Vienna was a surprise trip for Xmas from Joanne! It was one of my bucket list places. I always thought of it as a fancy, cultural must visit place so was delighted we were going. We stayed in a suitably grand and oldy worldy hotel a short walk from the main train line in and out of the city centre which also served the airport. The hotel breakfast buffet was good with a mixture of cold and hot dishes. Trains and trams got us around all the main sights easily enough. Day one was Belvedere Palace & Museum to see the Gustav Klimt exhibition and specifically “The Kiss” but there were many other wonderful exhibits and the palace itself is awesome with great views back over Vienna. Dinner day one was an odd food food tour which was just us two and an Italian tour guide! He talked a lot and watched us eat the obligatory Austrian dishes like Wiener Schnitzel and how to drink Viennese coffee properly, ie with a glass of water!

Day two was a hell of a lot of walking! We went to the very fancy Cafe Schwarzenberg at lunchtime to refuel and had coffee and Punschkrapfen cake which was amazing. The waiters wore tuxedos, we didn’t! You have to try a selection of cakes while in Vienna. Then on to a mostly closed (it was early in the day so best visited at night) but still impressive Prater Amusement Park. We done some shooting and got on the world’s oldest (1897!) Ferris wheel which was featured in the movie “The Third Man”.

The highlight for me was Wiener Eistraum, a multi level ice skating rink right outside the city hall or Rathausplatz. It even has an ice slope! It’s got an Xmas theme from November to December then a Viennese theme from January to March. It lit up lovely at night so best go then. We didn’t fall once somehow!

Other honorable attractions included St Stephen’s Cathedral, a quick walk by of Mozart’s House and the House of Music Museum.