Day 1 | Vienna, Capital of Austria
One of the most convenient and enjoyable mode of transport around Europe is via train. This is a 2 part trip where we will be travelling in Austria before heading to St Moritz, Switzerland for the glacier express experience.
We bought Eurail (aka Interrail) passes mainly for the following reasons:
- Unlimited train rides
- Flexible travel days
- Additional perks with local transport whenever applicable
The first thing upon reaching is to activate our rail passes so that we could utilize our complimentary train ride from the airport to city center.
We booked our accommodations with Airbnb near Ullmannstraße region which is only 2 mins away from Gumpendorfer Straße train station.
Getting around is very easy with Google maps and their metro system is very similar to our MRT networks.
We booked our accommodations with Airbnb near Ullmannstraße region which is only 2 mins away from Gumpendorfer Straße train station. It is a shared apartment with other tenants with common amenities such as kitchen and bathrooms. As you can see, the room is pretty simple and costs us 30 SGD/ night per pax.
Getting around is very easy with Google maps and their metro system is very similar to our MRT networks.
Lunch at Figlmüller
After we checked in and dropped our bags, we headed to Figlmüller where they are famous for Schnitzel, which is a thin slice of meat fried in fat usually from chicken or veal.
The portion was really huge for our Asian stomach and one thing that we misunderstood during ordering was the choice of sides. It turns out you have to separate order sides (additional charges apply) to pair with your main.
Tip: Always bring tupperware with you if you don’t like to waste food. We actually manage to save some since we couldn’t finish for our next meal
There are actually 2 outlets fairly close to each other.
Address: Bäckerstraße 6, 1010 Wien, Austria
Zanoni & Zanoni Gelato
Located near St Stephen’s Cathedral is one of the popular place for ice-cream, Zanoni & Zanoni. (4.4/5 on google with over 5000 reivews)
There are quite a variety of flavours to choose from. I felt the prices were quite affordable as we bought 2 scoops at 2.5 euros.
A great dessert after the heavy meal at Figlmuller!
Address: Lugeck 7, 1010 Wien, Austria
Day 2 | Flea Markets and Schönbrunn Palace
Prepared a really simple breakfast with ham and peanut butter before we explore some parts of our neighbourhood.
It turns out we stayed in quite a ‘hip’ neighbourhood. There’s a street basketball court, medium sized skatepark and some graffiti walls.
Our first stop of the day is to check out some of the local flea markets to see if we can scavenge any cheap finds.
The flea market that we’re heading to is known for its antique goods and its located at Hietzinger Hauptstraße 22, 1130 Wien, Austria.
There are quite a few flea markets happening around Vienna. Here’s one that I used. Note that some markets do not open daily but only specific day of the week/month
Schönbrunn Palace
After flea marketing, we headed to Schönbrunn Palace for a stroll. There are quite a number of things to see here – gardens, fountains and palaces. I think you can expect to spend at least 90 minutes here if you want to climb up to The Gloriette.
Always check the information on their website before heading down for latest promos and operating hours.
Getting around in Vienna is really straightforward and easy. Apart from trains, you can actually take the tram! Chanced upon this kebab pop up store with and decided to try my luck (stronger validation from the sight of queues).
Cafe Central Restaurant
We headed to Cafe Central, a coffeehouse known for its awesome Viennese cakes and desserts for some sweet treats.
We ordered their torn pancake with stewed plums and apple strudel with vanilla sauce. Lastly, you must try the ice-cold carbonated herb lemomade – Almdudler especially on a hot day!
Address: Herrengasse 14, 1010 Wien, Austria
Day 3 | Journey to Salzburg
Our next and last destination in Austria was Salzburg where we’ll stay for the night before taking the inter-city train to St Moritz.
Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore this beautiful city as we’re only here for a day and we’ll be using that time to visit Hallstatt which is 2 hours away from Salzburg by train.
Hallstatt
The weather at Hallstatt was fairly cooling and mostly cloudy and that robbed us the opportunity to take scenic photos of the famed Alpine houses.
There are a couple of things you can do here such as salt mine experience, mountain biking, adventure park and outdoor museum just to name a few.
We took a walk up to catch the view overlooking the village and the Catholic Church.
Hallstatt salt for you?
Apart from the Alpine houses, you can expect to find cafe and souvenir shops selling local goods and crafts.
I find the salt quite interesting (apparently fresh from the salt mine and suitable for cooking) and decide to buy a few of them for my colleagues and family.
Its a wrap! Next stop to St Moritz, Switzerland.
We took the ferry back to Hallstatt train station and headed back to Salzburg to pack for tomorrow’s trip to St Moritz. Our stay at Austria was fairly short but it has been great to visit some of the places of interest. It’s a pity that we didn’t get to spend time at Salzburg and Innsbruck.
