Here we go then, part 2. On our second day in Vienna we attempted to get up early to get the most of of the day but we slept in until about 8am when we’d hoped to be out by that time. Our plan was to visit Schönbrunn castle, seeing as it was on our doorstep. We’d read online that it’s best to get there early as the rooms are small and it can get really crowded. By the time we got there, there were a lot of tour groups here already. Nonetheless, we wanted to see it so we endured.

Schönbrunn is a beautiful palace on the outside so we could only imagine how it is inside. We took the ‘grand tour’ which is an audio guided tour through the rooms, it’s a slightly more expensive than the normal package however, it was worth it to see the extra rooms included. Unfortunately you couldn’t take pictures inside, so it will remain a secret to you, unless you visit there yourself. Which, if you are in Vienna, I implore you visit. It’s the most extra and amazing palace I’ve ever seen. It’s just over the top with beautiful furniture and artifacts. Just visit, I can’t sell it anymore.

The tour lasted around an hour. It was longer than it could have been because we got caught in between 3 different tour groups. So, take the advice we slept through, and go early!

After our audioguided tour, we went out again into the gardens in order to climb up to Gloriette, which is now a cafe but offers beautiful views back onto Vienna and Schönbrunn.

The walk up this hill looks like nothing when you’re over at Schönbrunn, but don’t be fooled, it is steep!

By now we were getting hungry, so we headed to a spot that had been recommended for its street food offerings, Naschmarkt. It’s an incredible place. There were so many options for street food, sweets, pastries and olives. I had no idea there were so many olive options!

It was fairly quiet when we were there which was a welcome change from the palace and the busy streets from the night before. The best thing about this market is that we were able to get completely different food because everything was so accessible and close together.

Shaun got a lamb kebab box that had salad and rice hiding under all that lamb on top. I got some vegetable noodles which were super tasty and so filling! His was €4 and mine was €3.90 which was the cheapest meal in our whole time in Vienna.

We also got a bubble waffle with Nutella and cream, however it was eaten before I even thought about taking a photo.

After we’d filled up on street food, we went off to explore more of this fantastic city. We stumbled upon the Natural History Museum. The building itself is the main reason we went in because it was commissioned by Maria Theresa, the royalty who liven in Schönbrunn back in the day. The building itself is beautiful, with painted ceilings, detailed alcoves and it’s filled with amazing exhibits.

The dinosaur part was my favourite! The museum cost €12 each and its worth that just to walk up that grand staircase. There was also a pretty cool space part which had this huge moon in the middle of one room.

From here we did a little more exploring, including going back to some of the buildings for the night before to see how they compare in daylight.

The city library, Belvedere castle (lower part) and the Russian memorial were the main stops on our adventure. The city is definitely prettier at night.

Our next plan was to head to the opening night of the Rathaus Christmas Market. But not before returning to the hotel for a quick change and short nap before getting our jingle on!

Now then, the Christmas market. I have never in my life taken so many photos of a Christmas market. I won’t share all of them with you, but please know there are LOADS! Everything was lit up, from the trees above the park to the archways and signs.

All the stalls were selling unique bits like Christmas decorations and a fantastic pick n mix, which we of course had to sample.

There were lots of food options for carnivores such as schnitzel sandwiches (which of course Shaun ate), German sausages and goulash. I settled for garlic cream soup inside a big bread bun which was nice but there was too much bread and not enough soup. We had dessert of course, which was mini pancakes with melted chocolate covering them.

We spent a good few hours wandering the market and left feeling super festive. After this, we were ready for bed, mainly because of how full we were. We did stop off for a pint on the way, because like I’ve already mentioned, we are cultured folk!

The final part The Vienna Adventures Part 3 is ready to view by clicking the link. I hope you enjoy it.