Just back from Vienna with a 16- and 9-year-old
Aug 2nd, 2006, 10:21 AM
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Just back from Vienna with a 16- and 9-year-old
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this site. You gave us great ideas and our trip was wonderful.Here are a few of the highlights:
-We stayed at the Crowne Plaza near the UN Center, since I was working at a conference there. It was convenient not only to the VIC but also to the U-Bahn (a block and a half away) and to all sorts of water and sports activities. I would highly recommend it in the summer with kids. The Crowne Plaza people were also very friendly and helpful, the rooms were fine and the airport bus very conveniently stops right in front of the hotel.
-We visited a lot of museums, (Hofburg apartments, Treasury, Sisi Museum, Schönbrunn Palace, Belvedere,) but the one the kids liked the most was probably the Mozart House. It's well done, small and easy to understand.
Our 16-year-old daughter enjoyed the Freud Museum as well, although the exhibits of 19th century insane asylums were a bit much.
To get out of the rain one day we ended up at the Butterfly Museum and loved it. It's also small, and the butterflies tickle when they land on you.
At Schönbrunn Palace, our 9-year-old son got separated from us and took a wrong turn after the ballroom. He ended up by himself on an extended tour of the private apartments, which we hadn't paid for. The attendants were great about letting us look for him. We finally were reunited, but he was so intrigued by the tour that he barely even noticed that he was missing.
He particularly liked the zoo on the Palace grounds. It's the oldest zoo in the world and quite well done, although the reindeer look a bit mangy.
-Lipizzaner horses: We never timed it right to see the rehersal with music, but the museum is just a block away (next to Starbucks) so we only saw that.
-The kids liked spending a lot of time around St. Stephen's Cathedral seeing the street activity, buying ice cream and shopping. Our 16-year-old particularly liked dropping in at Swarovski's, H&M and Claire's. We all loved the Manner store, which is on the corner of the St. Stephen's square. The cookies are good but the displays are even better.
-The 9-year-old loved the Prater amusement park (which you can reach by U-Bahn) but he wasn't old enough to ride on the wilder rides. It was a bit loud for my taste, but fun nonetheless.
-Internet Café downtown: We stumbled on to Surfland Internet Café at Krugerstrasse 10, right by the House of Music museum. The prices were good and the staff is multilingual.
Food: My German is pretty basic so we ordered a lot of surprises. With the exception of one waitress we had wonderful service and the food was good and abundant.
We particularly liked the Weiner Schnitzels, and the to-die-for dessert, Mohr-im-hemd.
Our favorite restaurants were:
- Café Central. Sunday afternoon is particularly pleasant with live music.
- Reinthaler Beisel, on Dorotheergasse, next to Café Hawala and right off the shopping zone. We went back several times. The menu is printed up, but most people seemed to order from whatever they saw on the chalk boards on the walls. Their Mohr-im-Hemd was the best.
-Alt Wein has good pub food - particularly the gulasch. We watched a World Cup match there.
-Brezl Gwölb - We went there hoping to see their medievil cellar that is supposed to look like a set from Phantom of the Opera, but it was closed. The food was good anyway - especially the huge pretzels - and the service very friendly. Try the Tyroler G'röstl, which is like a potato, ham, onion and cheese hash served in a heavy blackened skillet.
We also stopped at Billa supermarkets and picked up snacks. They have a great selection of chocolates as well, for taking back home.
Cafe's: Oberlaá was our favorite. Try the little flavored merengue cookies. Gerstner and Aida were good as well. Café Schwarzenberg ended up being a nice stop for a full lunch.
-We stayed at the Crowne Plaza near the UN Center, since I was working at a conference there. It was convenient not only to the VIC but also to the U-Bahn (a block and a half away) and to all sorts of water and sports activities. I would highly recommend it in the summer with kids. The Crowne Plaza people were also very friendly and helpful, the rooms were fine and the airport bus very conveniently stops right in front of the hotel.
-We visited a lot of museums, (Hofburg apartments, Treasury, Sisi Museum, Schönbrunn Palace, Belvedere,) but the one the kids liked the most was probably the Mozart House. It's well done, small and easy to understand.
Our 16-year-old daughter enjoyed the Freud Museum as well, although the exhibits of 19th century insane asylums were a bit much.
To get out of the rain one day we ended up at the Butterfly Museum and loved it. It's also small, and the butterflies tickle when they land on you.
At Schönbrunn Palace, our 9-year-old son got separated from us and took a wrong turn after the ballroom. He ended up by himself on an extended tour of the private apartments, which we hadn't paid for. The attendants were great about letting us look for him. We finally were reunited, but he was so intrigued by the tour that he barely even noticed that he was missing.
He particularly liked the zoo on the Palace grounds. It's the oldest zoo in the world and quite well done, although the reindeer look a bit mangy.
-Lipizzaner horses: We never timed it right to see the rehersal with music, but the museum is just a block away (next to Starbucks) so we only saw that.
-The kids liked spending a lot of time around St. Stephen's Cathedral seeing the street activity, buying ice cream and shopping. Our 16-year-old particularly liked dropping in at Swarovski's, H&M and Claire's. We all loved the Manner store, which is on the corner of the St. Stephen's square. The cookies are good but the displays are even better.
-The 9-year-old loved the Prater amusement park (which you can reach by U-Bahn) but he wasn't old enough to ride on the wilder rides. It was a bit loud for my taste, but fun nonetheless.
-Internet Café downtown: We stumbled on to Surfland Internet Café at Krugerstrasse 10, right by the House of Music museum. The prices were good and the staff is multilingual.
Food: My German is pretty basic so we ordered a lot of surprises. With the exception of one waitress we had wonderful service and the food was good and abundant.
We particularly liked the Weiner Schnitzels, and the to-die-for dessert, Mohr-im-hemd.
Our favorite restaurants were:
- Café Central. Sunday afternoon is particularly pleasant with live music.
- Reinthaler Beisel, on Dorotheergasse, next to Café Hawala and right off the shopping zone. We went back several times. The menu is printed up, but most people seemed to order from whatever they saw on the chalk boards on the walls. Their Mohr-im-Hemd was the best.
-Alt Wein has good pub food - particularly the gulasch. We watched a World Cup match there.
-Brezl Gwölb - We went there hoping to see their medievil cellar that is supposed to look like a set from Phantom of the Opera, but it was closed. The food was good anyway - especially the huge pretzels - and the service very friendly. Try the Tyroler G'röstl, which is like a potato, ham, onion and cheese hash served in a heavy blackened skillet.
We also stopped at Billa supermarkets and picked up snacks. They have a great selection of chocolates as well, for taking back home.
Cafe's: Oberlaá was our favorite. Try the little flavored merengue cookies. Gerstner and Aida were good as well. Café Schwarzenberg ended up being a nice stop for a full lunch.
Aug 2nd, 2006, 01:25 PM
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I think it's great that your 16- and 9-year-old really enjoyed the time in Vienna. I always wonder how enjoyable a trip to a city like Vienna will be with kids. It was especially interesting to me that your 9-year-old was so intrigued by the tour of Schönbrun that he didn't notice he was "missing."
Aug 2nd, 2006, 01:30 PM
#3
If you liked schnitzel, it's easy to make at home. since our trip to Germany with the kids it's become a family favourite. We had it tonight! Let me know if you'd like the recipe.
PS - great trip report. Vienna is going on my "must do " list.
PS - great trip report. Vienna is going on my "must do " list.
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