Europe - Austria

Vienna. The most romantic place to have food poising in. That's right, the trip's first illness strikes in Europe. Not Asia, not Africa, and not from meat. We suspect it was a vegan/vegetarian Asian place in Budapest that put Mohit out for the first full day in Vienna.

Outside of bowl movements, Vienna is a great place. It's different from Budapest because everything seems recently restored and whitewashed, and more expensive since its in euros :( There's a more bougie feel with the Mozart and Strauss orchestra shows that seem to occur everywhere, the horse drawn carriages slowing down German luxury cars, and the high end shopping that litters the historic Stephansplatz area.

It might sound like we're hating on Vienna but that's only because Mohit is writing and is resentful about his food poisoning. Fate on the other hand got to experience Vienna a bit more and loved the feeling of "going back in time" while wandering the cobblestone streets and eating froyo! Here's a quick summary of what we did, followed by some advice if you visit, fun facts, and a summary of our favorite pictures.

Day 1

• Stay at the Courtyard Wien Messe
• Stephansplatz

Day 2 - Fate in Vienna alone

• Stephansplatz
• Hofsburg Palace
• Volksgardens
• Spars Supermarket (Mohit needed Gatorade x 3)

Day 3 - Mohit ventures out too

• Highlights of Day 2
• Prater
• Mirror Museums
• Neubau neighborhood
• Dinner at Gasthaus Kopp

Advice if you visit

• Its worth getting the 48 hour or 72 hour Wien Pass for the metro. It costs about 16 euros for the 72 hour pass that provides unlimited rides in the time period. Otherwise you end up paying 2.20 euros per ride. And the metro system is fantastic, probably the best so far on the Europe part of the trip. 
• Even though the metro connects Wien Messe to city center with a less than 20 minute train ride, I wouldn't stay there again on a weekend. Your food choices are quite limited and lots of shops are closed on the weekend.
• Bring fancy attire if you want to see the opera or an orchestra performance. We saw some fancily dressed older folk with matching umbrellas and all walking out of the opera. 
• Gasthaus Kopp should definitely be on your list if you visit. Its worth taking the train and connecting onto the S-line. You won't find this quality of food in such a large quantity for such a cheap price in Europe. Just make sure to research online as to what to order since the menu is only in German.

Fun facts

• If you want to walk around the Asian club street for some fun people watching, search for "Up!grade Your Food" when you're at Karlsplatz. You wont find the restaurant, but you will walk in circles around the Asian area. Ironically for our Atlanta people, there is club called Opera there.
• A side of potatoes can either mean fries or bland, lightly salted, boiled potatoes. Choose wisely.
• Bikes without pedals are all the rage in Europe, for kids that is. Kids around three to five years old are running wild on cute bikes where their feet can reach ground easily and provide power. I think we need to get this going in the US.
• Where did all the doner kebabs go? We saw so many in Hungary but disappointed to see just a handful in Vienna.

Summary of pictures

The behind of the palace

Imagining imperial life in a courtyard

Cobble cobble cobble baby cobble

A bit of a zoo but work walking around in

Any legit city will have a opera house

Just like in the old days, Audis and carriages

Fate found a four leaf clover!!!

This was such a good and insanely large meal

Love that dome

Palace perspective

Surprisingly unkempt lawn for palace lawns, -10 points.