It’s been a whirlwind few weeks and I’m a bit behind on blogging, as we’ve had good friends visiting us from home (which I’ll write about next!). In the meantime, I wanted to catch up on our wonderful trip to Vienna two weeks ago!

When I found out Isaac was going to be off of school for two weeks for spring break, and that Jeff was going to be working longer hours (though it turns out no where near as long of hours as at home!), something crazy inside me decided it would be a good idea to take the boys on a trip by myself for a few days. Although there’s plenty to explore in and around Dublin that we still haven’t seen, I had a feeling that if we were home, the boys would mostly just want to stay home and I would go a bit stir-crazy. So, why not take the opportunity to visit and explore somewhere new? I wanted to go somewhere that Jeff had already been so that we could save places that are new for both of us to go to together, so that narrowed the choices down to Barcelona or Vienna. We decided we might do a longer trip to Spain at another point, and include Barcelona in that, so I decided to go for Vienna.

Armed with snacks, toys, our double stroller, and as light of a suitcase as possible, I ventured off on my first solo trip with the boys, unsure of how it would go! I had researched a lot about fun things for kids to do in Vienna, and it seemed like there would be no shortage of interesting places to explore. Lots of parks, an excellent zoo, palaces with beautiful gardens to romp around, tram rides and horse and carriage rides, a huge Ferris wheel, several museums (or parts of museums) geared for kids, and even special children’s performances of music and puppetry. And, if all else failed, there would be loads of coffeehouses to grab some coffee and a treat with the kids.

We arrived at our hotel, which was in a really great central location, and grabbed a bite in the hotel restaurant until our room was ready. The hotel, Guesthouse Hotel Vienna, which was situated right across from the Albertina museum and just a few blocks from the Hofburg palace and Spanish Riding School, truly was in the heart of everything and was an easy walk to so many places! I picked it based on glowing TripAdvisor reviews about its excellent location, and also for its comfortable rooms that had a couch seating area with a coffee maker and complimentary bottles of wine. I figured after the boys fell asleep at night, I could relax on the couch and sip some wine, or make a coffee in the morning while we were getting ready to go out. We also took advantage of room service a few times when it was clear the boys would not be able to make it through another sit down meal out at a restaurant.

After settling into our room, we went out for our first adventure, which was a horse and carriage ride around the center of town, where we got an overview of some of the beautiful buildings and clip-clopped our way through the cobblestone streets. Isaac absolutely loved it! He waved out the window of the carriage to all the people on the sidewalk, and throughout the rest of the trip, he kept pointing out horse and carriages we would see. The horse and carriage rides (called fiakers) have been a popular mode of transport around Vienna for hundreds of years and are a particularly fun way to see the city today, especially for kids! Here are some photos from our ride:

Following our fun carriage ride, we relaxed a bit in the room and then decided to head out for dinner. I wanted to walk by St. Stephens Cathedral, which is a gorgeous cathedral and one of Vienna’s most recognizable buildings. It was built in the 1300s and played an important role in many events in Habsburg and Austrian history. On one side of the church, the roof has tiles forming the shape of the double headed eagle, the symbol of the Habsburg dynasty. The boys were in the mood for pizza, so I looked up pizza restaurants in the area of Stephensplatz (where the cathedral is) and found one that seemed promising. The description online said the restaurant was a great spot for a romantic evening or a fun night out for the family. Well…it turns out it was much more toward the romantic side (candle on the table and everything, which I had to swiftly remove as Rafi grabbed for it!) than the family friendly side. The food was delicious — wood fired margarita pizza for the boys and a seafood pesto pasta for me — but I felt very out of place among the other diners who were giving me dirty looks from behind their wine glasses. The good thing I learned is if you bring your kids to a more adult restaurant, you can usually get pretty quick service (as they want you out of there asap!) 🙂 And the other good part was we did get to walk by the beautiful Stephensdom (cathedral). On the way there, it was absolutely pouring rain, but on the way back, the sky had cleared and the moon was out. The multi-colored tiles of the roof give the cathedral a really unique beautiful look!

