The short version of what you’re about to read: Honestly there’s no easy way to shorten this. I did SO much this entire week. I took a day trip in Germany and I travelled to Vienna and saw so many amazing sights like the Mozart house, the Spanish arising School, a location where Hitler gave one of his famous speeches, the Austrian National Library, and many many other places! Of course to get the full effect, you will have to read, but this blog does not have any dull moments!
30 September: I woke up, ate breakfast, and I rode my bike into the city center. I went to one of my favorite department-type stores in Europe called C&A and I bought a new pair of shoes and 4 pairs of socks. Then I went to Dunkin’ Donuts and I got a vanilla cappuccino. Afterwards, I went to Würzburg which is a town about 1 hour away from Bamberg. It is a slightly larger town that looks more modern than Bamberg due to the fact that it had to be completely rebuilt after destruction from World War 2. I went to two very unique churches that had white walls and were very simple in design. I found the minimalism to be beautiful. I also went to the famous “Residenz” which is a palace that once housed many important figures in Würzburg’s history and I hiked up to another castle that I honestly don’t know the name of. It took me about 25 minutes to get there. The view was very gorgeous and the overlook onto the city of Würzburg was gorgeous. After my walk I, of course, needed to have some delicious ice cream. When I got back to Bamberg, I had dinner at a fast-ish food restaurant and then I rode my bike back home. I relaxed and then went to bed!
The Residenz
Flowers in the Castle
View of Würzburg from the Castle
View of Würzburg from the Castle
The Castle I Hiked Up To
1 October: At the beginning of this day I made a list of 5 things that I needed to do before the day was over. By the end of the day, I had only done one of those things. However, this was still a very good day. I woke up early, naturally and then I ate a bowl of cereal. I took a shower, chilled for a while, and then I rode my bike to the mall. I got a cappuccino and a piece of cheesecake and then I walked around the stores. I didn’t buy anything. (Yay for saving money!) Then I went and searched for spice cake mix to make pumpkin muffins but I couldn’t find any, so then I didn’t really know what to do with my day, but I decided to ride my bike to the city center because I was already out and about. So I rode my bike there and I did some more shopping. I walked into H and M 4 different times this day and I ended up shopping for 5 hours without buying a single thing! (Again, yay for saving money!) I wanted to maybe buy some clothes for my Vienna trip but I couldn’t quite commit to anything, so I just kept my wallet in my pocket. I did get a delicious crepe from a truck that was made with kinder egg chocolate and I also bought some french fries from the vegan truck that were made from bio-potatoes, whatever that means. I rode my bike home and then I relaxed, packed for Vienna, and had some alone time. Then I ended up riding back to the city center to get ice cream with my friend Mark from Ireland which was fun. I ate really well this day. It was a good day.
My Crêpe
My Steps Already Have Autumn Leaves!
2 October: This was a travel day for me! I woke up and spent a little bit of time with my host family and then I rode my bike to the train station and I finally found my pumpkin spice latte! It was at McDonald’s, who would’ve thought! It was nothing compared to Starbucks, of course, but it was still delicious and it made me very happy! My train ride to Vienna consisted of 3 changes and lasted about 6.5 hours. I felt very proud because I successfully rode the train by myself with no complications. When I arrived in Vienna I took an uber from the train station to our Air BnB. The Air BnB is so cute and it’s in a gorgeous building. I hung out there for about an hour and then Britt arrived!! We got settled in and then we went for dinner. We wanted to go to this Austrian place, but they were full so we made reservations for the next evening. Then we walked around for a little while and we got dinner at this really cute restaurant in an alleyway with hanging umbrellas. Afterwards, I got ice cream and we walked around some more. I was so happy to be in Vienna!
