New Thing #86 - Balkans Trip - Day 3 (Vienna, Austria)

June 15, 2015

Had a delightful night's rest. After the adventure of getting from Istanbul to Vienna and the hot box of a room we had, it was nice to get a good night's sleep...with the help of the eye mask, ear plugs and muscle relaxer of course. No shame. I've learned that the best way to avoid jet lag is to get the best night sleep I can on that first night, and I'll be good to go for the rest of the trip. Mission accomplished.

We opted to try breakfast in our hostel, which ended up being nothing to write home about. Boxed cereal, bread and jam and canned fruit cocktail. But for 2 Euros, I couldn't really complain. We set off around 8:30 or so and decided to walk down the main shopping street on the way to the historic center. Right out of the gate, we took a wrong turn and ended up walking way out of our way. We should have figured it out sooner because the streets started looking rougher and rougher. Eventually, we pulled the map out and found we were super far off track. Guess I should have brushed up on map mavening since the last trip. But hey, German words are hard. Give me Italian streets to navigate any day.

I didn't really feel unsafe where we ended up, but I was definitely ready to find a new course to a better part of town. At least the weather was gorgeous. I was feeling pretty stoked to be in Europe for the first time not wearing jeans, jacket and sensible water proof shoes. I was still feeling pretty touristy in my tennis shoes, but I can't help the fact that I have terrible arches and can't walk for long periods of time in poorly supported shoes. Looking super American is a small price to pay for having happy feet.

Viennese streets before we took a wrong turn.

Beautiful architecture.

Um. What?

Should have bought some jeans here.

Once we were back on course, we headed to Naschmarkt, an open air market in existence since the 16th century. And I wonder if the ladies in the 1500s were cat called as much as we were today. Seriously, you guys. I had no idea Vienna would be the yard my milkshake brought all the boys to. Now, granted, the men/boys working the markets didn't necessarily look Viennese, but they seemed to love that I was American (damn shoes are such a giveaway). I didn't even speak to 90% of them. They just professed their love for me as I walked by checking out their assorted fruits and nuts (get your mind out of the gutter). One particular guy shouted: "Oh, Mama Mia, I love you!" It was getting so bad though that I had to avoid eye contact and rush past every stall. Not that I intended on buying much, but it was a bit ridiculous. I'm not tooting my own horn or anything, but the market in Vienna is the last place I ever expected to get hit on so much.

But, back to the Nashmarkt. There were dozens of restaurants serving all kinds of food from local fare to sushi and seafood. Individual stalls and shops were practically on top of one another, and it was difficult to tell where one started and another began. They sold everything from fruits and vegetables - both foreign and domestic, to meats, cheeses, herbs, spices, breads and meats. More shops sold jams, jellies, candles, clothing and more. It was block after block of treats, though it soon became obvious that most of the shops sold the same things. I'm not sure how people are to choose from one over another - besides the freshness of the fruit. I guess maybe the catcalling is supposed to help drive business.

Restaurants on both sides.

Assorted Turkish Delight.

Dresses.

ADORABLE! I wish I had a nephew to buy this for.

OMG. My nieces are too big for this, but I still wanted to buy it.

Stall after stall after stall after stall...

A good lesson in reading Austrian words.

We arrived before lunch time, so by the time our exploration was complete, I was starving. We picked a cute little table outside in the thick of the market to people watch and try some Viennese food at Landsknect Treft. I opted for the minced beefsteak, mashed potatoes and side salad. The beef wasn't bad, though a bit salty, and you can rarely go wrong with mashed potatoes. The salad was basically a small bowl of iceberg lettuce with vinegar on top. Europe still hasn't embraced a decent salad yet.

Spendy bottle of water.

Not bad! The potatoes and gravy were the best. I left the "salad" there.

While we ate, it began to lightly rain, but we were covered under one of the restaurant's patio awnings. By the time we had paid and decided to leave though, the temperature had dropped significantly, it was pouring down rain, and the wind had kicked up more than a few notches. My shorts and tank top were not really cutting it at this point, so we ducked into a small cafe to wait out the storm. We chose poorly since it was packed inside for the lunch crowd and there was no WiFi. The patrons looking for a place to sit and eat didn't seem happy about us hoarding a table. Back out we went into the downpour to find the Starbucks we had walked by earlier in the day. While I don't encourage going into American chains while in Europe, we needed their free WiFi to plan out our next move. Clearly, walking around and exploring the city was off the table for the moment.

After finding Starbucks, we realized we had no desire to check out the numerous museums a few short blocks away. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't feeling very museum-y this trip. I know there were a ton of great places to visit, but neither Nikki nor myself were jonesing for any history lessons today. We were, however, interested in seeing pretty buildings, so we made a plan to view the Belvedere grounds (it had finally stopped raining), followed closely by trips to two local breweries made famous by an American TV show, Chug.

Can I just say that Austrian/German words are hard, but maps of Vienna are harder? Good grief, you'd think we could read a damn map, but it was confusing as hell. It took us longer than it should have to find Belvedere, and even when we did find it we walked 85 blocks ALL THE WAY AROUND IT. Because we thought we had stumbled upon the exit. I'm pretty sure now that we could have gotten in the first end, but at least we got our exercise.

