AUSTRIA & HUNGARY IN FOUR DAYS
Austria /Hungary Trip - 19 to 23 Sept 2019#soloflight #ocampotravels #bucketlist #onegoodlife
This is that one trip I didnt get the chance to plan ahead. I am admittedly one OC traveller, pre planning all activities religiously to the dot coz when the day of the trip comes I don't want to waste my time looking for places to visit and searching for transport options.
But i was caught up with lots of officework since last month so I was not able to focus on planning this trip. And as it turned out, I missed one important detail regarding my buddy's ticket and so we ended up taking different flights #whywasialoneduringlondonlayover
Day #1 Vienna, Austria
I waited for my friend arriving 2 hrs after me. We were both tired from a long trip from the sandpit plus the stress of last minute re-booking.
-Took a 15min train from airport to central station for 4.2€ per person.
-Checked in at Ibis Hbf. This hotel is a rock star right outside Wien Hbf (Vienna Central Station).
-Bought a day transport ticket 8€/p and strolled around city center and nearby
neighborhoods for the rest
of the afternoon.
Day #2 Salzburg, Austria
Bfast@Ibis hotel is ❤️😊
Train Wien Hbf to Salzburg Hbf RT 33€/p
9:06am/Westbahn/P1
Day Transport ticket in Salzburg 4.2€/p
Historical Tour 2.5H from Mozartplatz 15€/p
Dubbed "Rome of the North", Salzburg is truly a fascinating little city! We enjoyed exploring Salzburg's Baroque style palace gardens and old town (famous for its mythology themed statues, River Salzach, Mozart's House, Salzburg Dome Cathedral and St Peter's Monastery; strolled down Getreidegasse, Salzburg's elegant shopping street, with picturesque streets and hidden alleyways. Thanks to our tour guide, Christina who shared a lot of info and fun facts about her city.
Salzburg is a small city but a short tour with a local is highly recommended. There is a lot to see and knowing even just a bit of their colorful history makes a day trip more interesting.
Tips: If you are staying in Vienna and going to Salzburg on a day trip, it would
be best to leave early from Vienna so you can catch the free walking tours in the morning.
Upon arriving at Salzburg Hbf, get a day transport ticket from the vendo machine for 4€ which u can use for all city buses/trams. Take bus 3,5,6 from Hbf to Mirabelleplatz or Mozartzplatz and start your tour from there.
This is that one trip I didnt get the chance to plan ahead. I am admittedly one OC traveller, pre planning all activities religiously to the dot coz when the day of the trip comes I don't want to waste my time looking for places to visit and searching for transport options.
But i was caught up with lots of officework since last month so I was not able to focus on planning this trip. And as it turned out, I missed one important detail regarding my buddy's ticket and so we ended up taking different flights #whywasialoneduringlondonlayover
Day #1 Vienna, Austria
I waited for my friend arriving 2 hrs after me. We were both tired from a long trip from the sandpit plus the stress of last minute re-booking.
-Took a 15min train from airport to central station for 4.2€ per person.
-Checked in at Ibis Hbf. This hotel is a rock star right outside Wien Hbf (Vienna Central Station).
-Bought a day transport ticket 8€/p and strolled around city center and nearby
neighborhoods for the rest
of the afternoon.
Day #2 Salzburg, Austria
Bfast@Ibis hotel is ❤️😊
Train Wien Hbf to Salzburg Hbf RT 33€/p
9:06am/Westbahn/P1
Day Transport ticket in Salzburg 4.2€/p
Historical Tour 2.5H from Mozartplatz 15€/p
Dubbed "Rome of the North", Salzburg is truly a fascinating little city! We enjoyed exploring Salzburg's Baroque style palace gardens and old town (famous for its mythology themed statues, River Salzach, Mozart's House, Salzburg Dome Cathedral and St Peter's Monastery; strolled down Getreidegasse, Salzburg's elegant shopping street, with picturesque streets and hidden alleyways. Thanks to our tour guide, Christina who shared a lot of info and fun facts about her city.
Salzburg is a small city but a short tour with a local is highly recommended. There is a lot to see and knowing even just a bit of their colorful history makes a day trip more interesting.
Tips: If you are staying in Vienna and going to Salzburg on a day trip, it would
be best to leave early from Vienna so you can catch the free walking tours in the morning.
Upon arriving at Salzburg Hbf, get a day transport ticket from the vendo machine for 4€ which u can use for all city buses/trams. Take bus 3,5,6 from Hbf to Mirabelleplatz or Mozartzplatz and start your tour from there.