Train Ride Views in Austria
The Umbrella Street
Our Air BnB
3 October: This was such an AMAZING day! We woke up and got ready for the day. Then we went to Aldi (which is named Hofer in Austria) and it is literally 10 steps away from our air bnb and we got breakfast there. Then we walked to this cute little walk up called the “Fenster Cafe” (window cafe) and I got an Oreo latte that was DELCIOUS! Then we sat on a bench for a while and we never figured out why, but young people wearing clown noses kept coming up to us and asking us for money. We walked around for a while and then met at the Albertina Square for the free walking tour. It was such a nice tour and our tour guide was so nice and she was very knowledgeable. I think there were about 30 people in our group, which is to be expected with a free tour. It was a little crowded, but we made sure to stay close to the guide so we could hear all the information. We were able to see a lot of the highlights of Vienna in just 2.5 hours. Something I thought was very interesting that we saw was a place where Hitler once stood and gave a speech in 1938. Our tour guide also gave us information on different buildings and statues that Britt and I would not have known otherwise. We were so thankful to have done this tour. Afterwards we stopped and had a warm drink (it was quite a cold day) and we each had a slice of “sachertorte” which is a traditional Viennese chocolate cake. Then, we took an Uber to the Danube tower which was this huge tower and at the top there was a cafe that turned and gave us the most beautiful view of Vienna from all angles (see pictures). Britt is scared of heights so I was SO happy that she put her fear aside so I could enjoy the amazing view. It was so pretty and it made me so happy! After this we took another Uber and we went to St. Stephens Cathedral. We had passed it earlier on the walking tour, but wanted to see the inside of it. It was so gorgeous and serene on the inside. We also went to probably the fanciest H&M I have ever been to and they were having a sale where everything in the store was 20% off. Then, we went to the Austrian National Library which was interesting and honestly just good to have said I saw it and it was beautiful. After this we walked back to the apartment (about 30 minutes) and we got ready for dinner. We ate at a traditional Austria restaurant Britt had schnitzel and I had pumpkin gnocchi) and it was AMAZING! It tasted so great and all of the staff was so nice. Then we walked back to the apartment and just chilled. We walked 9.6 miles this day and it was so worth every step!
The Fenster Café (One of the top 50 coffee places in the world)
Outside Hofburg Palace
Sacher Torte and Warm Drinks
The observation deck and the Danube Tower
View From the at the Danube Tower
Britt and I at the Danube Tower
Outside St. Stephen’s Cathedral
Inside St. Stephen’s Cathedral
Inside the Austrian National Library
4 October: This probably was the most beautiful day of our trip, the weather was perfect! We woke up and got ready in the morning and we went to a cafe by our house called “Café Zartl”. I had some of the most delicious pancakes for breakfast. Then we rode the rentable electric scooters to the amusement park, “Prater”. It was very interesting because it was free to get into the park, you just have to pay for each individual ride. We walked around there for a while and when we first got there, not many of the rides were open. We were able to go on a ghost train ride that was like a haunted house ride and it was so stupid because it was not scary at all, but we both really enjoyed it. To kill some time before the rest of the rides opened, we rented bikes and went for a short bike ride through the park. We only rode for 30 minutes, but it was gorgeous weather for a bike ride. After this we rode on a roller coaster that was so weird because you sit on your stomach for it, it was a lot of fun. Then we went on the iconic “Prater Giant Ferris Wheel”. Again, Britt is afraid of heights, so it was very kind of her to conquer her fear for my enjoyment. The view was as gorgeous as I expected, if not more. After the Ferris wheel ride, we ate lunch at a restaurant called the “roller coaster restaurant”. Your food arrives from a “roller coaster” and it was so cool because you can see that the food and drinks are placed on the track by a robot and then it rushes down to you. For dessert I had a delicious ice cream with caramel and pumpkin seeds. After lunch, we walked to the home of Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart. He lived in Vienna for much of his adult life, but he changed apartments many many times during his Viennese life. The Mozart House in Vienna is the only one of the apartments still preserved. We learned a lot about the history of Mozart and his life. He composed many of his most famous works in this house like “The Marriage of Figero”. It was a very cool experience and I learned much more about Mozart than I ever thought I would. After this, we walked to a cafe near the university and I had hot chocolate and delicious cheese curd strudel. Then we walked 45 minutes back to the apartment and we stopped to get chocolate for Britt’s boyfriend as well. For dinner we went to the Aldi (which again, is called Hofer in Austria) and we bought ingredients to make spaghetti for dinner in the air bnb. At first, we couldn’t figure out how to use the stove and we were so embarrassed! It took us such a long time but after strenuous button pushing, we figured it out. We spent the evening eating, playing Quixx and just hanging out. It was a really great day/evening.
