It’s not often I find myself having enough time to quickly see the capital during a layover, however, on my way to Latvia I had a rather long stop over at Vienna, Austria. Rather than waiting around in the airport for my next flight, I instead decided to head out and visit one of the many beautiful attractions in Vienna. It was a completely spontaneous decision. It was my first time in Austria and I had not done any research on Vienna and what its main attractions were. Luckily, I had some friends back home that had visited Austria before the COVID-19 Pandemic, and they recommended a few things to see in the capital. So I picked the one I thought looked most beautiful, Schönbrunn Palace, just south-west of Vienna. I got an uber from the Airport to Schönbrunn Palace which cost me over $100 (AUD) an unbelievably high amount considering the distance. However, the traffic was bad, but somehow in classic Austrian fashion, orderly and calm at the same time. The trip took about 50 minutes in peak hour. Still, the trip was well worth it, Schönbrunn Palace is something else, and aside from the National Library of Kosovo in Pristina, Kosovo and the The d’Arenberg Cube in McLaren Vale, South Australia, I’d say its one of the most remarkably beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen. Cue the photos…
Schönbrunn Palace is a tourist hot spot. Although it was the middle of winter on a weekday, it was still very busy. Many of the tourists there are happy to chat and I got to meet some new people.
Before heading back to the airport, I was told about an Austrian Beverage called Almdudler that had been made in Austria since 1957. It’s so popular that its sometimes referred to as the national drink of Austria. I was able to find some and gave it a shot. Not bad. I took some back home to Australia for the same friends that had told me about Schönbrunn Palace.
Austria is certainly a city best visited in late spring or summer. The gardens at Schönbrunn Palace are known for their beauty, but as with any place in the middle of winter, gardens are never in full bloom. Its also expensive to catch Ubers here. Use public transport if you have time. As for me, it’s back to the airport and off to my next destination.