I knew that Vienna was supposed to be a magnificent city, but I don’t think I realized just how grand and regal it feels, especially the architecture. Since it was the capital of the Habsburg and Austro-Hungarian empires for centuries, it was truly a very royal and imperial city, and as you walk around and take in the stunning palaces, churches, museums, and huge statues, it’s pretty jaw-dropping.  Perhaps the most impressive, not-to-be-missed buildings in Vienna are those that comprise the Hofburg palace. What was once the home of the Habsburg empire until 1918, the palace’s many buildings are now home to museums, collections of treasure, the Spanish Riding School, and more, and are surrounded by parks, squares, cafes, and restaurants. You can even tour what used to be the apartments of glamorous Empress Elisabeth (known as Sisi), who was something of a cult figure among the Austrians, similar to how the world saw Princess Diana. We didn’t really go inside many of the museums or parts of the palace, but it was really cool to just walk around the area and imagine the grandeur of the former empire.

One thing I wished we could have done was to see the Lippizaner horses practice or perform. The famous white stallions are celebrating their 450th year in Vienna this June, and the Spanish Riding School is the only institution in the world where classic equestrian skills are still practiced in their original form. They dance and leap to music, and crowds line up to see them perform, or even just to practice every morning. Unfortunately, you have to be at least 3 years old to attend a show, so it wasn’t possible to do since Rafi is only 18 months, but maybe we’ll have the chance another time! Still, we did get a glimpse of them in their stables and walking to and from the stables and the Riding School.

Before leaving Dublin, the weather forecast had been good for Vienna. But unfortunately, our days there were rainy, cold, windy, and we even saw some hail. So my outdoor plans — the zoo, parks, the Prater (giant park with green spaces and an amusement park), and walking along the Danube — all had to be tabled. Luckily, we were able to spend some time in Zoom children’s museum, which was awesome. It’s located in the MuseumsQuartier, which is a complex full of museums, and it is a great hands-on museum for kids of all ages, from babies up through teens. When we first arrived, we were told they had limited openings and weren’t guaranteed admission that day, but if we came to check back in an hour there may be openings. The friendly staff at the museum directed us just across the courtyard to a lovely kids’ cafe, called Dschungel Deli, with space to play, a little house and toys, and kid friendly foods. It was fun to experience a place that local Viennese families go and to feel ourselves part of this normal everyday scene.

After a little snack and coffee, we returned to Zoom and found out there was an opening for us after all, so off we went to play. The boys both had so much fun in the “Ocean” room of the museum. It’s hard to describe in words, but here are a bunch of pictures that capture the cool sensory experiences…climbing, sliding, playing, touching, which occupied the boys for our entire allotted hour time-slot. I highly recommend this museum, especially on a rainy day!

Some other good kid-friendly activities we found to escape from the rain were: Haus der Musik and the Butterfly House. Haus der Musik is a museum geared toward kids that has hands-on exhibits in sound, music, and the history of composers/musicians in Vienna. The  Butterfly House was also fun for the boys, as they wandered the lush jungle-like paths searching for butterflies.

We also walked through the mouth-watering Naschmarket, filled with restaurants as well as stands of produce, nuts, spices, candies, and more. I wanted to taste everything!

And of course, we partook in some of the amazing coffeehouses in Vienna to sample the delicious Viennese coffee and pastries! There’s a long history of cafe culture in Vienna. Back in the day when people lived in small apartments (with small living rooms) and little heating, they would gather in the cafes to socialize and linger for hours — the cafes acted as an extension of the home. People would (and still do) sit for hours reading the newspapers and sipping coffee. Even today, the waiters will not rush you out but instead will let you stay for as long as you want. I loved the classic feel of all the cafes.

I think my favorite was Cafe Demel, which was the main provider of pastries and chocolate to the imperial family in the Hofburg (since it is just down the block from it). On the Demel logo, you can see the letters “KuK” which stands for Kaiserlich und Koniglich (imperial and royal), a proud declaration that the cafe once supplied the royals with their sweets and cakes. In the back of the cafe, you can watch the pastry chefs at work on their glorious treats, so that was fun for the boys to see! Especially on the rainy days we were there, it was great to escape into a cozy coffeehouse (albeit, it was a bit hard to linger leisurely with my kids, but I still got the mood for the cafes).

In between coffeehouse visits and kid-friendly museums, we walked around as much as possible just taking in the feel of the city. In some ways, I was reminded a great deal of Prague, and since that’s where Jeff and I met, it was a cool feeling of nostalgia to be in a central European city once again! I went a little photo mad trying to capture all of the architecture — it was just so beautiful and historical feeling! I’d love to go back again some day, when the boys are older, or perhaps just with Jeff, so I can take in some more of the museums and classical music concerts (Vienna was the home of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert), as well as more of the outdoor parks and activities. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful few days in Vienna and I was glad I took on the challenge of a solo trip — it was a special, memorable time with my boys!