Schnitzel in Vienna

Getting off the plane in Vienna meant only one thing… Schnitzel. After landing, we raced to our hotel to dump our bags then walked to find Vienna’s best schnitzel. We had a booking at Lugeck who’s owners first started serving Weiner Schnitzel in 1905! I’m unsure if it was the BEST Schnitzel I’ve ever had but at 10pm post 11hr flight it was much appreciated.

A cold and drizzly start to our first day in Vienna was not a deterrent for us, we set off on a free walking tour to fill our morning we immersed ourselves in the city's history, walking from the famous State Opera to the imperial Hofburg and eventually finished up at the iconic St. Stephen's Cathedral. After seeing the sights Vienna had to offer it was time to eat the food! I’d seen a famous Viennese “coffee house” dessert on Instagram and finally it was my time to try it! We lined up for around 30 minutes to secure a table at the famous Demel Kaffeehaus in the centre of Vienna and finally were seated and got to try Kaiserschmarrn which is a fluffy pancake that is shredded and topped with rum-soaked raisins and stewed plums. Demel is renowned for having the best rendition and let me tell you, they did NOT disappoint! That afternoon it was time for yet another schnitzel of course, this time at Meissl and Schadn, the sister restaurant of one Doug and I discovered two years ago in Salzburg and spent Christmas at. Of course the schnitzel was AMAZING but also HUGE so we shared one between two and had all the trimmings (Austrian potato salad, yum). Afterwards the “kids” decided to do a bit of Christmas shopping so we headed over to Belvedere Palace Christmas Market where I strongly hinted at what I would like Santa to bring me. We then finished the evening at a mall shopping for board and card games so that we’d have something to keep us occupied on our upcoming cruise.

Austrian Christmas (aka Christmas Eve) had finally arrived and the first snowfall as well! The “kids” got a bit of a sleep in while Rob and Wendy headed to a tour of the Schönbrunn Palace. The kids then decided to head to the Museum of Illusions, where we spent the morning taking hilarious pictures defying logic and gravity. We then headed to the Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg Palace, where we got to see impressive jewels and even part of the tablecloth from the Last Supper! Speaking of supper, we were getting hungry so we headed over to meet the parents at a snowcovered Schönbrunn Palace and strolled the Christmas markets there looking for something to nibble on! Sausage in hand we then headed to something VERY cool on the palace grounds, a ZOO! The Zoo was massive and took us 3hours to get around, we saw everything from Cows (okay, probably didn’t need to go to a Zoo to see those), Kangaroos (again, probably could have seen them more locally but not with snow), but also met some very friendly elephants, hungry giraffes and one very happy panda! Exhausted from a big day of exploring, our day wasn’t quite finished yet, it was time for… MORE SCHNITZEL… but with a twist, we would be making it! Nabeil shared his secrets on how to make Schnitzel, crispy as hell and fluffy as heaven and let me tell you, THIS was the best Schnitzel we had in Vienna and probably my life! The key is to get the veal super thin, flour and egg wash TWICE before crumbing and then fry in deep oil, we aren’t winning any health awards here. The result was a super puffy, fluffy, crispy crust and amazing tender Schnitzel 10/10 in my books. Our dessert was Apple Strudel which, despite me learning in Salzburg, still did not go to plan! After being told off for not cutting the apples thinly enough I bowed out, sipped some Austrian sparkling wine and left the prep to the experts before digging in. It was time for bed, and to see if Santa came!

Santa came and so did MORE SNOW! Well, the first snowfall in 28 years on Christmas in Vienna to be exact (it was short lived and melted upon touching the ground, but I’ll take it!). After a late brekky, I took advantage of the fact that I had already done my Christmas shopping so popped my pyjamas on, watched the snow and watched my favourite Christmas movie, Four Holidays. Everyone else's morning looked a little different with them running around to buy their presents and of course, a tree to put them all under! Well, somehow we ended up with TWO makeshift Christmas trees in our hotel lobby but that was okay, we all exchanged gifts, some sentimental and some very practical. As it was Christmas, not much was open for the day so we headed over to some very touristy but fun attractions, the first was Sisi’s Adventure which was essentially a virtual reality short history about the Empresses life. We then went across the road to Vienna Time Travel, which encompassed 10 or so rooms, taking us through the history of Vienna from the Roman Empire to WWII. We all then split up to go our different ways, with Doug and I ending up at a traditional Viennese pub, drinking Radlers and learning how to play Yahtzee (which will feature heavily from here on out). We then met the entire family for a traditional Austrian Christmas dinner where we had all the traditional English style foods like roast beef but also some Austrian delicacies like roast goose with potato dumplings (was okay) and an amazing beef broth and pancake soup (my favourite). We finished dinner off with Gingerbread (of course) and Vanillekipferl which always reminds me of Christmas as my Oma makes an extra big batch every year just for me. Our final stop of the night was a spectacular light show “Lights of Creation” within the Votive Church. While it was freezing, it was absolutely stunning with lights bouncing off of the ceilings and alter, depicting the story of creation, from the Big Bang to the development of life. It was the perfect way to end Christmas.

Our final day in Austria had arrived, but the kids weren’t spending it in Vienna, it was time to hit the slopes! It was quite a trek to get out to Stuhleck but VERY worth the trip. The snow was incredible and runs so long they took half an hour each (or maybe that was just my slow skiing, haha). Several hot chocolates were had and after a very quiet train ride home it was time for a big sleep in preparation for a big day of travel to Norway!