Frohe Weihnachten von Wien

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December 25th 2007

Published: December 30th 2007

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Christmas Markets, mulled wines, hats, gloves, scarves, I love winter and I love Christmas! So for Christmas it was off to Vienna. Vienna is split into 23 districts with the city center being the first district and then it branches out from there. We stayed inside the Ringstraβe (giant circle road) which circles the Inner Stadt (city center). Our hotel was in a great location within walking distance of everything we wanted to see. We got there late on Saturday so it was to the hotel bar and then to bed. Sunday we started the day off by walking up and down Kärntner Straβe, then taking pictures of Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral), Albertina, Hofburg—Imperial Palace and eventually finding our way to our first Christmas Market—Wiener Weihnachtsdörfer. I was so excited! All the wood stalls were nestled in between Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History) and Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts) with a large statue depicting Empress Marie-Theresa in the center of the square. Each stall had a sign decorated with greenery and filled with all their goodies to buy. Of course the first thing Koi had to do was grab a mug of hot chocolate and rum 😊 We wandered

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through the stalls enjoying the Christmas atmosphere before getting really, really cold and heading back towards our hotel. To warm up a bit we took a ride in a horse drawn carriage and saw a bit more of Inner Stadt. We then stopped into the Albertina art gallery to completely defrost and warm up. What an amazing visit. I was inches from Picasso’s, Monet’s, and Matisse’s. Crazy! A couple decided to donate their art collection to the Albertina and the gallery put it all on display. They were the original artworks and I couldn’t believe I was looking at them. There was also a modern art (70’s and later) exhibit that was wonderful. Vienna is so full of fantastic art, but we couldn’t get to everything. I can only keep Koi focused on art for a short period of time before he gets antsy to go somewhere else. So many museums and galleries we just admired from the outside.

Christmas Eve day we found ourselves wandering the Kärntner Straβe this time with the shops open. For lunch we found the Figlmüller where I enjoyed thier famous Wiener Shcnitzel. Yummmy! I thoroughly enjoyed the schnitzel. We made our way to

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the biggest of the Christmas Markets in Vienna, and the oldest—Wiener Christkindlmarkt. Where Koi this time enjoyed a strawberry punsch (a hot alcoholic beverage). This market was by far my favorite. I had to buy a few little trinkets to remember the market. We took some pictures of Parliament on our way back. Every building has statues allover it. Parliament was no exception. We stopped by the Hofburg but it was already closed. In the evening we had our first holiday meal. If anyone ever takes a trip to Vienna we both highly recommend Eulennest. It is a small establishment but lovely. Not sure how it is really run on a normal basis but for a holiday meal it was fantastic! We heard it is normally a wine bar. For dinner we enjoyed an Austrian bottle of wine and a 5 course meal—fabulous!

Christmas day we relaxed a bit. We had been walking so much in the cold that we decided not to be as adventurous. St Stephens Cathedral was open so we got to see a bit of the inside. We took a little walk but didn’t really go anywhere new. We stopped to take some pictures of

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the Staatsoper (State Opera House). Christmas dinner was nice but couldn’t beat the night before.

There is so much more of Vienna we missed. I would love to come back and visit. We had a nice time while we were here, with each other, not having to deal with the dramas of work. However, I may have to compromise with Koi next year and go somewhere warm. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

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