (and so did Katherine), a pretty silver ring and a cutting board for Rob (he needed one desperately). Half way through our shopping we stopped for a glass of prosecco and then kept strolling around. These are the kinds of things that you just happen across that, for me, make my visit to a city so memorable and special.
Our second day, we did our own little walking tour around all the historic buildings and made our way to Naschmarkt. Holy heck, this might be my new favorite place! If we had a market like this in Chicago, I can guarantee I would be spending a lot of summer afternoons shopping there. Naschmarkt is in the middle of the streets, boulevard style and has two rows. One was filled with vendors selling cheeses, meats, seafood, fresh fruits and veggies, wineries, exotic spices, olives, nuts, teas and beautiful beautiful flowers! The other row was filled with restaurants and bars. We spent a fair amount of time in both rows.
Our last day we did some shopping and then came back to Naschmarkt and gathered all sorts of goodies and made our own little picnic! We found a nice little park, laid out our purchases and dug in! It was delicious and such a fun and different thing to do after eating in restaurants and cafes the entire trip.
I loved Vienna and will definitely be coming back to this city! It was my favorite of our trip, any my sisters’ favorite too!
