Holiday Magic in Vienna

We've just returned from four amazing nights in Vienna, Austria. Visiting Vienna during the Christmas markets was on my must-do list during our expat experience and it didn't disappoint.

Day 1 Highlights:
S was a great traveler - she fell asleep as we approached our hotel and slept on me while J & I  ate lunch in the lobby. She was hungry when she woke up so we ordered room service, which she absolutely loved. Spaghetti Bolognese has quickly become one of her favorite dishes.

J worked out while S & I swam at the hotel pool and then off to explore.

We went to the Rathaus Christmas market this evening - the decorations were amazing, the atmosphere was very festive, and S got to make cookies inside the gorgeous town hall building.

 Day 2 Highlights:

We spent the morning at the hotel - lovely buffet breakfast, swimming again for S& I while J exercised. We went to two more Christmas markets - one is the Museum Quarter that was just OK and one in the Karlsplatz area that had a lot of exciting activities for kids, including pony rides and a human-powered carousel. J was the power of the carousel, which S LOVED.

We spent an hour at the Zoom Museum - it was basically a timed play activity in the Museum Ocean Area. S enjoyed playing and then was ready for some rest at the hotel.

We went out to a yummy Italian dinner this night…on the way, S fell asleep so she missed dinner and promptly requested room service when she woke up at 8pm. Spaghetti Bolognese again.

 Day 3 Highlights: We spent another fun morning at the hotel with breakfast, pool, and gym time before going to the zoo. The Vienna Zoo is nice and large - we saw many active animals including giant pandas during feeding time and giraffes up close and person. S also enjoyed the play area and the pony rides.

We went to a more local Christmas market in Spittelberg this evening - it was a bit smaller and calmer than the more touristy markets and had different goods. I bought some homemade chocolates at this one (it always feels strange to me to buy chocolate outside of Switzerland).

Day 4 Highlights: After our typical morning at the hotel, we headed out for a bit of regular shopping and then off to the Schonbrunn Palace area. This area is near the zoo but S was too tired the day before to go here too so we went back. Subway was quite easy to navigate and never too crowded.

We had quite a bit of fun here - we bought two ornaments from the market, S made Marzipan Snowman, and we enjoyed the kids museum here, complete with costumes for S and me.

Vienna was magical and I am so happy we got to experience it during the Christmas season. We are home in time for Christmas Eve evening and Christmas morning at home. My brother T and his wife K arrive on the 26th - more fun coming up!

Two additional comments on our trip- S is up to 15 countries now and her garment of choice on this trip was her sunglasses!

Merry Christmas friends.