Delicious Pancakes at Café Zartl
On the Electric Scooter
From the Ghost Train Ride
In the Giant Ferris Wheel
The Entrance to Mozart’s Apartment
The ceiling in what is presumed to be Mozart’s bedroom
5 October: We slept in until 9 and we ate breakfast at the Air BnB. We had bread with Gouda cheese, it was delicious! After breakfast we walked to the shopping mall that was about 7 minutes away from our apartment. We shopped there for a while and then we went to Starbucks for pumpkin spice lattes! (How could we resist?) It was delicious and perfect for the colder weather. We took the underground to the Schönbrunn Palace and we couldn’t believe how easy and inexpensive it was to take it. It took us 30 seconds and €2,50 and we were good! When we arrived at the palace we spent some time in the courtyard taking pictures and just admiring the beauty. The tickets to actually tour and go inside of the palace were pretty expensive so we didn’t actually get to see anything except for the outside. After we were done at the castle, we took the underground back towards the city center and we did some more shopping on a very popular shopping street. By the time we got there it was raining quite a bit, but luckily we both had umbrellas. I am unashamed to say that we ate at McDonald’s for lunch to save some money. When we were done eating we needed to walk again and it started POURING rain! It was raining on us so hard and our shoes and socks became soaking wet. We were sad, but our spirits weren’t broken! We arrived at the Spanish Riding School within 20 minutes and we had some time to sit at the cafe before our tour started. I don’t really know how to explain what the Spanish Riding School is, so I googled it for us. “The Spanish Riding School is an Austrian institution dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses, based in Vienna, Austria, whose performances in the Hofburg are also a tourist attraction.” On our tour we were able to go into the stables and see the horses and learn a little bit about them. One interesting fact we learned is that white stallions are born darker and turn white as they age. We also learned about where the horses get their names and how each one is selected and trained. It was interesting to learn about this iconic tourist attraction. Afterwards we walked to an ice cream place that had a huge sign that claimed it was the best ice cream in the world, but Britt and I weren’t completely sure how true that was. Even so, you can hardly ever go wrong with ice cream. Afterwards we walked back to the apartment feeling sooo tired! For dinner we went to this weird Turkish place that had pizza and it was actually really well priced for as much food as we got! It was very nice and pleasant. It’s kind of sad having to pack our things, but we saw so much during our trip. I had such an amazing time in Vienna and thankfully I still have one more breakfast on Sunday! 🙂
Us and our Pumpkin Spice Lattes 🙂
In front of the Schönbrunn Palace
I call this one “It Might Rain”
It did rain!
Inside the Spanish Riding School
The “Worlds Best Ice Cream” (probably not)
6 October: Now it’s Sunday and I’m sitting in the train station awaiting my departure. I had such an amazing time in Vienna and I know that I will always cherish this trip because it was my first vacation whilst living in Europe! Today I got another pumpkin spice latte. This will probably be another good day.
I have a lot to be excited for in the coming weeks. This week I will turn 19 and the week after my university classes will start and of course, one day soon I will start planning my next vacation! I’m so thankful for the life that I’m living and I’m so excited about the adventures that come with each new day.
As always, thanks for reading! If you’d like to see more photos, please check out my album on Facebook.
Avery's European Adventure 