Vienna

Don’t leave home without it, your vaccination card that is. They don’t require masks everywhere, but if you are using public transport you are required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination whenever asked. I’m okay with this, the last thing I want is to ruin my vacation because some numskull didn’t care about protecting others.

The train station in Vienna is fantastic. It’s not ornate or old-school pretty, but it’s large, functional, and extremely clean. The big negative was our stop was closed in one direction so that made for a fun game of, where the heck are we and how do we get back to the hotel in the pouring rain.

I don’t have a lot to say about Vienna because we didn’t see much due to the rains but I will acknowledge that I probably gained 5-pounds because the pastries are delicious and by delicious, I mean, I couldn’t get enough of them. 😉

Most of your sightseeing will consist of museums, so if you enjoy museums this may be a place you would like to visit. We did go to the Belvedere Palace, which was a beautiful building, but everything inside was paintings - I prefer palaces that show how the people lived.

We stayed close to the main train station (a 5-minute walk) which was very convenient. It’s a 15-minute train ride from the airport and a 7-minute metro ride to the center. Maybe staying in the center would have been better with the bad weather, but because we split our time between Vienna and Budapest we thought the convenience of being close to the trains and busses would work out better. I think if I ever return, I’ll stay in the center, but to be honest, it’s not at the top of places to revisit.

Belvedere Palace

Stephansdom Cathedral is a thousand-plus-year old cathedral

Central train station