Vienna – making the most of your short stopover.

My husband travels to Germany at least once a year, sometimes more, depending on company requirements. He tries to take advantage of his business travel by adding a few days to see a new city before heading back home. And because I am the wife, I get to join him, obviously :).

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Germany itself is a large country which means you have a variety of cities to choose from within Germany.  But one can also easily travel to any other European country from Frankfurt airport. This year we decided to visit the city of Venice for a few days. You can read more about my Venice travel blogs https://withnarriman.travel.blog/2019/04/14/when-in-venice-eat-like-an-italian/

The best thing about travelling in Europe is the ease of movement when you have a Schengen visa. Add to that the fact that their transport by rail is as good, if not better, as their transport by air and you end up with one of the easiest and convenient holidays.

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When making our travel arrangements, we try to get the best deal possible, not only in terms of cost but also in terms of travel benefit. We search for flights that will take us through as many cities as possible, even if it’s just for a few hours. For this trip we managed to book our return flight from Venice via Vienna and added a seven-hour stopover before departing to Frankfurt and then onwards to Cape Town.

I did my research, as usual, and was pleased to find that Vienna has a fast train service which takes you from Vienna airport directly into Vienna city centre in exactly 16 mins. The cost is 20 euros per return ticket, which is really nothing considering you will be seeing another city in another country. It was a no brainer for us.

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We arrived at Vienna airport on Sunday morning at 8.30am and we learnt that the CAT Train (City Airport Train) leaves every half hour and the next train would leave at 9.00am to arrive in Vienna City at 9.16am. At the CAT kiosk you are able to purchase either a single ticket, a return or a combo which is a return ticket plus a pass on the City Red Bus Tour. We opted for the combo which seemed like a good deal for us considering that we had only five hours to spend in the city before heading back to the airport to make our connecting flight.

True to European style, the train departed at exactly 9.00am from Vienna airport and arrived at exactly 9.16am in the city centre.

With it being Sunday, it seemed like the city was still struggling to wake from its slumber and shops were only just beginning to open their doors while travellers started making their way around. As we exited the Train Station we wandered around for a few minutes and as we crossed the street we stumbled upon the StadtzPark (City Park).

Stadtpark Vienna

What a pretty sight to see cherry blossoms blooming in the Park as the European winters begins making way for a delightful spring.

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This municipal park was opened in 1862 after the destruction of the Vienna city hall. In the centre of the park you will find a gilded statue of musician, Johann Strauss.  The park is divided in two sections by the Vienna River and while strolling through the park you will find various statues of famous Viennese artists, writers and composers.

The Red Bus Tour has one if its main stops at the Stadtpark. This is where we hopped on the bus to begin our tour of the city.

Our next stop was Prater. With its almost 1,500 acres, the Prater is one of the largest recreation areas for the Viennese people.

The Giant Ferris Wheel

Vienna’s Riesenrad, the Giant Ferris Wheel – one of Vienna’s most iconic landmarks – has been turning since 1897 in the Prater.

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The area around the Giant Ferris Wheel, known as Wurstelprater is a kiddie’s paradise. Here you will find the most exciting and exhilarating amusement rides you could think of. I might be wrong but I think I saw the world’s highest swing here.

I know I said, it’s a kids paradise but you would most likely find that adults are as intrigued, excited and exhilarated with the many amusement rides and novelty stands.

I think we spent far too much time at this amusement park mesmerised by the many attractions it has to offer. Word of advice, do not be distracted by the shiny, blingy attractions or you will lose too much time. We hurried to catch the next bus to continue on our tour. With a little bit of walking and navigating, we finally hopped on the bus and were on our way to the next sight.

The Vienna State Opera

The Opera house kind of just appeared as the bus took a turn on it’s city route and the recorded guide pointed out the famous Opera House to the right. We quickly had to scramble to get to the bottom of the bus to jump off.

Built in Neo-Renaissance style, the Vienna State Opera is situated in the heart or centre of the city.If you have time, you should do the 40min tour which offers insights into the history, the architecture and the operatic life of this institution. Unfortunately, we were not able to do the tour due to time constraints.

Diagonally across from the State Opera I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to find a street vendor selling kebabs and pitas. I opted for a pita bread filled with the most delicious falafel with humus and salad. You should definitely try and find this street vendor if you happen to be at the Vienna State Opera.

THE BEST falafels I have ever eaten!

Stephansplatz Pedestrian Mall

Instead of hopping back on the Red Bus we decided to do the rest of the tour by foot. We followed the crowds and soon found ourselves in one of the most popular pedestrian shopping malls in the centre of Vienna. The atmosphere around this area is festive and it seems as if everyone had decided to come out for some Sunday afternoon shopping.

Be sure to watch the time as you wonder in and out of the many brand name stores. And be sure to watch the purse too. In my experience, goods in Vienna is more expensive than some other European cities like Venice, Spain and Paris.

St Stephens Cathedral

There are many churches in and around the Stephansplatz but none as majestic as the well-known St Stephens Cathedral. Also known by its German title, the Stephansdom, this church is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna.

Parked outside of this beautiful church are horsemen with their carts waiting to take you on a scenic trot around the city of Vienna. If time allows I recommend you spoil yourself to this treat. I’m sure it will be well worth it.

Unfortunately for us, time was running out and we had to head back to the train station to catch the train back to the airport.

We were fortunate to be able to add this historic and architecturally rich city to our travel itenary at very little extra cost.

Travel Tip : When travelling in Europe search for flights that will take you through as many cities and countries as possible without compromising on your total travel time.