VIENNA

After yet another incredible bus ride through the Austrian countryside, we arrived in Vienna. Our Airbnb was in a beautiful building (and it was nice to have WiFi again). One funny little surprise was the tiny elevator. It was so small we didn’t both fit with our backpacks on, so we had to go up seperately. We spent a few days at home working, playing guitar, watching Netflix, and hunting for Korok seeds in Breath of the Wild. You gotta have some down time, right??

Our first day out we were struck by how immaculate Vienna is. The buildings are all a cream or ivory color, and it gives the city such a light and airy feeling! We got a wonderful Viennese breakfast at Cafe Central, a former bank-turned-cafe where famous minds such as Sigmund Freud would frequent back in the day. It was a gorgeous building and I had the most incredibly delicious chocolate pastry ever. It had actual gold flakes on it, I felt so luxurious.

We continued the day by strolling through the beautiful streets of Vienna. We ventured off to St. Stephen’s Basilica, one of the largest churches we’ve seen. It has such a pretty roof with designs made from colorful tiles. We passed dozens of horse drawn carriages and saw a huge, picturesque fountain.

The next day out, we dove into the history of Vienna. After Marcus downed a Red Bull (which is based in Austria… when in Rome, right?), we visited the National Library of Vienna. It was a large building with a grand hall of books lining the walls from floor to ceiling. We learned about astronomy in the baroque period, and how music was transcribed.

Next, we moved on to the National Museum of Vienna. It was yet another beautiful cream-colored building, with the interior mostly made of marble. There was a beautiful grand staircase that led us to rooms full of suits of armor and ancient musical instruments. It was fascinating to see ancient organs and harpsichords, along with violins, lutes, and guitars.

On our last day in Vienna, we headed to the Butterfly Garden. It was already a hot August day, so heading into a humid greenhouse was like walking into a sauna. It was still more than worth it to see the hundreds of butterflies flying around us. We saw caterpillars spinning cocoons, and vibrant blue and yellow butterflies flapping their wings all around us. It was a magical experience that photos just could not capture!

After the Butterfly Garden we headed to the cutest little cafe next door, and then hung out in the park. We saw Mozart’s statue and then had a delicious salmon and veggies dinner. We loved Vienna, just being in the shadows of the beautiful buildings was a fantasy-like experience. We were sad to leave, but excited to head to Budapest!