Vienna ✌🏻

Vienna what a city! This is not a place I would have originally planned on going but it was the destination chosen to meet with the group of people I was travelling with who had already been on the road for some weeks.

Luckily I managed to get cheap Ryanair flights out for the day before I was due to met my group as well as getting a bed in the same Hostel that we where staying in the next night meaning no moving hostels after one day which for those that have done it will know how much of a pain this is. This was the first time I had stayed in a Wombat hostel but wouldn't be the last and I can honestly say I have never been disappointed by on of their Hostels. Even better for their Vienna location is the Naschmarkt street market on their door step (Photo right) which I explored the morning of my second day.

My first late afternoon/ evening after I arrived was all about relaxing I'm a bit stress sometimes especially when it comes to getting places by myself and my trip from the airport to the hostel hadn't been the smoothest. I had managed to get the train into the city which I had pre-planned but silly me hadn't checked the stop so I had to guess resulting in me ending up further away than i'd thought and the attempt to walk was not very fruitful so in the end I did give up and get a taxi. Thankfully I had written down the address so I was able to show the driver this!

So after some food and a short walk into the centre which included me catching part of the famous Vienna ballet which was being projected onto the side of the theatre! This was a great free little bonus, I headed back to the hostel to rest, I was up early the next day as I had to check out of my current room to then check into a different room with my group later in the day, so I stored my suitcase at the hostel and ended out for the day. Starting with the Naschmarkt as I mentioned above. There was everything from food stalls to clothes to toys to antiques, I had already planned a picnic in the Schonbrunner Gardens so I bought some fruit from the market for that.

I then headed to the gardens, there is so much to see in them from fountains and lakes to beautiful structures so I took my time walking around before settling on a place in the shade to eat and rest before I headed to the most exciting part of my day.

I am an avid horse rider and have been riding and competing for year so to me I could not go to Vienna without visiting the Spanish riding school of Vienna, I unfortunately could not afford to see one of the performances as even the cheapest seats where well above my budget. However the school does offer tours of their facilities which was a much more affordable €22 so I jumped at the chance of that opting for the 2pm tour. The tour was great it lasted about 2 hours and allowed us into the main school where we learned about the history of the school and horses as well as getting to sit in the most expensive seat (picture below) and then walk along the balcony. The guide showed us the stables and courtyards including introducing us to some of the horses and explaining their unique names, and then on to the tack rooms, feed rooms and horse walker areas. All in all definitely worth the money.

After this I headed back tot he hostel to meet my group before we checked into the new room and headed out for dinner across the road from our hostel and then onto the hostel bar to get to know some of my fellow travellers better.

Have you been to Vienna? and if not would you like to?