The architecture is fantastic.

No idea what this building is.

Back of the Belvedere, and we assumed no way to get to the gardens.

I love me some archways.

Do the things! Score the points! 

So, the Belvedere is a historic complex with two large palaces on either end, a sloped garden in between with fountains and sculptures, all classically Baroque. Inside one of the palaces is also the Belvedere Museum which houses Gustav Klimt's legendary painting "The Kiss". So yeah, I had failed to research that ahead of time, so I had no idea it was inside there. Needless to say, we didn't go inside (neither of us were feeling entrance fees), but we did enjoy a walk around the grounds. Perhaps the weather had dampened our moods - or perhaps the thought of delicious beer was propelling us onward - but we didn't spend very long looking around. I suppose I was quickly becoming disenchanted with the city. I can't explain why (I mean, I AM in freaking Europe after all). Perhaps it had to do with the weather, or maybe I wasn't fully over my jet lag.

One of the palaces.

Great landscaping!

Austrian art.

The garden between the two palaces at Belvedere.

Vienna in the distance.

Found out too late that "The Kiss" was in here. :(

Identical tiny trees: too much work for me.

So, they had this mirror that you could take a picture of yourself with Belvedere in the background. Except, it looks really dumb with my camera in front of my face...

Some serious landscape art going on here.

So pretty!

I wonder what the ramp was intended for? Carriages? Wheelchairs? Skateboards? Shopping cart races?

Shrubbery maze!

We quickly exited and discovered Salm Brau brewery was right around the corner. How convenient! I had recently watched an episode of Chug, a show that basically follows the host to 6 cities while he drinks. Rough gig, amiright? While in Vienna he visited Salm Brau, and the beer looked delicious. And delicious it was. Our waitress seemed to be hating her life and wasn't the friendliest of ladies, but at least the beer was tasty, and our moods were vastly improving. After a round, we chose to move on to another brewery to check out more beer, eat some food, and hopefully enjoy some better company.

We made it!

I know exactly three words on this sign.

The menu was gigantic.

Comically large menu...

My beer on the left: Salm Weizenbier/Weissbier. The menu described it as a unique Bavarian beer using the old, traditional brewing process with original yeast from a renowned Bavarian brewery. Yum!

Happy ladies!

Brewing equipment.

Beer hot tub!

1516 wasn't too far away from here, and it was essentially a craft brewpub nestled into a quiet Viennese street. Everything about this place screamed craft beer. From our Irish bartender, Leo, to the various glasses for sale and the burger/fries for dinner, it was no wonder we found a home here for the night. They claimed to be the home of one of the top 50 burgers in the world, and while I can't confirm or deny it, it was pretty damn good!

Had to take this photo for Brenda. She hates when people wear gray on gray!

I couldn't stop laughing at these red lights. I know it's supposed to be someone walking and someone on a bike, but it just looks like that guy on the left has a growth or is raising his leg or something.

NO!

Inside 1516. One of those glasses made it home with me. I still can't believe it didn't break after 4 more countries, 2 flights and a few train rides.

Vienna, Earth. Not to be confused with Vienna, Jupiter.

Leo was a great bartender and he kept the Weissbiers coming! I may or may not have had more than one of these...

Sign inside the ladies' room, in case anyone is looking for a job.

Switched to a Witbier. I think. I don't really know. I just told Leo what I liked, and he picked it out for me.

So happy!

Okay, this burger was really good. I can't vouch if it's one of the top 50 in the WORLD, but in that instance, it was phenomenal. But, that could have been the beer talking.

Clean hands are a must after that burger. Unfortunate name though.

Our first experiences with Vienna may not have been stellar, but we ended the day on a high note, tipsy and well sated. Before we headed back to our hostel, we stopped at a little cafe to get some sachertorte. Brenda had recommended we get some while in Austria, and Leo led us to this place. Honestly, it ended up being way drier than I would have liked, but the warm apple streudel was right up my alley!

Walked back to our hostel with minimal rain and took in the sights (andddd maybe walked off a beer buzz as well.) I loved being able to walk everywhere.

Dessert menu at Cafe Schwarzenberg...a bit fancier than we were dressed for. I don't think the server appreciated our inebriation either.

Sachertorte: one of the most famous Viennese desserts. It's basically a chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam on top, coated with a dark chocolate icing on the top and sides. Served with whipped cream. Taste wise, it wasn't bad. It could have used more moisture though.

Warmer Apfelstrudel: a warm apple strudel with vanilla sauce and cranberries. One word: FRIGGINDELICIOUS! 

Jones clothing store on the way back to our hostel. They have Joneses all over Europe. :)

Shopping district was mostly deserted, but it was a pleasant walk back.

Hofer!

If you're "in the mood for fashion" check out a Jones near you. ;-)

This guy was walking his dog in a little market by our hostel where we stopped to get some water.

Not sure why, but this ad freaked me out. Doesn't it look like that baby is flying/falling through the air?

We both fell in to an exhausted sleep soon after we made it back to our hostel. It wasn't nearly as hot in there as it had been the previous night, but that could be because we left the window open all day to circulate the air.