The Jo Show

Vienna Recommendations

I often have people asking me for recommendations on places we’ve visited in Europe. So, while it’s fresh in my mind, I wanted to compile my list of recommendations for anyone who may be visiting Vienna!

We really enjoyed Vienna (Wien) and I hope you do too!

Districts

The Seventh District is the trendy, hipster, cool neighborhood in Vienna. It’s full of coffee shops, boutiques, international restaurants, and fun bars for a night out.

Places

Anywhere we go, we always do a free walking tour. Our tour guide was great, and I’d definitely recommend doing the walking tour in Vienna. They also have a hop on hop off bus tour if you’d prefer to be driven around. These tours will show you all the major highlights of Vienna, but I wanted to include a couple additional places that are outside the city center that were pretty cool:

Hundertwasser House/Hundertwasser Village: Apartment complex with cool architecture

Schonbrunn Palace: The main summer residence and palace of the Habsburg rulers

Traditional Restaurants & Coffeehouses

Figlmueller Backerstraße: This restaurant is where you can get the original and traditional Austrian wiener schnitzel and potato salad. Make a reservation, this place books up fast.

Sacher Hotel: This restaurant and café serves the original Sacher-Torte (chocolate and apricot cake) that is still hand-made using Franz Sacher’s original recipe to this day. Enjoy it with whipped cream. You can make a reservation for the restaurant, otherwise the café is first come first serve.

Café Central: Said to be Vienna’s most attractive coffeehouse, this place serves traditional coffee specialties and sweet treats and is known for its apple strudel. Make a reservation at this place too.

Trendy Restaurants

Chez Bernard: Nice restaurant with a view

Regina Margherita: Italian and fun vibe

Motto 5^th District: Fun spot with a bar on the other side

Clubs and Bars

Volksgarten

Sechser

Bermuda Triangle (this is an area with lots of bars)

Brunch

Ulrich

Kylo

Metro

It is so easy to get around Vienna. You can also metro everywhere and buy a one, two or three day pass to get around easily.

Vienna, Austria

Vienna waits for youuuuuu (cue Billy Joel’s song on repeat all weekend).

About a month ago, I was able to meet up in Vienna with two girlfriends I met in Serbia in 2020. It was so wonderful to see them again and I love how we have continued to keep in touch.

It was also awesome to be able to visit Austria for the first time!

About Austria

History

Austria was ruled by the Habsburg family for six centuries. Emperor Franz Joseph I, who ruled for 68-years, and his beloved wife Elisabeth, known as “Sisi,” really shaped the image of Austrian imperial rule. There are movies, plays and shows (including Netflix’s 2022 “The Empress”) about Sisi because she was beautiful, unconventional, and independent. In fact, watching the movie trilogy “Sisi” from the 1950s is a Christmas tradition in Austria and Germany (much like watching “Love Actually”).

People

Our tour guide described Austrians as direct, short and punctuational like their German neighbors in the north, mixed with some of the more relaxed attributes of Italians to their south.

Austrians speak German.

Famous Austrians:

Johann Strauss: “King of Waltz.” A composer famous for his Viennese waltzes and operettas.
Sigmund Freud: founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, lived and worked in Vienna for 47 years before he had to flee from the Nazis in 1938.
Adolf Hitler: most people don’t know that Hitler was actually born and lived in Austria in the beginning of his life (not Germany).
Mozart: lived in at least a dozen different places throughout Vienna.
Gustav Klimt: painter and representative of Art Nouveau (an international style of art with intricate linear designs and flowing curves) and cofounder of the Viennese Secession, which challenged the state’s restrictions on artistic expression.

Food

Wiener Schnitzel: the national dish of Austria. A thin, breaded, and fried veal cutlet served with a lemon slice. There are now pork and chicken varieties. Interestingly, the dish actually originated in Venice, Italy. Of course, I had to try this, but unsurprisingly it was not my favorite.
Sacher Torte: This cake is a household named in Austria and is served everywhere, but the recipe for the Original Sacher-Torte is a well-kept secret, known only to confectioners at the Hotel Sacher in Vienna. It’s essentially a chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam with a chocolate glaze. We tried this and it was delicious.
Apfelstrudel: the oldest known apple strudel recipe dates back to 1697 and survives today in a handwritten cookbook in the Vienna Town Hall Library.

Politics

Today Austria is a democratic republic with a president-elect.

