Vienna had been an afterthought. After completing our Danube River bike tour in Krems, we took a train to Vienna. In Canada, as we were planning for this trip we had decided to spend a bit of time in Vienna and take advantage of the fact that we would arrive there any way by train before heading to Cesky Krumlov and Prague. Boy, did we ever make the right decision. We fell in love with Vienna❤️. This unique cultural city offers music, art, history, beautiful cafés and much more. We felt very safe everywhere here.
It was funny because during our stay in Vienna we often commented to each other, “I could live here “. Shortly after returning to Canada from this trip, there was an article on Vienna in our local newspaper saying that Vienna was ranked as one of the best places to live in the world. We absolutely agreed! This is still the case today, see below an extract from a more recent report.
"Quality of living - Vienna remains the number one" "For the ninth consecutive time, Vienna tops the Mercer ranking in 2018, showing that Vienna's approach to quality of living is internationally acknowledged."
One of the things that struck us about Vienna was how much they pay attention to detail. I don’t know how many times we saw white linen tablecloths on tables, even in the smallest and simplest outdoor cafés and bars. “Classy” city!
While in Vienna we stayed at 15 Radetzkystr, Lanstrasse. Great location with the tram just steps away.
When reading up on Vienna we were thrilled to learn that this city has a vibrant coffee culture ☕️. People linger for hours in their charming cafés. As we lovers of great coffee, could we ask for anything better?
The one Café place that we were curious to go to was the Café Centrale. This Café was opened in 1876, and it became a key meeting place for the “intellectuals.” We were told that in the summer of 1913 Hitler, Tito, Freud, Franz Ferdinand, and Lenin were all regulars in Vienna’s Café Central.
We loved wandering about in this city. We ended up in these little alleyways (see below) and found incredible cute little bars & restaurants.
After all, that walking around it’s time to go back to the apartment and grab a bite to eat, accompanied by some nice wine of course.
Vienna is full of beautiful architectural buildings. Contemporary and historic buildings coexist throughout the city.
We always have time to sit and enjoy a cappuccino.
This trip we were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. We wanted to celebrate this day by going out to a nice restaurant. We certainly found it 😊! We figured 30 years deserved a special place to celebrate.
Before leaving Canada we had looked up many restaurants and this one caught our eye in Vienna, the Steirereck. We noticed that it had won many awards for ranking as one of the 50 best restaurants in the world for many years. (and is still ranked high on this list today)! So we got crazy😜 one night with a bottle of cheap red wine in Canada and we went ahead and booked a reservation!
For this trip, we had packed one set of “pretty clothes“😊. On the evening of our anniversary in Vienna, we had a blast at the apartment getting ready before heading out to the restaurant.
When we arrived at the restaurant, we were greeted at the door and escorted to our table in a beautiful restaurant & setting. The restaurant is located in Stadtpark.
What an experience! We will remember this evening forever! Not only was the food fabulous but the entire evening was a culinary experience. The service was impeccable as well.
The evening started with an assortment of small hors-d’oeuvres. Beautifully presented and “köstlich”.
Then came the bread trolley to our table with an assortment of breads.
We decided to try out the tasting menu with the wine pairing to go with it.
We started with some fabulous appetizers followed by the main entrees. Then desserts, ❤️ What was interesting throughout the meal was that with each food item they presented to our table they also included a small “description card” that described what we were about to eat. The server went over each plate of food in detail with an explanation of the wine selection that accompanied it.
Here are just a few of the plates that were included in this tasting menu.
The final treat was the cheese cart. It came to our table and the server pulled out a couple of drawers and it displaced all the cheeses. So many choices. How do you ever decide!
At the end of the evening, we took our final nightcap on this beautiful outdoor patio.
Okay, a private joke – so for all my friends who have seen my “lighted up” eyeglasses which I use when I need to see the restaurant menus at night, THIS restaurant is where the love for these glasses all began…😊👓
Vienna, we will definitely be back, even to stay awhile…loved your city!
The journey continues, we leave in the morning for Cesky Krumlov then on to Prague in the Czech Republic.