Heading back into Vienna’s Hauptbahnhoff station whilst quietly humming Ultravox, we were full of anticipation to arrive at our hotel.
We had decided to splash out a little more than usual in order to book a room at the 25 Hours Hotel located a stone’s throw from Volksgarten U-Bahn. We certainly were not disappointed. We were given a free upgrade on arrival (we have found it is always worth asking and have been successful on a few occasions) and found ourselves in a circus themed suite which was almost as large as a big top. With a sofa, desk, large double bed, kitchen facilities (including a dishwasher!) and a view over the city, this was a perfect start to our two night stay.
It got better when we decided to head to the top floor bar for a craft beer on the terrace overlooking most of the main city sights. This would prove to be a taste of what we could expect from this fantastic city.
For our first evening meal we headed straight to the Hard Rock Cafe for ease purposes. It was extremely busy and we were told we would have an hour long wait for a table. This didn’t bother us too much as we were happy to sit and have a drink in the meantime. Unfortunately, having waited in excess of the promised time, we were then told we had been deleted off the system, at which point we decided to cut our losses and eat at the bar. The food was good as usual but the night was made by the bartender Fabio who went out of his way to give us great service (including speaking to the manager to get us 25% discount on our evening).
We headed back to our hotel, detouring slightly to stop for a drink in Mel’s Craft Beer bar. We found yet more Welsh beer here and Rhian opted for a Tiny Rebel Cwtch (or ‘Catch’ as it said on their menu, clearly there were no Welsh speakers amongst the staff!) whilst I went for a tasty local brew called x. We enjoyed our drinks but only stayed for one due to the fairly expensive price.
The next day, after spending the morning sightseeing around the Museum Quarter and St Stephansplatz (taking in the breathtaking sight of the cathedral in the square) we went in search of a vegan friendly pizzeria that Rhian had found on HappyCow.net called Colombo on Wipplingerstrasse. When we got there we were disappointed to find it was closed, even more so looking at the menu and seeing the range of suitable options for Rhian (including being able to choose vegan cheese on any pizza). We went to plan b and sought out ‘I Love Veggie Burger’ on Am Salzgriess 9. This was a small but modern restaurant selling a range of vegan and vegetarian burgers, salads and cakes, as well as smoothies. Rhian had a delicious vegan hotdog with mushrooms and vegan cheese whilst I opted for a spicy chick pea based burger with hot salsa. Both meals were extremely flavoursome and reasonably priced (in fact, their Bio-beer made it onto our PPI board at only 3.50 Euros).
We spent a fun afternoon being thrown about by the various rides in the Prater fun fair (including the tallest chair-o-plane in the world and one of the world’s oldest Ferris wheels which was built in 1897) before heading out for our evening meal. Rhian had a hankering for Italian food after the earlier disappointment and heading from St Stephansplatz towards the canal we found Fratellis. Having taken a look at the menu and seeing a list of allergens at the back we decided to stop for dinner. There were a number of pasta dishes that were vegan friendly as well as a couple of salads. We both opted for pasta dishes which were tasty and cooked to perfection. Food was reasonably priced given the plush decor, smartly turned out waiting staff and good quality cuisine. Drinks were fairly expensive though at around 5 Euros for a pint of lager.
From there we wandered just a few doors down and found Zanoni and Zanonis, apparently we were having an Italian themed evening. We couldn’t resist based upon the large sign saying ‘veganes ices’. They did a range of sorbets suitable for vegans and even diabetic friendly ice cream. We stopped for a sorbet and a beer under the large heated outside seating area which was an extremely pleasant way to end the last evening of our trip.
With limited time the next day, we had a couple of hours to pop out for a last minute bit of souvenir shopping when we happened upon the Juice Factory on Marco-d’Aviano Gasse. It was a modern juice bar serving a range of smoothies, juices and paninis. The staff spoke brilliant English and were more than happy to make up a tasty panini that catered to Rhian’s preferences.
With that it was time to say goodnight Vienna and head back to the airport for our flight home (worth noting here that it is sensible to get there fairly early as we found the airport to be a bit of a maze).
We had a fantastic time in Vienna and would recommend all of the eateries we tried as well as the wonderfully eccentric 25 Hours Hotel. It is the perfect place for a sophisticated weekend break with its grand buildings and culture around every corner. This goes straight to the top of our list entitled ‘I want to go back!’