Austria is bound to neutrality by the 1955 Austrian State Treaty and its constitution, so they will never join a military alliance or allow foreign troops into Austria.

Spying

Dating all the way back to the Cold War, Austria is a top location for global espionage.

Vienna is home to one of the headquarters of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). These provide both diplomatic immunity and cover for spies. Austria’s neutrality pledge also plays a factor in making Vienna a “spying hotspot.”

Theater

The Vienna State Opera is one of the top operas in the world, with a different program every day. The Vienna Opera house features 50 operas and 20 ballet performances per season!

Riding School

The Spanish Riding School aims to preserve the classic training of Lipizzaner horses (white stallions). These performances in the Hofburg (former imperial palace) are also a major tourist attraction.

Overall, we had a great time in Vienna. It was so easy to walk around or metro anywhere and there was a lot to see and do.

Avatar: The Way of Water

Brev and I saw Avatar: The Way of Water in theaters in Leuven and had to laugh at some of the differences in seeing a movie over here.

Theaters serve alcohol and people are walking around with bottles of wine and champagne, olives, etc.
Their concession area is like a mini grocery store. They sell full bags of chips and have “scoop your own” candy, nuts, and dried fruit stations where you pay by the gram.
The popcorn is already scooped and in boxes and you don’t see them making it right in front of you. You also have the choice between salty or sweet popcorn and Brev’s Belgian teammates said that getting a mix of the two is the best. (Also, no there is no “movie theater butter” here… we thought the popcorn was a bit dry).
While the movie is in English, there is both French and Dutch subtitles.
Halfway through the movie there is a ten-minute intermission, people got up to use the bathroom or get more snacks during this break.
Unlike our theaters, where you buy/show your ticket to enter and then buy snacks, here you enter the theater and buy your snacks and then as you walk to your assigned theater there is someone checking the movie tickets.

With those exceptions, the process of ordering tickets online, reserving seats, and the cost was pretty similar to back home. Although, we did miss the reclining DreamLounger chairs.

Christmas in Paris

In addition to going to England over Brevin’s winter break, we were also lucky enough to be able to spend a couple days in France!

I went to Paris with my parents in November, but Brev had never been and there is SO much to see and do in Paris, so I was excited to go back.

The highlight of our trip was taking a dinner cruise down the Seine River on Christmas Day. On the boat at 11 pm, we had an amazing view of the sparkling Eiffel Tower (the lights twinkle for five minutes on the hour, starting at dusk). We kept saying to ourselves, “Who would have thought we would be spending our first married Christmas in Paris!”. It was so special.

Having now been to Paris twice, below are my recommendations for anyone planning a trip.

Transportation

The city is massive, and it’s so easy to get around by metro. You can buy unlimited day passes, so you don’t have to buy individual tickets at every stop.
While touristy, the hop on/hop off Big Bus Tour (red bus) was a great way to see the city. It was so informative and made getting around and seeing all the main attractions easy. If it’s your first visit to Paris or you have limited time, I could not recommend this bus more.

Food and Drink

Carette: for their famous hot chocolate and whipped cream.
Le Boulanger de la Tour: for croissants and brioche buns.
Laduree: for macaroons.
Terra Nera : we didn’t get to eat at this Italian restaurant, but most importantly it is Gabriel’s restaurant from Emily and Paris and her apartment is right down the street. 😊

Bath, England (Roman Baths)

The final stop on our tour was the city of Bath, which is named after the Roman-built baths and temple that were built in around 60 A.D.

Roman Baths

We visited the Roman Baths and were able to explore the complex (which included hot and cold baths and a gym), walk on the original Roman pavements and see the ruins of the Temple of Sulis Minerva (goddess of wisdom, justice, law, and victory).

The baths were built over a natural hot spring, that was found supposedly found by Celtic King Bladud when he was cured of leprosy after bathing in the spring.

In addition to bathing, people would also write notes or “curses” on lead or pewter and throw them into the Sacred Spring so that Minerva could punish them. In the image below of the inscriptions, one woman is complaining to the goddess that someone store her cloak and another inscription shows a list of names/suspects to help Minerva identify the wrongdoer.

Unfortunately, in 1978 a girl swimming in the baths died from a deadly pathogen in the water. Since then, the baths have been closed to swimming

City of Bath

The City of Bath has undergone many different remodels and was last bombed by the Germans during WW2 in the “Baedeker Raids,” where targets were chosen for their cultural and historical significance instead of their military or strategic value.

