A Local's Travel Guide to Vienna, Austria
Travel Guide to Vienna, Austria
Today, I am excited to welcome my friend Ashley LaRue to the blog. Ashley and I met years ago when I had a personal lifestyle blog, and we quickly bonded over tea, macarons and our mutual love for beautiful things and promoting community. She recently moved to Vienna, and is sharing some of her favorite new places in her new home city. Enjoy!
I moved to Vienna in January to find her charms buried in hibernation. I’ve watched with eager anticipation, her awakening. After a long winter’s sleep, Vienna comes alive in the spring. Quaint street markets open with tulips in every color, as the first sunshine peeks through late winter clouds. Cafés begin to dust off their bistro tables, and all over the city, umbrellas pop up to welcome the return of café weather and the warm sun.
A leisurely stroll through Stephansplatz will reveal cafés, horse drawn carriages, and the majestic St. Stephen’s Cathedral. However, now an expat seeking Vienna’s hidden gems, I make my way down a narrow street and find myself at Café Korb. Tucked away from the noisy crowd of Stephansplatz, Café Korb, is a vibrant café with a mid-century feel. A perfect spot for a light lunch and an espresso, it’s also the spot to soak in the sights and sounds— cathedral bells ring, hooves click clack on the streets, and conversations hum. The menu has an English section— very welcomed— to decipher the selections of coffee and espresso. One should never order just a “coffee” in Vienna—there is really no such thing. I order the Franziskaner, essentially coffee with whipped cream. It does not disappoint, but can you really have bad coffee in a city famous for it? I end my afternoon at Aida for a Sachertorte, where I devour their famous chocolate cake, and hop on the U1 to meet my littles on their way home from school.
I still have pinch-me moments that I get to call this place home. The history is intoxicating, and a simple stroll can leave you feeling transported in time. It can leave you feeling as if you might be walking in the steps of Mozart or Strauss. On that note, listen up classical music and ballet aficionados, the performances are plenty. See the popular Swan Lake at the Wiener Staatsoper or watch the Wiener Hofburg-Orchester perform Mozart at the Imperial Palace. Vienna is a truly magical city full of charms, and I look forward to three years of wandering the streets in search of them—one delicious coffee at a time.
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