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Day 3 Budapest, Hungary Since we took the train to Salzburg, my friend and I decided to take the bus from Vienna to Budapest. We booked our tickets online thru Flixbus at 20$/p RT. The International Bus Terminal is located at Sudtiroler Platz which is just opposite Wien Hbf, 7mins by foot from Ibis Hotel where we are staying at. It was a comfortable bus ride and we arrived on time at Budapest Keleti. We purchased our Metro ticket from the purple machine at the bus station. It was 350 HF/single journey.. We took Metro 4 to Keleti Palyaudvar then Metro 2 to Deak Ferenz Ter which is the main city square and where Budapest Eye is. We strolled around the square for a while and tried a hearty Hungarian meal of chicken rolls and beef stew at Pesti Cafe. The square is very crowded and there seems to be a lot going on. Our tour guide, Lila was enthusiastic and funny, almost never running out of humorous anecdotes in every turn during the tour. She shared interesting insider details about their city and good recommendations of places to visit, things to do and food to try. The tour started at the Pest (pronounced as Pescht) side from the beautiful green sprawl of City Park and the previous bus terminal turned into a long line of pubs and cafe's. Then to St Stephen's Cathedral before heading to uphill to view the Gellért, the Citadella and the Royal Palace while crossing the Chain Bridge over to the Buda side of the city. The best part of the tour was up the Buda Castle District, wandering through the old cobblestone streets to Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion. Although the tour was quite tiring due to some climbing involved (going up Buda castle) and steep pathways, the tour is highly commendable. I loved Budapest. It's now included in my to-go-back-city-list. I quite regret that we had so little time to spend in Budapest. It's that kind of feeling that I wanted to see and feel more of the city but we had to go back to Vienna. Maybe next time.. Tips: Forint is the national currency in Hungary. It's around 250HF per Euro. Fortunately we didnt have to change our money coz most of the shops accept cards. Big souvenir shops accept Euro and Starbucks also does. |
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Day 4: A closer, deeper look at Vienna
I wanted to know where the airport bus line stops nearest me so I was up early the next day. It was a windy 5deg day at Vienna and I walked almost twice around City Hbf trying to follow the directions (i am really poor at maps that's why). Thankfully i found what I was looking for so I felt relaxed. The stop was just a stone throw away from the hotel, and the bus leaves every 30mins so I guessed I won't have a problem leaving for my early flight the next day.
My friend was still asleep when I went out for a walk and I assumed she won’t be ready for another hour. I sat on one of the waiting chairs outside the terminal to watch people for a while. It was early Sunday so there were only a few passengers in the area - such a relaxing scene- compared to the usual situation during busy times at the terminal.
I went back to the hotel to meet my buddy for breakfast. It was half past eight and the hall was quite too crowded for a holiday, so i thought.
We took the train to Karlsplatz exiting at the Oper. Our tour was scheduled to start at the Albertina Square where Vienna's most popular museum sits which is also beside the Opera House. We met our tourguide named Wolfgang, I thought that he is quite old to give a long walking tour but he proved me wrong. He was just fabulous being very energetic and funny. We enjoyed every bit of chitchat with him while we walked through alleys and popular grounds in Vienna.
Among the highlights of our tour included passing through, sharing stories and strolling around:
- Burggarten
- Palace Gate
- Heldenplatz Square
- Schweizerhof Courtyard
- Josefsplatz Square
- Monument against War & Fascism
- Neuer Markt Square with Imperial Crypt
- Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art
- Hofburg Palace
- Graben
- Jewish quarter (still a guarded place 24/7)
- Frauenhuber (Austria's oldest coffee shop where my friend and I also tried Vienese Sacher Cake)
- Stephansplatz Square
- Teutonic Order Building
- Mozart House
- Stephansdom / St. Stephen’s Cathedral
- State Opera House
At the end of the day, it felt like I have experienced Vienna both past and present. The tour was such an easy-going walk and I was particularly delighted on how Wolfgang shared everything worth knowing about the old Capital of the Habsburg monarchs and of the Holy Roman Empire. Wandering through languorous alleyways and over stately boulevards and its historical city center with its famous buildings and monuments, the trip in the capital of Austria is truly something worth remembering.
Most shops and boutiques, except for souvenir stores, are closed during Sunday in Vienna so anyone planning to go shopping should do so in all other days except Sunday. Even the long stretch of shopping stores at Mariahilfer looked gloomy when we went there after our tour at the city center.