Today, it is one of the ten most visited English cities by overseas tourists with up to 1.3 million visitors yearly!

After visiting the Roman Baths, we had some extra time to explore the city. We grabbed some Cornish pastries (which Brev loved) and hot chocolates. I was also excited to see the Modiste from the Netflix show Bridgerton, it turns out that a lot of Bridgerton was actually filmed in Bath! Who knew?

While it was a loooooong day (12 hours+), if you find yourself in England we would recommend taking this GoldenTour tour of Windsor Castle, Bath and Stonehenge to see three of Britain’s national treasures. Additionally, our tour guide Bruce was AMAZING, so try to get on his tour bus if possible.

Wiltshire, England‎ (Stonehenge!)

Next up, we stopped at the mysterious and fascinating Stonehenge!

This was truly incredible to see in person.

While no one knows exactly why Stonehenge was created, there’s a lot of speculation that it was used as a calendar, pilgrimage destination or ceremonial site (or all the above).

Marking the passage of time was important to many ancient cultures, and it’s likely not coincidence that Stonehenge was built to align with the sun on solstices. On the summer solstice, the sun rises behind the Heel Stone in the north-east part of the horizon and its first rays shine into the heart of Stonehenge.

There’s also evidence that Stonehenge was originally used as a burial ground, and surrounding the area are several hundred burial mounds. They’ve traced some of these remains from all different parts of Europe.

Archaeologists believe that Stonehenge was built in several stages, with the first monument (an early henge) being built about 5,000 years ago. The stones were then set up in the center of the monument from around 3000 to 2000 BC.

Stonehenge is built using tall vertical stones, called sarsens, that make up the outer circle and smaller stones, called bluestones, that make up the inner ring. Seeing how massive these rocks were in person just made us question how they got there. These stones are also from an entirely different geographic region, over 150 miles away… so we can’t even imagine how these ancient people were able to move these stones.

During our visit, we were surprised that Stonehenge is a mile away from the visitors’ center and visitors either must walk or take shuttles to the stones. Additionally, the stones are roped off and the nearest you can get to the stones is about 15 yards away.

This was definitely a bucket list place, and we feel so lucky that we were able to see Stonehenge in person.

Windsor, England (Windsor Castle)

During our trip to England, we went on a bus tour that stopped at three different locations. The first one being Windsor Castle located in the Berkshire province in the city of Windsor.

Windsor is a royal residence and the favorite of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The original castle was built in the 11th century and has been used since Henry I, who used it in 1100-1135. This makes Windsor Castle the longest-occupied palace in Europe.

The castle was constructed in three wards surrounding a central mound. Over time it has been surrounded by stone fortifications, giving it its present-day look.

Since the castle is being used by the royals, access to the public is limited and sadly no photos are allowed inside.

While we were on the visit we walked around the castle grounds to St. George’s Chapel, visited the state apartments and saw Queen Mary’s doll house.

St George’s Chapel was one of the most beautiful churches we have ever seen (and that is saying something because we see A LOT of churches over here😉), built in the late medieval gothic style. Harry and Megan got married in St George’s Chapel, likely because it can only seat 800 people instead of 2,000+ people that larger, more formal royal wedding venues like Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London can.

Queen Elizabeth II is also laid to rest in St George’s Chapel at Windsor, which makes sense because Windsor Castle has been said to be her favorite of the royal residences. We were able to see her tomb in King George VI Memorial chapel.

The State Apartments were extremely beautiful and ornate. We saw ceremonial rooms that are still used today by the Royal Family and saw historical rooms that were built for Charles II and his Queen, Catherine of Braganza (1660–1685).

Queen Mary’s Doll House is said to be the largest and most beautiful doll house in the world. It was built from 1921 and 1924 as a gift from Sir Edwin Lutyens. The dollhouse is massive and 1,500 of the finest artists, craftsmen and manufacturers of the time helped contribute to it. It has running water, electricity, real champagne in the champagne bottles and books that were written down to scale (i.e., you could actually read the tiny books with the magnify glass).

London, England

Brev had some time off around Christmas, so we were able to travel to England!

In 2018 I went to London over spring break to visit a friend studying abroad, but Brev had never been to London and it was one of his bucket list places.

