JT & A Travels: Austria, Slovakia, Hungary: Part 1

This was going to be a very long blog, so I decided to break it up into two parts. We went to three new countries in one month, and there is just no way to make that short. We have had a home base in Vienna, Austria for the last four weeks. Upon our arrival we had ten days to ourselves to explore the city and get settled in before Taylor's mom, Heidi, arrived. A few days later Taylor's sister, Brooke, and her boyfriend, Mike, arrived.

So let's go back to the beginning of our time in Vienna. We took a flight from Edinburgh, through London. The pilots were kind enough to let Logan into the cockpit to sit in the pilot's seat! He loved “flying the plane!"

The city of Vienna is set up like a bullseye and is separated into different districts radiating out from the center. The city center is the middle and is district one. Our flat was just outside this center, in district two. It was a tiny one-bedroom flat on the ground floor, with just two electric burners to cook on in the kitchen. But we are adaptable and make the best of everything. Our building is the cream one in the middle, and our windows are to the left of the front door.

Our building is the cream one in the middle, and our windows are to the left of the front door.

The walk to the city center took us just under twenty minutes. We had to cross over the man-made Danube Canal to get there.

Vienna is basically a city of beautiful old buildings built side-by-side, filled with top-end shops such as Rolex, Dolce & Gabbana, and many more that we had never heard of.

Smack dab in the center is the gorgeous St. Stephen's cathedral, with Vienna's masses swirling around it. Outside the cathedral, beneath the South Tower was a nice open piazza where logan could chase birds and run around. Vienna was lacking in playground options near our flat, so the piazza was a common place for us to visit.

St. Stephen's Cathedral, at the heart of Vienna.

Notice the bright green jacket: Logan chasing birds in the piazza.

We did find a cafe with an indoor play area. This was great for us to grab a coffee and logan could play inside from the daily cold.

Finding this little play area inside a coffee shop was such a delight for me (and for Logan)!

The weather was cold, in the 30's most days. Our first week in Vienna a snow storm came in, giving us about six inches overnight and the next day.

Caught in the beginning of the snow storm on our way back to the flat.

We woke up to a winter wonderland.

We walked five blocks to a nearby indoor heated swim park and let logan play! Great way to spend a snowy day: in bathing suits in a heated swim park watching snow fall outside the windows!

We discovered lots of great cafes full of enticing pastries. We did stop and try a few along the way!

Our favorites were some well-known Viennese cafes: Sacher for their famous chocolate torte and old-school feel; and Central Cafe for its gorgeous interior, rich history, and amazing desserts (the likes of Hitler and Freud were frequent customers here in past days). One amazing dish is called Kaiserschmarrn, a traditional Viennese dessert. We got it at Cafe Central.

The Original Sacher Torte.

Cafe Central. The cheesecake was amazing.

This amazing dish is called Kaiserschmarrn, a traditional Viennese dessert.
We got it at Cafe Central.

Walking through Vienna we would just happen upon famous, gorgeous buildings and sights: the Hofburg Palace (winter home to the Habsburg family who ruled this part of the world for centuries), the Opera House, and countless churches with ornate exteriors.

View down central Vienna's main pedestrian thoroughfare.

Opera House.

Part of the Hofburg Palace, winter home to the Habsburg family (rulers of this part of the world for centuries).

One afternoon we were enjoying a cup of coffee and some pastries at a cafe near our flat. An 89-yr-old Austrian lady began to speak with us. She talked our ear off for an hour about her life as an opera singer, her travels to Barcelona to sing the part of the witch in Hansel and Gretel, and her year abroad living in America when she was a graduate student. She shared some traditional Viennese chocolates from her purse, and wished us well. We love meeting and speaking with locals!

On Saturdays near our flat is a great farmers market called Karmelitermarkt. Stands set up selling bulk cheese, dried sausages and meats, fresh meat and eggs, fruits, veggies, honey, sangria and wines, jams, fresh breads and more! One Saturday we gathered a variety of fresh food and had a picnic for dinner.

On a few occasions we had lunch out in the city in order to experience the traditional Austrian food. We tried wiener schnitzel from a street vendor, traditional schnitzel and chicken cordon blue at a highly recommended restaurant, and some sausages at a place near the cathedral. I liked the street vendor weiner schnitzel the best!

Street vendor weiner schnitzel - delicious!

Pork schnitzel at a famous restaurant in Vienna.

Finally after days of exploring, walking a lot, shopping more than we needed to, and eating lots of sausage, pastries and coffees...our guests began to arrive!

Heidi flew into Vienna and we had two days with her before Brooke and Mike would arrive. Heidi loves horses, she's happy and proud to be a completely enthusiastic "horse person." This worked out great because Vienna is home to the famous, talented and gorgeous Lipizzaner Stallions from the Spanish Riding School of Vienna. While Heidi had previously visited Vienna 15 years ago, the stallions were away on rest at that time, so she didn't get to see them here. Her first day here we went to the Spanish Riding School to observe the horses' morning practice session.

They practice in their winter riding school arena, a gorgeous Renaissance building dating back to the 1500's. Logan loved watching the horses trot, canter, and prance through the arena. The jumps had him laughing out loud. We found out later (when Heidi and I got a tour of the school, stables and more) that they normally don't jump the horses at practice because of the strain on the animals. So it was a treat that we were able to see it at the practice we attended. Later that weekend, Heidi and I decided to complete the entire Lipizzaner experience by actually attending their show. We had a great time seeing those beautiful animals in action! It was fascinating to see them practice, learn all about them in the tour, and then see the show. Taking photos of the horses during their performance is strictly prohibited...so these will have to do!

In the tack room at the Spanish Riding School on our tour.

The Winter Riding School arena.

Saying hello to one of the Lipizzaner stallions outside the stables.

For the record, these stallions are treated like royalty! Their stalls are cleaned out hourly (to keep their white coats clean), they are on a special diet with three meals a day, they get a 4-week vacation each winter, and a 6-week vacation in the summer, and they are only trained for 30 minutes a day. In the show, which lasts 70 minutes, each horse is only in the arena for about ten minutes and then others are rotated through. The riders themselves are trained for up to 15 years to become chief riders who then get to train the horses. The whole process is fascinating!!

We later went with Heidi to another well-known cafe called Demel just down the block from the Spanish Riding School. While you enjoy your food and drinks, you are able to watch them make the baked goods through glass walls around the kitchen.

We stopped at a new street vendor so that Heidi could get the weiner schnitzel we had been enjoying. Taylor discovered a beer from Germany that he hadn't been able to get since we first had it in Munich in 2007. It was a happy reunion.

Heidi's second day in town we went ice skating at the rink near Vienna Town Hall. Logan did an amazing job on his skates!! We had a blast, and only fell once while Heidi and I escorted Logan around the rink. It's not so easy to remain on your feet when a toddler sticks his legs out in front of you! We did pretty well and had a great time.

After ice skating, we had built up an appetite. We took Heidi over to the Naschmarkt, Vienna’s most popular market. At a length of just under a mile, it is a foodie’s delight! The Naschmarkt has been in Vienna since the 1600’s and now you can find everything from fruits, veggies, fresh baked goods, exotic herbs, cheese, meats, seafood, restaurants, souvenirs and so much more.