It did not disappoint… in fact, Brev said this was his favorite vacation!

It was so refreshing to be able to read every sign and be surrounded by English speakers again. I was even able to get some Reese’s peanut butter eggs from their grocery store.

London

It is so easy to get around London, you just tap your credit card to enter/exit the many metros.

We saw most of the major highlights of the city and walked over 27,000+ steps!

Things we saw:

The London Eye: Europe’s tallest Ferris wheel and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom.
Westminster Abbey: London’s most famous and beautiful church where more than 3,300+ people are buried and commemorated. The Abbey is where every coronation since 1066 has taken place and it hosts many royal occasions (including 16 royal weddings).
Buckingham Palace: King Charles III’s official London residence and the focus of national and royal celebrations. This is also where the Changing the Guard ceremony occurs.
Houses of Parliament and Big Ben: also known as the Palace of Westminster, the Houses of Parliament is the headquarters of the British Government and Big Ben is the famous bell in the tower.
St James’s Park: this park is near Buckingham palace and is the oldest Royal Park at the heart of ceremonial London.
Piccadilly Circus: Situated between Leicester Square (famous for its cinemas) and Regent Street (a popular shopping street), Piccadilly Circus is London’s Time Square. It’s famous for its neon signs and ornate buildings.
Oxford Street: This is Europe’s busiest shopping street with around 300 shops. We were very excited about the GymShark pop up shop here.
The Shard: also referred to as the “Shard of Glass,” is the UK’s tallest building.
Borough Market: a historic food market in central London, Brev and I tried so many delicious foods (we’d recommend Humble Crumble for dessert, La Tua Pasta for their truffle ravioli and Bao for their chicken bao buns).
Tower Bridge: This 19th century bridge across the Thames is the most famous bridge in London, known for its Gothic Revival architecture.
London Bridge: This has been the oldest crossing of the river Thames in one form or another for almost 2,000 years now. It was the only way to cross Thames, until the construction of Putney Bridge in 1729.

We also went to multiple pubs for fish and chips and beers to have the full London experience. We even got to watch the Liverpool vs. Leicester soccer game at a pub – so much fun!

About Belgium

While we’ve been living in Belgium for over four months, I realized that I haven’t posted much about the country.

Belgium is known for medieval towns, Renaissance architecture and as the headquarters of the European Union and NATO (aka the capital of the EU).

Food and Drink

Belgium is world-famous for its chocolate, waffles, and beer.

Belgium is also known for moules frites (mussels served with French fries).

Language

People in the country speak either French or Dutch (Flemish), which is why signage typically includes both languages.

Weather

Belgium has a temperate, maritime climate (which means mild winter temps and warm summers) with frequent rainfall, largely influenced by air masses from the Atlantic. However, the more inland you go, the weaker the maritime influence gets.

I feel like the weather here is similar to WI, but more mild (the average temp. here in January is 35 degrees vs. 20 degrees in WI). Additionally, rain is more common than snow during Belgium winters.

Religion

The majority of Belgians are Roman Catholic, and nearly one-third of Belgians are nonreligious.

Government

Belgium is a constitutional monarchy, their King shares power with an organized government. The King’s role is really ceremonial, and the prime minister is the effective head of government.

Belgium has A LOT of political parties, each with language and regional differences. This makes government challenging, since there are deep regional divides.

All citizens 18 and older are required to vote in national elections and elections typically happen on Sundays.

Aperitivo!

What surprised me most when I was visiting Italy was their aperitivo, which is a drink/light meal that takes place in the evening before dinner. Aperitivo was described to me as a kind of “warm up to dinner,” which actually is necessary since Italians eat so late (all our dinner reservations were for 10 pm)!

But what really shocked me is that aperitivo is free and is brought out the moment you order a drink. We were served large plates of cheese and meats, breads, pizzas, potato chips and nuts without even asking.

Traditionally aperitivo cocktails tend to be light on alcohol and bitter on taste, so they pair perfectly with these salty snacks.

When I looked around the bar in Italy, I realized everyone was drinking Aperol or Campari. Both are bitter Italian liqueurs, but Aperol is orange and sweet and Campari is red and more bitter.

Aperitivo is originally a northern Italian tradition and apparently Milan is the best place for this. So, I can’t wait to visit other cities in Italy and see if this aperitivo experience was unique to Milan or if it tracks across the country.

Stay tuned! 😉